Russ Diamond

==Background==
* Founder of PA Clean Sweep in 2005.
* A professional musician, Diamond became a millionaire after opening a CD and DVD manufacturing and duplication service called Raintree. His first foray into politics was in 2004, when he ran for both the U.S. House and the State House of Representatives as a Libertarian. In 2005, he formed PACleanSweep, an organization dedicated to ousting incumbent state legislators, particularly those who supported a much-hated pay raise last year. In the spring primary of 2006, the group scored several major victories, unseating eight incumbent legislators, including the Senate Majority Leader and President Pro Temp. He is now running as an Independent candidate for Governor on a platform of abolishing the property tax, convening a Constitutional Convention, and reducing the size of state government.
: Reply from Russ Diamond, Well if I'm a millionaire, then somebody ought to tell my bank! My
mechanic, too - because that '95 Windstar "luxury ride" is sitting in front of his garage waiting on a new transmission. 50,000+ miles on PA roads since last July took their toll!
==Media==
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==Russ Diamond for Governor -- Issues Page from May, 2006==
===Restore Integrity and Accountability to Harrisburg===
This is Job One in Pennsylvania. Revelations from within government since the now-infamous Pay Raise of 2005 indicate a need to take a good hard look at the behavior of the people we elect to public office. This starts with the Governor, whose main duty is to "take care that the laws be faithfully executed," beginning with our most fundamental law - the Constitution.
===Facilitate a Constitutional Convention===
Our state Constitution is lacking in only one area: enforcement. As your Independent Governor, I will do everything in my power to enforce the Constitution.
However, there are some issues Pennsylvanians should discuss in an open forum, away from the three branches of government. The main goals of any Constitution Convention must be reinforcing and strengthening limitations on those who govern, improving the democratic process and preserving our republican form of government.
===Reduce the Size and Cost of State Government===
We must examine every government expenditure and program by asking four important questions:
:#. What are the ultimate goals of the expenditure or program? (Why are we doing it?)
:#. Are those goals consistent with the governmental powers enumerated and allowed by the PA Constitution? (Is it legal?)
:#. Is the intended outcome unavailable or impossible from private sources? (Is government the best provider?)
:#. Are we spending tax dollars in the most efficient manner to accomplish the stated goals? (What is the cost/benefit ratio?)
===Eliminate Property Taxes and Fairly Fund Public Education===
Property taxes are an outdated method of providing the financing for public schools. However, of all property tax "reform" packages proposed in Harrisburg, however, few - if any - take a serious look at the spending side. The two go hand in hand and cannot be dealt with separately.
===Plan for the Looming Pension Crisis===
The cost of public employee retirement benefits are expected to balloon from approximately $693 million this year to $4.2 billion in Fiscal Year 2012-13. We must take a sober look at this impending crisis and make the difficult decisions required to successfully address it without increasing the tax burden of Pennsylvanians.
===Repeal Act 71 (the slots bill)===
Regardless of anyone's support or opposition to expanded gaming in Pennsylvania, Act 71 - the slots bill - was passed in the same unconstitutional manner as the pay raise. Additionally, the related political contributions and influence have given the impression of a failure to insist on absolute integrity. We must repeal Act 71 and revisit the decision to bring up to 61,000 slot machines into our Commonwealth.
===Pursue Real Economic Development===
The results of past efforts at economic development have been disappointing at best. Pennsylvania's economic standing remains dismal despite the "investment" of billions of taxpayer dollars. True economic development can only come from a private sector that enjoys lower taxation and less regulation. The economic prospects of all Pennsylvanians can only improve by getting government out of the way of those who are actually capable of creating wealth, jobs and prosperity.
===Address the Health Care Crisis===
Pennsylvania has the second oldest population in the nation and our seniors - and all Pennsylvanians - deserve affordable access to health care services. All participants in the health care sector - doctors, patients, hospitals, insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies, suppliers and government - must come together to solve this problem. Addressing any single aspect is only a partial solution and all participants must be willing to make some concessions.
