Doug Butzier in 2014 Iowa Senate Debates


On Abortion: Leave abortion decisions to the states

Q: Do you support or oppose the statement, "Abortion is a woman's unrestricted right"?

A: The constitution leaves this question to the States, so I would oppose any Federal interference with the issue.

Source: E-mail interview: 2014 Iowa Senate race with OnTheIssues.org Sep 17, 2014

On Budget & Economy: Market-led recovery better than federal stimulus

Q: Do you support or oppose the statement, "Stimulus better than market-led recovery"?

A: Absolutely not. "Stimulus" packages are the most ridiculous economic hogwash ever foisted on an unsuspecting public. The economy would be much better off if individuals kept their tax money and chose how to spend it, rather than taking that same money and running it through the inefficiency of the Federal Government.

Source: E-mail interview: 2014 Iowa Senate race with OnTheIssues.org Sep 17, 2014

On Civil Rights: Affirmative action is government interference in marketplace

Q: Do you support or oppose the statement, "Legally require hiring women & minorities"?

A: I'm opposed to government interference in the marketplace, and mandating some fraction of the workforce be women & minorities would be interference. The very idea that a group of Senators, myself included, would know what is the best hiring practice for some business is preposterous.

Source: E-mail interview: 2014 Iowa Senate race with OnTheIssues.org Sep 17, 2014

On Civil Rights: Declaration's "All men are created equal" applies to gays

Q: Do you support or oppose the statement, "Comfortable with same-sex marriage"?

A: Absolutely. The second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence states it pretty clearly; "All men are created equal." If you favor discrimination against one group for behaviors that you don't approve of, what's to stop another group from discriminating against you for a behavior they don't approve of?

Source: E-mail interview: 2014 Iowa Senate race with OnTheIssues.org Sep 17, 2014

On Crime: Stricter punishment doesn't reduce crime

Q: Do you support or oppose the statement, "Stricter punishment reduces crime"?

A: I disagree with this statement.

Source: E-mail interview: 2014 Iowa Senate race with OnTheIssues.org Sep 17, 2014

On Drugs: Legalize marijuana & all drugs; $80B wasted on War on Drugs

Q: Do you support or oppose the statement, "Never legalize marijuana"?

A: I'm in favor of legalizing all drugs! We spend ~$80 Billion each year in the war on drugs, which is about half of all law enforcement expenditures. Just because you think it's wrong for someone to use marijuana, doesn't give you the right to demand legislation to try and stop it. Prohibition has never worked and only breeds violent crime in our cities and in Central and South America.

Source: E-mail interview: 2014 Iowa Senate race with OnTheIssues.org Sep 17, 2014

On Education: Vouchers for school choice are a good start

Q: Do you support or oppose the statement, "Vouchers for school choice"?

A: Absolutely. It would be a good start at getting the Government out of the classroom and out of the business of educating our children. There is no constitutional authority on which the Department of Education exists.

Source: E-mail interview: 2014 Iowa Senate race with OnTheIssues.org Sep 17, 2014

On Energy & Oil: Prioritizing green energy is just tax favors

Q: Do you support or oppose the statement, "Prioritize green energy"?

A: Absolutely not. Tax favors only enrich those companies at the expense of the taxpayer.

Source: E-mail interview: 2014 Iowa Senate race with OnTheIssues.org Sep 17, 2014

On Environment: Clean air and water are in the public domain

Q: Do you support or oppose the statement, "No 'rights' to clean air and water"?

A: I believe that the air and water are in the public domain and if you degrade it in some way, such as pumping toxic gasses into the air, then there ought to be recourse for the public to be compensated.

Source: E-mail interview: 2014 Iowa Senate race with OnTheIssues.org Sep 17, 2014

On Foreign Policy: Dialogue via UN ok, but no US troops under UN control

Q: Do you support or oppose the statement, "Maintain US sovereignty from UN"?

A: Agree. I'm all for engaging in dialogue, but I'm absolutely opposed to putting US troops under the command of the UN or any of the other members.

