A: I'm totally opposed to the war on drugs. It's not doing anything except imprison a lot of people for trivial offenses. I favor some kind of decriminalization, especially where federal laws are concerned. We have a debate in Memphis right now as to whether to fine people a small amount for marijuana possession, and that's how the war on drugs should be determined--at the local level, with local laws. But no one should go to prison for having a joint.
Castle: I believe that immigration in all its forms should be stopped until we can vet immigrants properly and our borders are under control. We can't be allowing people with terrorist ties, or who are carrying dangerous communicable diseases, to enter our country unchecked. But once we have regained control of our borders and the flow of immigrants, we can admit as many as we choose, in a controlled and lawful manner.
Castle: I was born on a small farm in east Tennessee in 1948. Both my parents were farmers. So I meet the constitutional age and citizenship requirements for president. Besides that, I have degrees in history and political science, as well as a law degree from Memphis State University. I also served in the U.S. Marine Corps. I'm the only veteran in the race, by the way. I've been married to the same woman for 38 years, and I've had a successful law practice for 37 years. In 1998, my wife and I started a Christian organization for gypsy children in Bucharest, Romania, which has helped hundreds of children find homes and get educations. Also, I've never held public office, so no one owns me.
Darrell Castle's answer: No but it should be a decision made at the state and local level
Gary Johnson's answer: Yes, this will protect the safety and rights of police officers and citizens
Donald Trump's answer: No, it should be a police department's or officer's choice to wear one
Q: Should convicted felons have the right to vote?
Darrell Castle's answer: Yes, but only after completing their sentences and parole/probation
Gary Johnson's answer: Yes
Donald Trump's answer: No
Q: Should prisons ban the use of solitary confinement for juveniles?
Darrell Castle's answer: No, it is necessary for violent criminals who are a danger to themselves and other inmates
Gary Johnson's answer: No, it is necessary for violent criminals who are a danger to themselves and other inmates
Donald Trump's answer: No
Darrell Castle's answer: No
Gary Johnson's answer: No
Donald Trump's answer: No, and global warming is a natural occurrence
Q: Should the government give tax credits and subsidies to the wind power industry?
Darrell Castle's answer: No, end all tax credits and subsidies to the energy industry
Gary Johnson's answer: No
Donald Trump's answer: No, and the government should never support unproven technologies
Q: Do you support the use of hydraulic fracking to extract oil and natural gas resources?
Darrell Castle's answer: Yes, energy independence is absolutely critical to the United States
Gary Johnson's answer: Yes, but increase oversight
Donald Trump's answer: Yes
Q: Should the U.S. expand offshore oil drilling?
Darrell Castle's answer: Yes
Gary Johnson's answer: Yes, and deregulate the energy sector
Donald Trump's answer: Yes
Darrell Castle's answer: Yes, this will prevent voter fraud
Gary Johnson's answer: No
Donald Trump's answer: Yes, this will prevent voter fraud
Q: Should convicted felons have the right to vote?
Darrell Castle's answer: Yes, but only after completing their sentences and parole/probation
Gary Johnson's answer: Yes
Donald Trump's answer: No
Darrell Castle's answer: No, government should not be involved in healthcare
Gary Johnson's answer: No, government should not be involved in healthcare
Donald Trump's answer: No, open the markets so insurers can compete across state lines and reduce costsQ: Should the federal government increase funding of health care for low income individuals (Medicaid)?
Darrell Castle's answer: No
Gary Johnson's answer: No, and each state should decide their own level of coverage
Donald Trump's answer: Yes
Q: Should the federal government require children to be vaccinated for preventable diseases?
Darrell Castle's answer: No
Gary Johnson's answer: No
Donald Trump's answer: Yes
Darrell Castle's answer: No, the government should never determine what a private business should pay employees
Gary Johnson's and Donald Trump's answer: No, there are too many other variables such as education, experience, and tenure that determine a fair salary
Q: Should welfare recipients be tested for drugs?
Darrell Castle has not answered this question yet.
Gary Johnson's answer: No
Q: Should businesses be required to provide paid leave for full-time employees during the birth of a child or sick family member?
Darrell Castle's and Gary Johnson's answer: No, private businesses should decide the amount of competitive incentives they offer to employees instead of a government mandate
Donald Trump's answer: Yes
DC: In the first 100 days I would move the United States to withdraw from the United Nations so that we could be a free and independent country able to make our way in the world with leaders accountable to the American people. I would explain to the American people why I think that action is necessary.
I would move Congress to repeal the Federal Reserve Act and take back control of our monetary policy and I would explain that to the American people as well. That would be a necessary start to a growing, dynamic economy. The debt needs to be addressed quickly and I would do that in conjunction with ending the Federal Reserve.
At the same time I would be starting the process of defunding Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers. Life needs to be recognized for the God given gift that it is.
