A Few Questions for the Presidential Candidates

by Radley Balko

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,127374,00.html
from JoeUser Forums
Radley Balko is one of my favorite political writers. Of course, being a Libertarian I am most likely inclined to appreciate the work of the Policy Analyst of the Cato Institute. A short while ago Balko wrote an article listing questions he would ask of Dick Cheney and John Edwards. I thought his questions were important and insightful.

Well, now Balko has listed some questions for Bush and Kerry. These questions are every bit as important has his previous queries, and probably a good deal more important. They reflect the frustration that many 3rd party participants feel at the current political environment.

For President Bush:

  • In the 2000 campaign, you clearly stated that you believed the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform bill was unconstitutional, saying, “I think it does restrict free speech for individuals." As president, you signed that very bill into law. You took an oath of office to “preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.” Did you sign a law you believed to be unconstitutional, violating your oath of office? Please explain this reversal.


  • You also said in 2000 that you trust Americans to spend their own money more than you trust the government. But during your first term, with your party in control of both houses of Congress, you’ve spent more taxpayer dollars (adjusted for inflation) than Bill Clinton (search), Jimmy Carter, Richard Nixon — more than every administration since Lyndon Johnson (search). That’s true no matter how we measure “spending.”


  • Do you believe an atheist or an agnostic could make a good president? Is there any religious affiliation or belief system someone could subscribe to that you believe should automatically preclude them from being president?



For Senator Kerry:

  • You said in 1992 that affirmative action was “inherently limited and divisive,” and that it fosters “a perception and a reality of reverse discrimination that has actually engendered racism.” Today, you’re on record asserting that “preserving affirmative action is a civil rights priority.”

    What has changed between 1992 and 2004 to make you change your opinion? Are blacks and women worse off now than they were then?


  • You’ve demagogued the outsourcing issue throughout the primaries and so far in the general election. You’ve said corporate executives who export manufacturing jobs overseas are “Benedict Arnold CEOs.” But you and your wife still own 4 percent of the H.J. Heinz Corporation, which operates 57 factories overseas, but just 22 here in the United States. The Hill newspaper reports that your campaign has accepted $370,000 from the CEOs of companies that heavily outsource jobs to other countries.

    Given your vigorous opposition to outsourcing, are you prepared to ask Heinz to close all of those overseas factories, or to sell off your stake in Heinz if it doesn't? Will you give back campaign contributions from corporate executives whose companies outsource?


  • You recently said of the Patriot Act: “We are a nation of laws and liberties, not of a knock in the night. So it is time to end the era of John Ashcroft. That starts with replacing the Patriot Act with a new law that protects our people and our liberties at the same time. I’ve been a District Attorney and I know that what law enforcement needs are real tools not restrictions on American’s basic rights.”

    Eloquently put. So why did you vote for it?

"
politics
8,722 views 12 replies
Reply #1 from JoeUser Forums Top
These are good questions. Although, I don't think it is fair to put the word "unconstitutional" in Bush's mouth. Also, the Democrats controlled the senate for most of the first 2 years. Still, the question about spending is a very valid one.
Reply #2 from PolMach Forums Top
I am not sure that the question of spending is a valid one with Bush's last term. He had a number of expenses that were out of the ordinary; like rebuilding the Pentagon, aid to NYC for the rescue and clean up of the WTC attack, military operations against two countries, increasing intelligence assets, setting up the Department of Homeland Security, increased security around the country, etc. I am not sure how much those items added to the increase in spending that Bush is blamed for but I would guess it is a large part. That would be an interesting stat. to have.
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Reply #3 from JoeUser Forums Top
I am not sure that the question of spending is a valid one with Bush's last term.


I am not sure how much those items added to the increase in spending that Bush is blamed for but I would guess it is a large part. That would be an interesting stat. to have.

And that is exactly why that is a good question. If Bush can offer a reasonable response then that would tell voters a lot.

