Texas Congressional Election 2018 Political Courage Test

Abortion

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

2. Other or expanded principles
- Individual's rights: government should not rule everyone's lives or decisions! We should stand for "freedom of choice" -- not "government's choice" when it comes to individual's lives! Government should not dictate what women or men will do with their bodies! The war on women's reproductive health and contraception choices must stop!

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
- On Tax Cuts, those should never have happened. The economy was growing without them. This only gives more money to those who will invest it, but not spend it. There will be no responding growth in the bulk of the general economy as expendable income will still be anemic. This exacerbates the wealth gap in America! Negotiate reduced contract amounts on ordinance, aviation, weapons as Trump did by reducing price on Air Force One. There's not enough oversight on pricing. Waste must be cut, no more no-bid contracts! No reductions in military pay or supply needs at all--contractor pricing only!

Campaign Finance

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

2. Other or expanded principles
- The influx of big money has harmed our political process. It should not be about "he who attracts the most special interest money, wins." As a result, government is failing to represent its citizens and turning over the reins of government to big business and special interests! We need to return to government by and for the people!

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
- When the nation spends on building and repairing our infrastructure, the overall economy grows. Putting more people to work and putting more money in the hands of the middle and working class means that money is then turned around and spent, generating revenue for commerce. Corporations have recovered nicely from the great recession. Unlike citizens, corporations also sometimes enjoy subsidies or even bailouts! They hide billions in profit overseas. Yet they've pushed for reductions in the workforce, and held workforce wages stagnant, directly harming the marketplace by reducing their market potential. Why do they need tax cuts? What's the benefit?

Education

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

2. Other or expanded principles
- We need to ensure our economy and workforce are state of the art, and that begins with education. We must have uniformity in our education to alleviate any potential shortfalls in our graduates to give employers confidence in who they're hiring. Having piecemeal or patchwork standards does not achieve that.

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
- Ideally the U.S. should be leading this charge, but sadly we're falling behind. Renewable energy can reduce energy costs in the long run, as we've seen both Germany & Denmark now having to pay citizens to use electricity as they have an overabundance. The manufacturing of renewable turbines and solar are creating good jobs worldwide in a growth industry. Obviously, the lack of carbon footprint and greenhouse gas speaks for itself. Greenhouse gas must be contained. Building geothermal plants will help some. The failure to reduce emissions will produce disastrous climate results globally in future years.

Guns

1. Do you generally support gun-control legislation?
- No

2. Other or expanded principles
- Individual's rights: government should not rule everyone's lives or decisions! Again, this is an attempt to bring government into individual's lives to make their decisions for them. Bump stocks need to be legislated against, and restrictions on those with mental health issues also need to be addressed. But removing one's ability to protect themselves or their families is counterintuitive.

Health Care

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

2. Other or expanded principles
- The only way I'll support repealing Obamacare is to have it replace with Medicare for All! Obamacare was an incomplete attempt to fix the healthcare fiasco in this country. Unfortunately, once big insurance was involved in the process, its become a profiteering vehicle for the insurers as well as for collusive big pharma reps and big hospital corporations. We should NOT be the only civilized nation on the planet without government-backed healthcare for all!

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?
- Unknown Position

3. Other or expanded principles
- The border wall is a financial boondoggle. The initial version of it in south Texas is a fiasco, literally cutting landowners of from some of their farm land now wouth of the wall, and actually dividing a subdivision in Brownsville with some residents on the Mexico side! If people are insistent upon have a wall there, get corporate private-public sponsorship and have them pay for the wall, which they can then use for advertising. Federal funds should not be used to pay for it. Return only non-DACA immigrants, or those whose lives will not be jeopardized in their origin country.

Marijuana

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

2. Other or expanded principles
- Individual's rights: government should not rule everyone's lives or decisions! There have already been ample study's on marijuana, and particularly noting the original notions on it (based on 1936's Reefer Madness movie) are hysteria--not based in fact. The numerous treatments it can be applied to for various conditions and ailments have already been proven. While its legalization has shown a 15% reduction in alcohol industry revenues, it's been more than made up for by the marijuana industry boom. It's also been a windfall for state tax revenues. This should be deregulated.

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?
- Unknown Position

3. Other or expanded principles
- Using military force against nuclear proliferation is something I would have to follow guidance of our military & NSC leadership on. We should only resort to military force once all other options have been completely exhausted. The Middle East is not a "one size fits all" situation. Overall, I'm loath to send troops into harm's way unless it's an absolutely critical situation: a last ditch option. Again, this is something that would require following the advice of our military & NSC on. If there is any way to avoid sending the ground troops in, that should be our option.

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.
- Funding and breaking ground on infrastructure needs across the nation.Protecting and repaying money removed from Social Security and Medicare. (removing the taxation cap on SS & FICA taxes)Address the wage-gap and the burgeoning wealth inequality gap and finding a creative way to coerce business to slash their executive pay scales.