Fed up with the business-as-usual politics in Richmond, former business owner Floyd Bayne decided to throw his hat in the ring.
Bayne is the third candidate running for the 7th District seat in Congress.
Once the owner of Bayne’s Foods, a chain of supermarkets that operated in Southside Richmond, Bayne is running as an independent with strong backing from the Tea Party.
Bayne has long since sold his family business, and he’s finishing up at Mary Baldwin College with degrees in history and political science.
BizSense caught up with Bayne to talk about why he challenged Rep. Eric Cantor and his thoughts on some of the biggest business issues.
Below is an edited transcript.
Richmond BizSense: What is the biggest obstacle facing job creation?
Floyd Bayne: The federal government. Onerous taxes and overbearing regulations keep businesses from being able to build or grow. Some of the environmental laws, for example: Some guy wants to build a factory that will destroy a wetland. So 600 employees go unemployed. We have to look at what will provide the biggest benefit, 600 jobs or some little fish that doesn’t have to alter its migration pattern.
RBS: Where do you place the blame for the financial crisis in 2008 that led us into recession?
FB: Too much government spending and unconstitutional government spending. Both parties are responsible for this, both parties share the blame, both spend money they should not be spending. Prime example: You know that we borrowed as much money as we can from China and they saw the writing on the wall. Now we are printing money out of whole cloth and are creating the circumstances that inflation will hit us.
Obama wants to blame Bush, Republicans blame Obama. I got news for everybody: Both parties are to blame.
RBS: You are in support of drilling off the coast of Virginia. Are you concerned about a catastrophe such as the one in the gulf happening here?
FB: The problem with that rig is that it got a good bill of health from the Obama administration four months prior to blowing up. The very government that is supposed to protect us failed. When cleanup began, Louisiana, Texas and Florida were jumping to help. Who jumped in and stopped them? The federal government.
I don’t have a problem with safety measures. We should have safety measures. Accidents by their very nature cannot always be prevented. How do you clean up? You have to have a plan in place. Obviously with the gulf there was no plan in place.
RBS: As a conservative, why do you feel your interests were not being served by Rep. Eric Cantor?
FB: Eric Cantor is not a conservative. Cantor is a progressive. He can call himself whatever he wants. The fact is he has a long record of growing the federal government and growing the federal deficit. Now to come and say he is fiscally responsible is a joke.
RBS: What vote of Eric Cantor’s over the past couple of years do you disagree with the most?
FB: The Amtrak reauthorization bill. That is a money pit, and they keep throwing money at it.
RBS: You advocate for abolishing the Department of Education. Doesn’t the promotion of education play a role in economic prosperity? Why shouldn’t the federal government be involved?
FB: Absolutely, education is important. Let’s be clear: My wife is a teacher, I am a student at Mary Baldwin College to get a degree to teach. What I don’t believe is that the federal government is responsible for overseeing education. It is a state and local responsibility.
Since the advent of the Department of Education, our test scores have been in the lowest percentile of industrialized nations. What good has the department done for our education system? It is just another bureaucracy where money, instead of going to the classroom, is going toward supporting the bureaucracy.
RBS: Finally, why should our readers vote for you?
FB: I have been a business owner, and I know what it takes to make a profit and run a business. I know the obstacles that are thrown up in front of business to make it difficult. I believe I am better suited than Eric Cantor, who has never run a business and has never once made a payroll. He doesn’t have a clue.
I am not owned by anyone. No big donor owns me. My principles are my own and won’t be sold.
Fed up with the business-as-usual politics in Richmond, former business owner Floyd Bayne decided to throw his hat in the ring.
Bayne is the third candidate running for the 7th District seat in Congress.
Once the owner of Bayne’s Foods, a chain of supermarkets that operated in Southside Richmond, Bayne is running as an independent with strong backing from the Tea Party.
Bayne has long since sold his family business, and he’s finishing up at Mary Baldwin College with degrees in history and political science.
