Candidate Q&A
Why are you running?
For too long our government has prioritized foreign wars and military spending over providing for the basic needs of Americans like housing, healthcare, access to food, and public safety. Over half of our federal discretionary spending goes towards the Pentagon and related military spending, and our state and local tax dollars go up to cover the services we need. Americans' tax dollars should be spent on Americans, not supporting other countries or foreign wars.
What do you think is the most pressing issue facing your constituents and how do you plan on addressing it?
Affordability is the major issue facing Americans. We have an economy that doesn’t working for most Americans. My two main policies to address affordability are 1) direct payments to Americans making less than $80,000 a year (similar to the program used by the Trump and Biden administrations during COVID), and 2) Medicare for All, which will reduce overall national healthcare spending and out-of-pocket expenses for individuals.
What do you think federal immigration reform should look like?
I believe that ICE needs to be abolished. It has become a rogue, out of control federal agency that is terrorizing our neighbors and not respecting the civil liberties of people in this country. While I believe we should have a strong border, I believe that individuals in this country without proper documentation should be provided a pathway to retain work visas, but without a pathway to citizenship. Immigrants in this country that are following our laws and contributing to our economy and society should not have to worry about harassment and deportation by federal law enforcement. We also need to immediately end the use of US sanctions and regime change wars that destabilize foreign governments and contribute to mass migration.
How should the Senate address the rising costs of health care?
By passing Medicare for All, achieved by ending the filibuster (because Democrats will never hold 60 seats in the Senate again). The United States is the richest country in the world, and yet we are one of the only developed countries without universal healthcare. It’s a national embarrassment. Medicare for All not only reduce overall healthcare spending, but reduces out-of-pocket expenses for individuals. Universal healthcare will also be a benefit to entrepreneurship and small businesses, since it reduces financial risk to individuals. Rural communities and small towns have the most to gain from Medicare for All.
What approach would you take on tax policy?
A progressive tax structure. There need to be new and higher wealth and income taxes on the top 1%. We need increased staffing at the IRS and chiefly make sure that corporations and the wealthy are paying their fair share. We need to remove the income cap from Social Security payments which would help Social Security remain solvent. I believe we should also divert 10% of our military funding to state and local governments to help alleviate tax burden from state and local taxes.
Should any changes be made to the size of the Supreme Court or the confirmation process?
I don’t believe we need to change the size of the Supreme Court, but there should be term limits. No government official should enjoy lifetime appointments, particularly those who are not even democratically elected. The Supreme Court has become a bench of activists that are rolling back civil rights on women’s healthcare, voting rights, and legalizing the racial profiling of Americans by federal law enforcement.
Do you believe the structure of the Senate leads to legislative gridlock? What would you change?
The Democratic Party needs to once and for all end the filibuster. The filibuster has become an excuse for neither party to pass any meaningful legislation, and has deferred most major policy and civil rights decisions to the Supreme Court and Executive Branch. I believe that when parties come to power in Congress, they should have a record to stand on and no excuses not to pass the legislation they were elected to office for. If parties pass bad legislation, voters have the chance to hold them accountable in the next election cycle.
What is the most pressing foreign policy issue facing the country and what role should the Senate play in dealing with it?
The global rise in military spending is a threat to life on this planet. Climate change is an existential threat to humanity. We need unprecedented international collaboration to address this challenge, and not diverting most of our resources for war. I believe that US military support for Israel’s genocide in Gaza is the moral crisis of our time. By almost every objective analysis, Democrats' unconditional support for Israel cost us a second Trump administration and the establishment of the party has only doubled down. Voters no longer believe a party that claims to stand for human rights and democracy while doubling down on an unpopular genocide.
How do you view AI and the role the government should play in its regulation?
I believe that AI needs to be heavily regulated. We are seeing it being used to steal Americans' intellectual property and create fake videos/pictures to sexually harass women and children. The rise of AI is a serious threat to the job market and a further consolidation of the wealth in this country into the hands of a few. The overreliance on AI is also causing the rise of data centers which are causing Americans' power bills to spike, destroying our water resources, and polluting our air.
How will your approach differ from or mirror that of U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin?
Throughout his career, Sen. Dick Durbin was often a voice for diplomacy over war. He was the first US Senator to call for a cease fire between Israel and Palestine. He was often outspoken about the Iraq War, an illegal invasion of a sovereign country based on lies that led to the deaths of millions. I believe we need a representative in the Senate who will be an even louder voice for the Anti War movement. We need leaders who will be against war from the beginning, not politicians who only decide war is bad after thousands are dead and Americans protesting in the street.
How would you describe the current state of your party and what changes or new approaches would you like to see your party adopt?
The Democratic Party is the least popular it has been in 30 years. In the 2024 election, the Party performed the worst it has with young voters in 30 years. Our party has now lost twice to Donald Trump, the most unqualified, corrupt person to sit in the White House, making him the first Republican in decades to win the popular vote. The Biden/Harris administration threw away the 2024 election because it cared more about loyalty to Israel than its own voters. Despite millions of Americans in streets and 700,000 protest votes in the primary with a single policy demand, the Democratic Party chose to gaslight its voters and double down on supporting a genocide. I do not believe the Democratic Party will recover a durable, winning coalition until it ends its toxic, unconditional support for Israel.