Greg Rabidoux released his SMART Plan in August 2010. Click on the cover to download the plan. The version that you will download is for viewing purposed only.





Greg’s Five Policy Priority Areas

I. Genuine and Lasting Healthcare Reform
II. Economic Recovery and Job Creation
III. Responsible and Visionary Environmental and Energy Policy
IV. Creating a Culture of Educational Excellence
V. Strong and Smart National Security/Military Policy

As your Congressman, I would be more than just someone who simply takes various isolated positions on different public policy issues. As an educator who has studied, researched, taught and been involved in public policy for over 20 years, I know that many of our current issues and challenges are interconnected, not dry, isolated “talking points.”

For example, kick-starting our economy and creating jobs is connected to achieving genuine healthcare reform – More healthy, vibrant Americans and Tennesseans means in part, less wages that must go towards financing a broken healthcare system, less workplace absenteeism and fewer people feeling they can’t make career changes due to worries they will lose healthcare coverage or won’t be able to afford any coverage if they try and improve their working situation. More affordable and accessible healthcare to small businesses for example leads to more profitable small businesses, more ability to hire and retain quality employees and more money that is spent on innovation, which helps fuel American capitalism and helps unleash entrepreneurship and bold, visionary risk-taking. With over 45 million American citizens with no insurance coverage, including over 900,000 Tennesseans, and many more underinsured across our nation, this issue has become an epidemic that needs to be cured once and for all.

Reforming healthcare by reducing waste, inefficiency and fraud, in part through the application and use of healthcare information technology and E-Filing and record keeping also helps foster innovation in our information technology and delivery industry as well as in job creation. In addition to ensuring the physical health of our nation ignoring this challenge or simply engaging in token “window-dressing” change will continue to ensure our broken healthcare system acts as a drag on the economic health of our nation as well. Genuine reform means creating real competition between healthcare providers and insurance companies and not allowing monopolistic concentration and exploitation by a few favored healthcare giants. It means bringing down skyrocketing healthcare costs and the price of prescription drugs.

As your Congressman, I would not see my mission as simply ensuring that the rich get richer when it comes to perpetuating a system that is heavily tilted in favor of insurance providers as opposed to where it needs to be tilted – towards providing accessible, affordable and quality healthcare for ordinary Americans like you and I. I believe the time is now to make sure we achieve healthcare coverage for all, improve cost-containment measures and management, streamline and simplify our healthcare administration. I also am a strong advocate for helping Americans be more empowered when it comes to being stewards of their own health through the application of information technology and helping to keep costs of healthcare down by being better informed, educated, trained and supported in smart, safe and healthy preventive care.

At the very least I want to be sure we engage in a national debate about healthcare reform that is not poisoned by deliberate distortions, misinformation and fear by those who seem more concerned about pleasing healthcare lobbyists than the health of their fellow Americans and constituents. On a related note, we must protect and preserve Medicare and Medicaid and ensure that our seniors have increased access to affordable prescription drugs and quality care.

My main policy priority is to ensure that America regains its position as a global economic leader and that its ability to create quality, sustainable jobs while fueling long-term growth is restored. We are paying the price for years of reckless and unsustainable deficit spending while shortsighted and irresponsible fiscal and tax policy has directed a disproportionate amount to a few super-wealthy while the share of our nation’s economic wealth to the middle class is lower now than it has been in the last 50 years. Americans and Tennesseans are working longer hours, enjoying less discretionary spending options, changing jobs more often than ever in a volatile economy, seeing their family time shrunk as more households than ever must rely on two full-time wage-earners to simply stay afloat and enjoying less job security than at nearly any other time in our nation’s history.

A war that was initially sold to the American public as one to root out weapons of mass destruction and one that would likely incur “shock and awe” and would be over in anywhere between 100 to 300 days has now moved into its seventh year with a staggering accompanying price tag of now nearly $1 trillion US dollars. While I certainly believe that democracy can and should take root around the world I also want to be sure that when the discussion comes around to our efforts as a nation to build needed infrastructure, schools, and other necessary community facilities to promote prosperity internationally, states like my State of Tennessee and my District 7 also get their fair share. I supported what many economists saw was a necessary stimulus to our national economy to help jump-start it. However, our long-term growth as a nation and sustainable prosperity must not be built on continuous deficit spending but upon a rock-solid foundation. This means we must again do the types of things that made our nation an economic giant and a revered engine of capitalism around the globe.

