Posted on 01/08/2008 11:57:23 PM PST by Kurt Evans
(Editor's note: Following are the answers given by Kurt Evans, an independent candidate from Wessington Springs who is seeking a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. Evans is one of four candidates, including Stacey Nelson, Milbank, an independent affiliated with the Reform party; John Thune, Pierre, a Republican; and Rick Weiland, Madison, a Democrat.)
* What are two pieces of legislation that you want to introduce if elected?
One of my priorities would be legislation to end U.S. support for the United Nations. The U.N. is, in my opinion, irredeemably corrupt. It is using its worldwide propaganda machine to promote an extreme left-wing agenda, including the protection of children's "rights" to be free from parental discipline, and government-forced abortion as a means of population control.
Although the United States has virtually no voice in setting the U.N. agenda, American taxpayers are compelled to provide nearly a third of its budget.
I would also push to legislate withdrawal from the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. According to Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution, the power to regulate commerce with foreign nations belongs to the Congress. Congress may not properly transfer this constitutional authority to the World Trade Organization or any other agency, foreign or domestic.
* Do you support a balanced budget amendment? Why or why not?
I support a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution. There is simply no justification for running a deficit--or even for delaying the repayment of the national debt--during a year in which our nation is not at war.
* What steps should be taken to eliminate the deficit, and by what year should that be accomplished?
The budget deficit should have been eliminated about a quarter of a century ago. In my campaign, I have advocated eliminating the deficit immediately through significant cuts in federal social spending. I believe all direct transfers of money from one group of citizens to another by the federal government violate the Tenth Amendment and ought to be phased out.
* The minimum wage will be increased over the next two years. Is there more that needs to be done to increase wages in South Dakota and across the United States? What, if anything, would you propose?
Blue collar workers in the United States are under what often appears to be a deliberate assault from Washington, D.C.
Businesses in the U.S. have to deal with a regulatory monster which now devours the equivalent of $6,000 per American family in annual compliance costs. With one hand the government increases the minimum wage, while with the other it cuts free trade deals that throw American workers into a dogfight with foreign labor costing $1 an hour or less. We are practically forcing American companies overseas, and wages are going down as a result.
I support leaving most regulatory decisions at the state level, withdrawing from NAFTA and GATT, and reimposing tariffs to protect not only our workers' standard of living, but also our economic independence.
* There are many proposals on the table for balancing the budget and reducing the tax load. What approach, if any, do you favor and why?
As stated above, I believe all direct transfers of money by the federal government ought to be phased out. Karl Marx once said, "A democracy is not a form of government to survive. For it will only succeed until its citizens discover they can vote themselves money from the treasury. Then they will bankrupt it."
The founding fathers understood this aspect of human nature, and they designed the Tenth Amendment to guard against it.
* What solution do you propose and what will you do to protect Medicare and Medicaid's future?
During the presidency of Grover Cleveland, he had the opportunity to provide federal financial aid to a deserving orphanage in New York City during a severe economic crisis. His response summarizes the prevailing policy in America prior to the 1930s:
"I will not be a party to stealing money from one group of citizens to give to another group of citizens, no matter what the need or apparent justification. Once the coffers of the federal government are open to the public, there will be no shutting them again... It is the responsibility of the citizens to support their government. It is not the responsibility of the government to support its citizens."
In Cleveland's day, responsibility for needy individuals was where it belongs, in the hands of local governments, private charities and churches. Those social programs were far less expensive and far more effective than any that have been implemented in the federal bureaucracy.
Medicare has been a miserable failure. The costs have always outweighed the benefits, and we shouldn't try to preserve it.
* What solution do you propose and what will you do to protect the future of Social Security?
There's an old Eskimo hunting technique in which a razor was embedded in the ice and smeared with seal's blood to attract a wolf. In licking the razor, the wolf would cut its tongue. Excited by the seemingly inexhaustible supply, the wolf would go into a frenzy, feasting to death on its own blood.
Despite the warnings of history mentioned previously, Franklin Roosevelt chose to give us a taste of our own blood. Today the so-called trust fund of Social Security contains nothing but IOUs from a government that's $5 trillion in debt. An entire generation has been robbed.
If we refuse to phase out federal social spending voluntarily, it will come to an end when the U.S. economy collapses.
* What more needs to be done legislatively, if anything, to deal with health insurance reform?
