Texas Congressional Election 2018 Political Courage Test

Abortion

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

2. Other or expanded principles
- I am the only pro-life Democrat running a challenger campaign in the U.S. I am focused entirely on reducing the sheer number of abortions, which can be accomplished far better with policy over laws. Outlawing abortion will likely have zero effect on the actual number of abortions. However, having additional womens' clinics, increased funding for Planned Parenthood, free contraception, and mandatory sex ed in our schools can go a long way towards reducing the number of abortions in this country.

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?
- Yes

3. Other or expanded principles
- I support a progressive income tax, where those who benefit the most from our laws and society (the very wealthy) must put in their fair share into the tax system. As for Defense, there is a staggering amount of bureaucratic waste in the defense budget. A full top-to-bottom audit should be priority #1, as hundreds of billions in savings can likely be realized. Then, once dead and obsolete waste has been uncovered, we can switch that funding to NASA and other government R&D labs, to begin creating the technological advancements we'll need in the next 100 years.

Campaign Finance

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

2. Other or expanded principles
- Corruption is the #1 threat to our country, and this threat was only made worse by the Citizens United decision, which effectively made super-citizens out of billionaires and corporations. Congress needs to pay comprehensive campaign finance and anti-corruption laws, before men who would bleed the U.S. Treasury dry accumulate too much power.

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?
- Yes

3. Other or expanded principles
- I support lowering corporate taxes, as long as all the various loopholes, breaks, and subsidies are also eliminated.

Education

1. Do you support requiring states to adopt federal education standards?
- Yes

2. Other or expanded principles
- I support a severe reduction in standardized testing, as well as a renewed focus on class subjects with real-world application, such as group dynamics, probability & statistics, and trade classes.

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
- No Answer

Guns

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

2. Other or expanded principles
- I think common-sense gun legislation, which incorporates a federal background check and brings the various state laws (such as concealed carry) up to a federal level makes a lot of sense.

Health Care

1. Do you support repealing the 2010 Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare")?
- Yes

2. Other or expanded principles
- I support repealing it and replacing it with an affordable, universal healthcare system in the model of Japan or Taiwan.

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
- A wall might have been a halfway decent idea in 1373. Modern (i.e., since the invention of airplanes, in which most illegal immigrants come over) immigration reform should incorporate a path to citizenship for those who have been here for more than ten years. This path should include payment of all back taxes, a fine, a thorough vetting, and a citizenship test.

Marijuana

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

2. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

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?
- Yes

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

3. Other or expanded principles
- Our economic might is vastly superior to our military might. We can crush the life out of any bad actors with economic and diplomatic means, without sacrificing the life of a single U.S. soldier.

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.
- Universal healthcare: paid for by what we're currently spending already on our inefficient healthcare systemCorruption: passage of campaign finance laws and transparency laws for political campaignsCriminal justice reform: elimination of bail and other for-profit aspects of the justice system; reduced sentences for nonviolent drug offenders; elimination of private for-profit prisons