Michael McPadden, an airline pilot from Albemarle County with 22 years in the Navy, has joined the growing list of hopefuls for the Republican nomination for Congress nex year. Speaking on a local Charlottesville conservative radio program, McPadden said he believes that the GOP has diverted from its core principles of limited government and low taxation. If elected he would work toward balancing the federal budget and implementing a “FairTax” that would eliminate federal income taxes and replace them with a national retail sales tax.

Taxes, he said, are an “assault on your private property” and therefore an infringement upon liberty. As an example, McPadden cited the idea of taxing fatty foods or sugary sodas. “It was never intended by our founders for our government to have that kind of power,” he said.

On his website, he contends that "we are endowed by our creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and property." Calling himself an environmentalist, McPadden says "It is up to us to protect our beautiful land and pass it on as unspoiled as possible to future generations. However, that being said, people come first. I will never support legislation that places animals or plants above individual liberty or property rights." (Dave Sagarin, September 30, 2009)