Mark Clayton, 31, a marketing and insurance broker in Joelton in Middle Tennessee near Nashville, is a candidate for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate seat now held by U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn.

Clayton served in the Army Reserve.

He provided the following responses to a Greeneville Sun questionnaire.

Q. Why are you running for Congress? When did you first think about a run?

"I am running for office because Tennessee and America deserve better than Lamar Alexander.

"Friends and family encouraged me to run, and I decided to run late last year rather than become cynical, because there are many fine people in America who love their country who are tired of being poorly represented.

"I understand real Tennessee and real America, and can competently represent Tennesseans on a national level."

Q. What in your background would you most like voters to consider when making their choice in this election?

"I lobbied on Capitol Hill on anti-terrorism issues with Gen. Ben Partin, several years before the 9/11 attacks, and from 1994 have advocated that America either kill or capture Osama bin Laden.

"I lobbied on Capitol Hill in defense of the Boy Scouts. The Boy Scouts openly stated that they would stay out of politics, so I dedicated myself to lobbying Capitol Hill to protect the Boy Scouts from predatory, radical homosexual lobbying groups.

"I also worked in the Americans for Trade Defense project with William J. Gill in Washington, D.C., to protect America's agricultural communities, our jobs and industry, as well as our borders.

"The last candidate I publicly supported was the late Don Deichman of Missouri, a Christian and a Democrat, who lost to the NAFTA-loving Republican Kenny Hulshof."

Q. Gasoline prices and food prices have risen to levels that concern most Americans. What kinds of congressional actions, if any, would you support on these two apparently-related fronts?

"There is no complete remedy, as the dollar has been under a prolonged, orchestrated attack for decades. Our recent price woes are the fateful consequence of this intentional attack on the dollar.

"We could mitigate the gas and food crisis by taking the immediate steps of balancing the federal budget and diplomatically raising and enforcing a higher tariff schedule on imports -- both actions would immediately help strengthen the dollar internationally.

"Second, we can dissolve the World Bank, brainchild of Soviet agent Harry Dexter White, and end its misuse of financial power, which is a major source of the gas and food crisis.

"Third, end subsidies for and prohibit use of corn for ethanol, as it raises feed and grocery prices.

"We can still produce ethanol with non-feed products which can be grown in more rugged and unused terrain, and do so without raising feed and grocery costs."

Q. Illegal immigration concerns many Americans. Please explain what guides your thinking on this subject. With an estimated 12 million illegals already in this country, what approach to the illegal immigration issue will you take if elected to Congress?

"The illegal immigration problem began over two decades ago and almost nobody took action. Now the problem is being used by political opportunists who have no intention of ending their bread-basket issue.

"First, the answer is to pass a civil rights bill in conjunction with a deportation treaty with Mexico. While deportation is the answer for illegal immigrants, civil rights must take precedence in all cases.

"The fact that America's population now includes an underclass of undocumented and frightened people is a disgrace to our long-standing tradition of asserting civil rights for all.

"In the 1990s, Mexico purposefully pursued a policy of exporting its unemployment to the United States.

"When the deportation schedule begins, Mexico must pay its part of the tab and ensure the safety of deportees. Maybe Jimmy Carter can go build some real homes for deportees as opposed to the shacks illegal immigrants live in here.

"Also, I support birthright citizenship and will defend it against amendment."

Q. Do you believe that English should be the official language of the United States? Why or why not?

"As our nation's founding documents and laws are all written in English, it is already America's national language. I am eager to sponsor legislation which would protect our social and legal system from having to be replicated in Spanish or any language other than English."

Q. American troops are widely deployed around the world, and engaged in armed conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan. Please explain your viewpoint on the "War on Terror" in general. Has the apparent success of the "surge" in Iraq affected your thinking on that front? Do you think U.S. Policy on this subject is substantially correct at this time? If you think the U.S. should be doing something different from what we are doing, please explain what you think should be done at this time.

"The United States is engaged in an Iraq conflict which most now agree was not necessary and which America could not afford.

"America outlasted communism after decades of global stalemate, only for the Bush and Clinton administrations to rapidly industrialize Communist China, debase our own currency, and then, on top of all this, drive us into massive debt to the Communist Chinese for the Iraq conflict, a conflict which Congress still has not declared a war as required by the Constitution.

"This does not make sense. We must elect leaders who understand the long-term financial nightmare left to our children to pay to the Federal Reserve every April 15 and at the gas pumps if we are to have a chance of getting a handle on the massive economic problems [that] funding the Iraq conflict has caused.

"America cannot afford any more debt to the Communist Chinese over the Iraq conflict, nor can we afford, morally or financially, to be a global empire.

"Furthermore, the 'War on Terror' is just a fruitless excuse to take away our rights and cut at our Constitution.

"We should have either captured or killed bin Laden in 1994 or 1995 when he first declared war on America.

"I was advocating either capturing or killing bin Laden as early as 1994, and none of my opponents had a clue. They probably did not care."

Q. Please explain your viewpoint on abortion and how you would approach abortion-related issues, should they come before Congress.

