Stephanie Carlisle
Nevada Congressional District 1
Positions
Abortion
I am pro-life. As a mother of three beautiful children, I don’t need my bible to tell me that life is a sacred gift from God. There is very little in this world that devastates me quite so much as the tragic death of an innocent child, whether that child is born or unborn.
Abortion is a travesty. Not only is it the death of that precious baby, but it is psychologically scarring for the women who are forced to make the gutwrenching decision to end the lives of their children. My heart breaks for the millions of women who face that decision each year. I know this is a touchy subject, and I truly understand and empathize with those on the other side of this argument. I simply cannot in good conscience put the rights of a mother over that of her unborn child.
1st Amendment
For Americans, nothing is so quintessential to the heartbeat of this nation than the protections of the 1st Amendment. The God-given rights of religion, speech, press, and assembly protected by the founders are unalienable, and must never be jeopardized.
Over the last decade, I have watched in horror as these rights have methodically been eroded with so called “Free Speech Zones”, Anti-Christian bigotry, laws prohibiting assembly, Government censorship, and the PC police. Our representatives in Congress and in the White House have traded these freedoms in the name of “safety” and “Political Correctness”, leaving us each year a little less free. I vow to you that when I represent you, I will never trade your liberties for a false sense of security.
2nd Amendment
Gun control advocates seem to believe that guns are inherently evil, but they are simply tools like any other. About 60 million households and nearly 100 million Americans are estimated to own firearms. If guns were to blame for gun violence, then we’d simply all be dead. The fact is that MOST gun owners are responsible, law abiding citizens whose rights are being violated because a number of criminals also own guns.
More importantly, bans on firearms (especially so called “assault weapons”) do not work. According to the FBI and CDC reports, rifles of any variety account for less than 400 of the 10,000 gun homicides in this country each year, and AR-15 style “assault weapons” statistically account for only about 150 of those 400. To ban these guns as an excuse to curb gun violence is akin to banning Ferraris in order to curb drunk driving. It is insane.
Term Limits
Just as industrial monopolies are bad for capitalism, political monopolies are bad for government. Freedom is choice, and any system that limits choice is – by definition – less free than it could be. Incumbents are seldom seriously challenged by members of their own party, even when they should be. Expiring term limits encourage more interaction within the party ranks, and that means more opportunity for meaningful choice for us, the voters. One of my first actions in Congress will be investigating ways to end the roadblock on this issue and FINALLY limit the terms of both House and Senate.
Governmental Oversight
I strongly believe that we need an immediate independent, fiscally-forensic audit of every single governmental agency, department, organization, and committee. Beyond this identification of impropriety – wherever it may be found – it is critical that we hold those in charge accountable for such waste. At bare minimum there must be significant professional repercussions for misuse – just as there is in the private sector. We must also be ready and willing to pursue civil and criminal charges where applicable.
Taxes
The federal government has legitimate need for taxes; there are programs that are essential to the strength, safety, and stability of this country, and funding them is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds. I am also adamant that by decreasing the breadth of federal control and by holding department heads professionally, civilly, and criminally liable for their budgets, we can more effectively fund those programs that are critical to our nation’s survival while simultaneously reducing the overall tax burden on our citizenry.
Federal Regulation
Excessive federal regulation is a burden at every turn – on us private citizens, on businesses, on state and especially on local governments.
Reducing top-down legislation and eliminating redundancies is nothing but gain; it means more freedom, it means fewer expenses, and most importantly it means less opportunity for abuse by authority.
Immigration
Regardless of party affiliation, everyone can agree that our current immigration policies are a mess. Productive, innovative, and industrious law-abiding people petition for years to come here legally, while criminals of every variety come and go as they please with impunity. One policy in particular cuts me to the quick – sanctuary cities must end, immediately. The notion that there are classes of people within our borders that are entitled to MORE protection than natural-born citizens is outrageous, appalling, and in dire need of change.
Refugees
We, as a nation, have a moral responsibility to protect the innocent women and children of the world, but we have a bigger responsibility to protect our own citizens. The only thing worse than watching these acts of terror happen on the opposite side of the world would be to watch them happening here. Fortunately, there is much we can do to support refugees abroad while also increasing the level of scrutiny necessary to ensure those seeking asylum aren’t just wolves in sheep’s clothing.
Pro-Business
The backbone of strong capitalism is governmental recognition that business owners are private citizens, not unofficial extensions of the state. We need politicians who recognize that there is a clear difference between a governmental agent discriminating between citizens and a private business owner making the kinds of choices that are constitutionally protected – like what product they want to offer, how they want to provide it, and what kind of clientele they want to serve.
Education
Education is important to everyone everywhere, but especially to us in District 1. Nevada consistently ranks amongst the lowest-performing students in the nation, and as a parent of three small children that is chilling. Common Core has been a disaster from the very start, and I am passionate about a complete repeal of that particular boondoggle.
There are literally dozens of educational strategies that are more flexible to implement, cheaper to administer, and with better track records for actually improving academic performance and capturing children’s interest. Engaged children are far less prone to acting out, and every minute a teacher is disciplining a problem child is a minute every other classmate ISN’T being taught.
Veteran Care
The warriors who willingly suffer unimaginable hardships to serve and protect us, and their families who also sacrifice so much, have earned – in spades – every benefit available to them.
The short shrift they’ve gotten of late is a level of disrespect that must no longer be tolerated in Washington. Lip service is not enough; we deserve politicians who actually fight for veterans as hard as veterans have fought for us.
Stephanie Carlisle
Nevada Congressional District 1
