Bob 'Again' Carney Jr.: 2018 Election Guide
Welcome to WCCO.com's 2018 political guide!
We reached out to all Minnesota candidates running for U.S Senate, Governor, U.S Congress, Attorney General, Secretary of State and State Auditor this fall. Candidates were asked to provide a two-minute video discussing their platform as well as answer a set of our viewer's questions.
Above is the video and below the answers Bob "Again" Carney Jr. provided. This is not a paid advertisement nor does WCCO endorse any candidate.
Responses from Bob Carney Jr., Republican candidate for the 5th District:
Do you support changing the law to release non-violent drug offenders currently serving federal prison terms?
I don't know enough about this issue to have a position.
Should Congress appropriate $25 billion to build a security wall along the U.S.-Mexico border?
Immigration – we need a comprehensive bi-partisan international safety system -- to secure our borders, bring in talented, educated workers from around the world, and stop at the source the violence and terrorism that drives so many people to seek asylum. In that context, some kind of security system and structure – which may or may not comprise a wall along some or all of the border – is appropriate and needed. We should consider working with Mexico on a plan to both implement a similar system on their southern border, and to develop a comprehensive bi-lateral plan for immigration reform. Such a plan must include a way to provide for the retirement of people who have been living and working in the U.S. for decades in many cases, but who are not properly and justly accounted for in either country's Social Security and Medicare (or Mexican equivalent) systems. This is a major and escalating issue – but unfortunately it hasn't been a part of the overall discussion on the immigration issue. It needs to be.
Should children brought to the United States with their parents illegally be given a path to U.S. citizenship, or should they be deported to their native countries?
Please see the above sentence beginning "Immigration." Because asylum is intrinsically different from citizenship, we can and should modify our laws to both ensure that people – both adults and children -- who need asylum for safety reasons can receive it, while not automatically becoming eligible for paths to citizenship – this is not an either/or question.
Do you think North Korea will "denuclearize," as President Trump says it will?
The North Korean summit was basically political theater – it's unrealistic to think using the ambiguous term "denuclearize" will in and of itself lead to any decisive action from North Korea to stop developing their nuclear capabilities. The best prospect for peace and stability on the peninsula is to allow and encourage North and South Korea to develop closer ties, including economic integration.
Do you believe in climate change, and should the U.S. rejoin the Paris climate accords?
If human-caused climate change and global warming are real, the consequences to humankind could be catastrophic and irreversible. For that reason, I recently filed a patent for an invention that is designed and intended to be both a complete scientific, technological, political, economic, environmental and moral solution to global warming – and a mean of providing other sustainability benefits including: less expensive and more reliable solar energy; weather management, including preventing hurricanes from forming, and solar powered aircraft and space launches. My short-term focus will be to seek a review of the science and technology elements of the system to try and determine if there is any fatal flaw to my reasoning – I can't see any, but more input on this is welcome. Assuming there is no fatal flaw, my approach has this unique advantage: because the economic and other value of the non-global warming mitigation benefits of my system can make implementation profitable from an economic and business point of view, we should carry out the plan of my invention in any case – and as quickly as possible. The question of whether I do or do not believe in climate change becomes moot – it simply doesn't matter. That's the best and most unique feature of my plan. Extending the above reasoning, the Paris climate accords are also irrelevant.
Canada is retaliating for the U.S. tariffs by imposing tariffs of its own on Minnesota products. Among the Minnesota products: grain, aluminum, boats and boat accessories, packaged dairy products, ATVs, and much more. China imposed retaliatory tariffs on Minnesota soybeans and pork products. Do you believe it will hurt Minnesota producers?
The emerging trade war is a very serious threat to many Minnesota producers. President Trump's approach is both ill-conceived, and so interconnected with his across-the-board approach to go-it-alone in the world, that the U.S. simply can't advance our legitimate interests. A coordinated approach – restarting and implementing an improved version of the TPP and working with the European Union to demand a comprehensive rebalancing of with trade with China could work. Unfortunately, Trump has so badly damaged the many international relationships needed to accomplish this, that it simply becomes another on the list of compelling reasons why President Trump must immediately resign or be impeached and removed from office.
