R. Edwin Adams
Libertarian | Texas
Candidate Profile
Leans Liberal
BIOGRAPHY
Name
R. Edwin Adams
Party
Libertarian
Election Year
2020
Election
General
Race
State Rep., Dist. 8
Incumbent
No
Links
EDUCATION
University of Louisiana, Lafayette, Lafayette, LA, BSEE, 1990
WORK & MILITARY
US Army Reserve, Platoon Sergeant, 5
Eaton Electrical, Sr Field Engineer, 6
Schneider Electric, Sales Engineer, 2
Cleco, Plant Engineer, 4
AFFILIATIONS
Christ Church (Mansfield LA), Lay Minister, St John's (Corsicana, TX)
Lay Minister, Family Services (Corsicana, TX), Volunteer
LPTexas, Delegate, Texas Youth Commission
Volunteer
POLITICAL OFFICES HELD
(Candidate did not provide)
POLITICAL OFFICES SOUGHT
(Candidate did not provide)
Race
ENDORSEMENTS
REPORTED BY CANDIDATE (1)
Libertarian Party of Texas
OTHER INFORMATION
QUESTIONNAIRE
RIGHT TO LIFE
Human life begins at conception and deserves legal protection at every stage until natural death.
Agree
Abortion providers, including Planned Parenthood, should not receive taxpayer funds or grants from federal, state, or local governments.
Strongly Agree
Under what circumstances should abortion be allowed?
First trimester, with counseling for alternatives. Mostly no restrictions including parental consent. Not taxpayer funded. After first trimester in cases of medical need to protect the life of the mother. Not taxpayer funded. Regardless of circumstances, if child survives procedure, then their life is protected as a full human and life saving measures should be applied.
ECONOMY
It is the government’s responsibility to ensure everyone has a livable income.
Disagree
Free enterprise and the right to private property are essential elements of a productive economic system.
Strongly Agree
What government spending would you reduce in order to balance the budget?
Start with audits to see where waste exists within the government. Then enforcement of bureaucratic edicts. Then reduce numbers of government workers since without the former two, they are no longer needed. Then, the tasks required by the government need to be pared down until government is minimized.
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
Governments should define marriage as between one man and one woman; no other definition of marriage should be legalized or supported with taxpayer or public funds.
Disagree
Religious liberty is at risk in the United States and deserves the highest level of protection in the law.
Agree
I promise to protect the freedom of Christians to share the Gospel and to practice Biblical principles.
No Answer
What does "separation of church and state" mean to you?
Using church morality to establish laws beyond protecting peoples life and property. The question, if church morality becomes a basis for law, which religion's morality should be used? Christianity? Islam? Buddhist? Judaism? There is great commonality but in general, morality based laws typically create a black market for whatever is banned. The black market increases crime and bogs down enforcement into enforcing morality upon the citizens. I think clergy should be the enforcers of morality without political force.
HEALTHCARE
It is the government’s responsibility to ensure everyone has health insurance.
Strongly Disagree
How would you promote healthcare coverage that is adequate, affordable and accessible for all?
By reducing regulations that are increasing healthcare costs. Government regulations are responsible for most of the increase since the early 1970s. Most of these regulations are at the federal level so not germane to my candidacy but I would attempt to remove state regulations/fees/requirements that increase cost to the providers and passed on to consumers.
NATIONAL SECURITY
The best way to maintain peace is through a strong military.
Neutral
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 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.
Disagree
Who should be allowed to immigrate to the U.S. and under what circumstances?
This country was built on immigration. Even so, immigrants have always been suspect. We need to allow open and legal immigration to keep tabs on who is entering the country so that deported criminals cannot reenter the country, but most others can.
EDUCATION
Taxpayer-funded public education should be guaranteed through college.
Disagree
VALUES
Judeo-Christian values established a framework of morality which is necessary for our system of limited government.
Neutral
I support adding sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression as protected classes in non-discrimination laws.
Agree
Promotion of the LGBT agenda in public schools, including teaching of “sexual orientation” and “gender identity”, is completely inappropriate and should be opposed at the state and local level.
Neutral
I support allowing public high school students to participate in athletic competition based on the gender with which they identify instead of biological sex.
Disagree
Briefly describe your spiritual beliefs and values.
