Josh Saul
Republican | Michigan
Candidate Profile
Conservative (Conditional)
BIOGRAPHY
Name
Josh Saul
Party
Republican
Election Year
2024
Election
Republican Primary
Race
U.S. Rep., Dist. 1
Incumbent
No
Links
EDUCATION
Ferris State University, Traverse City, Bachelor of Science Business Accountancy, 2018
WORK & MILITARY
Army, E-4, 4
AFFILIATIONS
Fresh Start Church, Council member
POLITICAL OFFICES HELD
Candidate did not provide
POLITICAL OFFICES SOUGHT
Candidate did not provide
Race
SCORECARDS
CONSERVATIVE ORGANIZATIONS
LIBERAL ORGANIZATIONS
OTHER INFORMATION
QUESTIONNAIRE
RIGHT TO LIFE
Abortion providers, including Planned Parenthood, should not receive taxpayer funds from federal, state, or local governments (including Title X grants).
Strongly Agree
Using taxpayer money to violate the moral beliefs of a plurality of taxpayers will have negative consequences on our ability to unify as a nation.
Chemical abortion drugs should meet essential safety standards (such as in-person consultation with a medical doctor) and require reporting to gather evidence on reactions and outcomes.
Strongly Agree
Under what circumstances should an elective abortion be allowed?
When the life of the mother is at risk then she should be allowed to seek treatment for a medical condition that may have an adverse impact on the pregnancy. But using abortion as a form of contraceptive is morally wrong.
Does the federal government have a role to play in limiting abortion, and if so what federal steps and/or federal legislation would you support?
The Supreme Court has indicated that this issue should fall under the 10th amendment, which would take this out of the hands of the federal level. However there is one important question when it comes to abortion, when does life begin and therefore receive rights. I would never be wiling to vote for any legislation that would deprive someone of a Constitutional right. And all of the evidence suggests that life begins when a fertilized egg is implanted into a mother's womb. So if presented with any legislation related to the issue of abortion I would need to understand why this piece of legislation would not violate an unborn Childs rights.
ECONOMY
What actions would you take that would allow Americans to retain more of their income and wealth?
Stop deficit spending, simplifying the tax code, and deregulation. Combined these solutions will help curb inflation, reduce the overhead necessary to operate a business, and reduce risk. The impact would be an economic resurgence.
Student loan forgiveness unfairly shifts the financial burden to those not responsible for student debt.
Strongly Agree
Everyone makes choices, and they have consequences. If you made bad choices like getting buried in student debt, there are avenues to escape that. But they require personal sacrifices (ie military or public service). In the end removing those personal sacrifices to access relief hurts the country and the individual with the debt. Not to mention it will make the cost of college explode while making the degrees worthless.
Should environmental and social issues, like ESG (environmental, social, and governance) ratings, be used as criteria in deciding where to invest public monies?
No
ESG only inflates to cost of doing business without positive outcomes in the areas they seek. Using them as a criteria is a backdoor way for corrupt government officials to create cover for paying their friends more for a job than they deserve. Like any system, when you create a way for the powerful to cheat they will.
RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
What does "separation of church and state" mean to you?
That the government should stay out of the walls of my church and the business there of. However it doesn't mean I shouldn't take my faith with me into my job, because all people find their morality through systems outside of government. Removing the ability for those systems to impact decision making is asking someone to remove their morality when they are representing the country.
Individuals and businesses should be required to provide services even if it would violate their moral and/or religious beliefs.
Strongly Disagree
No person should be required to violate their morality. Government forcing something like that is a dangerous road to travel, and will lead to the kind of problems that destroy a country.
HEALTHCARE
Under what circumstances (if any) should a government, school, or employer be allowed to require vaccinations?
None.
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) Taxpayer funded health care should be abolished in all forms, and Medicaid and Medicare should be defunded.
C
NATIONAL SECURITY
With regard to America's foreign policy, which view most closely resembles yours: A) The United States should intervene whenever freedom is threatened. B) The United States should selectively help countries trying to grow democracy and fight tyranny. C) The United States has become too involved in others' policies and should remain focused on issues regarding our own sovereignty unless in imminent danger. D) The United States should stay out of foreign conflicts completely.
C
The Chinese Communist Party poses serious military, cyber security, intellectual property, and global economic threats to the United States.
Agree
The biggest threat to humanity is our current escalation with China. They have so many men without women to match, as well as the military capabilities they have been stealing from us to remove the US as the global superpower. I believe how we manage that relationship will determine if these regional wars stay that way, or if fall into a full scale world war.
Is the United States' relationship with Israel important, and if so why?
Yes it is important, because they are the most reliable ally we have left in the Middle East. In a place where western values are in short supply it is a no brainer to side with the only country that has those values. Until we see more moderation from the other muslim countries in the region, being able to have a reliable ally in the Middle East is important to maintaining trade markets as well as global stability.
What are the causes of decline in U.S. military recruitment and retention?