These questions are not intended to be rhetorical (at least not completely). Good, truthful answers to these would go far towards informing Americans what policies these men really support.
Reply #4 from JoeUser Forums Top
The full version of the question notes thst spending not related to defense or homeland security has increased at the largest rate since Johnson adjusted for inflation.
Reply #5 from JoeUser Forums Top
For reference, here's the full question:

— You also said in 2000 that you trust Americans to spend their own money more than you trust the government. But during your first term, with your party in control of both houses of Congress, you’ve spent more taxpayer dollars (adjusted for inflation) than Bill Clinton (search), Jimmy Carter, Richard Nixon — more than every administration since Lyndon Johnson (search). That’s true no matter how we measure “spending.”

Even when we adjust for defense and homeland security spending, you’re still the biggest spender in four decades. You’ve increased funding to such non-conservative causes as the National Endowment for the Arts, the Departments of Health and Human Services and Education, the Peace Corps, and of course the prescription drug benefit (which your administration pushed through Congress based on misleading information about its cost).

Given your professed views on government spending, how do you justify growing government faster than any president in 40 years?
Reply #6 from JoeUser Forums Top
Good catch Madine and vincible.
Reply #7 from JoeUser Forums Top
I would be willing to bet that most overseas Heinz factories are much like most overseas GM plants, sure they don't employ Americans, and aren't built in American territory, but they also don't sell to americans, they sell to the local markets. Oof, I don't like this election, I don't really like either candidate.
Reply #8 from JoeUser Forums Top
I would be willing to bet that most overseas Heinz factories are much like most overseas GM plants, sure they don't employ Americans, and aren't built in American territory, but they also don't sell to americans, they sell to the local markets.

That is most likely, I think. And if that is the case then that would be a good response to that question, but I would want to see figures supporting it.
Oof, I don't like this election, I don't really like either candidate.

Welcome to my world.
Reply #9 from JoeUser Forums Top
Snopes knows everything

http://www.snopes.com/politics/kerry/heinz.asp

Relevant quotes:

Although Senator Kerry has been critical of the Bush administration for rewarding "Benedict Arnold CEOs" who move "profits and jobs overseas," the above-quoted attempt to link Kerry (through his wife) with the very outsourcing he decries is flawed in two major ways. First off, Teresa Heinz Kerry does not "own the Heinz Corporation" — she has no involvement whatsoever with the management or operations of the H.J. Heinz Company, nor does she own anything close to a controlling interest of the company's stock...

Moreover, the Heinz Company's operations are not an example of the type of outsourcing that is currently a hot political issue (i.e., sending out work to offshore companies to provide services which a company might otherwise have employed its own staff to perform). Heinz is a U.S.-based global business which sells its products in dozens of other countries, and like other food companies it has to localize some of its production at factories located in its foreign market areas...

As the H.J. Heinz Company notes, well over half its sales come from foreign markets, and it therefore operates overseas facilities to serve those markets:

Currently, 60% of the sales of the H.J. Heinz Company are outside the United States and to accommodate those customers by providing facilities closer to those markets, the company maintains a number of overseas facilities that provide products for consumers in those markets. This allows Heinz to pack the freshest ingredients, tailor its recipes to local tastes and deliver the finished products in a timely and efficient manner. In the United States, Heinz makes its flagship ketchup in factories in Fremont, Ohio; Muscatine, Iowa; and Stockton, California.
Reply #10 from JoeUser Forums Top
First off, Teresa Heinz Kerry does not "own the Heinz Corporation" — she has no involvement whatsoever with the management or operations of the H.J. Heinz Company, nor does she own anything close to a controlling interest of the company's stock...

Balko never says they control anything. He asks if they would try to influence a change in policy (which is certainly not out of the question for a 4% owner), and if that fails will they sell that stock in favor of other companies.

He also asks:

The Hill newspaper reports that your campaign has accepted $370,000 from the CEOs of companies that heavily outsource jobs to other countries...Will you give back campaign contributions from corporate executives whose companies outsource?

Which has nothing to do with their ownership of Heinz.
Reply #11 from JoeUser Forums Top
Wait... the Heinz factories serve foreign markets, according to Snopes. What's the remaining problem here?

I admit I overquoted, but I tend to try to err in that direction rather than underquoting.
Reply #12 from JoeUser Forums Top
What's the remaining problem here?

The campaign contributions of CEOs of companies that heavily outsource jobs.