I am a Christian but do not believe in imposing my beliefs on anyone in a political way.
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?
Somewhat Conservative
Please provide publicly available information validating your answer to the previous question.
The question asks for the right/left answer to my political beliefs. I don't consider that to be the most important axis, the authoritative/anarchy axis is more important. I believe in free markets and reduced taxes and government; all right-wing beliefs. I also believe in ending the war on drugs, LGBT rights, and legalized prostitution which are not right-wing. The other axis however, is more important in today's terms. Increasing regulations, police militarization, open violence in the streets have increased in recent months. This has been caused by encroachment by the government by both Democrat and Republican office holders. This needs to stop to restore harmony between police and the public and relax tension overall.
What education or experience qualifies you to hold the office for which you seek election?
Greatest experience as a voter. Although sympathetic to Libertarians since I first encountered them in 1980, I typically voted Republican to 'keep my vote relevant'. They promised reduced taxes, reduced government regulations, and a strong military for defense. Although they have kept their promise for a strong military, it has been used to impress our values on people who have their own ideas and justifiably they became angry. The rest they failed on and I became increasingly aware they had no intentions on following through. This is similar to Democrats promises for greater civil liberties which has become a politically correct, thought police, witch hunt. As an engineer, I find the best solution is to address the cause of the problem, not the symptoms. Our elected officials have only addressed the symptoms because the cause of the problem is themselves.
Have you ever been convicted of a felony or been penalized for sexual misconduct? If so, please explain.
No
Is there anything else you would like voters to know about you?
Despite some of the 'radical' ideas here, I am not a radical. I want what I believe the citizens want: efficiency and size reduction of the government, freer trade, and more control over their own lives. Government has woven their presence into almost every aspect of our lives. Fees to practice your trade, fees to drive a car, taxes on things you buy as well as bought, things you aren't allowed to do, things you are required to do, etc. the list is nearly endless. Laws are written by lawyers so that only lawyers can understand them. This is not what we fought to rebel against England almost 250 years ago; England was far less repressive. I am trying to revert to smaller government and increased freedom, something that none of us have ever had. It may be scary to many who find comfort in the 'protections' of the government, but consider if you trust your neighbor more or less than people you don't know in Washington or Austin.
JUDICIAL PHILOSOPHY
I support the use of Sharia law as a basis for legislation and judicial decisions in the United States.
Strongly Disagree
CRIMINAL JUSTICE & PUBLIC SAFETY
Mandatory minimum sentencing should be required and enforced for violent crimes.
Neutral
2ND AMENDMENT
Should teachers be allowed to carry guns at school?
Yes
What restrictions on gun ownership are needed to protect public safety?
Violent felons should not be able to purchase or possess guns until their parole is complete. Already enacted.
OTHER IMPORTANT ISSUES
People should be able to vote without photo identification.
Disagree
I support the legalization of recreational marijuana.
Strongly Agree
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?
Criminal justice: our current system produces better criminals instead of trying to reintegrate them into society. The objective should be rehabilitation and reintegration back into society, not you messed up once so your future is ruined. Balanced Budget: the state of Texas is slowly going the way of federal government but lacks the ability to print its own money. Although I want reduced taxes, the balanced budget needs to be first. Decriminalization of Marijuana: this is a first step toward ending the war on drugs completely. When I hear Lt Governor Dan Patrick say he will not allow a vote on this, I wonder what drug kingpin is financing his campaign. Creating a black market for criminals to become wealthy and violent does nothing to protect the public. Non-clinical trials have shown that marijuana may have many beneficial effects; this needs to be pursued further. Legal marijuana sales would help legitimate businesses. I see no downside of this move.
Is racism a threat to domestic security in the United States? Why or why not?
Yes but not to the extent seen in the media. The media has over emphasized race as a cause to many problems, including police-public trust. The cause often starts with non-violent 'crimes' which the police are encouraged to enforce instead of protecting the public from crimes like theft and rape which cost money to solve and convict. They get paid for traffic citations and drug seizures, so that is what they spend their efforts on. This has historically targeted minorities over whites. Removal of drug crimes for consumption, asset forfeiture, and no-knock raids would reduce 'racist' incidents and restore faith in police.
