Eric Rinard
Republican | Colorado
Candidate Profile
Leans Liberal
BIOGRAPHY
Name
Eric Rinard
Party
Republican
Election Year
2022
Election
Primary
Race
Regent, Univ. of Colorado, Dist. 8
Incumbent
No
Links
EDUCATION
University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, BSEE, 1985
WORK & MILITARY
Candidate did not provide
AFFILIATIONS
Aspen Ridge Preparatory School Board of Directors, Vice President
POLITICAL OFFICES HELD
Candidate did not provide
POLITICAL OFFICES SOUGHT
Candidate did not provide
ENDORSEMENTS
REPORTED BY CANDIDATE (1)
Steven Bosley
SELECTED CONTRIBUTIONS
CONSERVATIVE
GIVEN BY CANDIDATE (7)
Barbara Kirkmeyer (2012)
Bob Beauprez (2017)
Dan Woog (2020)
John Cooke (2017)
Local, County, and District Republican Organizations (2019)
RECEIVED BY CANDIDATE (0)
QUESTIONNAIRE
RIGHT TO LIFE
Abortion providers, including Planned Parenthood, should not be a resource for instruction or services in the school.
Agree
Under what circumstances should abortion be allowed?
Abortion promotes a culture of death. I believe in a culture of life.
RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
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
Marriage is an act of lifelong commitment between two people and is not the business of government to define.
The Ten Commandments should not be displayed in public school buildings or court houses.
Disagree
At school, students should be able to speak freely and civilly about matters of conscience and faith, including Christianity.
Strongly Agree
NATIONAL SECURITY
The best way to maintain peace is through a strong military.
Agree
The only proper use of military force is in defense of our nation or to assist in the defense of allied nations - not for the invasion of nations that have not already initiated hostilities.
ECONOMY
It is the government’s responsibility to ensure everyone has a livable income.
Strongly Disagree
We must recognize diversity in ability and ambition, and accept the fact that there will always be those who choose to live life differently than we might wish for them.
What is your position on government funding of public education from Pre-K through college?
Funding of education is a proper function of state and local government, but not the federal government.
EDUCATION
Every state should mandate K-12 standardized tests and the use of teaching software which aligns with Common Core standards.
Disagree
Every state should establish its own educational standards, consistent with the values of its citizens.
Parents are the ultimate authority in their child’s education and should be able to freely pursue whatever educational options they deem best for their child.
Strongly Agree
Individual liberty supersedes government authority at all times in matters of education, for ourselves and our children.
Before students are taught courses such as Comprehensive Sex Ed (CSE) or Social Emotional Learning (SEL), they must opt-in with written parental permission.
Agree
I support the teaching of curricula (such as the 1619 Project, No Place for Hate, Second Step, etc.) that emphasizes slavery and racism as the foundation of American history.
Strongly Disagree
Slavery and racism are an immoral fact of human history that predated America's founding. The principle of unalienable rights for all men, as acknowledged and celebrated in the Declaration of Independence, was the moral basis for the eventual banishment of those archaic practices and institution of fair and equal "justice for all" under law.
The loss of local control in education is too high a price to pay in exchange for federal dollars.
Agree
So-called "federal dollars" are derived from taxation of individuals in the states to begin with, and their use to mandate state and local programs should be regarded as a violation of the tenth amendment.
2ND AMENDMENT
Teachers who are licensed to carry should be allowed to carry guns at school.
Strongly Agree
Any instance of a school shooting is one too many. A teacher who takes this responsibility seriously should not only be allowed, but celebrated with honor and respect.
OTHER IMPORTANT ISSUES
Do you support mandatory vaccinations for children attending public school?
No. Every individual is sovereign over their own body. Animals do not have the ability to make their own rational decision about individual vaccines for themselves and their young, but human beings do. Mandating a vaccination is essentially one class of human being treating another class as though they were animals.
I support mask mandates.
Strongly Disagree
Mandates that seem to be reasonable at first, invariably become divisive and political. If we are "all in this together" then we all need to respect each others individual decisions.
ABOUT YOU
When you consider your views on a wide range of issues from economic and social matters to foreign policy and religious liberty, which of the following best describes you overall?
Lean Conservative
I am pro-freedom, anti-mandate, and a dedicated supporter of free-market capitalism. Centuries of Western Civilization have created the most broad-based prosperity in human history, and will continue to expand that prosperity unless collectivism and authoritarianism are permitted to destroy it.
Please provide publicly available information, including interviews and media reports, validating your answer to the previous question (other than your website).
None
Have you ever been convicted of a felony or been penalized in either civil or criminal court for sexual misconduct? If so, please explain.
No.
What books have had the most profound impact on your view of life?
Atlas Shrugged, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, We the Living, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, The Desecrators
Is there anything else you would like voters to know about you?
I don't know everything, but I do seek to learn everything. I believe that every individual is in charge of their own life. I believe no "expert" is so wise they must be obeyed without question. To paraphrase Robert Heinlein, there is no worse tyranny than to force a man to pay for something he doesn't want simply because you think it would be good for him.
I voted in these primaries and general elections:
2012 Republican Primary 2012 General Election 2014 Republican Primary 2014 General Election 2016 Republican Primary 2016 General Election 2018 Republican Primary 2018 General Election 2020 Republican Primary 2020 General Election
In 1992 I changed my voter registration from Republican, which I had been since the age of 18, to Democrat in order to vote for Ben Nighthorse Campbell in the Democratic primary. After the election I changed my affiliation back to the Republican party, as Senator Campbell himself also later did, in 1995. I have always believed that this sequence of events spoke to the character and beliefs of the both of us.
VALUES
Judeo-Christian values established a framework of morality that is necessary for our system of limited government.
Agree
A code of morality is essential to a civilized society, where the initiation of force against others is not permitted. Historically, the chosen moral code at the time of America's founding was a harmonious fusion of Judeo-Christianity and Deism.
I support allowing public high school students to participate in athletic competition based on the gender with which they identify instead of biological sex.
Strongly Disagree
If athletic competitions are not strictly separated by biological sex then there is no point in separating them at all.
Briefly describe your spiritual beliefs and values.
libertarian
No healthcare diagnosis or treatment, whether mental, reproductive, or otherwise, should be given to a child without first receiving written consent from the parent.
Disagree
Diagnosis yes, sometimes; treatment no - not without parental consent. Medical professionals should always be alert to signs of abuse or neglect but in the absence of this, a parent is the legal protector of the child and must retain authority to decide in the child's best interests.
