So I read this piece from Tom White over at Virginia Right over the week, and I couldn’t help but think that it just didn’t sit right. So I took the time to do a “Five Questions” interview with former U.S. Navy commander Peter Greenwald at his home in Chesterfield. What I found was that Greenwald — far from the lunatic or fanatic some are feverishly trying to paint him as — is a remarkably profound and Christian man with the courage to wear his faith on his sleeve.
What was supposed to be a one-hour chat turned into a two-and-a-half hour conversation about faith and family, motivating principles, America’s national security and defense, and above all else Greenwald’s overwhelming concern for the federal debt and the national deficit. One thing struck me very quickly — Greenwald is a genuine candidate with very real motivating principles that are different than David Brat’s more libertarian-leaning concerns. Greenwald was a realist in every term, knowing that he had an uphill campaign against Majority Leader Eric Cantor with a small chance of success, but knew that any victory he had would be attributable — according to his faith and values — to God.
Walking away, I drew two lessons: (1) Brat is not going to push Greenwald out of the race, and (2) Greenwald and his army — flying column might be more like it — are going to wear out significant shoe leather making a go of this campaign. One also gets a very real sense of the differences of the Tea Party of 2009 that was fighting for a restoration of Founding Principles, and the Tea Party of 2014 that has made the decision to jettison the social conservative wing — parallels to the 2013 LG nomination contest where E.W. Jackson proved that those who believe ought not to be dismissed.
Greenwald proved to be a surprise in many, many ways. Truly a pleasure to get to know the man and what motivates people to put themselves up for public consideration (despite the odds). Hope to see more of Greenwald’s leadership in the future, regardless of the outcome in VA-07.
Q: Thanks for taking the time to talk to Bearing Drift. So why precisely are you running for Congress?
Because I love my country, simple. Want to be a good example for my cadets. Lived here in 2009 and became aware of the Tea Party here in Richmond. But there was a call that said “Hey, let’s all meet at Bass Pro Shop and go up and protest Obamacare!” So I did… and there were a lot of images that day on the National Mall. Out comes Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi with her big hammer, and that’s not what America is about. Left me with a bad feeling.
In 2010, despite what Boehner says, we were part of that group who helped create that majority in the US House. Cantor being my representative, I watched as he raised the debt ceiling. I know it’s hard being the Majority Leader, you’re going against Reid and Obama. I get that. There was the sequester too, and those were real cuts that affected me personally. But we’re Navy guys and you do with the resources you give us. But then I watched them raise the debt ceiling again. And then again.
The bottom line is that I have a family to take care of. I have a son at John Tyler, I have a daughter who is pregnant. Very excited. But we all have families to take care of. I don’t want to leave my children in debt — I want them to be debt free. But our government isn’t doing this. I don’t need to be an economist to under stand a kitchen table. You need to pay off your debt, be debt free, and from a Christian perspective, that frees me up to serve God and serve others. “The borrower is a servant to the lender.” I don’t need to be an economist to understand that I want a strong America versus as weak America.
That October day, I wanted to do something. No illusions that it wouldn’t be a David and Goliath. Cantor is the House Majority Leader with a lot of power. Had 40,000 votes to Floyd Banes’ 10,000 votes. I think his support is very broad but not very deep. I guess we’re going to find out.
The theme of my campaign is Restoration Now, and it has a lot to do with this right here — the U.S. Constitution.
There was an article my mother sent me today from 1980. “Pete, a staunch Reagan supporter, better yet fan, and pro-life activist.”
Q: Obviously the U.S. Navy is a big part of your life. How long did you serve?
Signed on in 1984, got interviewed for the nuclear submarine warfare, and in some aspects answering Reagan’s call to fight Soviet communism. We like to think that we are good, and that we were fighting the evil of communism. So I became part of Reagan’s call.
Q: Wasn’t it Secretary and now former Senator Webb that stood behind the 600-ship Navy?
Sure, Webb! Good memory! You know what he also brought back? The brown shoe Navy! But we’ve lost this aspect in America as well — failure is good. So I failed nuclear power school, but then I got to fly H-2s. And that’s a distinction for me.
So you could vote for your congressman, the economist, or a Naval officer. I think those are the choices. Flew as an aircraft commander, so I’ve had leadership experience. Had great tours. Met Anne, got married, flight deck officer on the USS Kearsarge, taught at the Naval Academy. Two of our children were born at the US Air Force Academy. Did two years with the Navy Operations Support Center reserve where I ended up as the commanding officer.
We used to have something in the Navy called “stump the chump” — no one is going to know everything. But I know that we’re in a deficit because we’re doing some very unconstitutional things. I’m for cut, cap, and balance — Cantor was given the public purse, but he has not done a good job of being a good steward of the public purse. When you accept leadership, you respect the responsibility that goes with it.