We must create an economic environment, which unleashes more entrepreneurial spirit, rewards innovation and the production of high value-added goods and services. Re-tooling our economy so as to better position it as a leader in the emerging area of clean, highly efficient technologies and renewable, alternative fuels is imperative. Developing smart and visionary policy, which uses government to better support and not constrain innovations, inventions and break-through in the area of science and technology is vital. The application of such scientific innovation is broad and its impact can be seen across the board, from aerospace engineering to retrofitting buildings and homes with new, environmentally friendly and more efficient technologies. Applying nanotechnology in the biofuel process to save money and better protect the environment is but one other example of such innovative application in this broad arena. Innovation of course does not just occur. We did not conquer space travel and become the first to put a man on the moon by luck or happenstance. It first took a vision and then resources and commitment and lots of persistence to make it happen. We must make sure our workforce is equipped with a world-class education and marketable skills to compete and thrive in a global economy. We must also not be fearful or timid when it comes to engaging our best and brightest in the most crucial debates of our time, including the peril of climate change and what can be done in a smart and responsible way to ensure our planet remains inhabitable for as long as anyone can envision. The consequences of inaction or passivity may be catastrophic. Here in Tennessee alone, our 787,000 acres of wetlands are extremely vulnerable to higher temperatures and increases in atmospheric C02. A 20% loss in our current wetland acreage could cost our state billions of dollars. As Americans we continue to rightly believe in our own rugged individualism. Our nation continues to be one of the best places to quickly and fairly inexpensively start and build a small business. It costs less than 1.5% of the average per capita income to start a business in the US as compared to 5.1% in Germany and 7.5% in Japan (For more in depth information go here). In fact, where I live, Clarksville, Tennessee, is one of the best places to start a business in our nation.

But, we need to help fuel and sustain this sector of our economy with better training, research and development and incentives for innovation to ensure we stay competitive in the global marketplace. We must better support the American entrepreneur, the Tennessean entrepreneur, so they can take the risk to generate jobs and wealth based on innovation.

We also need to do a better job as a nation in not just recognizing that we live in a global economy but to take aggressive and bold steps to make this fact work for Americans more than it has in the past. Trade agreements must make sure that America and its workers come first not as an afterthought. We need to do a better job of demanding that decent wages and working conditions become the norm around the globe. American workers should not suffer because so many other nations do not pay a fair and living wage and ensure proper working conditions and exploit their workers. This is a human right and worker dignity issue as well as a core business issue that must be addressed. We also need to make buying American goods and services a priority domestically and from our trading partners by doing a better job of identifying emerging global needs and demand and then meeting them through smart, ethical and timely management and manufacturing. I appreciate the potential for reciprocal protectionism from our foreign trading partners but that does not mean we are all on a level playing and trading field at this moment as we seek to go forward. Positioning ourselves well as a nation for the future also means recognizing the challenges in our path. Climate change is real and it must be addressed. Thankfully, if we act swiftly and smartly it is also an opportunity. Harnessing this opportunity, which Green Energy represents is more than just trying to be trendy or making some token effort to be “Green.” No, taking the time to move beyond any “knee-jerk” reactions means realizing that moving towards a greener America, a greener Tennessee, means not only being a better shepherd of our natural resources on our planet it means creating sustainable, quality jobs, maximizing an entirely new industry and applying its emerging technology in a smart, fiscally responsible yet aggressive manner.

Harnessing Green Energy means not just waiting and watching while other states take the lead in producing innovations that lead to energy and fuel efficiency and most importantly energy independence. It means leading the way and building upon the progress made in states like my home of Tennessee, to ensure that we, who have been so blessed with such an abundance of natural resources are an innovator, a pioneer in this policy area and not a bystander. One such success story is that of the recent re-location to Clarksville, Tennessee by The Hemlock Semiconductor Corporation. Working closely with Austin Peay State University and local government officials, this company plans to establish a polycrystalline silicon (one of the primary components used in the manufacturing of solar panels) manufacturing plant that is projected to create about 500 to 900 jobs within 5 to 7 years. This makes good business and green energy sense. Did you know that Tennessee’s energy efficiency programs now save enough electricity to power almost 4,000 homes for a whole year, save more than $4.7 million dollars in energy costs and prevent gas house emissions that are the equivalent to taking over 7,500 cars and their emissions off the road?

But this must be only the beginning of progress in this area, in Tennessee and across our great nation.

More Green Energy means more jobs, more opportunities, less wasted fuel, more independence. This also impacts our foreign policy and international relations – Think about it, what would a foreign policy that is not even partly driven by the need to seek out, purchase and protect fossil fuel reserves mean as far as our own national security and GDP right here in America, in Tennessee? We need to be open to learning from communities across our nation and the globe that are making green energy work in smart and sensible ways and applying their examples where we live, like Portland, Oregon, recently voted the “greenest US city.”

