The Republican candidate facing incumbent Gene Taylor, a Democrat, in November’s Fourth Congressional District election was a guest of the Jones County Republican Women Wednesday.

Citing the economic troubles facing many Americans, John McCay, a Methodist minister and chaplain for the United States Air National Guard, said he has many of the answers to help actually do away with the Internal Revenue Service and high gasoline prices.

“We need gas relief now,” McCay told the group gathered at their monthly meeting. He said the United States should immediately work towards allowing the construction of more gasoline refineries, support domestic oil exploration, and study nuclear and alternative fuel options.

“It’s not going to be immediate like we think it should be,” McCay said.

He also said reliance on Ethanol isn’t the answer at this time. He said it costs more to produce a dollar’s worth of Ethanol than it’s worth with current technology.

Gas prices are making other prices rise, he said. McCay said Americans should be extremely careful when voting because these are the people who make decisions that impact the country not only now, but in the future.

“We’ve got to be smart, prudent voters in our nation and people who we elect,” McCay said.

McCay said the Fourth Congressional District traditionally votes Republican in many elections. But, he said, he is puzzled as to why the district has voted for Taylor, a Democrat, so many times in the past.

“It’s time we take back our Republican district,” he said. Calling Taylor “a career politician,” McCay said Taylor’s ideas don’t match the majority of the voters in South Mississippi.

McCay said the national debt is currently at $9.5 trillion. He said of that amount, the country owes $644 billion to Japan, $350 billion to China, and $100 billion to oil exporting nations. He said Americans shouldn’t face hard economic times, cutting expenses, while the nation spends more.

“We have asked the American public to tighten up and you’ve had to,” McCay said. “If you don’t have the money, you can’t do the programs. Government has gotten too big. How many of you love April 15?”

McCay said he’s a supporter of a fair tax or consumption tax system, and hopes to make President Bush’s tax cuts permanent.

“Our current tax system is unfair and too complicated,” McCay said. “We fear the IRS, and we should not fear our own government.”

Obtaining the rank of Captain in the National Guard, McCay said he understands the job of military service and the need to help veterans.

“We must have the best equipment and support for our military,” he said. “They deserve the best they can have. We must also take care of people called veterans. We made promises to them long ago.”