
Craig Keller
Republican | Washington
Candidate Profile
Conservative
BIOGRAPHY
Name
Craig Keller
Party
Republican
Election Year
2020
Election
General
Race
U.S. Rep., Dist. 7
Incumbent
No
EDUCATION
Hillsdale College, Hillsdale, Michigan, BA Economics, 1985
WORK & MILITARY
Self Employed, Manufacturer's Representative, 23
Self Employed, Investment Adviser / CFA, 26
AFFILIATIONS
RespectWashington.us (respect for law initiatives), co-founder, SaveOurChoice.us (consumer freedom initiatives)
co-founder
POLITICAL OFFICES HELD
Precinct Committee Officer - Republican, 26
POLITICAL OFFICES SOUGHT
Congress WA-07, 2014, 2016, 2018
Race
ENDORSEMENTS
OTHER (1)
King County Republican Party
SELECTED CONTRIBUTIONS
CONSERVATIVE
GIVEN BY CANDIDATE (1)
John Koster (2010)
RECEIVED BY CANDIDATE (1)
State Republican Party Organizations (2018)
OTHER INFORMATION
QUESTIONNAIRE
RIGHT TO LIFE
Human life begins at conception and deserves legal protection at every stage until natural death.
Strongly Agree
Abortion providers, including Planned Parenthood, should not receive taxpayer funds or grants from federal, state, or local governments.
Strongly Agree
I support the Born Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, which requires health care providers to provide life-saving treatment for infants who survive an attempted abortion.
Strongly Agree
Under what circumstances should abortion be allowed?
Definitely not for purposes of sex selection! A practice condoned by such brutal regimes as Peoples' Republic of China. Is not the United States of America better than that! "Crisis" pregnancy centers must be supported to dissipate the "crisis" that businesses unconstrained by moral belief have no incentive to dispel. The death and pain of killing children in the womb will be reduced through encouragement of marriage and chastity before marriage. Media moguls are guilty of sexualizing children. Evermore "sexual" and not mere "sex" or reproductive health education in schools is grooming children into activity outside of wedlock. At 6.5 per 1000 in 2018 the U.S. marriage rate is at it lowest in over a century. Young people should be encouraged toward the protections of marriage; for themselves as well as for their posterity. Ronald Reagan was wise in expressing that we should always "err on the side of life."
ECONOMY
It is the government’s responsibility to ensure everyone has a livable income.
Strongly Disagree
Free enterprise and the right to private property are essential elements of a productive economic system.
Strongly Agree
How would you guarantee Social Security benefits for future generations?
1. Reject illegal alien amnesty and its unspoken collateral draining of Social Security resources to those who defrauded U.S. employment laws (including dishonest employers and politician co-conspirators) 2. Enact Mandatory E-verify to reduce the population of those unlawfully present, and thus correct the attitude of false entitlement by unlawfully-present aliens and their accessory politicians who harangue taxpayers to accept amnesty. 3. Significantly reduce non-immigrant employment visas such as H-1B which perversely incentivize employers to hire alien workers for which employer is exempted from withholding Social Security tax. If that employer were to rather hire a U.S. resident alien or citizen then both employee and employer would contribute to Social Security. 4. While Social Security must be preserved for its savings disciple, participants should never forget that SS never did replace working income. Individual Retirement Accounts must be encouraged to bridge that gap
What government spending would you reduce in order to balance the budget?
For the greatest deficit reduction benefit at all levels I will focus on halting the scourge of illegal immigration invasion, which FAIRus.org estimates annually inflicts cost of $116 Billion upon all taxpayers. https://www.fairus.org/issue/publications-resources/fiscal-burden-illegal-immigration-united-states-taxpayers Immigration management is a federal responsibility. If enforced honestly, budgets at federal, state and local levels will benefit beyond dreams.
Under what circumstances should taxpayers help pay off existing student loans?
Today the forgiveness of federal education loans are more lenient than almost any other loan. Presently, a loan balance is forgiven following ten years of income-scaled monthly payments. This benefit is available to debtors employed by government at any tier or by non-profit organizations. Such relief is more than sufficient for those who owe a debt to federal taxpayers.
RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
Governments should not discriminate against individuals, organizations or small businesses because of their belief that marriage is only a union of one man and one woman.
Strongly Agree
Religious liberty is at risk in the United States and deserves the highest level of protection in the law.
Strongly Agree
I promise to protect the freedom of Christians to share the Gospel and to practice Biblical principles.
Yes
What does "separation of church and state" mean to you?
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..." In other words, government of the United States shall not establish a state-sponsored church. That government deference to religious practice was voiced in the first sentence of our Bill of Rights' speaks volumes. "Separation" cannot be equated to "eradication" of Judeo-Christian values from the public square, schools and Pledge of Allegiance.
HEALTHCARE
It is the government’s responsibility to ensure everyone has health insurance.
Strongly Disagree
I support the elimination of private healthcare insurance.
Strongly Disagree
How would you promote healthcare coverage that is adequate, affordable and accessible for all?
Maximize employment (along with maintenance of current tax expensing of employer-provided health insurance benefits). Assure equivalent tax treatment for the self-employed. In either case "universal" economic prosperity is the answer to maximum health insurance coverage. Maximum economic prosperity is also essential in collection of tax revenue in support of those among us who suffer health and mental challenges which demand state support. Never should radicals be allowed to destroy the proven success of American medicine by mischaracterizing a "crisis" in indigent care. A robust economy with full employment, reasonable taxation and charity is the answer for healthcare provision to the greatest number. In all cases, I promote broader citizen adoption of Health Savings Accounts for their own independence from the inherent limits of insurance. I will vote to increase Health Savings Account contribution limits.