===Provide Complete Governmental Transparency===
There is no reason why all government documents and records cannot be made freely available in electronic form to all citizens, with the exception of those which would invade the privacy of individuals. Bills, resolutions, transcipts, journals, committee reports, every vote by members of the General Assembly, the actions of the Executive and Judicial branches, and all communications between the three branches must be freely and easily accessible. We have the technology, the resources and the expertise. We simply need to focus our attention on getting it done.
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Diamond
==Russ Diamond . Org==
Candidate platform reposted here as an example. This page is protected and not able to be changed. Put your comments into the discussion page. See the tab at the top. 
====1. Freedom and Responsibility for All====
Because we believe so firmly in our individual right to choose and to accept the accompanying responsibilities of those choices, we also accept and champion the equal rights
and responsibilities of all other individuals regardless of
our approval or disapproval of their personal choices.
====2. Government Finances====
=====i. Taxation=====
We oppose any taxation of the majority of individuals for
the benefit of a few, or any economic redistribution in
which the assets of any one group of individuals are shifted
to another through taxation or seizure.
We believe any taxation, if necessary, must be levied in a
fair and equitable manner for all individuals.
=====ii. Changes in Taxation=====
We believe any changes in rates or methods of taxation
should require two-thirds approval by voter referendum.
=====iii. Deficit Spending=====
We recognize government deficit spending and its
manipulation of monetary policy as the root causes of the
hidden tax of inflation. We support a moratorium on all
government budget deficits.
=====iv. Privatization=====
We support careful examination of all government services,
programs and policies with an eye on privatization.
We believe the incentive of profit and the competition of a
truly free market will naturally create efficient public
services in exchange for reasonable fees. The private sector
by its very nature is uniquely suited to reduce the costs of
providing and administering services in a way that no
government can.
We believe government's role should be limited to setting a
framework of standards and measures by which the private
sector can freely compete to provide public services.
=====v. Government Funding=====
We believe the operational costs of government should be
raised according to the user-fee model.
Taxation, only when deemed absolutely necessary and approved
by referendum, must be levied in a fair and equitable manner
for all individuals.
We oppose the imposition of federal oversight onto any state
or local issue under the guise of funding requirements.
=====vi. Government Employment=====
We believe employees or elected officials of a
representative government are not entitled to any special
privileges generally unavailable to private sector
employees.
We believe public employees do, however, bear additional
personal responsibilities in matters of public trust as an
inherent part of their willingness to accept government
employment.
We support government wage and benefit packages keyed to
fair market value as determined by evidence from similar
employment in the private sector.
We believe hiring, promotion and termination within
government must be conducted without prejudice to any
individuals or group of individuals and be based solely on
the merits of ability, experience and achievement.
=====vii. The Death Tax=====
We oppose any seizure or taxation of assets willed, or left
by default, to the heirs or assigns of any deceased
individual.
=====viii. Tax Collection=====
We oppose any law or regulation requiring individuals or
groups to serve as tax collectors for any government agency
without fair and equitable compensation.
=====ix. Loan Guarantees=====
We support a moratorium on all government loan guarantee
programs. We believe lenders and creditors must solely bear
the risks and consequences of their lending policies just as
they should expect to solely reap the fruits of those same
policies.
We believe government should have no role in the lending or
borrowing of money between individuals and/or other private
entities.
====3. Crime====
=====i. Definitions=====
Only actions that infringe upon the rights of other
individuals or their justly acquired property can be
properly termed crimes.
Actions that do not infringe upon the rights of other
individuals, commonly called "victimless crimes," cannot be
properly termed crimes and should be decriminalized.
=====ii. Violent Crime=====
Free from the burden of prosecuting victimless crimes, our
law enforcement agencies, criminal justice system and
correctional facilities can dedicate more resources to
separating violent offenders from society at large.
