Daniel Vovak

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Daniel 'The Wig Man' Vovak is a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Maryland: (Campaign website). Vovak was interviewed by the Illinois Republican Party in 2004, though Alan Keyes was eventually selected to compete against Barack Obama. Vovak was also a 31-year-old Republican presidential candidate in 2004 against President George W. Bush, receiving considerable media coverage in Iowa, much of it in response to his long, white wig.

According to Vovak's campaign website, the wig is a tool by which to attain press attention and voter recognition, as well as to "evoke the Whig roots of the Republican Party and its reliance on the founders' version of the United States constitution." He goes on to state that the wig exposes the GOP leadership's disregard for the common voter, expressed by the closed nature of the primary.[1]

On January 11, 2006, Vovak announced he will seek the U.S. Senate seat of current long-standing senator Paul Sarbanes (D-MD). For a list of other candidates and further information, see Maryland U.S. Senate election, 2006.

[edit] Position statements on campaign issues

Taxes: "Taxes need to have confusion abolished. For instance, the government has April 15 as its deadline for Income Tax Day because it is as far removed from Election Day as possible. Hence, to make our government fiscally conservative, Income Tax Day should be the Monday preceding Election Day. This change will motivate voters to vote based on their tax bills. [2]

The Wig: "I wear the wig because:

It is a clever idea to help voters remember me,
It saves me millions of dollars in campaign contributions with free media coverage,
It evokes the Whig roots of the Republican Party and its reliance on the founders' version of the United States Constitution, and
It exposes the truth that Party leaders disregard average voters. The Primary is not an open and honest process; it is closed." [3]

Pluto: "An object with a moon is certainly a planet," said Vovak. "Does the International Astronomical Union believe a planet should only be recognized according to its size? Small planets should not be discriminated against because they chose to associate with objects of different shapes and colors. Plus, 424 arbitrary astronomers do not speak for 10,000. Any school child will tell you Pluto is a planet. I encourage all teachers to actively lobby their students to save Pluto from becoming a mere asteroid." Vovak encourages school children to send him letters to submit to Congress, keeping Pluto as a planet. [4]

The War in Iraq: "All wars are political since politicians begin wars, not generals. Logically, politicians are responsible for ending the wars they create. The usual method of changing a policy is for people to pressure politicians to change the status quo. Hence, to oppose a war is not an act of disloyalty to our nation (or its soldiers) but an act of patriotism, because the American system is used to make a change in American policy. In Iraq, the mission has been accomplished and most troops need to return home, though since nothing in the federal government moves quickly, even "immediately" would take about a year. I believe that if troops return home gradually then American soldier deaths will ultimately increase dramatically. I sense a Vietnam-type quandary rupturing with a divided nation wanting to remove all troops from Iraq or to substantially increase the number of troops. The American public will elect leaders outside of the traditional thinking of Washington, D.C.. By contrast, I support The Afghanistan War, which is rooted in stopping terrorist groups. All terrorism must end." [5]

Gang for Change: "GANG FOR CHANGE is an effort to defeat Maryland incumbents on September 12, 2006, replacing them with genuine public servants. If you are a Democrat, in your primary, replace the Democrat with a new Democrat. If you are a Republican, in your primary, replace the Republican with a new Republican. Gang for Change is not a Democrat, Republican, or third-party movement. Instead, it is us vs. them, the governed vs. the government, the taxpayers vs. the tax spenders. Are you exasperated by government ineptitude? Then vote your conscious, putting a Gang for Change into Maryland government!"[6]

Abortion: "I believe most women are happy and thankful to be pregnant. Pregnancy is ultimately a woman’s decision, though usually the partner is involved. I believe a woman should make a decision to have her baby within the first three months; hence, I am pro-life beginning with the second trimester." [7]

Israeli conflict: "Israel should use most of her options in self-defense, though Syria's sovereignty must be respected; otherwise Syria will become the home of coyotes and chameleons. As is Iowa to the U.S. presidency, so is Syria to the Middle East. I also want to add that Lt. Gov. Michael Steele's disdain of stem-cell research -- and his candid comments on the issue -- only aggravate Maryland's peaceful position regarding war in the Middle East."[8]

The Maryland state flag:"As a lover of the arts, I encourage Maryland to redesign its flag. I will encourage art students to create a completely new design for our State flag, with a full-paid college scholarship to the student who wins the contest. You will immediately find Maryland's flag to be the ugliest flag in America. In fact, after further study, I have concluded Maryland has the ugliest flag in the world." [9]

Michael Steele/Psychic curses:"My volunteer campaign staff deduced it was less expensive to hire a psychic campaign manager who would curse Michael Steele, than to spend a half million dollars on consultants. Nancy Reagan used a psychic, and I admire her. We got a good deal on a great psychic."[10]

The omission of the word "the" from "Daniel 'The Wig Man' Vovak" on election ballots: "In a thousand years, "The Father of the Constitution" [James Madison] would have never allowed "the" to deny "The Wig Man" from a ballot. He would have rewritten entire Constitution without a single "the," to preserve law that anyone who qualifies under Constitution is allowed on a ballot, so MSBE would not "deny or disparage" any candidate." [All missing "the"s in apparent protest of error.] [11]