Steven Vasquez is one of two Republicans running for congress in New York State’s 21st Congressional District. The following is part two of a three part interview that Upstream conducted with Mr. Vasquez. In the portion of the interview we are publishing today, candidate Vasquez gives his views on how he will vote if elected, the unconstitutionality of some legislation that has been passed in the last decade, why he is a Republican and his analysis of the 2008 presidential race. Mr. Vasquez will participate in a forum with other candidates tonight, August 12, at the Unitarian-Universalist Society of Albany from 7-9p.m. The forum will focus on health care.
Click here to read part one of this interview.
Upstream: On your website, you list three principles you will abide by when casting a vote in the United States Congress. 1) Will this bill benefit the American taxpayer? 2) Can the American taxpayer afford this bill? 3) Does this bill uphold to the Constitution of the United States of America? Can you name some specific acts of legislation from the past decade that you believe are unconstitutional?
Mr. Vasquez: We have watched the death of the 4th Amendment and the legitimizing of vast warrant less wiretapping of Americans with the passing of the FISA bill, which was supported by both Obama and McCain. It also provided retroactive immunity to telecom companies and the administration who were breaking the law, which violates Article 1, Section 9 of the Constitution where “no bill of attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed.”
Similarly the Patriot Act, Military Commissions Act, and the REAL-ID all violate and demolish the Bill of Rights.
Most Executive Orders issued by the executive branch are unconstitutional, including the National Security and Homeland Security Presidential Directive which bypasses the Congressional 1976 National Emergency Act and gives the President full power to claim and emergency crisis and take full charge of the federal government, nationalize all manufacturing, utilities, and industries, confiscate all property of citizens, and place citizens in internment camps without any Congressional oversight.
In general any authority not specifically granted by the Constitution under Article 1, section 8 or the amendments, can not be used by the federal government and is reserved for the states or the people, as defined in the 10th Amendment. The Constitution is a living document that was created to change with the needs of the time through Amendments. Government has chosen to violate the Constitution and the rule of law, leading America away from a Constitutional Republic into economic and political disaster. The power of a Constitutional Republic comes from the people holding its representatives accountable. When the people ignore the actions of the government, tyranny follows. I have trust in the great American people to question authority and to ultimately make the right decisions. As Thomas Paine said, “the the role of a true patriot is to defend his country from its government.”
Upstream: Besides being a Republican, how else would you characterize yourself politically? For example, do you consider yourself a Reagan conservative?
Mr. Vasquez: I do consider myself a classical Taft/Reagan conservative Republican. Conservatism has received a bad name due to extremist radicals in the Republican party who have expanded government to historical levels, attack and conquer sovereign nations, trample on American freedoms in a race towards a police state similar to Communist China, corporate welfare, and wasting taxpayers money. These radicals do not represent traditional Republican principles as outlined in the GOP mission statement.
I’m a Republican Because…
I BELIEVE the strength of our nation lies with the individual and that each person’s dignity, freedom, ability and responsibility must be honored.
I BELIEVE in equal rights, equal justice and equal opportunity for all, regardless of race, creed, sex, age or disability.
I BELIEVE free enterprise and encouraging individual initiative have brought this nation opportunity, economic growth and prosperity.
I BELIEVE government must practice fiscal responsibility and allow individuals to keep more of the money they earn.
I BELIEVE the proper role of government is to provide for the people only those critical functions that cannot be performed by individuals or private organizations, and that the best government is that which governs least.
I BELIEVE the most effective, responsible and responsive government is government closest to the people.
I BELIEVE Americans must retain the principles that have made us strong while developing new and innovative ideas to meet the challenges of changing times.
I BELIEVE Americans value and should preserve our national strength and pride while working to extend peace, freedom and human rights throughout the world.
FINALLY, I believe the Republican Party is the best vehicle for translating these ideals into positive and successful principles of government.
Upstream: You refer to yourself as a Republican and a conservative. Many of your answers are libertarian. Do you consider yourself a libertarian?
Mr. Vasquez: Yes, I am a libertarian. In fact, most Americans are libertarian and do not know it. If you believe in the freedom of speech and the freedom of doing anything you want to do as Americans as long as you are not hurting or imposing on the rights of others, you are Libertarian. If you believe that the government should stay out of our pocket books, and that the person who knows how to spend your money best on education, health care, charity, and investments is you, rather than a government who wastes it on lobbyists, wars, bankers, and themselves, then you are a libertarian. The core of the original Republican and Democrat parties originally were libertarian, and veered far to the right and left over time. The original founding fathers that fought the oppression and tyranny of big government, were libertarians. Today, I am a proud Republican returning the party to its original true goals.
Upstream: Is there a particular candidate you are supporting in the 2008 presidential election?
Mr. Vasquez: Looking at the two presumptive candidates of the Democratic and Republican parties, they both represent the continuation of current policies of bankrupting the country with bigger government, unending wars, and the trampling of the Constitution. McCain was the most liberal nominee from the Republican primaries and is a RINO, having supported bigger government, amnesty for illegals, taxes, and McCain-Feingold (which he violated). Obama supported the FISA bill and at the AIPAC speech stated he would do anything, which includes invasion, to stop Iran from getting a nuclear weapon. Obama has also started to back down on Iraq and is sounding more like McCain and Bush everyday. Both candidates consistently flip-flop and mislead the American people on a daily basis, which is foolish in the age of Youtube. Every four years, there is an argument to vote for the lesser of two evils, but ultimately we are just left with evil.
The primaries offered better choices, such as Congressman Ron Paul, who was the only one with enough economic and Constitutional knowledge and courage to lead the country to a better path. Currently there are more conservative candidates running on third parties such as Bob Barr and Chuck Baldwin.
Ultimately voting is not a horse race, you do not win a gold star if the person you chose wins. You win when you vote for the candidate that best represents you. Win or lose, it gets noticed by others and changes the conversation of other candidates to start meeting your views.
Visit Steven Vasquez’s website to learn more about his candidacy.
