Grantsburg Native Looks To Unseat Congressional Veteran Of 36 Years

Grantsburg Native Looks To Unseat Congressional Veteran Of 36 Years

Obey opponent stands for term limits, fiscal responsibility, and constitutional rights

SEVENTH CONGREGESSIONAL DISTRICT — We've strayed far from our founding fathers' idea that government should be by and for the people, says Grantsburg native Jeff Tyberg, and that is why he has chosen seek the congressional seat held by Democrat David Obey for the past 36 years.

Obey has held the seat of the 7th Congressional District since Tyberg, 36, was three months old. The district consists of 17 counties and three partial counties in northern and central Wisconsin.

"We need to get our government back to our founding fathers' ideal of citizen government," he said.

That ideal includes term limits, which would ensure that our representatives in government have not been in so long that they have forgotten what it is like to be in the working world. Representatives should be people from the "real world" who leave a regular job to serve a set time in Congress, then come back "to work a real job" again.

"My promise is I won't stay there more than 10 years," said Tyberg. "While I am there I will work to institute term limits. We need to reduce the amount of money going to Washington while helping Wisconsin get its fair share of what is going to Washington.

"I honestly believe the way to achieve this is through term limits. If you're only going to be there 10 years you can do what's best for the country."

The longer people are in Washington, Tyberg believes, the more removed they are from what their constituents want. They are more likely to receive campaign money from out-of-state and from special-interest groups, he said, which divides their allegiance to those they represent.

Tyberg said he will also work to phase out the pension funds that now provide comfort and security for our representatives. This, he believes, will help ensure that they face the same retirement limitations as most Americans.

"You want to see Social Security fixed," he said, "get rid of this pension plan."

Lifetime pensions for Congressional retirees is "a waste" of taxpayer dollars, Tyberg said. Representatives should be able to come back to their district and go back to work rather than depend on taxpayers to subsidize their retirement.

Accomplishing this, Tyberg pointed out, will require cooperation that extends beyond party lines. "I think this is something we can work together on for the good of the country," he said.

Eliminating the pension fund would be one step in initiating greater fiscal responsibility, which is something Tyberg believes is badly needed in government.

"Our federal government spending is out of control," he said, "and we need to get control of it. There is waste in every department, including Congress, that can be cut."

One area that can be cut, suggested Tyberg, is the Department of Education with its 55,000 jobs and associated pension benefits.

"I fully endorse President Reagan's platform of getting rid of the Department of Education. In education, as everywhere else, local control is the best control."

School boards are accountable to the local districts and are in a position to make the best decisions for the district, he added, while the federal Department of Education is not accountable to the public.

"Do we want the federal government to have that kind of control?" he asked. "I say no."

Tyberg supports the Second Amendment as written, and favors concealed carry laws. However, he said, pending legislation that would make trigger locks mandatory and hold homeowners responsible if a gun stolen from their property is used in a crime would nullify any true concealed carry law in Wisconsin.

He also believes that the United States Constitution protects all life from conception until natural death. Since life begins at conception, said Tyberg, he is opposed to embryonic stem cell research, which takes the life of a human embryo.

Two other sources of stem cells are available which do not take a life, he noted. Adult stem cells have produced 53 successful treatments, compared with no successful treatments from embryonic stem cells.

Umbilical cord stem cells also look very promising, he said, but funding for final testing is not available since it is being used on embryonic research.

The decision to fund embryonic rather than adult and umbilical cord research, said Tyberg, is political rather than scientific, since the latter two have been proven more successful.

The fact that thousands of embryos are available, he feels, does not eliminate the fact that each embryo is a human life. Medical advances made their creation possible in order to allow infertile couples to have children, yet more embryos were created than have been implanted and born.

"Two wrongs don't make a right," said Tyberg about harvesting the unused embryos for stem cells. "It is morally wrong to kill an embryo in the name of medicine. It's dangerous when you put men in a position of playing God.

"I would opt on the side of safety. You start trying to find people who want to parent," he said, adding that embryo adoption programs are now available.

Regarding our troops in Iraq, Tyberg said, "We are at war and we, as Americans and at Congress, have to support our troops, which means we have to support the mission.

"Congress should be doing what it can to encourage the public to support the troops and their mission. I feel we are doing a better job than what the media portrays. I believe that by the end of 2006 we will be able to start to withdraw troops.

"But that should be up to the commanders on the ground, based on military objectives, and not due to political opinions."

The assertion that President Bush misled the American people into wrongly thinking that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction is erroneous, Tyberg feels. Two of three types of weapons of mass destruction — chemical and biological weapons — have been located, he said, while nuclear weapons have not been found.

"Saddam Hussein declared war on the United States multiple times in multiple years," Tyberg said. "He didn't do anything, but there comes a time when you have to react.

"I believe we were justified in going into Iraq."

Setting a timetable for the withdrawal of American troops, he believes, will allow terrorists and insurgents time to make plans for gaining control of the country.

Our nation has been blessed greatly by God, added Tyberg, and we have an obligation to protect those who are oppressed.

Our founding fathers, he said, depended upon and understood God's hand in man's affairs. As an example, said Tyberg, Benjamin Franklin instituted the practice of opening each session of the Congressional Congress with prayer.

Tyberg's Web site, www.tybergforcongress.com, outlines his stand on many issues such as border control, energy, eminent domain, and small business.

His faith is an integral part of who Tyberg is. He grew up on a farm near Grantsburg, and graduated from Grantsburg High School. Early in his life he became aware that his future was to be spent in service to others.

He left college to work in the mission fields in Japan and Mexico, building dormitories and working at an orphanage. After returning to Grantsburg and spending three years teaching Spanish, math and music to homeschool students, he accepted an invitation to Ukraine to minister in music and help start a church.

While in Ukraine, he met and married Tanya, who had been his translator. In 2004, after Tyberg was in Ukraine for two years, the couple moved back to Grantsburg.

Until recently, both Tybergs were employed at Espresso Cabin, a coffee shop in Grantsburg. Tanya, a legal immigrant, now tutors at Webster Schools and at Wood River Christian Academy. Tyberg will begin full-time campaigning after the new year. He has also released several CDs of Christian music in English, Russian, Ukrainian, and Spanish.

"First and foremost," he writes on his Web site, "I am a servant. Money has no hold on me, and I will do what I firmly believe is right, regardless of the consequences.

"I love my country and am ready and willing to fight at all levels to help return her to the greatness she once enjoyed.

"I believe firmly in our Constitution as it was written and intended by the framers, and I will do all in my power to return us, once again, to the rights and responsibilities that we have under that document."

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