NATIONAL SECURITY
The best way to maintain peace is through a strong military.
Strongly Agree
What should the United States do to help eradicate the threat of radical Islamic terrorism?
Continued support of nascent pluralist governments in Afghanistan and Iraq. Support of Kurdish statehood to improve balance of power in the Middle East. The absolute protection of press and religious freedoms in the United States such that religious frauds and maniacal false prophets may be exposed. Encouragement of the same overseas. Essential in defunding terrorism is America's continued pursuit of North American petroleum self-sufficiency (including free flow from Canada) to win complete freedom from the Wahhabist Saudi OPEC cartel; the same butchers who dismembered journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul in 2018. Foreign government planting of mosques and "Islamic Centers" inside the United States should be prohibited. Such an act by a foreign power to plant a church or synagogue inside Saudi Arabia is illegal.
IMMIGRATION
I am in favor of construction of a wall and other necessary infrastructure on our border that gives complete control over entering and exiting the United States.
Strongly Agree
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) should be abolished.
Strongly Disagree
State and federal funds should be denied to any public or private entity, including but not limited to sanctuary cities, that are not in compliance with immigration laws.
Strongly Agree
Employers should be required to use E-verify to confirm the eligibility of their employees to work in the United States.
Strongly Agree
Who should be allowed to immigrate to the U.S. and under what circumstances?
The U.S. Constitution Article I Section 8 empowers Congress to "establish an uniform rule of naturalization." Only those who truthfully pledge support of the Constitution should be admitted for residence. Only those who pledge to abide by the laws of the United State may be admitted for non-immigrant visas (work or study). In any case, the numbers admitted by Congress cannot be allowed to adversely impact employment of American citizens and residents, nor allow adverse impact to government budgets. Reduction of currently massive illegal population is the first necessity. Within a limited number admitted, entry to U.S. should not be by financial calculus, such as the high-fraud EB-5 visa sale of green cards to real estate investors for $500,000. Nor should admission be primarily based upon how much an employer sponsor profits ("merit"). Rather, admission preference should remain in support of family reunification and self-reliance. Immigrant criminals subject to de-naturalization
EDUCATION
Taxpayer-funded public education should be guaranteed through college.
Strongly Disagree
VALUES
Judeo-Christian values established a framework of morality which is necessary for our system of limited government.
Strongly Agree
I support adding sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression as protected classes in non-discrimination laws.
Strongly Disagree
Briefly describe your spiritual beliefs and values.
Ten Commandments (Exodus 20) First and Greatest Commandment: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ The second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matt 22)
ABOUT YOU
When you consider your views on a wide range of issues from economic and social matters to foreign policy and immigration, which of the following best describes you overall?
Conservative
Please provide publicly available information validating your answer to the previous question.
SCOTUS petition 19-474 SCOTUS petition 19-1219 2014 Candidate for Congress, WA-07 2016 Candidate for Congress, WA-07 2018 Candidate for Congress, WA-07
Have you ever been convicted of a felony or been penalized for sexual misconduct? If so, please explain.
Answer: No and no. Nor have I ever committed such a crime.
Is there anything else you would like voters to know about you?
I am married to a legal immigrant. Though I did not serve our country via the U.S. military, I consider my public service in the political arena as my grateful tribute to those who sacrificed life and limb to win the liberties and prosperity which we all enjoy today. May God Bless America.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE & PUBLIC SAFETY
Mandatory minimum sentencing should be required and enforced for violent crimes.
Strongly Agree
2ND AMENDMENT
What restrictions on gun ownership are needed to protect public safety?
I am a Life NRA member. Criminal background check upon firearm purchase is advisable. I will vote concealed carry permit reciprocity across fifty states. I took ownership of my Second Amendment birthright only when I first purchased a firearm to protect my family following burglary of our home. That experience taught that a right does not become real until actually exercised. I learned that one cannot become fully American unless he or she acquires a firearm to protect family and country.
OTHER IMPORTANT ISSUES
I support BDS (boycott, divestment, and sanction) against Israel if they refuse to allow the creation of a Palestinian state.
Strongly Disagree
I support the legalization of recreational marijuana.
Strongly Disagree
Reparations should be given to people on the basis of race.
Strongly Disagree
The Electoral College should be abolished.
Strongly Disagree
In priority order, what three areas of legislation do you propose to author or sponsor if elected?
1. Mandatory E-verify 2. Reduction of Congressional appropriations to "sanctuary cities" who obstruct federal law enforcement. (Congressional action is necessary as courts have frustrated President Trump's attempt to withhold appropriated funds from those lawless jurisdictions.) 3. Banning of all commercial robocalls (including robust funding for enforcement in cooperation with domestic carriers against already illegal scam callers, many from overseas.)
Is racism a threat to domestic security in the United States? Why or why not?
I reject the bogus charge that governments in the United States are any longer "institutionally racist." That is the charge of today's shakedown artists, rioters and looters who are the real threat to domestic tranquility. Skin color discrimination is today unlawful and rare. Elements who promote the myth of modern day government-sanctioned race discrimination tend to be believers in Marxist "class" warfare theory; including operatives of foreign communist governments. To this day, and for good reason, those affiliated with the Communist Party and Nazi Party are ineligible for naturalization to U.S. citizenship. https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-12-part-d-chapter-7
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