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Issues
Winning positions that put Minnesotans first!
Iraq
It's time to get out of Iraq now. Congress has abdicated it's responsibility of oversight while cost overruns and emergency funding have masked the true cost.
Healthcare
The goal is to balance affordability with universality. Health care should no longer be tied to employment. Insurance should be used for the unexpected and unaffordable. Prescription drug companies need to be required to include information labels on their products which will allow consumers to be more cost-conscious.
Education
Local communities and the states can best react to education needs. Educate kids in math and science so we are producing citizens who can compete in a global marketplace.
Agriculture
Family farmers are good stewards of the land they cultivate and of the animals they raise. Invest in family farms over corporate operations. Encourage farmers to be on the forefront of energy independence through energy diversity: ethanol, biodiesel, wind, and solar.
Congressional Ethics
An independent council should lead ethics reform. To have lawmakers police themselves is ripe for abuse. Lobbyist scandals, no-bid contracts, and flat out bribes threaten our faith in our democracy.
Social Security
Proposals thus far have required unacceptable implementation costs. It is wrong to expect young people to carry the burden of solvency - either through increased program costs or high implementation costs (added to our National Debt).
Abortion
Reducing the number of unplanned pregnancies leads to fewer abortions. I support adoption agencies, reproductive education, and availability to contraception. Restrictive legislation does not lead to fewer abortions.
Energy Policy
Energy independence is of economic, environmental, and national security importance. We need to encourage the development of renewable energy resources through tax incentives and by funding research. Meeting our nation's energy needs internally should be an absolute priority for the obvious economic benefits.
Environment
I support a government regulated market of pollution credits where industries can buy and trade credits for the pollution they generate. Doing this would help industry actualize the long-term costs of pollution while providing revenue for more innovation research and regulation enforcement.
Immigration
The interests of US workers define our economic needs. Guest worker programs are proposals for government sponsored apartheid, creating a sub-class of workers without rights or ability to participate in our democratic process. Instead, secure the border, train Americans for 21st century jobs, and enforce same-pay laws for immigrants.
Deficit Spending
The deficit increases the National Debt and leads to an insecure and uncertain economy. It robs our ability to confront major problems like national security, education, economic competitiveness, and alternative energy. This burden continues to grow and we are passing it to our children. This is reckless and irresponsible governing.
Social Security and Medicare
These two programs will eventually consume the entire budget if left unaddressed. They constitute nearly 75 trillion dollars in unfunded liabilities. We need reform that addresses the cost of these programs. I do not support placing a crushing tax burden on young people to make up the difference.
Disaster Response
Keep management and resources local. Local communities are more in tune with the unique challenges they face. For this reason, we will always see the Katrina response (too little, too late, for far too much money) to natural disasters and pandemics as long as the Federal government is responsible for responding.
National Security
The best solution is to fix our borders, our immigration and customs points, and our visa compliance. This administration's power grab threatens fourth amendment rights while not using the tools we actually have effectively.
Party Politics
Separation of powers are threatened by politicians who put their party ahead of their responsibility to Congress. In the US Senate, power has increasingly been given away to the Presidency by Democrats and Republicans more interested in partisan maneuvering than in being responsible. Put citizens first, party second.
Judicial Nominations
At the federal level, both the Democrats and Republicans have increasingly made political strategy the primary goal in judicial picks and the motivation in opposing them. This leads to poor judicial candidates, public cynicism as to judicial independence, and potentially a judiciary with partisan bias.