Steven Skelton
Libertarian | Washington
Candidate Profile
Leans Conservative
BIOGRAPHY
Name
Steven Skelton
Party
Libertarian
Election Year
2020
Election
Primary
Race
U.S. Rep., Dist. 1
Incumbent
No
Links
EDUCATION
Lafayette High School, Ballwin MO, 1992
WORK & MILITARY
(Candidate did not provide)
AFFILIATIONS
Snohomish Longhouse, Founder
POLITICAL OFFICES HELD
(Candidate did not provide)
POLITICAL OFFICES SOUGHT
(Candidate did not provide)
Race
ENDORSEMENTS
REPORTED BY CANDIDATE (1)
Judge Jim Gray
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
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?
Planned Parenthood vs. Casey is the controlling law regarding abortion access. I believe this case was wrongly decided and that the constitution does not guarantee the right to abortion access at any stage of pregnancy. However, even if Casey were to overturned tomorrow, the overall landscape of abortion would change very little. In blue states, abortion would be largely accessible. In red states, it would not be. Furthermore, the issue is out of the hands of the House of Representatives. There are several challenges heading to the Supreme Court. The issue will be decided there. I am pro-life, but quite frankly, the opinions of House members on this question are irrelevant.
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?
I overheard an attorney in my office one day exasperate to a client "...well, math is a tremendous adversary." Social Security has found itself in the crosshairs of math. Declining birth rates and a longer life-span aren't helping any. The baby-boomers have just started retiring, so this is only going to get worse. This ends one of three ways. 1. A devaluing of the currency. 2. An across the board benefits cut. 3. A political solution. As long as Democrats and Republicans are in charge, I would place my bets on option one. The primary declaration of my campaign is that Democrats and Republicans have abandoned responsible governance. There is no greater evidence for that than our SSI predicament.
What government spending would you reduce in order to balance the budget?
A proper reading of the 10th amendment dictates that almost everything the federal government does is unconstitutional. It reads: "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." What government spending would I cut...? The answer is "yes."
Under what circumstances should taxpayers help pay off existing student loans?
Under no circumstance should taxpayers pay off existing student loans.
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?
It is important to understand that "separation of church and state" is not in the constitution. It is a noble idea, but not a constitutional mandate. Government exists to protect individual liberty. It must protect the religious liberty of the individual and it must not interfere with the religious liberty of the individual. I believe somewhere it says "...shall not infringe..." I'm not sure what more I'm supposed to add?
HEALTHCARE
It is the government’s responsibility to ensure everyone has health insurance.
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?
The two economic sectors with the most out of control price increases are healthcare and higher education. Of all the markets it interferes with, the government interferes most in healthcare and higher education. The most workable system is one in which people buy insurance for catastrophic events, but pay the ongoing costs of their healthcare out of pocket. This does the best job of re-instituting market incentives to the health care sector while maintaining accessibility to everybody. Wherever we end up, increasing market forces and limiting government intervention is the best way to get the best care to the most people.
NATIONAL SECURITY
The best way to maintain peace is through a strong military.
Agree
What should the United States do to help eradicate the threat of radical Islamic terrorism?
"Eradicate" can't be the goal. We can no more eradicate the threat of radical Islamic terrorism than we can eradicate the threat of COVID 19. A conservative estimate is that 10% of the Islamic world is radicalized. That's 150,000,000 people. We manage the threat of Islamic terrorism because we can't eradicate it. First, we bring the military back home. We've been over there for 20 years. They hate us as much as they ever have. Let's save the blood and treasure and let them hate us for free. We need to get a handle on who is coming in and out of our country. Not just from Islamic countries, but from every country. I favor a generous legal immigration system that allows the world's best talent to come to America and to become Americans. Those that share our values and bring skills to make our country stronger should be welcomed. Illegal immigration should not be tolerated. We have an obligation to put America's best interest first when choosing our immig
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.
Neutral
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) should be abolished.
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
Employers should be required to use E-verify to confirm the eligibility of their employees to work in the United States.
Agree
Who should be allowed to immigrate to the U.S. and under what circumstances?
I think we should have a generous legal immigration system, and that we should not tolerate illegal immigration. Our borders are to be sovereign. We should favor immigrants that share our values of individual liberty and religious tolerance. We should favor immigrants that bring valuable skills to America and make us a stronger country.
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.
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.
I am a born again Christian. My wife and I founded a feeding ministry. I play on the worship team at my church. That said...I don't want my faith to be a reason to vote for or against me. I'm not running for Congress to make America a more Christian nation. However, I do worry deeply about our right to worship as we see fit. The prevailing culture is becoming more hostile to the Judeo/Christian religions. In other western liberal democracies, the biblical worldview and biblical teaching violate hate speech laws. Many in America are now advocating we follow suit. As with all of our constitutional rights, I will not give one inch on any religious liberty issue. I will always vote to protect faith from intrusive government.
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?
No Answer
Please provide publicly available information validating your answer to the previous question.
I am a libertarian. I don't view the political continuum as being defined by conservative and liberal. In my world view, it is freedom vs authority that defines the political spectrum. I believe in a limited government that infringes as little as possible on either the personal or economic liberty of the citizens. Citizens should be free to be, love, speak, worship, etc. however they wish. They should be free to keep the fruit of their labor. Don't hurt people. Don't take their stuff. It's pretty simple.
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?
Did not answer
CRIMINAL JUSTICE & PUBLIC SAFETY
Mandatory minimum sentencing should be required and enforced for violent crimes.
Disagree
2ND AMENDMENT
What restrictions on gun ownership are needed to protect public safety?
"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." I think it's fine that violent felons lose their gun ownership rights. The rest of us have a right to defend ourselves.
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 Agree
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?
Being that I will be the only member of my party in Congress, passing legislation probably won't be in the cards for my caucus of one. I will be a voice for liberty, and I will oppose any expansion of federal power. My campaign has three delarations for what ails America. If you agree, then vote for me. 1. The Republicans and Democrats have abandoned responsible government, and for our security and freedom, we must remove them from power. 2. To resolve our blue-city/red-state differences, we must de-emphasize Washington DC and govern ourselves closer to home. 3. We must protect free exchange and oppose oppressive government controls. That is the agenda I will work towards.
Is racism a threat to domestic security in the United States? Why or why not?
America is the least racist multi-ethnic country in the world, and our nation is the least racist it has ever been. The threat to our security comes when politicians and the media group us off by immutable characteristics like race and pit us against each other. My worldview...the the libertarian worldview...avers that government exists to protect the liberty of the individual. Not the group, but rather the individual. There is no such thing as social justice because justice is not a term applies to groups. It applies to individuals. Groups do not come before our justice system. Individuals come before our justice system. Groups can have many things. They can have ideologies, agendas, common interests, etc., but they can not have justice. That belongs to the individual.
