Positions

Wyoming Congressional Election 2018 Political Courage Test

Abortion

1. Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation?
- Unknown Position

2. Other or expanded principles
- My wife Terry and I have had firsthand experience with agonizing decisions - early testing detected potential birth defects in our first son. We did add'l testing and had to wait 10 days. During that time we agonized over what we might do - luckily, we did not have to make a choice - it was a false alarm - but we realized the last thing we wanted was someone from the State telling us what we had to do.

Budget

1. In order to balance the budget, do you support an income tax increase on any tax bracket?
- Yes

2. In order to balance the budget, do you support reducing defense spending?
- Unknown Position

3. Other or expanded principles
- We need to look at the efficiency of spending everywhere. However, one of the biggest issues is that we have cumulatively foregone over $6 trillion in revenue over the past 17 years due to "trickle down" tax cuts which are a fraud. I support a more progressive tax system where we decrease middle class taxes and increase taxes on the wealthiest Americans and wealthy heirs.

Campaign Finance

1. Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions?
- Yes

2. Other or expanded principles
- Big money is corrupting our system. We need to overturn Citizens United and get corporate money out of our political system.

Economy

1. Do you support federal spending as a means of promoting economic growth?
- Yes

2. Do you support lowering corporate taxes as a means of promoting economic growth?
- No

3. Other or expanded principles
- Federal spending should be used to promote growth primarily during recessions and not during periods of economic growth. I am in favor of streamlining corporate taxes, however, corporations used to pay approx. 30% of federal income tax revenue in the 1970s. Today, that is down to 6-7%. Corporations must pay their fair share.

Education

1. Do you support requiring states to adopt federal education standards?
- No

2. Other or expanded principles
- Education is best when handled at the local level.

Energy & Environment

1. Do you support government funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, thermal)?
- Yes

2. Do you support the federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions?
- Yes

3. Other or expanded principles
- Government has been at the forefront of developing and promoting every energy source our country has developed. We should continue that trend and then spin off the technology to the private sector where it can be efficiently priced and distributed. We also need to continue to research ways to reduce fossil fuel emissions thru carbon capture and sequestration. Finally, we can't keep privatizing profits and socializing losses; companies need to bear the full cost of their products in the marketplace.

Guns

1. Do you generally support gun-control legislation?
- Yes

2. Other or expanded principles
- I support legitimate Second Amendment rights as delineated in Heller vs. DC. I also support the government's role in protecting the health and safety of its citizens. This can lead to conflict between these two roles. Like all the Bill of Rights Amendments, there are limitations.

Health Care

1. Do you support repealing the 2010 Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare")?
- No

2. Other or expanded principles
- I support getting every American access to basic, quality, affordable healthcare.

Immigration

1. Do you support the construction of a wall along the Mexican border?
- No

2. Do you support requiring immigrants who are unlawfully present to return to their country of origin before they are eligible for citizenship?
- No

3. Other or expanded principles
- Every country should have the ability to determine who resides within its borders. I support border security in the form of agents and technology. I support creation of guest worker programs that allow seasonal workers to travel back and forth to their home country. I support programs that provide duly employed workers to have a path to legal status in the US. I support addressing the root causes of economic and persecution migrations.

Marijuana

1. Do you support the legalization of marijuana for recreational purposes?
- Unknown Position

2. Other or expanded principles
- I fully support legalizing medical marijuana and I fully support removing recreational marijuana from being scheduled as a Class 1 drug and decriminalizing its use.

National Security

1. Should the United States use military force in order to prevent governments hostile to the U.S. from possessing a nuclear weapon?
- Unknown Position

2. Do you support increased American intervention in Middle Eastern conflicts beyond air support?
- No

3. Other or expanded principles
- This question is too broad and hypothetical - we need to look at each situation and determine appropriate action. I do not support more American involvement in Middle Eastern conflicts that we don't understand without clearly defined goals.

Administrative Priorities

Please explain in a total of 100 words or less, your top two or three priorities if elected. If they require additional funding for implementation, please explain how you would obtain this funding.
- 1) Getting big money out of politics2) Making sure members of Congress do not get any special benefits that are not available to the American public - unless incentives are aligned with real people, Congress will never pass legislation that addresses real people's concerns3) Making sure everyone has access to basic, quality affordable healthcare.4) Making sure we kill the concept of trickle down and supply side economics, pass a more progressive tax system and reduce the crushing inequality that is ripping our country apart