Q: You mention Cut, Cap, and Balance. That’s a pretty familiar line — would you say you are more aligned with the Republican Study Committee than with the rank-and-file?
I would align myself with a Trey Goudy or a Louie Gohmert. In the Senate, Mike Lee or Ted Cruz. If you look at the left, you’ll find that they align themselves more with Marxist line of thought. You don’t negotiate with a Marxist. There is not negotiation with trillions of dollars of debt. I understand that the dollar is growing weaker because we’re spending money we don’t have — and that hurts the poor because their purchasing power is less and less. We need to get that under control and find ways to create more disposable income. For our children, we’re handing them a debt they never voted for… that’s taxation without representation.
Q: Looking around, you have a lot of great books on the table here.
You know, I never really read all of these until recently. What I do know? The Communist Manifesto was printed in the 1800s. When those ideas came across the Atlantic, we were convinced that we should have an income tax — a Marxist idea. Maybe at some point we had an income tax to fight the Civil War, but that ended quickly. But how the income tax has really impacted us, when we sit down and do our taxes, we get all up in arms over the NSA. But when we do our taxes, we forfeit our 4A rights — the serf going to the master.
So I have to tell them I’m married — which is none of the government’s business. They ask about my children. My house. College education. Do I give to a charity? If so, which charities and how much? Washington warned us — government is a fearful servant and a terrible master. None of these things would exist if we didn’t have an income tax, because we wouldn’t need charitable sections of the tax code. Huge champion of a fair tax and a repeal of the 16A. Cantor could have moved the fair tax to the floor of the House and didn’t.
Q: So the fair tax and not the flat tax, then?
Fair tax — because I shouldn’t have to report to the federal government. It’s revenue neutral — that’s key — and it also eliminates corporate taxes and the income tax. Corporations estimate $400 billion in bureaucratic costs. Eliminate that, and they can put that right back into the economy. The government is out of control doing things that our Founding Fathers never intended.
Day one as a congressman? I could talk about liberty and the fair tax, but if I can’t stand up for the preborn, the defenseless? If I can’t stand up for them, then what can we stand for?
The first thing I would do is author a Personhood Amendment and sponsor it in the House. But you have to proudly proclaim life begins at conception. 57 million abortions since Roe v. Wade. Washington talked often about God blessing America — we used to sing that? — but how can we ask for God’s blessing if we’re not standing firm for the defenseless. I will co-sponsor legislation for the fair tax. And I will not vote for a debt ceiling hike. But the Baby Boomers are driving the debt. We’re not driving solutions for our problems. We can’t even provide for the common defense because we’re doing things that the Founders never intended.
I find it unjust that Cantor would consider any form of amnesty. Being a citizen of the United States should mean something. But if we’re giving equal standing in the law to a non-citizen, that is unjust. If we don’t have a nation of laws, we don’t have justice, and we don’t have a nation of laws if we don’t have a secure border. I see that as a defense issue. I know what happened on 9/11/2001 — I know there’s an ongoing war against Islamofascism, and we need to know who is coming here and why they are coming here. We’re 13 years overdue on securing the border. It’s not that we don’t have the ability, it’s that we don’t have the will to do it.
Q: It’s pretty clear that you’re profoundly Christian and live your faith. Tell me how your faith impacts your character?
We had an outreach down to Greenfield, and someone asked me, “Pete — how do we know you’re not going to get corrupted like everyone else who goes to DC?” We’re all sinners… but I think the answer is right here. The fellow is now dead, but to know Christ and to make him known.
God has put other people in my life, including The Navigators. Are you looking out for your family, but more importantly are you looking for God in your life. They got me into scripture, and it didn’t really challenge my faith at the time, but I left the Catholic Church and realized I needed to be together in faith based upon a key verse in 1 John — “he who has the Son is life, he who does not have the Son does not have life.” I know where I’m going — I know I’m going to Heaven because Christ died for me on the cross. I’m plugged into a good church. So my faith walk… I knew this: that when I started writing my stand on the issues, in 2008 when a senator by the name of Barack Obama, when someone said to spread the wealth around, people accepted that. When I approach an issue, I approach them from our Declaration Principles, and one of those includes that you should be able to keep the fruits of your labor. That’s a God-given right. Otherwise, that’s theft. The Bible tells us don’t steal; don’t covet. Marxism says otherwise. I want to appeal to our better nature rather than our base nature, much like Abraham Lincoln. I try to go back to God’s Word, which I see as truth, and try to apply that to the present day.
What I will do is sort of present myself as who I am, and let them decide. I want to publicly identify with Christ, and let people make their own choices. I respect — no it’s more than that — I love the Buddhist, I love the Muslim, I love all Americans because that’s what God calls me to do. Part of it is the call to Reagan, but a lot of it is the call to serve God and to serve others.
