Sinagra: U.S. must finish important work in Iraq

Joe Sinagra

Joe Sinagra says that he's just an ordinary guy, and thus he understands the issues important to the ordinary guy.

"I believe I represent the average person. I'm not a born politician, I don't have a war chest of $2 million. I go to work, I pay my bills, I pay my mortgage, I have car payments just like most other families in New Jersey, and it's about time the working families had someone to represent them," said Sinagra.

The former Helmetta Borough Council president and candidate for Middlesex County clerk is campaigning as a Republican for the U.S. House of Representatives. He believes his experience in local politics has given him a great deal of perspective in understanding the average family. He is currently engaged in a grassroots campaign, taking his message door to door. The retired business owner said he has knocked on 1,200 doors and completely worn out one pair of shoes. Still, he has admitted concern about the disparity in finances between him and his opponent, Rush Holt.

"A lot of people I talk to agree with what I'm telling them, but however, come campaign time, money-wise, when it comes to advertisements and radio ads and the like, I may not be able to compete with that," said Sinagra.

As for how he plans to overcome this? "News media! I'm hoping that's a way I'm going to reach out and reach the people."

With regard to the war in Iraq, Sinagra, a former member of the U.S. Air Force, is a firm believer in staying the course. While he does not support the notion of a withdrawal, he also said that the current number of troops in Iraq is sufficient to accomplish what needs to be done. Regardless of the reasons for going to war, according to Sinagra, Americans cannot deny that there is important work to be done in Iraq for the security of the country. Still, he also said that the troops need to leave eventually, as their presence exacerbates the negative situation there.

"Regardless of the reasons why we're there, we can't take back what's done. We have to go forward now that we're there, we have to stay the course," said Sinagra. "I believe we should stay there, train the Iraqi government, have the government take control of its own country and train the Iraqi security forces and start preparing for a pullout. I wouldn't put a time frame on it, but at some point we have to face the facts that we need to pull out."

It is essential, to Sinagra, to get the backing of the United Nations on this operation, as only when the world is united against terrorism will true progress be made in fighting it.

"Terrorists don't care who they attack, they don't care about ethnic groups, they don't care if they die in the process, they don't care if they kill in the process. So unless we unite and say, OK, you're going to hit me, you're going to hit all of us, that might be the only force they understand."

On the home front, Sinagra said that the approach to the war on terror needs to focus on larger groups, rather than small fringe groups. He also said that Iran and North Korea need to be monitored closely in the meanwhile and dealt with if necessary. He explained how the federal government should deal with these two nations.

"I don't believe force is the way to do this, we should use force if necessary.

Diplomacy is always the best way to approach anything, and you know, every country, every leader, there's a different approach to it. There is no one rule you can apply for all. It's hard to say how you would handle the situation," said Sinagra.

Force should only, to Sinagra, be used in the case of countries breaking well-established rules imposed upon them.

"Part of the reason we attacked Iraq was Hussein with the arms inspections; he didn't want to let the arms inspectors in. Had he done that, I think a lot of that could have been avoided. ... We have rules set up, we have laws set up, so we can inspect arms, we can see which way a country's going," said Sinagra.

Still, as far as homeland security goes, while he attributes the abuses that took place in prisons such as Abu Ghraib to a few "bad apples," those who deal with suspected terrorists should not have carte blanche.

"I don't believe the citizens should be wiretapped. If it's used in the context that it's meant to be used, I think it's a good thing but again you have to have checks and balances. If there's no one monitoring it and it gets out of hand, who's going to stop them? We should probably create ... an advisory board," said Sinagra.

Sinagra also said that the U.S. should increase security at various chemical plants, as they're a critical gap in homeland security.

But the most important issue to Sinagra, nationally, is illegal immigration. According to Sinagra, the U.S. should close its borders entirely, for at least a little while, to both legal and illegal immigration. Also, he said, English should be made the country's official language. According to Sinagra, understanding the country means understanding English. A big difference, Sinagra said, between the immigrants of yesteryear and the immigrants of today is that immigrants before wanted to work and to assimilate into our society. Now, he said, immigrants don't want to become American.

"We have to stop people from coming here. I don't say we do a roundup, but when illegal immigrants break the law, it's time to send them back. I think until everything is balanced out, yes, [we need to close the borders to even legal immigration]," said Sinagra.

Sinagra hopes that his common sense and empathy with the people will convince them to vote for him.

"The reason I would ask you to vote for me is, I know the issues that are bothering you. I'm honest, I feel I have integrity, I'm on the side of the taxpayers. I have children who are looking for housing, they can't afford housing. I would like to make housing available for everyone, hospitalization available for everyone, and bring back common sense [to government]," said Sinagra. "If you don't like the way I do it, you can vote me out. But at least I have something to prove."

- Chris Gaetano