=====iii. Non-Violent Crime=====
No justice is derived from housing non-violent offenders at
the expense of hard-working citizens. We believe restitution
and community service, applied appropriately, can better
serve the twin goals of punishment and rehabilitation.
=====iv. Self-Defense=====
We support any individual's right to defend their lives,
families and justly acquired property against any direct
invasion or attack, including the use of reasonable force if
necessary.
=====v. Safeguards for the Accused=====
We believe all criminally accused persons must be accorded
full respect for their individual rights and
responsibilities until such time as they are proved guilty,
without exception.
=====vi. Plea Bargaining=====
We recognize the plea bargain can be a useful tool in
gathering information in order to pursue and prosecute more
dangerous criminals, however we do not support its use
solely as a means of obtaining a guilty plea.
=====vii. Trials and Juries=====
We oppose forced jury duty and support fair market value
compensation for those who choose to serve.
We support the selection of jurors from society as a whole
as opposed to a particular group of individuals such as
registered voters or property owners.
We support the freedom of juries to judge not only the facts
of a case, but also the justice of the law and its
application.
=====viii. Criminal Sentencing=====
We advocate truth-in-sentencing policies in which sentences
are fair, just and served in full.
We oppose incarceration without mandatory service directly
benefiting the offenders' victims and/or society as a whole.
=====ix. Capital Punishment=====
Just as no individual has an inherent right to take the life
of another, representative government, having no higher
moral authority than any person it governs, cannot assume
the right take the life of any individual.
=====x. Financial Burdens=====
We believe the financial burden of any case before a court
should be assigned fairly and equitably in accordance with
the findings of the jury and/or court.
We believe full financial responsibility for housing
prisoners must fall upon the imprisoned, secondary only to
their responsibility of restitution to their victims.
====4. Health Care====
We advocate the restoration of an open market health care
system free from the costly burden of governmental
interference and regulation.
We believe medical practitioners, in concert with patients,
offer the best resources for determining medical goals,
standards and ethics.
We support tort reform, in regards to non-economic damages,
in the interest of reducing the spiraling costs of medical
malpractice insurance.
====5. Families and Children====
We hold that family units and households are private
institutions, each collectively subject to the same inherent
rights and responsibilities accorded to individuals.
We believe parents or heads of households hold the sole
right of stewardship over the lives of minor individuals in
their charge. We hold this right inseparable from the
personal responsibility to protect those minors from abuse,
abandon or reckless neglect.
Further, we hold that guardians of minors have the inherent
responsibility, if unable or unwilling to raise their
charges, to arrange for proper care of such minors with
other individuals or entities willing and qualified to
assume guardianship.
While children are individuals with inherent rights, we
recognize society's right and responsibility to deny them
certain privileges of adulthood.
We support the right of any minor to demonstrate his or her
understanding and full acceptance of the rights and
responsibilities of adulthood, and to be emancipated from
any guardian's charge through due process, regardless of
age.
====6. Abortion====
We believe good faith arguments can be found on both sides
of the abortion issue, however without clear evidential
distinction regarding the status of a fertilized egg in its
various stages of growth as an individual, this issue will
continue to be determined by one's faith. As such, we
believe government has no inherent authority to legislate,
mandate or fund any program or law supporting one group's
belief system over another's.
We call to question the emphasis of public debate on the
morality of abortion as a political issue. We believe the
public's attention in this matter should not be on the
merits of any individual's right to terminate pregnancy,
rather it should be focused on the very personal rights and
long-term responsibilities inherent in the prerequisite
issue of unplanned or unwanted pregnancies.
====7. Education====
We believe tax-funded, mandated public education has
developed into an administrative and regulation driven
top-down system and continues to fall short in preparing our
children for adulthood.
We believe the right of stewardship for any child's
education belongs solely to the parent or guardian and is
inseparable from the right to choose how this education is
best achieved, be it from locally controlled public schools,
private institutions or home schooling.
We believe teachers in our current educational system should
be released from any state-mandated curriculum requirements,
free to teach in the manner they deem appropriate for their
students, and accountable only to local authority and
parents.