Mark Levin lays this out in Liberty and Tyranny — go back into the schools and start teaching about the Constitution and what a great country this was, and what it could be. When I go to Congress, we are not going to negotiate with the Marxist. We’re not going to follow the author of the Communist Manifesto — we’re going to stand with the authors of our Constitution.
Q: Talk about Afghanistan a bit. Was there any particular story that really stuck with you?
This started in Fort Riley, Kansas — home of the Big Red One. Tough for a Navy guy — open bay berthing with 40 guys? No privileges, it was very humbling. But I came across the Big Red One memorial, the chapel. And it said this: “No mission too difficult. No sacrifice to great. Duty First.” That encouraged and inspired me, because that was tough. Became part of an embedded training team, deployed south of Kabul. Now if you go over the mountain in Caost, that was a bit more lively. My favorite memory? My brother flies CH-47s for the National Guard, so I was able to catch a flight to Kabul and a fixed wing flight at Kandahar — got to celebrate my brother’s 50th birthday…
But sitting with the Afghan National Army, being able to sit with an Afghani officer, what do I have to each a brigadier general who has been at war his entire life. But one of the things that I felt good about was teaching respect for civil authority. Does the Muslim religion provide the basis you need to provide a representative democracy? I think our Founding Fathers would say no. Only the Christian religion provides the backbone for a democratic republic. But if you look at the Middle East, where would you find a democratic republic?
Q: There are no other democracies in the Middle East? What about Egypt, Turkey, Lebanon?
Well Lebanon is a strange case, because they have all three faiths there and that created a democracy for a time — but it’s not that way today. Yes, they had election in Egypt, but did the Muslim Brotherhood respect God-given rights? James Madison got it… we’re not angels, that’s why we need checks and balances. But with my Christian faith, if I have the Holy Spirit inside of me, then I can exercise both self restraint and self government. I don’t know if any other faith does that. I don’t think that happens… but the Muslim faith seems very external. I think maybe our Founding Fathers understood that, where that change in you compels you to respect others, respect the law. It’d make a great dissertation.
Q: Israel?
Let me go back to Afghanistan one moment. We lost one guy there. Those are the heroes, I just do what anyone else would do. The heroes are the guys who never came back, the guys who went beyond the wire, the Marines. Frank Toner, who went through Fort Riley with me, went to Mozar-al-Sharif. Those guys are the heroes, not Pete Greenwald. Great guy… great guy… I started a Bible study at Fort Riley and Frank was a Mormon. I don’t know where he was, but he would put Phil 4:13 on the back of his cleats.
I think Israel would qualify. The one, right? I think we need to stand behind Israel, but when we’re weak, it’s hard to stand behind our allies. When Iran threatens to become a nuclear power, we should take that seriously. We should stand strong with the nation of Israel.
Q: Speaking of weak stances, what about the Ukraine and Obama’s response to Putin?
It’s not surprising, but at the same time… we’re already spread pretty thin. We can’t be a response to Russia today. America is looking pretty weak. I think that… I need to go back and look at who is a member of NATO. A lot of those Soviet bloc countries became a part of NATO. If the government of Ukraine wanted help, could we put Americans on the ground there? I don’t know if that’s one of our options — we’re spread pretty thin.
Speaking to a naval officer who flies a P3. Those planes are 40 years old. Could we put some tripwires there? We would have to be invited in to do that.
Q: Do you think that the Obama administration’s response so far has been firm?
No. No. I can’t tell you if we have any treaty obligations… it’s Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Poland — we bring all our instruments of diplomatic power to bear. Any of these options would be brought to bear. But it’s hard to do that when the US military has been stretched so thin. I think a show of force in support of the Ukrainians — that’s what we need to do.
Q: So how would you strengthen our military? Would you argue for increased spending? And how does that reconcile with your belief in fiscal restraint?
Understand what really drives our military budget are personnel costs. I have TRICARE — it’s a great benefit. But those costs really drive the military budget. You have to really change that over time, something like a 401K. If you don’t address that, you’re not going to have enough money to replace aging aircraft and so forth.
We can’t afford to spend more right now. You have to address all those things together, and for a time you’re capping spending on the military while you’re addressing Medicare and Social Security. I’m not going to pass on this debt to future generations, and I understand that I may have to sacrifice some benefits so that we don’t pass on this future debt. If we can grow our economy, the fair tax would do that. But our own coal plants are closing due to regulations from the EPA — which once again are not found in the Constitution — but if you get rid of those regulations maybe we can breathe some life into the military. But when you’re $17 trillion in debt, you have to start making some tough calls. The military is going to be part of that for some time.
Q: So obviously Cantor is a pretty powerful opponent. What’s your path to victory?
