Ashley Klingbeil
Other | Minnesota
Candidate Profile*
Conservative (Conditional)
*Additional information appears below for educational purposes; however, only data received prior to the candidate deadline was considered during Panel Evaluation.
BIOGRAPHY
Name
Ashley Klingbeil
Party
Other
Election Year
2022
Election
General
Race
State Senator, Dist. 12
Incumbent
No
Links
EDUCATION
Candidate did not provide
WORK & MILITARY
Candidate did not provide
AFFILIATIONS
Candidate did not provide
POLITICAL OFFICES HELD
Candidate did not provide
POLITICAL OFFICES SOUGHT
Candidate did not provide
Race
OTHER INFORMATION
QUESTIONNAIRE*
*Additional information was received after the evaluation was assigned and was not considered in the Panel Evaluations, therefore it is for additional educational purposes only.
RIGHT TO LIFE
Under what circumstances should abortion be allowed?
This issue is extremely complex and the rights of the pregnant woman and the preborn human must both be considered. Any termination method that performs an act on the preborn human is a violation of that human's right to life, inherit to all of us by our creator. However, I recognize that women have a right to their body as well. If a pregnancy can be terminated without inflicting an action upon the preborn human, such as the abortion pill, which prevents the transfer of nutrients, this should be considered as an option. As a state and a nation, we need to create an environment in which we value human life enough that abortions are unthinkable.
Abortion providers, including Planned Parenthood, should not receive funds from federal, state, or local governments (including Title X grants).
Strongly Agree
I support 'aid in dying' laws which legalize assisted suicide and euthanasia.
Disagree
Having spoken with medical professionals regarding this topic, I see a lot of opportunity for abuse of the assisted suicide process if allowed. Without a clear way of preventing any possibility of murder via assisted suicide, I cannot support a law of this nature.
ECONOMY
What changes, if any, should be made to the tax code?
All income taxes should be abolished and a flat consumption tax should be instituted to meet necessary obligations in the future.
What government spending would you reduce in order to balance the budget?
Agencies that perform little to no valuable function are abundant in our state and in our country. I would start by scrutinizing and eliminating every position that wasn't operating at peak efficiency. The Minnesota Department of Education is a great place to start. Not only has education quality and performance in our state been on the decline for several years, but MDE let a fraudulent organization grift the American people of $250 Million in taxpayer dollars through a scheme pretending to feed needy children. No position or salary should be left unscrutinized, including the legislature and executive positions in our state.
Taxpayer-funded public education should be guaranteed through college.
Strongly Disagree
RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
Individuals and businesses should be required to provide services even if it would violate their moral and/or religious beliefs.
Strongly Disagree
Businesses should be able to refuse service for any reason or no reason at all. Now, more than ever before, consumers are empowered to support businesses that value their customers and align with their values, if that is important to the consumer's consideration. If a business is discriminating against specific categories of consumers, it won't take long for that business to be publicly called to task by the community.
Under what circumstances can government close churches?
If there is human rights violations, such as child sexual abuse, being perpetrated by any leader of the church.
HEALTHCARE
What most closely matches your view on healthcare: A) Healthcare for all should be guaranteed and funded by the government with no private healthcare option. (includes "universal healthcare," "medicare for all," etc.) B) Healthcare insurance funded by the government should be available for all who want it, along with private healthcare options. C) Medicaid and Medicare should remain available, but no other taxpayer-funded programs are necessary. D)Tax-payer funded health care should be abolished in all forms, and Medicaid and Medicare should be de-funded.
D) Taxation is theft, no matter how one tries to justify it. Because of the dependence that many have on the Medicare and Medicaid system due to it's longstanding existence, I think that it would have to be slowly phased-out, but should be ended as quickly as possible.
Under what circumstances (if any) should a government, school, or employer be allowed to require vaccinations?
There are no circumstances that a government, school or employer should be allowed to require vaccination.
NATIONAL SECURITY
What should the United States do to help eradicate the threat of Islamic terrorism?
For nearly my entire lifetime, the US has been fighting a "War on Terror" and it seems with every action we take, we simply relocate and exacerbate the problem. The US needs to cease involvement in regional wars and regime change.