BizSense caught up with Bayne to talk about why he challenged Rep. Eric Cantor and his thoughts on some of the biggest business issues.
Below is an edited transcript.
Richmond BizSense: What is the biggest obstacle facing job creation?
Floyd Bayne: The federal government. Onerous taxes and overbearing regulations keep businesses from being able to build or grow. Some of the environmental laws, for example: Some guy wants to build a factory that will destroy a wetland. So 600 employees go unemployed. We have to look at what will provide the biggest benefit, 600 jobs or some little fish that doesn’t have to alter its migration pattern.
RBS: Where do you place the blame for the financial crisis in 2008 that led us into recession?
FB: Too much government spending and unconstitutional government spending. Both parties are responsible for this, both parties share the blame, both spend money they should not be spending. Prime example: You know that we borrowed as much money as we can from China and they saw the writing on the wall. Now we are printing money out of whole cloth and are creating the circumstances that inflation will hit us.
Obama wants to blame Bush, Republicans blame Obama. I got news for everybody: Both parties are to blame.
RBS: You are in support of drilling off the coast of Virginia. Are you concerned about a catastrophe such as the one in the gulf happening here?
FB: The problem with that rig is that it got a good bill of health from the Obama administration four months prior to blowing up. The very government that is supposed to protect us failed. When cleanup began, Louisiana, Texas and Florida were jumping to help. Who jumped in and stopped them? The federal government.
I don’t have a problem with safety measures. We should have safety measures. Accidents by their very nature cannot always be prevented. How do you clean up? You have to have a plan in place. Obviously with the gulf there was no plan in place.
RBS: As a conservative, why do you feel your interests were not being served by Rep. Eric Cantor?
FB: Eric Cantor is not a conservative. Cantor is a progressive. He can call himself whatever he wants. The fact is he has a long record of growing the federal government and growing the federal deficit. Now to come and say he is fiscally responsible is a joke.
RBS: What vote of Eric Cantor’s over the past couple of years do you disagree with the most?
FB: The Amtrak reauthorization bill. That is a money pit, and they keep throwing money at it.
RBS: You advocate for abolishing the Department of Education. Doesn’t the promotion of education play a role in economic prosperity? Why shouldn’t the federal government be involved?
FB: Absolutely, education is important. Let’s be clear: My wife is a teacher, I am a student at Mary Baldwin College to get a degree to teach. What I don’t believe is that the federal government is responsible for overseeing education. It is a state and local responsibility.
Since the advent of the Department of Education, our test scores have been in the lowest percentile of industrialized nations. What good has the department done for our education system? It is just another bureaucracy where money, instead of going to the classroom, is going toward supporting the bureaucracy.
RBS: Finally, why should our readers vote for you?
FB: I have been a business owner, and I know what it takes to make a profit and run a business. I know the obstacles that are thrown up in front of business to make it difficult. I believe I am better suited than Eric Cantor, who has never run a business and has never once made a payroll. He doesn’t have a clue.
I am not owned by anyone. No big donor owns me. My principles are my own and won’t be sold.
Al Harris, thank you for finally introducing us to Floyd Bayne. Why did you wait so long? Floyd Bayne stands for what we thought Eric Cantor represented (and disappointed us). The fact that Eric Cantor refused to debate him is a clue that Eric is not to be trusted and we should give Floyd a chance to prove himself. I’m thankful someone with real world business experience is willing to drop his own interests and go to Washington and stand up for private (SME) enterprise. I urge your readers to visit http://www.floydbayne.com, get informed and remove “business as usual” incumbents… Read more »
Mr. Bayne’s comments on the wetlands, his seeming ignorance of the fact that President Obama had nothing at all to do with the financial meltdown (and the fact that no one has even implied he did), and his implication that business is the only thing that matters from a governmental standpoint mean he is just like every other Tea Partier running this year: ignorant in terms of what average Americans really care about (providing for their families, economic security, environmental protection, pride in their country and its position in the world, and a desire to return our country to its… Read more »
I voted for Cantor and he’s done nothing but represent his so called republican views. Not this time. I’m voting for Bayne this year and I’m hoping others follow suit. We need someone who will trully represent the people not the republican party. Cantor is a career politician not a representative.
