Sent: Tuesday, April 16, 2002 7:37 PM
Dear Candidate:
Alabama Coalition is an organization, which has been in existence for
AC serves as a network among many other conservative organizations,
AC leaders have been heavily involved with much of the legislation in
We have spent time, effort and considerable expense to prepare and mail
We hope you will take a few moments of your time and complete the
Thank you for your interest in good government.
Ellen Williams
nearly two years, and we have steadily grown. We are a grassroots
conservative organization made up of people from all regions of the
state. Our members and supporters come from each of Alabama's seven
Congressional Districts.
groups and individuals in Alabama. We publish a quarterly newsletter,
the Alabama Defender; and our leadership is regularly invited as guest
speakers to service, civic, philanthropic and political organizations in
the state.
the 2002 session of the state legislature, and along with our members
have made numerous trips to Montgomery lobbying for legislation
promoting sound government and traditional Alabama values.
the enclosed questionnaire because we believe that our 2002 Election
Questionnaire covers issues with which Alabamians are most concerned at
this time. The results of this questionnaire will be published by
several means and be available to Alabama voters across the entire
state. It is the opinion of Alabama Coalition that informed voters elect
the best candidates for the office.
enclosed 2002 Election Questionnaire. Please mail it in time to reach us
on or before April 20.
President
Please indicate your answer to the following questions by marking X by your choice.
Return Questionnaire to: ALABAMA
COALITION, 928 Delcris Drive, Birmingham, Alabama 35226. Questionnaires should reach the Alabama
Coalition by April 19 or they will be counted as “no response.”
1.
Do you favor the
Alabama Flag (HB 21 – 2001) display law
and will you support
whatever
means necessary to accomplish compliance?
yes X no
I just read the law [which talks about
placing an Alabama state flag outside every state and municipal building], and it
seems to be yet another “feel good” law which won’t accomplish anything other
than spending a lot of money in order to generate compliance to it. It also seems to violate the following section
of the Alabama Constitution:
That the sole object and only legitimate end of
government is to protect the citizen in the enjoyment of life, liberty, and
property, and when the government assumes other functions it is usurpation
and oppression. – Alabama Constitution 1901 Art. I Sec. 35
2. Do you oppose
alteration of the Capitol grounds as proposed by the Alabama historical
Commission
and attendant waste of millions of taxpayer dollars? X yes no
I’m only vaguely aware of this initiative, but if it involves wasting taxpayer dollars, then I’m completely against it.
3. Will you
oppose the removal or alteration of any existing marker, monument or statue
relating to
the History of Alabama or any citizen thereof? X yes no
4. Do you favor
retaining the 1901 Constitution? X yes no
Art I. Section 35 (above) would
certainly be deleted if it were re-written by the current bunch of politicos
who support a constitutional rewrite, in order to:
-
generate millions of
dollars in lawsuits against the new constitution, to benefit the lawyers across
the state
-
remove the current taxation
limits
-
remove explicit statements
of citizens’ rights, as in the right to carry arms
5. Will you
oppose any increase in tax rates now established by state law? X yes no
I think tax rates are too high and should be lowered.
6. Do you oppose
legalized abortion except in cases of incest, rape, or life of the mother?
yes X no
I adhere to the Libertarian position that the government should neither prohibit nor finance abortions, at the state, local, or federal level. From the tiny bit of factual information I have seen about “partial birth abortions”, I think those should probably be banned (except for cases of medical necessity for the mother).
7. Do you support
Alabama’s laws against legalized gambling?
yes X no
If adults want to gamble, it is their business. Existing laws against extortion, fraud, and violence would keep criminal elements in check. Actually, it’s places where gambling is prohibited that attract mob-style violence as different gangs fight for control of it.
I also oppose a state-run
lottery, as well as the state-run liquor stores, and anything else that’s state
run (theme parks, golf-courses, airports, etc), that doesn’t have to do with
the court system or defending the citizens of Alabama from physical threats.
8. Do you support
the right to open Christian prayer in public schools? yes X no
If any individual in a school wants to pray to his or her God, there are no laws (nor should there be) preventing that person from praying. I do however oppose folks who want to impose their brand of religion on others in the current government school system.
The better answer is to get the
government out of the education industry altogether (see Article I Section 35
again!), and let each school decide on its own policy in this regard.