If you go back to 2012, it will be a low-voter turnout. It was a presidential year, so there were 50,000 voters. Floyd Bayne — and I really like Floyd Bayne — got 10,000 votes. So we have those. So someone can win this election with 20,000 votes. So you have to reach out and give the voters a choice. I think you can easily get to victory. I don’t have millions of dollars. But the Tea Party has matured — it’s a matter of reaching out to them, speaking to the Goochland GOP, I’ve been to the Louisa GOP, was at the Spotsylvania GOP in January. It’s about standing on truth, proclaiming liberty, and I think that message will resonate with people. Cantor hasn’t provided the leadership we need. People say Cantor has millions of dollars, but look at all the mail — people are already saturated. So just make yourself known through social media, it’s a very powerful medium. We’ve also seen a growth in online broadcasting, which are also very powerful. You can run a very powerful campaign online. But I have no illusions that this is a David vs. Goliath race. God brings the victory… from a worldly perspective, there’s no way I can win — but God brings the victory. We’ll leverage social media, visit GOP units, and do the best we can. But I think this campaign will be won with 20,000+ votes.
When Eric Cantor already doesn’t hold town hall meetings, he’s already in a way withdrawn himself from his constituents. I think he’s already weak. In Culpeper, but apparently even elected Republicans weren’t invited to Cantor’s event — the only folks who were invited to Cantor’s event were those that gave him money. That reflects poorly on Eric Cantor.
But it’s not just about Cantor. I think Cantor should be held responsible. We haven’t even mentioned Obamacare. Cantor had a chance. Cruz and Lee were in the Senate yelling “stop this!” Cantor and Boehner had their chance… and they lost it. This is about restoring our constitutional republic. I don’t think Cantor knows this war we’re in. Since the 1960s, those who follow Karl Marx have gone into our schools, our culture, our media, Hollywood. Bork talks about this in Slouching Towards Gomorrah. They understand that if we capture the hearts and minds of the youth? They can slowly transform America. Mark Levin talks about this. Go back into the schools, talk about the principles of the Declaration and the Constitution. Government exists to secure our rights; we need to go back in and proclaim that truth. We’ve gotten to this point where we don’t respect our Constitution. In not about Cantor or Brat, it’s about defending our constitution. The path to victory, really? Is a long path… and we’re going to proclaim victory, champion the fair tax, and restore liberty for all Americans.
Q: But isn’t it more of a David vs. David vs. Goliath? How does Brat come into play?
Brat has got some support, and I’ve been pressured by him and others to bow out. But as an economist, he ought to understand that we want to grow the pie. I met this one guy at Best Buy from Jamaica — when he came here, he was told that he had to vote Democrat. But he became more convinced as I spoke with him that he ought to be voting his values. We really need to get away from Democrat vs. Republican.
“It’s when the people forget God is when the people forge their chains.” — Patrick Henry
Q: Would you say you are a Tea Party candidate?
You know, maybe I started out that way? But I guess I’m too socially conservative. But we shouldn’t be running away from our values; we should be running towards them. That’s Reagan, right? Bold colors. We’re for life, we’re for traditional family as God defined it, and we’re going to reach out to those who share those values. There’s a lot of folks who have forgotten that. God first, Democrats later. But start that dialogue.
Q: Softball question. Who’s your favorite Founding Father?
You know George Washington takes command of the Continental Army in 1775. He’ll see Mount Vernon once. George Washington at Valley Forge is where we need to be. As a servant leader, he would say that the Constitution is not an instrument for the government to control the people, but for the people to control the government. But he understood Divine Providence. As he and his army escapes New York, a fog rolls in… and he escapes to fight another day. Hard days at Valley Forge. Made it to Mount Vernon once, and just before Yorktown…
People have to understand — if you give your best, God will provide. George Washington understood that. No fleet, vastly out manned, and God gave him the victory. If I win? That’s a God thing… but I’m sure that makes me some sort of religious wacko for saying that. My faith hasn’t been put in a positive light by some, but that’s okay. If I stand publicly with Christ — and it’s bigger than Cantor or Brat — and 2 Chronicles talks about this, about turning back. During the Revolution, the pulpits were on fire with righteousness. Now?
I think what’s happening in part due to the establishment of non-profit status, who would have ever thought that churches would voluntarily register with the federal government. Why? If we turn away from God, we forge our own chains, just as Patrick Henry said. In turn, I believe in part, if we are unwilling to boldly stand for righteousness, and I’ve been to many churches, but I think it’s fear. Why would you not stand up against President Obama. Obama would vote no in the event of a failed abortion, you could not give medical assistance. How could you possibly vote for that? As a Christian? How come the churches wouldn’t up against that? It’s because they’re all registered with the federal government. Since we file with the federal government, now they know where I give charitably… why should the government have that information? Hence why I’m not in favor of the flat tax — I’m in favor of the fair tax. One day, I hope we can abolish the IRS and restore liberty in America.