I support the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement to pressure Israel to withdraw from occupied territories, remove the separation barrier in the West Bank, allow full equality for Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel, and promote the rights of Palestinian refugees.
Choose not to answer
IMMIGRATION
The U.S. should do more to physically secure the southern border.
Strongly Agree
We need to focus on the citizens in need that are already here. Our resources are limited and if we do not get this situation under control, we will soon only be able to solve the problem by discontinuing immigration altogether for a period of time.
Who should be allowed to immigrate to the U.S. and under what circumstances?
Anyone should be eligible to immigrate to the US provided that they do not have an extensive violent criminal history. While there are certainly improvements that can be made to our current immigration process, the path to visas and citizenship that we currently have works relatively well.
EDUCATION
I support school choice, including voucher programs, tax credits, charter schools, private schools, and home schools.
Strongly Agree
School choice is one of my top legislative priorities.
VALUES
Judeo-Christian values established a framework of morality which is necessary for our system of limited government.
Neutral
Judeo-Christian values can be summed up in the "Golden Rule", but this rule is not exclusive to the Christian religion. It is central to and necessary for our system of limited government.
I support adding gender identity as a specially protected class in non-discrimination laws.
Strongly Disagree
Marriage is a God-ordained, sacred and legal union of one man and one woman. No government has the authority to alter this definition
Strongly Disagree
The government should not be involved in marriage at all, there is no value added to the marriage for the government to establish, alter or restrict a definition of marriage.
I agree with Critical Race Theory (CRT) which asserts that the institutions in the United States are fundamentally racist.
Strongly Disagree
Briefly describe your spiritual beliefs and values.
God is real.
ELECTIONS AND VOTING
People should be able to vote without photo identification.
Strongly Disagree
What laws would you propose to change present voting practices?
Required voter ID, financially supporting in-person election day voting at all precincts, removing party names from the ballots so that ballots only contain candidates names for all elected positions.
EQUALITY
Is racism a threat to domestic security in the United States? Why or why not?
Racism in itself is a threat to domestic security, we cannot be a United States if any race is held in lower regard than any other race. However, racism does not currently threaten our domestic security as most Americans are not racist. If CRT is allowed to proliferate our system of education, we will take a century's step backwards and racism could once again threaten our domestic security.
Reparations should be given to people on the basis of race.
Strongly Disagree
No one alive today has been a slave nor owned slaves. The time for reparations was 1865.
ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT
Which comes closest to your view? A) Stricter environmental laws and regulations cost too many jobs and hurt the economy. B) Stricter environmental laws and regulations are worth the cost.
C) Environmental laws that aim to control our global climate are a scheme to transfer wealth and will not accomplish any significant impacts to improving our environment. However, it is important to preserve our resources such as soil and water to ensure its viability for future generations. We must hold businesses and corporations responsible when they pollute and do harm to our environment (such as massive oil spills, etc). The penalties for such egregious negligence and damage should be significant and severe so as to deter negligent actions in the future.
I support the use of hydraulic fracking to extract oil and natural gas resources.
Agree
ABOUT YOU
What do you think is the general purpose of government?
To protect the rights of citizens.
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?
Conservative
I believe in liberty and the right of the individual. Government should be extremely limited and its only function is to protect the natural rights of the citizenry, as acknowledged in our Declaration of Independence and Constitution.
Please provide publicly available information, including interviews and media reports, validating your answer to the previous question (other than your website).
Please see my interview with Pioneer PBS under their "Meet the Candidates" section, available beginning October 13, 2022.
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. Is this a serious question?
What else would you like voters to know about you, including your legislative priorities?
Did not answer
CRIMINAL JUSTICE & PUBLIC SAFETY
Police officers should be personally immune from prosecution for conduct consistent with departmental policy (qualified immunity) while on duty.
Disagree
I support redirecting funds from police departments to mental health and community programs.
Strongly Disagree
2ND AMENDMENT
What restrictions on gun ownership are needed to protect public safety?
The 2nd Amendment is clear, "the right of the PEOPLE to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed". Any restriction on gun ownership is an unconstitutional action and an invalid law.
Victims of gun violence should be able to sue firearms dealers and manufacturers.
Strongly Disagree
Victims of gun violence should only be able to sue the perpetrator of the violence they have been victimized by.