"I am pro-life. As more and more people become educated about the reality of what abortion truly entails, America is becoming increasingly pro-life.

"I personally do not believe that the Democratic Party can maintain itself as the party of abortion for much longer, or we will have little success against the dangerous neo-conservative agenda.

"Neo-conservatives like George Bush and Alexander like to trick Christians into voting for them over abortion just so they can get more power.

"I credit America's opposition to abortion as being one of the fatal reasons that George Bush's campaigns were able to trick many people into supporting his tragic election and re-election."

Q. Recent judicial and administrative decisions have made same-sex marriage easier in California, New York and Nevada. What is your view regarding same-sex marriage? Many supporters of traditional marriage fear that the federal courts might overturn the Federal Defense of Marriage Act and similar laws at the state level. Would you support the adoption of an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to limit marriage to one man and one woman? Why or why not?

"I support marriage and family and am against the many laws and judicial rulings which have been intentionally enacted both to harass and destroy the family.

"The Clayton campaign opposes and refuses recognition to any efforts or so-called laws of which the intent is to reduce the holy marriage of husband and wife to a mere social 'union' status or make such holy marriage seem equivalent to unmitigated debauchery.

"As additional protection, I support a constitutional amendment protecting marriage."

Q. What is your view on proposals to make sexual orientation a protected status under federal law, similar to such categories as gender, race, age, religion, and national origin?

"It has been long held in law that you cannot prosecute status. It has also been held that laws, the Fourteenth Amendment being one example, should be status-neutral for protecting civil rights.

"The radical homosexuals do not want equal rights -- they already have equal rights. The radical homosexual lobby is demanding special rights and thought-control, and it is a fact that many homosexuals use their so-called social advances as a license not for civil rights, but for same-sex harassment and acts of deviant sexuality in public places, including the workplace.

"This same lobby has worked hard to force young children to learn about perverted sex acts in public schools and to protect child molesters who want to get into the Boy Scouts.

"As a matter of fact, Justice (Ruth Bader) Ginsburg, before becoming a member of the Supreme Court, once advocated lowering the age of sexual consent to 12 years old . . .

"I support equal rights for everyone and oppose special rights for groups."

Q. What is your position on the Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act of 2007 (HR 980, SB 2123)? Backers say that this act would give firefighters and police officers basic collective bargaining rights and establish federal minimum standards for state collective bargaining laws. Opponents say the bill would force municipalities and counties to negotiate the whole subject of merit-based pay, and force states and localities to recognize public sector unions as their employees' exclusive representatives. Please explain your position.

"This bill is not about collective bargaining. It is about an illegal expansion of centralized, not federal, power.

"If passed, states and local governments should ignore the provisions and challenge the law in the courts without delay. Lamar Alexander supports this HR 980 as long as it has his special amendment. I oppose HR 980 altogether and refuse to acknowledge it as law if it is passed. (Editor's Note: Please see also Sen. Alexander's own response on this question.)

"Lamar Alexander also supports 'REAL ID' for tracking and hunting Americans, just as long as the federal government pays for it. I oppose REAL ID altogether.

"I am against prohibiting strikes, lockouts, or the right of unions to call for strikes or lockouts, especially in law-enforcement and especially if the federal government is doing the prohibiting.

"This bill is a direct challenge to the Tenth Amendment. HR 980 is one part of a many-sided policy to expand at great financial cost the shroud of a police state over America under one centralized thumb. The provisions of HR 980, if passed into law, will be managed as efficiently from Washington as the Kremlin managed the Soviet Union's police force during the Cold War."

Q. What would be your view on reinstating the "fairness doctrine," which required broadcasters to provide equal time for opposing views on controversial issues. Opponents say this would have the practical effect of abolishing nearly all talk radio. Backers say it would make political commentary more balanced and fair.

"I oppose the so-called 'fairness doctrine.' There are many mediums for communication today, so that if certain politicians feel that they are not getting enough time to speak, perhaps they should either be more creative or diligent. Perhaps voters could also spend more time researching candidates."

Additional Comments

"None of my opponents is advocating the time-proven American principles of economy and governance -- they can't. They simply do not know what they are doing and are unfit for the office. Running for U.S. Senate is a difficult and time-consuming task.

"If any one of them were fit to be my senator, I would not have run and would be supporting that candidate.

"We need people in Washington who know what they are doing. My father wrote me in February 2001 when he was lobbying AGAINST the radical homosexuals and FOR increasing anti-terrorism security.

"He wrote, 'Mark, Here are some of the copies relating to the urgent issues with which I have to deal. Included are the first two essays of the five I have discussed with you. We desperately need trained, competent leadership. Almost none in D.C. Love, Dad.'

"The Clayton campaign offers the only trained and competent leadership for national and international issues in Tennessee's '08 Senate race. As such, and as a pro-life Christian with traditional views on America, I have never supported or voted for President Bush.

"I saw the disasters and let-downs of 2008 coming the night of President Bush's first election, and I am proud to be a Democrat. The primary is August 7th -- Remember to Vote Democrat and vote for Clayton."