As someone who has been in higher education as a student and teacher now for over 20 years I know very well the value of a quality education. I am also very aware of the investment of time and money it takes to earn a college education and degree. Like many of my students I teach at Austin Peay State University I juggled family, working full-time and attending school full-time. When you sacrifice so much to pursue your education, in time and money, you really want to be sure that diploma, that “piece of paper” at the end of the “paper chase” will help you realize your goals and dreams.

Unfortunately, we have far too many Americans graduating today with sub-par skills and less than ideal workplace readiness. Here in Tennessee, we rank far too low on far too many measurements of academic performance.

Whether it is in graduation rates, skill testing, or even basic literacy and mathematical computation, we need to do a better job of equipping our children for success from day one all the way through higher education.

How do we attain these goals? It begins with a genuine commitment to creating and fostering a culture of educational excellence. We must make it clear that we simply won’t accept or embrace mediocrity, whether it comes from those teaching, those administering or those learning. We need to inspire, train and equip good teachers and then support them in every way possible so that they may pursue their passion and develop into great teachers. We need to keep what is best from the No Child Left Behind Act, which seems to be certainly more of an emphasis on measurability, outcome based teaching and accountability while reformatting the rest. We should not be solely focused upon creating a generation of teachers and students who are teaching and learning solely to pass a uniform test but we need also to ensure we are developing students who are well equipped with many skills to compete and thrive in today’s global workforce. In short, we need to be sure we are letting good teachers teach and not unintentionally turning them into paper-pushers or technocrats. There must be a restoration of a balance in our educational system that appears to be in an imbalance currently. However, we should never lose sight that the focus within our educational system at all levels must be upon the student and his or her needs, a true student-centered educational system is one that is successful only when its students are allowed to reach their potential.

As your Congressman, I would make helping Tennessee become a leader in educational preparedness one of my top priorities. I also believe we should do everything we can to enhance access and affordability to quality education for all our students. As such, I believe that the recent US House passage of H.R. 3221 – The Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2009 is generally a positive step in the right direction. While my opponent voted against this initiative, this legislation smartly picked up many of the President’s goals under the American Graduation Initiative or AGI that make good sense for our students here in Tennessee. These included reforming student lending, simplifying tuition aid and loan application forms, increasing the amount for granting under the Pell program, and provided for incentives and competitive grants to institutes of higher learning, states, non-profits and philanthropic organizations which foster knowledge about and increase the overall number of students who obtain postsecondary degrees or certificates. This legislation also provides more funding for Cooperative Education programs that enable students to do alternating or parallel periods of study and employment. It also provides grant repayment waivers and loan forgiveness to students for grant or loan periods for which they do not earn credit due to active duty in serving our nation in the Armed Forces. I support such provisions. (Click here to read the full bill).

Retaining students in school and doing everything possible to ensure they graduate though should not be the end of the story but only the beginning. By applying the research triangle model so often used in higher education which focuses the resources and contributions of academia, the private sector and government towards applied knowledge, I believe we can do more at an early stage to ensure our students not only graduate but graduate with good paying jobs. The high price of education means we should make sure students and their parents and sponsors are getting their money’s worth with highly skilled, marketable and work-ready graduates.

As your Congressman, I would also work with lawmakers, administrators and bureaucrats at all levels in the education field to help make sure there is consensus on what a student-centered system means. In part, it means doing what is best for our Tennessee students and not allowing what is best for bureaucrats to be the driving force in our decision-making. We must all be open to re-examining how we conduct the business of educating our students and be open to revamping and streamlining the system and be ready to learn from other states if it means improving our national ranking as a state.

In short, Education is and must continue to be the bridge to opportunity for all Americans, all Tennesseans now and to the future. As your Congressman, I will do everything I can to make sure this bridge is strong and secure. Now and for years to come.

Our foreign and military policy must be driven by a clear and coherent vision backed by a smart and sound strategy to advance American goals and objectives around the world. During the cold war it was clear that much of foreign policy as well as our military readiness was being driven by the overarching goal to contain and then counter the then Soviet Union’s aggression and quest for military and economic supremacy. Whether it is Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran or North Korea, we must be sure we have a clear and coherent policy. This means we must know what our goals of entry are and how we will achieve them and what and when our exit strategy will be as well. We simply cannot or should not be the world’s policeman but must manage our resources and our military men and women wisely.

Engaging in and building strategic bi-lateral and multi-lateral coalitions which support our goals such as adopting a regional approach and aligning China and Japan on our side to help contain the imperialism and nuclear goals of North Korea is but one such example. Fighting the spread of nuclear weaponry proliferation and keeping such power out of the hands of rogue nations and those who would seek to harm us and our way of life is imperative. Here it would be wise to heed the words of former President Reagan who cautioned us to “trust but verify” when dealing with other nations and leaders.