It strikes me as ironic that a Republican Congress elected largely in protest against Hillary Clinton's socialist healthcare scheme has now enacted a major portion of it. The Kennedy-Kassebaum legislation is essentially an unfunded mandate on private insurers to subsidize "preexisting conditions" such as AIDS. When the insurance companies raise their rates to avoid bankruptcy, Hillary will no doubt condemn them for their greed.
The main reason for the rising cost of health care is the government paying half of the bills, micromanaging the rest and stifling innovation. I support limits on the amount of damages awarded in medical malpractice lawsuits, but beyond that, the best thing the federal government can do for health care is stay away.
* Cattle prices are an ongoing issue in South Dakota. What more needs to happen legislatively to affect that issue?
I support legislation to address the problem of captive supply by requiring that packer-owned and fed cattle be sold in an open public market, rather than taken directly from the packer's feedlot to the packing plant.
* What is your philosophy of the role of government?
I believe the primary role of government is to enforce a justice system which protects individual rights to life, liberty and property. Our federal government is also responsible to provide for our common defense and supervise disputes among the states.
Beyond the basic functions specifically enumerated in the Constitution, the federal government has no legitimate authority to interfere with government at the state level.
* "Values" and "family values" are hot words in today's elections. How, as a politician, would you restore the lagging "values" in the United States today? Or is that not a role for elected officials?
In my opinion, genuine family values cannot be positively legislated. The best we can hope for is a government that renounces legislation assaulting those values and consistently punishes injustice.
Individual leaders, on the other hand, can and should promote family values by their words and example.
* Should more or less be spent in the area of defense? Explain.
America is in a precarious place between the threat of attack from without and the threat of economic collapse from within. Although we have won the Cold War, the world remains dangerous, and I believe recent defense cuts have been extreme and somewhat reckless.
In view of our massive federal debt, however, I support maintaining most defense spending at current levels, and I would not rule out further cuts if our economic situation continues to worsen.
* What are your key environmental concerns and what will you do to address those issues? Is more funding needed in any areas?
I support the transfer of public lands, such as federal forests and range lands, to the jurisdiction of the states. I also strongly advocate requiring cost-benefit analyses to determine the economic impacts of all proposed federal environmental legislation.
* Define the American Dream.
The American Dream is to be free to succeed or fail on one's own merits, without interference from an oppressive government.
* Do you support more or less gun control? Explain.
The Second Amendment says the right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. Any measure which restricts a law-abiding citizen from owning any firearm is a violation of the Second Amendment.
Thomas Jefferson said the strongest reason for people to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government. I oppose gun registration requirements because history shows time and time again that such requirements are the precursor of gun control and government oppression.
* Do you support more welfare reform measures? If so, what are they? If not, why?
I support phasing out all federal welfare, including block grants, over a period of perhaps five years. In this area more than any other, the federal government has usurped the role of the church, with tragic social consequences.
* What should America's role be in the global economy and in global peace efforts?
America does the greatest service to the world by its own self-preservation. I strongly advocate an America-first trade policy to defend our nation's independence and sovereignty, both economic and political.
I oppose participation in so-called global peace efforts which involve no vital U.S. interest. And even when there is a U.S. interest at stake, the men and women of America's armed forces should absolutely never be placed under the command of foreign officers.
* What more, if anything, should the federal government be doing in regard to education?
I oppose all federal involvement in education. I believe the Department of Education could become the primary tool by which the leaders of the National Education Association foist their anti-Christian humanist agenda on America's children.
* Do you support vouchers? Why or why not?
I oppose a voucher system because I believe it could open the door for federal restrictions on the curricula of our nation's Christian schools.
* How do we deal with juvenile crime?
Juvenile crime is an issue that can be handled primarily on the state and local level. I support prosecuting any youth accused of murder as an adult.
How do you get past the fact that the NEA endorsed Huckabee?
The NEA is a socialist organization. Meaning pro-homosexual agenda and doing everything they can to advance atheism without actually admitting it.
“How do you get past the fact that the NEA endorsed Huckabee?”
They endorsed him largely because he shares my opposition to vouchers, as expressed above:
“I oppose a voucher system because I believe it could open the door for federal restrictions on the curricula of our nation’s Christian schools.”
Huckabee’s excuses for his political meandering are just laughable.
For example, he wants Guantanamo closed because the prisoners are treated too well.
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