Washington 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
- I believe that a woman must have the right to choose. Specifically, I support abortion at-will in the first trimester, with doctor's recommendation in the second, and in life-threatening situations in the third. However, I believe that the focus must be on enabling women to have power over their reproductive rights prior to conception. This means open access to reproductive care, free access to birth control and condoms, and an increase in funding to sexual education.

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
- We currently drop bombs at a rate of one every 12 minutes and are involved in 7 unauthorized military conflicts that have never been debated in Congress. I support a reduction in defense spending, a revocation of the President's authorization for use of military force, and returning the power of the military back to Congress. We must move away being a country focused on ending lives and begin to protect and enrich lives.

Campaign Finance

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

2. Other or expanded principles
- Citizens United allowed corporations to channel dark money through SuperPACs without regulation of contribution. This severely undermines our democracy by enabling corporations to outspend individuals and to indirectly buy politicians using corporate money. I support legislation that blocks Citizens United, provides a publicly financed election system, and bans lobbyists from congressional offices.

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
- Corporations are already paying less in taxes than many working-class individuals throughout our country. Privately owned corporations have a vested interest in protecting their shareholders and this is directly in competition with them providing better pay, benefits, and resources to their workers. We must make stock buy-backs illegal again, raise corporate taxes to a reasonable rate, and move toward empowering workers again.

Education

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

2. Other or expanded principles
- I support Common Core and other initiatives that require states to meet federal education standards in order to be eligible for federal funding. The federal government must participate in the education system if we hope to have a standard of education that enables American students to be competitive in a global marketplace.

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
- Corporations contribute over 70% of greenhouse gases that directly affect our climate. We must work to disincentivize corporations from polluting our environment and causing global warming to worsen. We must act quickly to move toward a green economy and be active participants in the upcoming Green Revolution.

Guns

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

2. Other or expanded principles
- I support common sense gun control, such as waiting periods instituted, barring violent or potentially violent persons from access to firearms, and an increase in regulation of firearm dealers to require inventory tracking.

Health Care

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

2. Other or expanded principles
- While I am not in favor of repealing the ACA currently, our healthcare system is broken in its current form. The ACA does not protect patients in the way that it must for Americans to be healthy and able to live without fear of being bankrupt if they become sick. As a result, I support the ACA at this time until we are able to pass an actual alternative like HR676 - Medicare for All and provide universal single-payer healthcare to all Americans.

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
- Our immigration system is incredibly broken, we must provide an immediate path to citizenship for these people who have been exploited for years by private corporations. I support amnesty for immigrants that are currently here, with an immediate path to citizenship, and a revision in our immigration system to end our archaic immigration system.

Marijuana

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

2. Other or expanded principles
- Absolutely! In Washington state, we have brought in over $100 Million to our education system to help fund a deficit. I support the legalization of Marijuana, the descheduling of it from our list of controlled substances, and the regulation and taxation of it for the benefit of Americans.

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?
- No

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

3. Other or expanded principles
- It is a direct result of Western intervention that the Near East has been a hot bed of conflict. I support military and political intervention only when part of a broader coalition of United Nations forces.

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. Ending the corrupting influence of Corporate money in Politics. This has undermined our political system and allowed corporations to squelch the voices of working-class people. 2. Fighting for Medicare for All / Universal Singlepayer Healthcare. Americans should not have to worry about their life being ruined if they become sick. 3. Empowering workers to succeed in the US - We must provide free vocation and academic education for all Americans, we must fight for a living wage in the United States that's tied to inflation, we must provide a dignified life for every person.