TIFTON — Rick Goddard (R-Warner Robins), congressional candidate for the District 8 seat in the U.S. House, spoke to the Tifton Kiwanis Club Friday and told members that government was “gridlocked” and full of politicians who lack the courage to get the nation back on track.

Seven Republicans voted against the recent government bail out of investment banks, Goddard said. Referring to both Republican and Democratic representatives, Goddard said, “they are gridlocked and incompetent.”

“I’m talking about both sides,” Goddard said. “They wanted to get back to their districts and campaign and they would have voted for anything.”

Goddard also said that he was discouraged that elected officials had built a fence to keep out illegal immigrants but not funded the resources needed to enforce immigration laws. On the energy crisis, Goddard said those elected should have anticipated years ago that the nation would be where it is today on the issue. He said that the U.S. was 30 percent dependent on foreign oil in 1973 and is 70 percent dependent on other nations for fuel today.

“We’ve got people still haggling over whether or not we should drill,” Goddard said. “We all ought to be fed up.”

Goddard, who spent his career in the U.S. Air Force, has never run for public office. He said Friday that the U.S. military is 40 percent smaller than it was 15 years ago and that people should appreciate the “citizen soldiers” in the reserves who were fighting the battles for all of us while trying to hold down regular jobs here. Goddard expects an appointment to the Armed Services Committee if he is elected. He said he wouldn’t support a reduction in military funding but he would address overspending issues.

“I think we can buy things a whole lot cheaper,” Goddard said.

Goddard said he was expecting his first grandchild, a boy, in January and if elected, he hoped to leave the country in better shape. Also, he said that he hoped his grandchildren would be allowed to say “Merry Christmas” and the Pledge of Allegiance while attending school.

“It’s the core values our forefathers put in the constitution that are getting hit today,” Goddard said.

Goddard said he would work to stop the spending of Social Security in other areas and work on tort reform to do away with unreasonable litigation that straps companies and services.

Goddard is challenging three-term Congressman Jim Marshall (D-Macon) for the seat.

To contact senior reporter Angie Thompson, call 382-4321.