Vote Bayne!
I will be voting for Bayne. If I could fire every single one of the Congressmen and Senators and start over, I would do it.
I also think a lot of people will be positively surprised by Bayne.
Look at the votes Rep Cantor has made. Mostly good, but still looks as if voting for BIG Gov’t. http://www.votesmart.org/voting_category.php?can_id=5121 Sorry, we are done with the bail-outs. Bail-outs that we all thought would somehow help the man on the street, ended up benefitting the few whom it enabled to get out without blemish. Our family, friends, and neighbors have suffered enough waiting. It is time to vote for a Conservative who says what he means and means what he says. Let’s end BIG Gov’t, All the way around. Ramp up spending on the Miltary. Our nation is the greatest Nation… Read more »
I voted for Floyd and I hope that you will too. Floyd Bayne is a true conservative. Eric Cantor is a career politician. We need citizen legislators who represent Virginians. The Republicans AND the Democrats have melded into republidems. They are working for Washington and not Virginians. If we don’t get this Election right we will be working for China. Thank you Floyd for speaking for me.
Corrine, it is your uninformed disdain for global trade that the “Tea Party” is exploiting with its far-right protectionist policies. Your negatively-themed mention of China serves as proof that a “Tea Party” victory is a giant step back for America. Please, conduct some historical research. The United States’ extreme protectionism was a major factor in the cause of the previous decade’s world wars. True, free, global trade produces transparency and common cooperation between and among distinct economies. It is not a threat. Free trade builds the increasingly important rapport between governments that is needed in an increasingly unstable geopolitical environment.… Read more »
Daniel I’m not sure I understand your comment. Nowhere in the interview does Mr. Bayne blame President Obama for the financial crisis, nor does he say that the only role the government has is in supporting big business. In fact, every position you attribute to him is not present in his answers here, nor are they found on his website where he discusses his positions. You also state that he has no plans to do anything regarding the economy, yet he clearly states on his website that he wants to reduce regulation and government influence of private markets in order… Read more »
@Daniel. The Teaparty is not an organized party that supports specific candidates. It’s purpose is to promote, among other ideas, Fiscal Responsibility, Limited government and Free Markets. You cannot stereotype the Teaparty Movement as a group of ignorant sheep following their leader, because there is no leader. It is made up of Average Americans who are fed up with elitist, professional politicians ramming their agenda down their throats, claiming that their constituents are too ignorant to know what’s best (kind of sounds like the way you describe the Teaparty…”All I see are ignorant, outdated ideas”). The Teaparty does not support… Read more »
Kevin, To briefly address your points I am taking direct quotes from the interview above: – On Obama and the financial crisis: “Obama wants to blame Bush, Republicans blame Obama. I got news for everybody: Both parties are to blame.” Again, Republicans have not ever blamed Obama for the financial crisis of 2008. President Obama was not in office at the time, so he could not have caused the crisis or played any part in it. A little knowledge on Mr. Bayne’s part would clear this up. Ignorance on this level concerns me. – On business and government: “I have… Read more »
Wow. This is truly a free country. Anyone can run for office.
I like that Bayne is running against Cantor, who is not conservative, but a radical in the vein of G.W. Bush.
However, like Daniel, I strongly question his environmental/economic positions.
The current rulling duopoly/government are owned by the corporations, and giving the corporations even more power will not help the American people.
I would just like to point out that our wetlands serve a very important environmental function, and it has nothing to do with fish. They are very important because they help prevent flooding. When we get a higher-than-average rainfall, wetlands act like a sponge, absorbing that water and eventually allowing it to filter into our groundwater supply. This replenishes our groundwater (important for anyone who uses that water for household or agricultural purposes) and prevents runoff, which carries silt and pollution into our bodies of water (as opposed to that pollution being filtered out by layers of soil and rock).… Read more »