====8. Gun Control====
While gun control advocates may have good intentions, we
hold that responsible firearm ownership by law-abiding
citizens is a natural extension of the inherent right of
self-defense.
We also hold that a gun is merely an inanimate object, as is
a knife, a club or an automobile, and any individual in
possession of such objects solely bears the rights and
responsibilities of their proper use, maintenance and
storage.
We believe government prohibition, regulation or
registration of firearms, beyond the public's desire to keep
them out of the hands of criminally violent or mentally
unstable persons, suppresses the right of individuals to
defend their lives, families and justly acquired property
against invasion or attack.
We believe legislation regarding control of any inanimate
object must only relate to its criminal use against another
individual's rights or its safe use on public properties.
====9. Public Utilities and Government Sponsored Monopolies====
We find government regulation and control of public
utilities and services to be contrary to a free market
economy.
While we agree some property of public necessity, such as
highways, sewers or other infrastructure, is best held in
public trust, we believe any use, maintenance and
improvement of these holdings are better managed by
subjection to fair and equitable competition within the
private sector.
====10. Poverty, Welfare and Government Subsidies====
We view existing government assistance programs as excessive
and equivalent to economic redistribution by involuntary
seizure from hard working individuals. We believe all such
programs should be reformed in a manner that would provide a
"safety net" for the truly unfortunate, while encouraging
individual responsibility for one's own life.
We believe most individuals are genuinely compassionate and
caring regarding their fellow man, and if freed from the
excessive burden of government-imposed support for relief
programs, can better exercise their individual right to
choose how, or if, they offer any assistance to those less
fortunate.
We believe additional benefits to be gained from such a
private assistance system are:
i.) the weaning of underprivileged individuals from
paternalistic and demeaning government oversight;
ii.) the reduction of administrative costs of such aid, and;
iii.) a reinforcement of recipients' personal rights,
responsibilities and pride.
We oppose any government relief, subsidy or tax incentive
plan offered in the name of economic development or
otherwise intended as a means of artificially fostering
economic growth.
====11. Homeland Security====
We are acutely aware of the dangers posed to our lives,
families, justly acquired property and public holdings by
saboteurs, terrorists and other agents of hate, both foreign
and domestic. We cannot, however, support any legislation or
executive order abrogating the rights or responsibilities of
any accused individual prior to conviction.
====12. The Economy and Trade====
We believe one of our inherent individual rights is the
freedom to buy, sell or trade goods and services on the open
market, free from government interference or control.
We also believe the fruits of any individual's labor belong
exclusively to that individual to dispose of in any manner
he or she wishes.
We oppose any government manipulation of the economic realm,
apart from providing a framework in which voluntary and free
trade is encouraged and protected.
We recognize inflation, recession, depression and all other
forms of "boom and bust" cycles as direct results of
governmental manipulation of monetary policies and its
propensity for deficit spending.
We hold that the only sound economic policy is to allow the
free market, based on an established monetary standard with
intrinsic value, to ebb and flow at its natural pace.
===IV. Summary===
We believe the application of these principles, in a manner
that is fair and equitable to all individuals, can lead to a
simpler and more practical system of government, free from
the financial power struggles currently dominating the
political landscape.
While there may be difficulties in immediately instituting
any of these suggested reforms or goals in full, we call for
a governmental shift in their direction.
We hereby affirm that we do not support or advocate the
initiation of violence or fraud as a means of achieving
political or social change.
===V. Candidate's Request for Mandate===
It is with these and other like principles in mind that I
submit to you my offer of service as the 101st District's
voice in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. I will
abide by the principles herein and respectfully serve as
your Representative in the act of conducting the business of
the Commonwealth.
Russ Diamond
Libertarian Candidate
==Links==
===More Platform===
* Diamond gives reaction to recent statements from Lynn Swann as posted on the blog in May, 2006. Has many points and counterpoints.
===wiki===
* VIPs
Diamond