Liberty Maven

Here we continue with part 2 of the interview with Virginia 8th District Congressional Candidate Amit Singh: Amit08.Com. You can read the first part of the interview here. All Liberty Maven interviews are available on the interview page.

LM: In one of your previous answers you mentioned supporting Congressional term limits. Would you sponsor legislation to implement the limits? Do you believe it requires a Constitutional amendment to implement them?

Singh: Yes, I would sponsor legislation to implement term limits because Congress members with seniority have a disproportional affect on those who never elected them. I would probably lean towards a Constitutional amendment only because the States are not incentivized to limit their legislators terms because as they gain seniority they are better able to get earmarks and other benefits for their districts and states.

Unfortunately the nature of politics has changed with special interest money which practically guarantees incumbents to win over and over. Realistically, I am pretty sure Congress would never vote to regulate themselves but I would still try.

LM: Many of your positions are similar to Presidential Candidate Ron Paul. Are there any areas where your positions differ from Paul’s? For instance, Paul has been criticized on earmarks.

Singh: I think Ron Paul has a very strong conservative platform and I agree with many of his stances on the issues. However I would take a more aggressive stance on the environment than he does. The government does have a role in protecting public property such as the air we breathe. I understand his position on private property and the ability to sue those who pollute but their ability to sue large companies and demonstrate the specific damage done and how to get compensated for it is practically impossible.

Also, I would not allow the US to sign the Kyoto Treaty because it would further damage the planet by exporting pollution to less-efficient developing nations such as China and Mexico. I would also let individual states impose their own environmental standards. Finally, the government itself should follow the same environmental standards it enforces on the private sector and should consider going a step further by adopting more “green” policies which in turn will help create a better market for energy efficient products.

LM: During his campaign Mike Huckabee has pushed for Constitutional amendments to ban abortion and to define marriage to be between a man and a woman. Would you push for either of these as a Congressman?

Singh: I would not push for these amendments. First, a Constitutional amendment to ban abortion is not likely to pass and would require so much effort it would actually be counter-productive to the pro-life movement. I believe abortion should be handled at the state level where at least some of the states could regulate/ban abortion immediately. In a federated system, the states could learn from each other what programs work and do not work (i.e. abstinence, sex ed, etc).

I am against a Constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. I do not agree with the federal government being so intrusive in our personal lives. Relationships between consenting adults who are not harming anyone is strictly their business. Attempting to regulate virtue is a dangerous task and often backfires.

LM: With the recent school shootings at Virginia Tech and NIU some people have started pushing harder for gun control laws. Others have stated that if students were allowed to carry guns more lives would have been saved. Some, including Ron Paul, have said that airline companies should have been allowed to handle their own security and having armed employees could have prevented 9-11. What are your thoughts on gun control? Should students be allowed to carry guns on campus? Should the airlines be allowed to arm their employees?

Singh: It is often difficult to explain to gun control advocates that you can prevent “fires” with more “fires”. As far as airlines are concerned, they should absolutely be able to arm their employees. It is their private property and they provide a service. If customers feel unsafe flying an airline which allows guns either by passengers and/or employees, then they are free to fly another airline.

When it comes to universities, I believe private universities should be able to put whatever restrictions or freedoms on their private property. Public universities are more complicated. If a public university tries to restrict guns on campus then the students have the right to bring a case against them and declare it un-Constitutional.

LM: Current VA 8th District Incumbent Jim Moran has a press release on his website touting the district as being 1st (out of 435 districts) in the amount of federal government funding it gets. What are your thoughts on him bragging about this accomplishment?

Singh: As a fiscal conservative who wants to reduce the size of government, the last thing I would brag about is receiving the most federal funding out of 435 districts. Instead of apologizing and explaining how the proximity to Washington DC and hosting the Pentagon contribute to the large numbers, Moran simply knows some of his constituents will be thrilled their district is getting an unfair share of the pie.

Moran has sold his office to the highest bidder as was demonstrated by a mere $17K contribution to his campaign translating into a $37M contract from the Navy for technology they did not even want. The voters cannot have it both ways. If they want fiscal responsibility then they need to get rid of Moran.

This concludes part 2 of the interview. Check out part 3 here.