Recently, at the interactive event hosted by IvyMax in Irvine featuring students and Scott Baugh, candidate for the 47th Congressional District, students raised some interesting political hot topics.
Scott Baugh first encouraged students to be confident and not to say they are not good speakers. He said, “Great speakers can share their inner thoughts and experiences.” “The good deeds you do for the community reflect the founding fathers’ commitment to the American Dream,” he said. “When discussing life, liberty, and happiness, one should pursue a moral life, strive to serve and dedicate oneself to others.”
Baugh pointed out that the requirements in the Constitution are simple, requiring a natural-born U.S. citizen over the age of 35, without specifying whether someone has been convicted of a felony or may be convicted. Former President Trump has been convicted by a jury, but that is not the final decision, and he has the right to appeal.
According to the website www.history.com, the founding fathers set three qualifications for the U.S. President (age, citizenship, and residency), requiring the candidate to be at least 35 years old, a natural-born citizen, and to have lived in the United States for at least 14 years to be eligible to serve as U.S. President.
The founding fathers established three minimum ages for serving in politics: 35 for the President and Vice President, 30 for Senators, and 25 for Representatives. Among these federal offices, the President is the only one required to have a residency requirement. According to Joseph Story, who served as a U.S. Supreme Court Justice from 1812 to 1845, the 14-year residency requirement ensures that “the people have had full opportunity of knowing his (the candidate’s) character and abilities; they must have seen him in the public and private situations in which he is placed.”
Baugh believes that having third-party candidates is a good thing because “when neither the Republican nor the Democratic Party cares about the people, fails to genuinely meet the needs of the people, or does not serve the people, third-party candidates emerge.”
Henry Ross Perot, an American business magnate, politician, and philanthropist, ran as an independent candidate in the 1992 presidential election and received nearly 20% of the vote. Baugh mentioned that this year, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as an independent candidate will participate in the November presidential election with an estimated support rate of around 16.8%, “although not enough to win, I think his participation is a good thing.”
Baugh believes that Congress’s involvement in education should be limited because laws that apply to one state may not necessarily apply to another, and it should not be one size fits all.
Mary Barke, a member of the Orange County Board of Education, also attended the event and stated, “Education should be decided locally, as elected officials are more familiar with the needs of their communities, just as people in Irvine understand Irvine better.” Barke mentioned their recent testimony in Congress before the House Committee on Education and Labor regarding the impact of illegal immigrants on K-12 education.
“Many children come in without birth certificates, crossing the border, and we don’t know their ages,” Barke said. The children come from different countries, speak different languages, and you have to use multiple languages in one classroom, “which burdens the local education system, causes pain for all children, and resources that should be provided to our children have to be divided.” She said, “We all agree that the President or Congress should manage the border well.”
Baugh believes that Congress should fulfill its duty to protect citizens but not be involved in the management of local affairs. He supports returning education funding to parents, giving parents a voucher or using another form for them to choose the school their child likes.
Regarding recent protest movements on college campuses, Baugh believes, “Freedom of speech is the true strength of America, and we should never suppress freedom of speech.” However, illegal actions should not be taken, as that would lead to punishment. He said, “Rule of law is also the reason why America is strong.”
Baugh mentioned that the House of Representatives has 435 seats, with each Representative representing about 750,000 people; the Senate has 100 seats, with 2 from each state; and then there is the President, so it’s not one person but 536 people involved in decision-making.
Baugh founded a private high school that has passed all certifications, and 70 students graduate this week. “We teach Aristotle’s way of living as a wise person: you need to accept ideas from different sources, test them against what you know, seek dialogue and understanding.” He gave an example, “Usually, answer C is better than just choosing A or B; this is the way a wise person deals with others.”
Baugh concluded by saying that such an approach is necessary not only within party factions but also between parties to attract and earn respect from each other, to open up and build alliances; this way of living also applies to life.