DC: Christians and others will have to listen and read for themselves about my foreign policy rather than gather it from the establishment or mainstream media. As for Israel: Israel is a most important ally in the Middle East and for the most part Israel's enemies are our enemies. I am against foreign aid for anyone since there is no Constitutional basis for it, but I know that if we cut off the billions in aid to Israel's enemies and potential enemies, Israel would not need our help. The Israelis are therefore fully capable of defending themselves. I would not sit by and watch Israel be overrun and conquered, but at the same time, I don't believe that could ever happen.
A: That's a good question. It sounds kind of terrible, but probably nothing. In other words, I think what we did in 2008 was a horrible mistake. What we got out of it was $20 trillion in debt. My philosophy: let failing companies fail. There's no such thing as "too big to fail". Let them fail; that's creative destruction. Newer faster banks will come along, younger banks. And they'll stop doing this. As a result, the system is flushed, cleaned out. Bailouts need to stop and these companies need to start operating on a real, genuine free market system where there's no one there to catch them when they fall.
Q: Do you think the derivatives market should be regulated again?
A: Yes. I think there are far too many regulations and some of them should be stripped away from American business so that they can hire people again, but at this point, I don't see any way to avoid regulating it, yes.
A: The Constitution party's official position is we don't believe in legalizing drugs. But me personally, I am an advocate of decriminalizing possession. I think it's a liberty issue and a moral issue. We should not be putting people in prison for possessing these things. There are other ways of handling it and it's causing the whole war on drugs to be a disaster.
A: I think that the United States should start trying desperately to produce its own energy. We're doing that to some extent. We say we don't like fracking and we don't like the Keystone pipeline but we don't mind doing it in other countries. In other words, if we buy our energy from Saudi Arabia, we don't really care what happens to their environment. It's kind of a silly argument to me. It causes a lot of violence in the world when we don't produce our own energy because we have to humble ourselves. Saudi Arabia, one of the most oppressive regimes in the world according to our friends at the U.N., they beheaded 150 people last year, we have to go to those people and do deals with them as the President just did when he flew over there. He told them that we would guarantee their security, them and the other Gulf monarchies. I'm completely flabbergasted and opposed to that sort of thing, and if we produced our own energy, we wouldn't have to do it.
A: We could produce our own oil, and what we can't produce, we can buy from friendly countries like Canada. And if there's green energy available to be produced, I mean, there's technologies out there that I don't have the technical experience to understand. I think there's new technologies. I would start with trying to develop our own petroleum energy and see where that took me.
A: Yes I do. I'm very much opposed to it. I'm not necessarily opposed to free trade. I don't think the TPP is about free trade. I really don't see any need to turn the trade sovereignty, the authority of the United States over to foreign corporations. I don't like the idea of giving international corporations, never mind foreign governments, them too, but foreign corporations, the right to sue the United States and demand that it change its trade policy. I want the United States to be a free and independent country. If we want to negotiate a deal with Mexico for example that says: you let us ship our goods to Mexico without import duties and we'll do the same for you, I have no problem with that. But that's not what the TPP is about so I'm dead set against it.
A: I do realize that, yes. Yes I would repeal NAFTA.
A: When NATO was formed, it has 28 members, the US was one of those members. When it was formed, there was probably some use for it. We were very concerned that Soviet tanks would come rolling across the German frontier at any minute and it was something that was supposed to prevent that. We had just come out of World War II and we encountered a new enemy and that's really not the case anymore. The US kind of entered into a deal with those other 27 countries, and that is, you won't have to provide your own defense, we'll do that for you. In return, you can use your entire GDP to advance your economies and fund your welfare states. And the United States can't afford it anymore. It's becoming a little too belligerent. Promises were made between President Reagan and President Gorbachev that NATO would not advance to the edge of the Soviet Union or the old Soviet Union, if the wall would come down.
A: We differ on the subject of abortion. Our party is firmly against it. Their probable candidate, Gary Johnson, has said that he's in favor of it. Most of the time, Libertarians take an open borders position and I don't. I take a secure borders position.
A: I want the United States to be a free and independent country, able to make its own decisions in the world. I don't want it to be isolated, that's usually the charge you get when you talk about things like this. But [the U.N.] is the center of many of things in the world that I don't like. It's the center of depopulation and it's the center of the destruction of sovereignty of nations. It's the center of this new global world that we seem to be building. For example, Mr. Trump says he wants to build a wall on the southern border supposedly to prevent immigrants from entering the United States illegally, but the same time he's talking about that, the United States government is building a digital wall, an electronic wall around the entire world so that it can observe every human being on earth, 24/7, no matter where they go. I would like to start the process of taking that whole system apart.
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The above quotations are from Sunday Political Talk Show interviews during 2013-2015, interviewing presidential hopefuls for 2016.
Click here for main summary page. Click here for a profile of Darrell Castle. Click here for Darrell Castle on all issues.
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