Source: E-mail interview: 2014 Iowa Senate race with OnTheIssues.org Sep 17, 2014

On Free Trade: Free trade is the very foundation of prosperity

Q: Do you support or oppose the statement, "Support & expand free trade. Absolutely"?

A: Free Markets and Free Trade are at the very foundation of economic growth and prosperity.

Source: E-mail interview: 2014 Iowa Senate race with OnTheIssues.org Sep 17, 2014

On Government Reform: Make sure that votes are legal, & that people vote only once

Q: Do you support or oppose the statement, "Stricter enforcement of voting rights"?

A: Not sure what you mean by enforcement of voting rights, but if you wonder if I support making sure that each person that votes is legally entitled to vote and only votes once, I'm all for it.

Source: E-mail interview: 2014 Iowa Senate race with OnTheIssues.org Sep 17, 2014

On Gun Control: Absolute right to gun ownership

Q: Do you support or oppose the statement, "Absolute right to gun ownership"?

A: Clearly protected by the Second Amendment, but I do support keeping guns out of the hands of the mentally unstable. We have already proven it is impossible to keep them out of the hands of criminals.

Source: E-mail interview: 2014 Iowa Senate race with OnTheIssues.org Sep 17, 2014

On Health Care: Opposes ObamaCare

Q: Do you support or oppose the statement, "Expand ObamaCare"?

A: Absolutely not.

Source: E-mail interview: 2014 Iowa Senate race with OnTheIssues.org Sep 17, 2014

On Homeland Security: Stop expanding the military

Q: Do you support or oppose the statement, "Expand the military"?

A: Absolutely not. We have more than 1,000 military bases in over 130 countries worldwide.

Source: E-mail interview: 2014 Iowa Senate race with OnTheIssues.org Sep 17, 2014

On Immigration: Turn illegal aliens into taxpayers by legalizing them

Q: Do you support or oppose the statement, "Pathway to citizenship for illegal aliens"?

A: Absolutely. It's about the only way to turn them into taxpayers.

Source: E-mail interview: 2014 Iowa Senate race with OnTheIssues.org Sep 17, 2014

On Principles & Values: Oppose limits on prayer in public places

Q: Do you support or oppose the statement, "Keep God in the public sphere"?

A: Not sure what you mean by keeping God in the public sphere, but I would oppose any limits to freedom of speech, including prayer in public places.

Source: E-mail interview: 2014 Iowa Senate race with OnTheIssues.org Sep 17, 2014

On Social Security: Privatize the Ponzi scheme in gradual and voluntary manner

Q: Do you support or oppose the statement, "Privatize Social Security"?

A: In a gradual and voluntary manner. It's a Ponzi scheme and future taxpayers should not be forced to pay for someone's retirement. That is what individual responsibility is all about.

Source: E-mail interview: 2014 Iowa Senate race with OnTheIssues.org Sep 17, 2014

On Tax Reform: Higher taxes on the wealthy are counterproductive to economy

Q: Do you support or oppose the statement, "Higher taxes on the wealthy"?

A: Absolutely not. Counter productive to the economy.

Source: E-mail interview: 2014 Iowa Senate race with OnTheIssues.org Sep 17, 2014

On War & Peace: Stay out of Iran & stay out of everywhere

Q: Do you support or oppose the statement, "Stay out of Iran"?

A: I'm in favor of staying out of everywhere.

Source: E-mail interview: 2014 Iowa Senate race with OnTheIssues.org Sep 17, 2014

The above quotations are from 2014 Iowa Senate Debates.
Click here for other excerpts from 2014 Iowa Senate Debates.
Click here for other excerpts by Doug Butzier.
Click here for a profile of Doug Butzier.
Doug Butzier on other issues:
Abortion
Budget/Economy
Civil Rights
Corporations
Crime
Drugs
Education
Energy/Oil
Environment
Families
Foreign Policy
Free Trade
Govt. Reform
Gun Control
Health Care
Homeland Security
Immigration
Jobs
Principles
Social Security
Tax Reform
Technology
War/Peace
Welfare
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Page last updated: Dec 06, 2018