[Vision2020] Congressional candidates answer questions

[Mark Solomon]

This from Randy Stapilus' blog today: 
(http://www.ridenbaugh.com/index.php/2006/05/05/choosing-questions/#more-296 
)
He reports on answers from candidates for Idaho 1st Cong. District to 
a survey jointly sponsored by a coalition of very conservative Idaho 
groups. It's a very scary read.

Mark Solomon
********

Choosing questions
by Randy Stapilus 

Some states, Washington and Oregon for two, develop statewide and 
localized voter guides which include information about the candidates 
for office, and information from the candidates - campaign statements 
and so on - included as well. They can be helpful assists to voting.

Idaho doesn't have such a publication, but it does have this primary 
season something called the Gem State Voter guide, published by a 
collection of very conservative groups - Idaho Values Alliance 
(conservative Christian, led by Bryan Fischer) , Education Excellence 
Idaho (principally backing charter, private and home school options), 
Idahoans for Tax Reform (an anti-tax group, led by Laird Maxwell), 
This House is My Home (another Maxwell group, aimed at undercutting 
land use planning), and Idaho Chooses Life (anti-abortion, led by 
David Ripley). Word is that their voter guide will be distributed 
through churches and allied organizations around Idaho.

What's interesting in these surveys is both the nature of questions 
asked, and who responds, and how.

In this survey - in the range of questions posed to candidates, which 
understandably vary somewhat from office to office - some subjects 
are addressed in detail, while quite a few other fields are skipped. 
You'll not find much here about economic issues (aside from taxes and 
property rights), environmental matters (though salmon and dam 
breaching are referenced briefly), education, health, law, crime and 
the judiciary (except where they touch on sex-related or religious 
matters).

What's in? Here are some of the questions posed to candidates for the 
Republican nomination for Idaho's 1st U.S. House seat (in the form of 
support or oppose the proposition):

     Amend U.S. Constitution to define marriage as between one man and one woman
     Vigorous prosecution of obscenity laws
     Ban abortions except to save the life of the mother
     Parental consent for underage girls to get an abortion
     Woman to receive an ultrasound picture of her unborn baby before 
an abortion
     Require women to receive thorough information about abortion 
risks and development of unborn child before an abortion
     Federal ban on all human cloning, including embryonic stem cell research
     Return control of education to state and local government
     Teach the Bible as literature and history in public schools
     Abstinence-only sex education in public schools
     Education tax credits to expand parental choice in education
     Post Ten Commandments on public property
     Impeachment of judges who exceed their Constitutional authority
     Protect right of chaplains to pray according to their convictions
     Retain "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance
     Continue property tax exemption for churches
     Continue right of churches to address public policy issues 
without losing tax exempt status
     Continue right of churches to distribute non-partisan voter guides
     Elimination of all budget earmarks
     Reduce government spending rather than raise taxes
     Reduce welfare programs
     Pledge not to raise taxes, fees or rates
     Freeze federal spending for non-defense outlays
     Simplify the IRS Code with a flat income tax
     Social Security choice of investing in individual retirement 
accounts for younger workers
     Federal Balanced Budget Amendment
     "Just compensation" for home and property owners when government 
land regulations reduce property values
     Allow teaching man is a created being, not an evolved being
     Allow teaching Ten Commandments is the foundation of western law
     Allow teaching man's law should be consistent with God's law
     Allow teaching basic rights are a gift of God, not government
     Allow teaching the proper role of government is to protect rights 
given to man by God
     Legal use of firearms as a defense against criminals, without 
fear of being prosecuted or sued
     Allow convenience store workers to carry firearms behind the counter
     Law-abiding citizen's right to carry a concealed weapon

Of the six candidates for the nomination, Sheila Sorensen and Robert 
Vasquez did not respond. (Sorensen presumably figured the crowd that 
gets and uses this guide isn't her natural constituency; Vasquez' 
reasoning is a little less clear. Nor did most of the few Democrats 
cited in the report respond.) The other four - Skip Brandt, Bill 
Sali, Norm Semanko and Keith Johnson - all said (according to the 
guide) they were in support of every one of the propositions in the 
list above.

Realizing that, you might want to review the list above one more time.

All of them also said they were opposed to:

     Homosexual adoption of children
     Taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood
     Physician assisted suicide
     Use of eminent domain for economic purposes
     "Sexual orientation" language in hate crimes legislation
     Casino gambling on Indian lands
     Internet gambling

The degree of unanimity on all of these issues, pro and con - a few 
these topics may represent broad consensus but most are true hot 
buttons - is striking.

The four candidates did split on a few issues. On "Remove 
jurisdiction from the U.S. Supreme Court over religious liberty 
issues," Brandt said he opposed, Johnson declined to say, and Semanko 
and Sali said they were in favor. On "Line item veto for the 
president," Brandt said he opposed, Sali was undecided, while Johnson 
and Semanko said they were in favor. Interestingly, on "Abolish the 
IRS and replace with a national sales tax," Sali was the one 
undecided while the other three were in favor.

Still, whatever you conclude from all this, the survey throws a 
bright light on these candidates. And suggests some followup 
questions, as well, in the short stretch of campaign season remaining.
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