Our military policy must, of course, support and compliment our counter-terrorism goals by taking the offensive to our enemies where and when appropriate and strategically advisable. However, the war on terror will not be won solely on the battlefield or through traditional warfare. Using sophisticated technology, global information networks and better training and equipping Americans and our allies to identify and infiltrate and then neutralize or eradicate terrorist cells and “virtual camps” is also vital. Again, engaging other nations and employing their assets, intel and personnel is also crucial in ensuring we do not drain all our resources in this on-going fight against terrorism.

We also must do a better job at coordinating federal, state and local efforts to bolster our security at many of our entry-points, which continue to be far too vulnerable to a concerted enemy attack or targeted breach. We must never forget the lessons of the cowardly September 11th terrorist attacks but we must do more – We must apply these lessons and not let our guard down, here or abroad. Part of our military policy must be to ensure our combat soldiers have the best and most optimal equipment, resources, training and support so they can do the job and missions they are given. This also extends to the families of our military personnel, they need to be provided with the benefits, support and counseling to ensure that they are able to endure the sacrifices and challenges of being a family member or spouse of an active duty soldier. To learn more, go here and/or here.

As for those who served our nation, well, part of making good on our promises to our Veterans, our heroes who heeded the call to serve their nation in our times of need, is not to forget about them now or discard them now that they are no longer on active duty. In part, this means ensuring they receive the best care possible through the VA hospitals and out-patient care and better support services and counseling so our Veterans know exactly which benefits they are eligible and how to take advantage of these benefits. It also means we need to do more for our newly returning veterans, including post-traumatic stress counseling and re-emersion support services. I am a strong advocate for better overall mental health care for our veterans and would seek to raise awareness of the challenges our wounded veterans face and endure post-combat. If you honor me by electing me as your representative in Congress, I would support and work closely with the Department of Defense in support of and to bolster the resources of the Wounded Warrior Program to take better care of our wounded and disabled veterans.

Good Government = Smart, Effective and Efficient Government. At all levels, Federal, State and Local. For over two years I researched, studied and interviewed public managers and elected officials at all levels of our government in preparing my doctoral dissertation. I wanted to get a better idea of what worked and what didn’t work in public management. I profiled the many success stories across our nation when government, academia and the private sector collaborated in a smart way to better serve its constituents. Well, after over 1,500 case studies numerous interviews and about 350 pages later, one of the things I found was that we are fortunate to have many good, qualified and dedicated Americans at all levels of government. I believe that government is what we decide it can and must be. Looking to our government to solve all our problems or thinking that it is always the answer is of course naïve and can be counter-productive. However, simply painting it as the enemy is ill informed and dangerous. Applied effectively, government and its resources, fiscal and human, can and must be a positive tool to work closely with the private sector, our non-profits and our citizens for positive change.

My 5 Policy Priority Areas Summary;

1. Working hard and smart to get America’s economy moving again with innovation and sustainable growth.
2. Creating quality jobs while caring for the health of all Americans
3. Harnessing the power of Green energy and alternative fuels in a fiscally smart and sensible manner so as to build a future of fuel independence.
4. Creating a Culture of Educational Excellence
5. Crafting and executing a clear and coherent military and foreign policy that advances American goals and national security while countering terrorism.

While these are my Five Policy Priority Areas, “hot” topics and issues come up every day. Whether it is reading about my support for preserving and protecting Medicare and Medicaid, regulating nursing homes or equipping our military with what they need to do their job, you can see my thinking on these and other such issues by checking out my blog. Also, don’t hesitate to e-mail me or contact the campaign and ask questions and/or share your thoughts. No one candidate or party has the monopoly on wisdom. We all make better decisions when we hear from those we seek to serve.

Go ahead, be brave and take Greg’s Policy Priority Quiz;

1. How many Policy Priority Areas do I identify as being crucial to our nation?
2. About how many homes could be powered in Tennessee each year from its energy efficiency savings?
3. Who is famously said “trust but verify?”
4. How many case studies did I review in preparing my dissertation on smart, efficient government?
5. How many Tennesseans currently do not have any healthcare insurance?
6. What city in Tennessee was recently voted as one of the top places in the US to start a business?
7. What US city was recently voted the “greenest city?”
8. Who can we not unintentionally turn into “paper pushers?”
9. How many years have I been working in, studying, teaching, writing about and researching public policy?
10. When did Neil Armstrong become the first man to walk on the moon?

Bonus Question: Who will win this year’s Super Bowl?
Answers: 1) 5 2) 4,500 3) President Ronald Reagan 4) 1500 5) Over 900,000 6) Clarksville, TN 7) Portland, Oregon 8) Our teachers 9) About 20 10) July 20, 1969
Bonus: Sadly, not the Tennessee Titans! My pick: The New Orleans Saints!

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