Cap Fendig
Candidate for the Office of President of the United States
Party: Republican
Website: www.capfendig.com
Email: electcap@bellsouth.net
Phone: 912-638-2078
As a little boy growing up in Glynn County, Georgia, Heidt Neal “Cap” Fendig Jr. did not aspire to be president of the United States.
After attending the University of Georgia, Fendig returned home to the sea. He spent his years operating boat marinas, charters and a land and sea tour transportation company.
“I had no idea I would be in politics,” he says.
But, when elected to the position of county commissioner for Glynn County, Fendig took on the task with dedication, working to restore community infrastructure and improve the criminal justice system, he says.
While working for the people of his county, Fendig also spent time with tourists who came to take his boat tours. It was this group of people who opened his eyes to the possibility of running for president.
“With a tour company, I would spend my days on a bus or boat with 40-400 people,” Fendig says. “They would tell me how they were not happy with any of the candidates or their platforms. I asked them what they wanted for America and they told me.”
The voice of the American people pushed Fendig into the 2008 presidential race. He knew he could offer the people what they saw lacking in the other candidates, he says.
“I was always taught that if there was conflict within the national family, don’t stand on the sidelines,” Fendig says. “I was taught to be an innovator and change-maker.”
President for the people
When Kathy Fendig first heard of her husband’s decision, she could not help but be surprised, especially because it had not even been on his radar, she says.
“My knee-jerk reaction was ‘You can’t do that’,” she says. “But, I am now 100 percent supportive. He is a really good leader, whether it’s at home, in business or in the community.”
To finance his bid for the presidency, Fendig sold his boating business and took to the road, he says. His main campaign stops have been to Iowa, where the Fendigs have stopped in over 55 towns and cities, Kathy says.
“The biggest thing I’ve seen is that when everyday people are talking to Cap, there’s a real connection,” she says. “He is in agreement with what he hears from the people and is right there with them.”
Fendig’s goal in Iowa is to spread his message as far as possible and he compares his work to that of a farmer, he says.
“I go in and sow the seeds and then hope by January 3, we’ll have a crop,” Fendig says. “If we come in with 3-5 percent of the vote that would send the message that Americans want someone fresh, new.”
Fendig recognizes he is a fringe candidate, but believes the main reason behind his decision to run is an important one.
“The most significant thing about me is that I am coming up from the people,” he says. “I have no political obligations. I am the only candidate calling for an end to career politics. I will go to Washington, make my changes and then go home.”
The motives behind Fendig’s campaign are one of the rationales that made Kathy realize his run for the presidency was worth it, she says.
“People seem to have forgotten the way the system was set up,” Kathy says. “You don’t see everyday people participating in the electoral process, but you should.”
Changing taxes to change America
Taking a stance to combat the loss of morals in America, Fendig is pro-life, for securing our borders against illegal immigrants and a faith-based government, he says.
“I’m for ethics and values legislation,” Fendig says. “It is not just a religious belief; it is a truth of what makes society healthy. Ethics and morals are disappearing from society.”
Citing a quote from George Washington, “Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports”, Fendig says he believes our government has prospered thus far because of it’s ties to faith.
Along with his ideas on reforming America’s moral life, Fendig’s major platform involves overhauling the tax system.
“Tax reform is the only thing that can save America,” he says. “My main focus is fiscal policy. Their will be a loss of benefits for all Americans unless there is major reform.”
The reform that Fendig supports is what he calls a fair tax. This system involves replacing all federal income and payroll taxes with a progressive national retail sales tax, with an exemption or prebates to any American spending up to the poverty level, Fendig says.
“A fair tax system would spread the tax burden across the nation’s work force,” he says. “It would do away with the 16th amendment and the IRS [Internal Revenue Service].”
St. Michael’s Professor of Economics Reza Ramazani says a tax is only fair if the American people are paying the same percent to the government. To make a system like Fendig’s work, many questions need to be answered, Ramazani says.
“You need a well-defined plan,” he says. “What is income? What is fair? You need to determine the cost of government expenditures.”
Because the IRS acts as a watchdog for the tax system, if the system was simplified, it might be possible to decrease the size of the institution or do away with it, but only after a plan has been thoroughly defined, Ramazani says.
Another aspect of Fendig’s tax plan is having tourists from other countries share the tax burden of American citizens by being taxed when they spend money here, he says.
According to Ramazani, this method is not reliable.
“Right now, foreigners are nervous about the U.S. economy,” he says. “Because our economy is not stable, they are being careful. They are not going to bail us out.”
National Attention
Though bursting with ideas to improve America, Fendig has been hard-pressed to find a national audience, he says. He is participating in the New Hampshire primary because that was one of the only states which allowed him to register.
“I’m running anywhere I can get on the ballot,” Fendig says. “But, there is no uniform filing system. Even running with a specific party may not get you access. I was even denied in my home state.”
Being kept off the ballots has kept Fendig off of America’s radar. His further exclusion from national media coverage has only made it harder to spread his message, he says.
“The national media is not being fair and balanced when they block access to certain voices,” Fendig says. “Political voters are not getting a chance to hear from all the candidates. The media has totally denied me the chance to speak.”
Because of media discrimination, Kathy says the Fendig campaign has had to make an extra effort.
“I hope soon we will be given the opportunity within the media to have an equal chance at participating in the process,” she says.
Even without media attention, Fendig continues running a vigorous campaign because he genuinely feels our country needs change, he says.
“I am not a nut,” Fendig says. “I am a bonafide American citizen concerned for this country.”