Plough believes a national sales tax can lower the amount of taxes an average American pays and boost the economy. He said he also wants to see Social Security privatized “so people will be able to invest their money” and save more for retirement through those investments.

He said high gas prices have everyone concerned and he believes price controls may become necessary. He supports opening up more areas of the country to exploration and drilling to decrease dependency on foreign oil.

Plough said his Christian faith is important to him and espoused conservative positions on several social issues of the day.

“Abortion should be against the law,” he said. “It should be banned.”

Similarly, he is opposed to same-sex marriages as “an abomination,” and expressed concern for the maintenance of Americans’ right to bear arms.

Plough said he is opposed to any national health-care plan out of a concern that it would limit people’s choice of physicians. He thinks people should continue to obtain health insurance through employers and not the government. But he is worried about the high cost of health care and those who are uninsured, he said.

Parnell said he has supported Bush throughout his presidency despite disappointment with the president’s failure to use “his veto pen to allay the spending problem.” He supports federal commitment to a massive Tennessee Valley Authority-like program of domestic oil exploration and production.

“It would send a message to OPEC and the speculators, and it would drive the price of oil down to a lower level immediately, even if it took a few years for the production to work,” Parnell said.