A Few Questions for the Presidential Candidates

by Radley Balko

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Radley Balko is one of my favorite political writers. Of course, being a Libertarian I am most likely inclined to appreciate the work of the Policy Analyst of the Cato Institute. A short while ago Balko wrote an article listing questions he would ask of Dick Cheney and John Edwards. I thought his questions were important and insightful.

Well, now Balko has listed some questions for Bush and Kerry. These questions are every bit as important has his previous queries, and probably a good deal more important. They reflect the frustration that many 3rd party participants feel at the current political environment.

For President Bush:

In the 2000 campaign, you clearly stated that you believed the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform bill was unconstitutional, saying, “I think it does restrict free speech for individuals." As president, you signed that very bill into law. You took an oath of office to “preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.” Did you sign a law you believed to be unconstitutional, violating your oath of office? Please explain this reversal.

You also said in 2000 that you trust Americans to spend their own money more than you trust the government. But during your first term, with your party in control of both houses of Congress, you’ve spent more taxpayer dollars (adjusted for inflation) than Bill Clinton (search), Jimmy Carter, Richard Nixon — more than every administration since Lyndon Johnson (search). That’s true no matter how we measure “spending.”

Do you believe an atheist or an agnostic could make a good president? Is there any religious affiliation or belief system someone could subscribe to that you believe should automatically preclude them from being president?

For Senator Kerry:

You said in 1992 that affirmative action was “inherently limited and divisive,” and that it fosters “a perception and a reality of reverse discrimination that has actually engendered racism.” Today, you’re on record asserting that “preserving affirmative action is a civil rights priority.”

What has changed between 1992 and 2004 to make you change your opinion? Are blacks and women worse off now than they were then?

You’ve demagogued the outsourcing issue throughout the primaries and so far in the general election. You’ve said corporate executives who export manufacturing jobs overseas are “Benedict Arnold CEOs.” But you and your wife still own 4 percent of the H.J. Heinz Corporation, which operates 57 factories overseas, but just 22 here in the United States. The Hill newspaper reports that your campaign has accepted $370,000 from the CEOs of companies that heavily outsource jobs to other countries.

Given your vigorous opposition to outsourcing, are you prepared to ask Heinz to close all of those overseas factories, or to sell off your stake in Heinz if it doesn't? Will you give back campaign contributions from corporate executives whose companies outsource?

You recently said of the Patriot Act: “We are a nation of laws and liberties, not of a knock in the night. So it is time to end the era of John Ashcroft. That starts with replacing the Patriot Act with a new law that protects our people and our liberties at the same time. I’ve been a District Attorney and I know that what law enforcement needs are real tools not restrictions on American’s basic rights.”

Eloquently put. So why did you vote for it?

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