Krayton Kerns DVM

For the past twenty-six years I have been a veterinarian here in Laurel, Montana. I own Beartooth Veterinary Service. My three children are graduates of the Laurel School System where my wife, Druann, is employed as the district technology coordinator. 

         Conservative Cow Doctor Stump Speeches (video links)

Freedom Gala, Billings Shrine, November 14, 2009 (Hosted by Yellowstone County Republican Women)

My Core Beliefs

*Taxes:  Without hesitation, I know you can better spend your money than either Helena or Washington.  Yes, there is a need to fund basic services, but let’s keep it basic! 

*Education:  Everyone should get a good education.  There will always be inequities in funding, and smarter people than me are working to address that issue.  The biggest obstacle to education is an inequity in the desire to get one! If you limit your horizons and rely on the government safety net for your well being you will be forever disappointed. 

*Healthcare:  Yes, healthcare is expensive.  I am a strong supporter of the Health Savings Accounts.  Just as I think you the taxpayer are most qualified to spend your money, I think you are ultimately responsible for your health.  If we are going to provide full-coverage cradle-to-grave health care for all citizens, either taxes will go through the roof or we will ration care.  I oppose both. Universal health care will be a fatal blow to the best health care system in the world. 

*Energy:  Our economy is dependent on readily available energy and conservation will not increase our supply.  We must explore and develop the energy reserves within our borders.  Montana has some of the largest coal reserves in the world yet current political leaders side with environmentalists to prohibit its development. As the single greatest revenue source to Montana’s General Fund is individual income tax, the fastest way to improve Montana’s balance sheet is to encourage all energy development and the high paying jobs they create.

*Renewable Energy:  Many companies, including foreign companies, are getting rich chasing the renewable energy market.  It is not the wind that turns the huge blades of the wind generators, it is CASH.  Huge amounts of taxpayer cash is being diverted to companies preying on the left’s demand for a ‘green economy’.  The wind, solar, and biomass industries all failed in the 1970’s because they could not survive in the free market.  Subsidizing the ‘green economy’ with taxpayer dollars is a criminal waste of resources.  

*Man-Caused Global Warming:  There is no data that proves the earth's current warming trend is influenced by human activity.  The hysteric cry that we must diminish the production of greenhouse gasses to cool the planet is the biggest hoax of the last thirty years.  (Before man-caused global warming, man-caused global cooling was the biggest hoax.)  Implementation of the federal Markey-Waxman Climate Change Act will cost Montana huge sums of carbon tax money and effectively lock our state in poverty.

*Jobs and Wages:  Just as Montana lags the nation during the boom phase of the economic cycle, we also lag during the bust phase.  Our unemployment rates are climbing but are still far below the national average.  If we pass ‘green’ laws to further limit our economic development we will become just as broke as the great state of California.  Jobs and wages only increase if we open the door to development.

*Minimum Wage:  The idea that government can regulate minimum wage as a way to lift people from poverty is a hoax.  Unfortunately, those living on minimum wage seldom realize that the purpose of government assistance programs are not to help them out of poverty; they are designed to keep them there.  I worked minimum wage jobs as a youngster but I viewed them as a beginning and not the end point of my career. 

*Gun Ownership:  Of all the amendments to the Constitution, the second is the clearest….”the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.”  Why this point is even debated is beyond reason. 

*Abortion:  I am a Christian.  I am Pro-Life. 

*States Rights:  Any reasonable interpretation of the Tenth Amendment reveals the federal government is reaching its long arm into areas reserved for the states or the people. For the federal government to mandate that we citizens must purchase health insurance or be fined is blatantly unconstitutional.  We Montanans must demand they stand down, or we will become the battered spouse of the federal government, dutifully following orders for fear of making them angry.  Far beyond just our right to hold the federal government to the Constitution, it is our obligation to do so.

*Family Values:  My wife and I have raised three children.  I believe we have instilled a strong Christian work ethic in each of them.  My oldest daughter has brought a son-in-law into my family, and from this union I have four wonderful grandchildren.  My middle daughter is also married and my son is soon to be.   My primary obligation is to my family.  They are the reason I get up and go to work, and they are the reason I am running for public office.  Fathers who walk away from their obligation as head of a household have led to the degradation of the American family.  No legislation will ever replace the value of a father devoted to his family.