Recently I wrote about the Republican field in the 1st CD race being narrowed to one candidate. At that time I thought that it would be a good time to help better define the field of 6 Democrats still vying for a position on the general election ballot. Because Democrats seem to come in various flavors these days, I decided to put a single set of questions to all six candidates.
Laura Ruderman was the first of the candidates to respond.
EXAMINER: The state legislature will soon pass and the governor will sign a marriage equality bill in our state. The Federal government still has the Defense of Marriage act in place. President Obama has said he will not enforce the act but has stopped short of calling for its repeal. Would you work to repeal DOMA?
RUDERMAN: Yes. DOMA is a misguided law that prevents same-sex couples from enjoying the same rights afforded to heterosexual couples. That's why, as a member of Congress, I would sponsor the Respect For Marriage Act, which would repeal DOMA. I have a long track record on this issue - from cosponsoring marriage equality legislation in the Washington State House of Representatives to asking people to send contributions to Equal Rights Washington in lieu of wedding gifts when I got married to raising money to uphold the state’s domestic partnership laws. This is a deeply held value and one that I will be proud to fight for in Congress.
EXAMINER: This year there will be a ballot measure in Washington State to legalize the growing and possession of marijuana. Washington and other states already have approved medical marijuana. A major stumbling block has been the US Code that has the federal government essentially negating these state laws. Would you work to revise the US codes that are preventing the legalization of marijuana?
RUDERMAN: I have long supported the medical use of marijuana. As a member of Congress from the 1st Congressional District, it is my responsibility to advocate for my constituents. It’s clear where Washington voters stand on this issue and I would work to allow our citizens to be able to follow the laws of their own state. There are people in every state in the nation who could benefit from medical marijuana. I would hope that this would clear the way to ease their suffering as well.
EXAMINER: Currently, President Obama has proposed a cut in the Defense budget of some $487 Billion. Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA) and others have said we could safely cut twice that amount. Whose position do you support; Obama or Frank?
RUDERMAN: It is clear that one of the main causes of our rising deficit is out military spending. I will support efforts to curb waste, fraud and abuse of military dollars and hold contractors accountable. Military spending has been allowed to grow unchecked because the Republicans have, unfortunately, successfully equated any kind of military spending with patriotism. Challenging this spending has been deemed unpatriotic. This is just wrong.
It is time we get our fiscal house in order at the Pentagon. We need to make sure that the tax dollars spent by the military are subjected to the same scrutiny as all other spending. I commend former Secretary Gates for leading this effort. I also support President Obama’s proposal by doing it in stages. We may actually be able to go further than the president’s original plan and get closer to Congressman Frank’s number. At the same time, we have to make sure that our men and women serving in uniform have what they need to be safe and successful. There is still a lot of work to be done to arrive at the right number.
EXAMINER: Social Security is a bedrock plank of the Democratic Party. While there is much concern about its ongoing solvency, there is an argument that says raising or eliminating the cap on withholding could eliminate those concerns for the indefinite future. Would you work to raise or eliminate the cap?
RUDERMAN: Eliminate. You will hear me talk in this campaign about a simple promise we have made to the workers of America. A promise that I believe is under attack by the far-right who seem to want to help the people who are trying to game the system instead of the people who work every day for a living. You deserve to retire with dignity. You need to retire without fear that you won’t have a place to live, or be able to pay for medicine or have no place to turn when you get sick. That’s why I support Senator Bernie Sander’s proposal to “scrap the cap”, which would gradually eliminate the cap on wages subject to the payroll tax, starting with people earning more than a quarter-million a year. This will ensure the long-term solvency of Social Security without cutting benefits or raising taxes on the middle class.We know that we will need to make tough choices to keep these programs solvent. But as President Obama has said, we can make responsible choices, and moral choices, that do not drive millions of seniors into poverty.
EXAMINER: For years now, many in Organized Labor have felt under assault by this country’s shift to a policy of “Free Trade.” They believe that workers in the US have been placed at a disadvantage by having to compete against countries with few if any worker’s rights or safety laws; plus a tax code that rewards companies for moving jobs off-shore. Will you work to eliminate tax breaks for companies who shift labor off-shore?
RUDERMAN: Yes. 8.7% of our state’s workforce is unemployed and that’s not counting those who are underemployed. Bringing jobs back home is the best stimulus package we could have. But we can go even further. We should provide tax incentives to companies who do not outsource jobs. We also have to honest about what government can and can’t do to get the economy humming again. And we can’t buy into the rhetoric that cutting taxes on millionaires will create jobs.
EXAMINER: Do you support Free Trade or Fair Trade?
RUDERMAN: I strongly support fair trade. In mid-August of last year, Congress passed free trade agreements with Panama, South Korea and Colombia. Trade is a vital part of the Washington State economy. But we can't simply pass free trade agreements blindly; they should have environmental and labor protections and we must consider how labor is treated in the countries we are dealing with.
I've said again and again that the right to organize is one of my bedrock principles. One of the proudest votes I cast in the Washington State House of Representatives was to give state employees the right to bargain collectively.
Bringing those two principles into balance, while I would have voted for the agreements with South Korea and Panama, I could not have voted to support a free trade agreement withColombia, a country with a dismal record on protecting the lives of union organizers.
EXAMINER: In his State of the Union address, President Obama suggested that we should shift our subsidies from the Oil and Gas industry and toward the Clean Energy industry. In the past, he has included nuclear in the cadre of Clean Energy providers. Will you work to shift the subsidies?
RUDERMAN: Yes. It is imperative that we protect our planet for the generations yet to come. I want to be able to tell my children that our government recognized the danger of climate change and fought to stop it. Again, my track record in the Washington State House of Representatives speaks for itself. I supported numerous efforts to promote clean energy – including tax breaks for purchasing solar panels made in Washington and adopting net metering laws.
We must continue to expand our state’s commitment to an energy portfolio that includes renewables, so our region can be a leader in reducing our carbon footprint. In addition, we should lead the country, and the world, in starting a new green energy industrial sector creating thousands of living wage jobs.
EXAMINER: What is your position on nuclear energy?
RUDERMAN: One of my first political acts was demonstrating against nuclear weapons when I was in middle school. I was, and still am, concerned that nuclear weapons are incredibly destructive and produce a huge amount of waste. I still believe we must examine the effects of nuclear waste and nuclear energy on our planet. As a result, nuclear energy is far down my list of energy alternatives that I believe we should be actively pursuing.
I want to thank Laura for her response and am looking forward to hearing from the remaining candidates in this crowded race.
Peace,
Chad Shue
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