Michael Skok
Candidate for the Office of President of the United States
Party: Democrat
Website: www.michaelskok.com
Michael Skok is a 58 year old Democrat from Cheektowaga, NY. This minor candidate is an interesting one to say the least. He considers himself a good, God loving Christian and lets religion play a major role in his political views and aspirations. His main purpose for running contains numerous aspects but can be summarized as to warn the American people of the erosion of our Christian heritage and values, and how it is seriously affecting our ability to survive in the 21st century.
Skok considers himself to be a conservative Democrat due to his religious nature. Liberal aspects of the Democratic Party conflict with his fundamental Christian beliefs. As I researched and was able to speak with him, I found that his views on such topics as abortion, same-sex marriage, and evolution are directly compared to and referenced to the Bible for his justification for each topic. It seems that Mr. Skok has forgotten the all important aspect of our government, which is the separation of church and state.
Skok platforms himself behind a series of topics that he believes need to be addressed and dealt with. First off he wants to ban partial birth abortions. He believes, as the Bible says, that life begins at conceptions and opposes all abortions due to that. He quotes the Declaration of Independence as well saying that every person has certain unalienable rights, which include life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. He feels plainly that we are denying am embryo’s right to live.
Skok also feels the need to start manned missions to Mars. He wants to capture the hearts and imaginations of millions in creating a new world, of course he says with God’s blessing. Skok also believes that today’s tax structure is in shambles.
He wants to repeal the Sixteenth Amendment which would abolish all federal income taxes. Most Americans would enjoy no more income taxes. Skok also feels there is a need for the Nationalization of our railway system. He would like to model it after the Japanese, German, and French railway system.
Skok finally then touches upon a topic that most other candidates see as a serious problem in our country, which is alternative energy sources. It is a known fact that the United State is addicted to oil that is polluting our atmosphere. Skok feels we should use alcohol to run our automobiles. He feels that oil should be used to make plastics, nylons, and other things. Our dependence on OPEC oil is affecting our economy for the worse he says. He feels that the price of oil has too much of an affect of our economy and allows oil exporting nations to have leverage on us. His alternative for this is the use of ethanol fuel in our cars the same way Brazil does. He wants to use peanut oil in place of diesel in buses and trucks. This would allow us to grow our own energy source thus cutting off our dependency to oil exporting nations.
Skok takes a strong stance on free trade. He believes in free trade yet under three regulatory guidelines. First, the nations we trade with should have economies, minimum wage laws, and environmental protection laws equal to our own. Second, we should not conduct trade with nations who threaten our survival. Thirdly, we need to equal the amount of items we import with the amount of items we export.
It is evident that Skok holds true to his religious beliefs in all aspects of his campaign. He concludes that if the Bible does not support it, then he doesn’t support it. He proclaims that Jesus supports Capitalism and the use of religion in school, yet shuns abortion, homosexuality, and evolution. He believes that science is wrongfully being enforced in schools and causes us to forget about the Creationist theory offered by the Bible.
While I was home for Thanksgiving break, I sat down with a close family friend who works for Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Ma) as a political analyst. He had no idea who Michael Skok was so I filled him in on some of his stances. I asked my friend, Seamus, what he thought about minor candidates such as Skok and what they’re affect are on other candidates and potential voters. He offered that minor candidates such as Skok obviously have no chance in winning the election, yet it allows voters to hear opinionated stances on most of the same issues offered by major candidates. For Seamus personally, he pays no attention to any of the minor candidates due to his serious and realist political views. The views and stances of Skok only added to this due to how far-fetched and fundamental his views were. Seamus believes that it is important to be aware of minor candidates but don’t obsess over them. He feels the need for people to concentrate on the more important and major candidates that could actually become President.
Michael Skok is an interesting candidate to say the least. Yet his campaign will end up falling a bit short due to his lack of funds and his religious views. His hopes of a presidency are lost when he uses Christian values to justify his views on almost every major political issue. It is obvious that Skok does not believe in the separation of church and state that our country founded itself on. I must tip my hat to Skok for taking a bold stance on serious topics and for defying family and public dismay for entering his candidacy. It seems though that in the end, his main focus is not persuading the voters, instead to merely educate them