The Decatur County Republican Party hosted Senatorial candidate Don Bates Jr. as a special guest speaker both for the Women’s Club and the Party meetings Monday evening.

“It’s good to be home,” Bates opened.

His family moved to Greensburg when he was four, making the Tree City the only hometown he remembers, he told the Women’s Club. Now, he lives two hours northeast of here, in Winchester, with his wife, Amy, and sons Trae, 13, and Blake, 11.

His business life takes place in Richmond, where he has worked for 14 years in the financial services industry. For 10 of those years, he has been First Vice President and Branch Manager for Wells Fargo Advisors. He is a member of the boards of directors for the Wayne County Chamber of Commerce, Junior Achievement of Eastern Indiana and the Starr Gennett Foundation. He is also a member of the Richmond Rotary Club and Richmond Lions Club.

Bates describes himself as a Christian, a proud American, a devoted husband and father and a Reagan Republican, the last being his inspiration to run against Senator Evan Bayh in 2010.

“I want to serve in the Senate to save us from a President who is trying to dismantle the United States as we know it,” he said.

As a financial advisor, Bates said he is well-prepared to remember that tax money belongs to the people - a fact that he believes too many elected officials have lost sight of.

“On Capitol Hill, people have forgotten whose money it is,” he said.

He acknowledged that the Republican Party has lost its way but also noted that all is not lost. He said the 2010 election could serve as a second chance, and potentially the last, to put principles over power.

If elected to the Senate, he said initial actions would be defensive, stopping legislation that could have adverse effects on the American dream. He also strongly supports making the tax cuts from the George W. Bush administration permanent.

“People think Obama is Robin Hood, but he isn’t,” said Bates. “He is Prince John, not Robin Hood.”

For Bates, the role of the Federal Government is not to make citizens give their money away. Forcing Americans to support one another is not something the Constitution upholds, he noted. The role is, instead, to protect the safety and freedom of the nation, he said.

On the international stage, Bates said the United States is “doing what Carter would have done.”

“We need a Reagan right now,” he said.

He noted he is not against President Barack Obama the man but rather the positions he holds.