I see two reasons that are related. First, we gave away Afghanistan in the worst military embarrassment in our nations history, and nobody has been held accountable. As someone who died in Afghanistan, watching it be given away for nothing was demoralizing. So I can understand young people not wanting to sign up for a military that abandons citizens to the Taliban. The second reason is losing focus on the mission. When you care more about race and gender policies than lethality. you have lost.
IMMIGRATION
The U.S. should do more to physically secure the southern border.
Strongly Agree
Without a border there is no country.
Who should be allowed to immigrate to the U.S. and under what circumstances?
Anyone who is willing to take responsibility for themselves, follow the laws of the country, and assimilate into the society. Because of the assimilation problem we need to make sure there is a limit to how many people come every year to make sure we can maintain and perpetuate American values. As long as someone follows a legal pathway I would be happy to call them an American. But if they break the law to come here they should be deported and permanently barred reentry with a biometric data.
EDUCATION
I support school choice, including voucher programs, tax credits, charter schools, private schools, and home schools.
Strongly Agree
I support eliminating the U.S. Department of Education and giving control back to states and communities.
Strongly Agree
VALUES
Marriage is a God-ordained, sacred and legal union of one man and one woman. No government has the authority to alter this definition.
Agree
I agree with the caveat that I respect that some religions would disagree with the language of one man and one women. My position is marriage is a religious institution that the first amendment prevents the government from being involved in.
Children are the most vulnerable members of society and must be protected from abuse, including gender ideology, grooming, and bodily mutilation.
Strongly Agree
I don't know how we got to the point where this needs to be said, but the person telling you to castrate yourself doesn't care about you.
Taxpayer funds should be used to provide gender transition services.
Strongly Disagree
You should not be using taxpayer funds to do anything that is a violation of someone's moral conscience.
Briefly describe your spiritual beliefs and values.
I am a born again Christian who has experienced God's miracles first hand. After being shot in Afghanistan I had a long and complex medical situation where I was told I would never walk again. But I experienced a healing from God that affirmed my faith, and has sent me on the path that I am now.
ELECTIONS AND VOTING
People should be able to vote without photo identification.
Strongly Disagree
Getting an ID is free in any place that requires it to vote, and proving that only registered voters are participating in elections is necessary for the public to have confidence in the result.
The Electoral College should be abolished.
Strongly Disagree
EQUALITY
I agree with Critical Race Theory (CRT) which asserts that the institutions in the United States are fundamentally racist.
Strongly Disagree
The modern thought leader in the CRT movement has called the cure for past discrimination to be present discrimination. In other words, it is just another racist movement that you can draw no distinction from the KKK outside of the group they believe should be in charge. We should resist this regressive instinct from both the right and left.
Biological males should not be allowed to participate in women's sports or occupy biological women's spaces whether it be bathrooms, locker rooms, sorority houses, women's shelters, or prison.
Strongly Agree
This is just another regressive policy that allows the left to remove actual rights from women while pretending to be their champions. I can't think of anything more cruel to do to a person who believes they are the wrong gender than to go along with the delusion and encourage castration. This is a cancer that will destroy our culture if we are not careful.
ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT
Man-made climate change is a global threat and requires urgent political action.
Neutral
The climate is changing, but our ability to control or change that has been severely overstated. However, I think we have the ability to adapt and overcome. And we should consider the risk more carefully than we do now because historically the periods of warming are indicative thriving and expanding global populations. Periods of cooling correlate with plague and famine. That fact isn't even discussed in this topic, and it should be the first thing we discuss.
What do you believe is the most reliable energy source that will supply the growing demand for electricity?
I believe the advances in nuclear energy are the most obvious source of energy for future generations. Whoever can replicate and reproduce nuclear fusion will likely be the world's first trillionaire, and eliminate scarcity in the electricity market.
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?
Conservative
I believe in freedom and individual liberty as the foundational principals that America was built on. The small government and local community focused approach is what is the most effective, historically speaking. Getting back to that kind of system is the solution to many of the societal problems we deal with today.
What do you think is the general purpose of government?
To fulfill the roles laid out to them in the Constitution while protecting the rights of the citizens that created it.
Have you ever been penalized for sexual misconduct in either civil or criminal court? If so, please explain.
No
Have you ever been convicted of a felony? If so, please explain.
No
JUDICIAL PHILOSOPHY
The Supreme Court should be reformed to include more seats.
Strongly Disagree
Changing the size of the court because you don't like the composition is purely tyrannical. We have had a liberal court for decades. Liberals can handle a few years of a centrist court.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE & PUBLIC SAFETY
I support redirecting funds from police departments to community programs.
Strongly Disagree
The police need better oversight and accountability to regain public trust. That doesn't come through redirecting funds to other programs. It comes by investing in tools that can actually solve the problems like body cams and dash cams. That takes the he said she said out of it, but requires additional resources. So in fact we need the exact opposite.
2ND AMENDMENT
What restrictions on gun ownership are needed to protect public safety?
Gun ownership is what ensures the public safety, because behaving as if anyone could have a gun creates a much politer society than if you allow the criminals to have no fear of resistance.
