Campaign ‘94: Issues and Answers

Three candidates are running in the Nov. 8 election to represent the 47th Congressional District. They are Democrat Gary Kingsbury of Irvine, Libertarian Victor A. Wagner Jr. of Mission Viejo and Republican Christopher Cox, the incumbent, of Newport Beach.

Health Care

Kingsbury: “Universal health care is an absolute right of every citizen. Health care shouldn’t be dependent on your job. . . . I worked on (Nebraska U.S. Sen.) Bob Kerrey’s presidential campaign in 1992 because he brought a businessman’s perspective to this issue. I don’t buy the (Christopher) Cox plan of tax credits for health care. Tax adjustments will not correct this problem. . . . I support the single-payer system, modeling the Canadian health system. (The Canadian-style system would offer health care to all legal residents, eliminate health insurance, with the doctors billing the government, and let states decide the best way to deliver health services.) We need a system that can control costs and provide universal coverage.”

Wagner: Did not respond.

Cox: “Reducing the cost and increasing the availability of health care--without damaging our world-leading quality--must be the goal of reform. While the Clinton bill has been withdrawn, I am saddened that the House and Senate will force a vote on bills that haven’t even been written yet. Reportedly, they will contain employer mandates, new payroll taxes and new taxes on workers’ existing health benefits, which I oppose. Instead of raising taxes and adding government, we should restore the individual’s 100% tax deduction for medical expenses, authorize medical savings accounts, enact litigation reform and guarantee portability.”

Education and Health Care Benefits for Illegal Immigrants

Kingsbury: Opposes the “Save Our State” initiative, the statewide measure on the November ballot that would deny public benefits, such as education and non-emergency health care, to illegal immigrants. “It violates the rights of citizens under the U.S. Constitution and does not solve problems or improve the quality of life in California. Immigrant bashing and scapegoating foster crime, violence and discrimination. New economic initiatives will bring solutions for California workers.”

Wagner: “I favor curtailing benefits for illegal immigrants. I fully support the national Libertarian platform in this regard.”

Cox: “Government benefits should not be given to those who break the law. Many people around the world wait patiently for their turn to enter America, and our country admits more of them than any other nation on Earth. Why should they continue to obey our laws if we reward those who break them? Subsidies and welfare for illegal aliens are at the heart of illegal immigration.”

Crime

Kingsbury: “We must reduce the opportunities for easy access to weapons. My opponent voted against the ban on automatic weapons and the Brady bill. I would have voted for these bans and would be an advocate to reduce weapons in our streets, our neighborhoods and our schools. My vision calls for mandatory sentencing for criminals who use weapons. Additionally, I would implement a program that would place additional police on the street through a Police Corps, where, in exchange for four years of college education and police training, participants would serve four years in local police departments.”

Wagner: “I believe that an underlying cause of a lot of the violent crime is the ‘War on Drugs.’ Drug prices are kept artificially high by having the drugs be illegal. This causes addicts to commit crimes to obtain monies to support their habit. In addition, there are such vast sums of money in this illegal trade that we suffer from ‘turf wars’ and from corruption of our law enforcement. I believe that an end to the ‘War on Drugs’ would be a good first step in combatting crime.”

Cox: “Punishment of crimes should be swift, certain, unpleasant and inexpensive. California has nearly 400 convicted murderers on Death Row, but only one has been executed in over two decades. That’s largely because of endless federal appeals. The so-called ‘crime bill’ in Congress weakens the death penalty and doles out $8 billion in welfare rather than using that money for police, courts and prisons. A solid federal crime bill would repeal the exclusionary rule (which prohibits the admission of illegally seized evidence in criminal cases), limit endless appeals, impose prison work requirements and adopt truth-in-sentencing.”

El Toro Marine Corps Air Station

Kingsbury: Opposes the development of a commercial airport at the Marine base. “I strongly disagree with Cox’s position that El Toro should be sold to the highest bidder without any preconditions on how it should be used. How does this approach protect the quality of life for us and our children? Is this the vision of a leader? My vision for Central and South Orange County is not another LAX. Didn’t many of us leave Los Angeles because we had a different dream? Let’s seek ‘win-win’ solutions like Westcot (the proposed Disneyland expansion) that provide economic development and maintain Orange County as a land of dreams.”

Wagner: “I believe the land should be auctioned and that the new owner should decide what to do with it. If the county is going to control its destiny, I neither favor nor oppose its use as an airport. I will not argue against an airport.”

Cox: “The base closure commission voted to close El Toro based on the high value of the land. It will cost taxpayers over $1 billion to move the Marines to Miramar (Naval Air Station in San Diego). Sale of the property was supposed to pay for it. I oppose the initiative to zone El Toro exclusively for an airport, since this will substantially diminish its value even before we have any idea who would pay for an airport, or when. Instead of slashing the worth of this valuable asset, we should use the federal base closure funds to advertise the availability of the property and see who is willing to pay how much, and for what uses.”

Source: Individual candidates