3 spar for 15th Congressional District
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
3 spar for 15th Congressional District
Candidates discuss health care, Iran, bailout, reproductive rights
BY KEYONNA SUMMERS
and JIM WAYMER
Three candidates for the 15th Congressional District sparred over the federal bailout, taxes and energy during a forum at Brevard Community College’s Melbourne campus.
But abortion, health care and Iran were among the most controversial of Tuesday night’s questions to Democrat Stephen Blythe, Republican Bill Posey and Frank Zilaitis, running with no party affiliation.
A fourth candidate for the seat, Trevor Lowing, running with no party affiliation, was unable to attend because of a commitment related to his job.
The 15th District includes central and southern Brevard County, as well as all of Indian River County and parts of Osceola and Polk counties.
The incumbent in the district, Republican Dave Weldon, is not seeking re-election.
# Question: Should women be able to make their own reproductive choices on birth control and abortion?
Blythe: He said not everyone believes life begins at conception.
That’s an idea that’s typically based on religious beliefs, he said, and the Supreme Court already has ruled that forcing those beliefs on others violates their constitutional rights.
“I think women should have the choice, but I think having adequate contraceptive services available reduces the number of abortions,” he said.
Posey: He opposes abortion, except in extreme cases, such as rape and incest.
“I don’t apologize for having personal feelings on abortion based on spiritual beliefs,” he said. “That’s a right this country was founded on.”
Zilaitis: He said he is privately pro-life and believes that life occurs at conception, but considers himself a Constitutionalist, so wants the matter to fall to the states to decide.
“As a resident of the state of Florida, I’m going to be very proud of those results in the state of Florida,” Zilaitis said.
“I see that the United States Supreme Court has overstepped its bounds,” he said. “I believe that life is something that occurs at conception.”
# Q: What would you do to make sure health care is accessible and affordable to all Americans?
Blythe: He said it is unconscionable that 18,000 Americans die each year because they don’t have health insurance.
Republicans often talk about personal responsibility, but individuals making $30,000 a year can’t afford to spend $15,000 a year on health insurance, and no amount of personal responsibility will let them do it if they get laid off.
There’s no evidence it would cost more to make sure they have health care, he said.
“I thought the Constitution guaranteed the right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness,” he said. “I’m not happy living in a society where people can die because they have inadequate healthcare. I think we can do better for our citizens.”
Posey: If 47 million of 300 million Americans, or about 15 percent of the population, don’t have health care, he suspects about half of them are without it because of misplaced priorities.
But children shouldn’t suffer because of the irresponsibility of parents. Providing preventive care for children at the state level and wrangling with insurance companies at the federal level can go a long way, he said.
Zilaitis: He wants the government out of health care.
“As your federal official, I will do absolutely nothing in that regard,” he said. “Folks, we’ve got to read the Constitution of the United States of America. There is no right or expectation to health care.”
# Q: Do you support starting negotiations with Iran immediately?
Blythe: He said he would be very concerned with Iran having nuclear weapons, but there’s no immediate concern or even evidence that they have them.
Many in that region who already do have nuclear weapons haven’t signed a non-proliferation agreement.
It’s “hypocritical” for us to tell Iran they can’t have nuclear fuel when they have signed a non-proliferation treaty, he said
Posey: “We can negotiate until the cows come home, but there’s no way in this world we can allow Iran to have nuclear weapons,” he said.
Zilaitis: “I’m a proponent of non-interventionism,” he said. “While this is a very difficult situation, I am not a proponent of the Bush doctrine (of pre-emptive military strikes) . . . You can see it’s cost us a fortune.”
But if Iran is found to be an imminent threat to the United State, he said: “I will be voting the magic words: ‘We declare war.’ Then I think we all know what’s going to happen to Iran.”
# Q: What are your views on energy and climate issues?
Blythe: We need to have some stimulation for development of alternative energy, he said.
He supports wind, solar and more domestic natural gas.
“I think we need to look at the T. Boone Pickens plan,” he said.
Posey: We must become energy independent, and stop giving our enemies billions a year, he said.
He favors use of wind and almost all alternative energy sources, but soon the reduction of greenhouse gases will be met because we will have a breakthrough in battery technology, he said.
“The problem has been no batteries to store the energy for when we might need it and collect it,” Posey said.
Realistically, he expects a breakthrough, with solar energy in the not too distant future, “which would change stewardship on planet Earth.”
Zilaitis: He emphasized nuclear power and weaning off of oil and using some of the $45 billion in Iraqi reconstruction funds to help provide stimulus for private industry to solve the problem, but not without the leadership of the states.
He doesn’t want the feds “tampering with” the nation’s energy plan, and would rather the 50 states work to solve the problem.
# Q: Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin said a withdrawal from Iraq would amount to waving white flag of surrender? Do you agree? What’s your position on the war?
Blythe: He said we must remember the war in Iraq is a civil war.
They never attacked us, and Al-Qaeda wasn’t there until we invaded.
“So there’s little chance of the war coming here,” he said.
The people and government of Iraq want a timeline, and it’s about time we oblige them.
Our troops will always be seen as occupiers, and that’s not a position Blythe wants to put our troops in.
“It’s a bad situation, we need a timeline and we need to get out and not be there any longer,” he said.
Posey: He would rely on the advice of military commanders. The troops have hauled several thousand pounds of nuclear material out of Iraq, he added. He feels we’re on the road to victory. We should ask Iraq to pay their fair share of the bill and follow the advice of our commanders and finish the fight.
“Don’t let it rekindle,” he said.
Zilaitis: He said he would look at the budget cost and ask how soon the United States can safely get out of Iraq.
Since World War II, he said, Congress has been “infamous for throwing presidents under the bus. By failing to say: ‘We declare war.’ The troops have done a fine job doing what they were asked to do,” he said.
“There’s a be-all and end-all, which is a real victory,” Zilaitis added.
Q: Do you believe illegal immigration is a problem, and what should we do about it?
Blythe: “It’s a problem,” he said. “In terms of Homeland Security, it’s important to know who’s here. A well-structured guest program would let us know who’s here by defining the types of workers needed and would limit the amount of time they spend here. There would also be penalties for employers who hire outside of the program. It would protect not only the immigrants, but American workers by making sure they have access to those jobs as well.”
It would also employ a tax structure for guest workers — the absence of which has bankrupted some cities where there are overwhelming health care needs for illegal immigrants.
Posey: Illegal immigration, if left unchecked, would bankrupt this country, if nothing else does before it, he said.
Posey said we can’t allow recipients to come here illegally and draw down benefits, which they’ve never contributed to.
As the grandson of two legal immigrants who came here not knowing any English, he is not against immigrants.
“But if they come here, they need to come in the front door, play by the rules and apply and secure citizenship legally,” he said.
Zilaitis: He said the bad economy has tempered the problem somewhat, but also said: “I am not a proponent of an amnesty program.”
He wants illegal immigrants returned to their countries of origin. The federal government must also fix problems with visa renewals and other aspects of the system.
“Let’s look at a comprehensive immigration reform,” he said.
Contact Summers at 242-3642 or .