Our current government school
systems were based around the Prussian system from 100+ years ago, which was
really only designed to output cannon fodder for the army and factory
workers. Remember that around the time
of the American Revolution, there were no government schools, but the literacy
rate was 98% or better.
"Can the free market guarantee quality
education ? No. Can it guarantee quality automobiles ? No.
It just produces them." - Milton Friedman, at the Pacific Research
Institute, 09/13/93
9. Do you favor
legislation requiring voter identification in polling places? X yes no
Every time I go to vote, I am amazed at how lax these poll workers are. I tell them my name “Jeffrey Johnson”, and then hover over them and just pick my name out from the list. I could just as easily have said “Jonathon Johnson” and picked one of those folks who haven’t voted yet. It’s appalling that we don’t have even a basic photo ID check to vote.
10. Do you favor legislation establishing an Alabama law
for a citizen ballot initiative on
issues of
citizen interests? X yes no
Yes, I think that citizens should have the right to place things on the ballot. I also support greatly reducing the ballot access requirements for the state (which are the most restrictive in the nation), so that the voters have more choices, especially for third parties and independents.
11. Do you support the sovereignty and laws of the State
of Alabama and the United States
over that of
any international organization? X yes no
YES! YES! YES! I also oppose our armed forces personnel having to wear the uniform (even if it’s just a stupid blue beret) of the United Nations. “A man cannot server two masters” is correct. I also support pulling the U.S. out of the U.N., but that’s not really a state-level issue.
12. Do you favor strict immigration laws and the sealing
of the borders against illegal
immigrants? yes X no
I believe anyone should be allowed to leave this country and take with them whatever assets they wish. I also believe that if we can’t keep bad things out of our own prisons, then how can we hope to keep bad things/people out of our country by turning it into a big prison? Walls/gates/guards can prevent movement IN BOTH DIRECTIONS, and that’s something to remember as our government gets more and more draconian.
In the past, immigrants came to
this country (and many still do) only because they wanted the chance to live in
a free society, and have the chance to work hard and build something for
themselves. Today, many folks come to
this country only to get the handouts from the federal/state/local governments.
I and other Libertarians support
eliminating the redistribution of wealth at the state/local/federal level. So, if we were to eliminate state-sponsored
welfare, that would leave the motivation of immigrants coming to this country
to be that of them wanting to build a better life for themselves and their
families, and those who only want to mooch wouldn’t be tempted to come here.
I also read that America would
actually have negative population growth if it wasn’t for immigration.
So, I’m all for freedom-loving,
hard-working, law-abiding people entering/leaving the United States, without a
horrendously complicated system of quotas and years-long waits for legal
paperwork.
13. Do you support the efforts of the State Board of
Education to insure a balanced
presentation
of evolution and creationism? yes X no
I think this question really boils down to the idea that Group A (who believe in idea A) don’t want to be taxed to pay to have their kids taught idea B, and Group B don’t want to be taxed to have their kids taught idea A. So this is yet another instance of a socialized government program pitting one group of Americans against another group, over a topic that both groups will probably never agree on. Meanwhile, ideas A and B become political footballs and are distributed by whichever group has the most clout, and the merits of each idea are not really weighed.
The best answer is to get the
government out of the business of educating children, and let parents decide
how/where best to educate their own kids.
This would be a serious undertaking, but the current socialized
education system is collapsing, and all the money in the world won’t prop it up
forever or make it produce better results.
14. Do you support the constitutional right of citizens
to keep and bear arms and will you
oppose any
legislation restricting gun ownership?
X yes no
YES! I believe both the federal and state Constitutions when they say that the government has no right to meddle in the private ownership of firearms. Compared to the rest of the country, most parts of Alabama have a very easy-to-obtain concealed carry permit system. However, I think that this should be replaced with a “Vermont”-style carry system, where any adult who’s not in jail/prison has the right to carry a firearm.
I would also do away with any
counterproductive “waiting periods” and background checks during the purchase
of a firearm. If a person has a
criminal background, then they should not be let out of prison until they can
be trusted to have access to a firearm (for most violent criminals, that time
might never come until they’re 60+, or never in the case of murderers, rapists,
child molesters, and treasonous government officials).
I’m currently a life-member of
the N.R.A., and was a former member of Gun Owners of America (I need to re-join that organization). I think the NRA is way too compromising, and
I like the G.O.A. much better.
|
Jeffrey
A. Johnson, Libertarian
Candidate for Alabama House of Representatives, District #10 Signature |