Candidate's name:
Ray Metcalfe
Party:
Democrat
Date of birth: August 29, 1950
Occupation:
real estate broker
Employment history:
Metcalfe Commercial Real Estate (1976-present)
Previous public offices held:
Alaska House of Representatives (1978, 1980).
Previous unsuccessful runs for office:
Too numerous to mention as I have frequently used candidacy as a platform to expose corruption.
Education:
Studied business law and history in college; did not finish degree in either.
Military service:
None
Spouse name:
None
Children:
None
Web site:
www.RayMetcalfe.com
1. Why are you running for office?
When George Bush stole the election, this nation had a projected revenue surplus that could have fixed Social Security and Medicare, paid the national debt and provided every American with health care. George Bush threw it all away with tax cuts for the rich and a misguided war.
We now have a government that listens to our phone calls, reads our emails, and monitors our bank accounts. These are things that need to change.
2. The most important issue in this election is ____.
Ethics. The need for a more open, honest, and ethical government is the most important single issue facing America. Americans cannot trust in the stated positions of candidates with secret commitments to their campaign financiers. If elected, I will establish a corruption tip-line within my U.S. Senate office and use the powers of the office to assure the vigorous investigation and prosecution of all credible evidence of corruption in local, state, or federal government.
3. What specifically should Congress do, if anything, to address rising energy prices?
Some say more drilling; some say more "alternative energies." I say both. A little education could also help. I recently attended the Talkeetna Bluegrass festival where a young man showed me his $60 hydrogen kit in his 1980s vintage Chevrolet. Dramatic power and mileage increase. I'll install my own ASAP.
4. If oil and gasoline prices continue to rise, could you support government price controls?
Price controls could only lead to fuel shortages and rationing. However, here in Alaska, we should be using our resources to reduce and level the energy costs for every community throughout the state.
5. Do you support drilling in ANWR? If the answer is yes, tell us something new that you as a member of Congress can do to open the coastal plain to drilling.
Yes, open ANWR.
Different than Begich or Stevens, I would find a critical moment refuse a procedural vote essential to the majority party's control in exchange for the Democratic votes to open ANWR. To explain, the majority party uses "procedural votes" to control the flow of legislation in Congress. The Democratic Party wouldn't have raised $1,000,000 for Mark Begich had he not committed to vote in lockstep with Democratic Party leaders on procedural votes.
6. TransCanada has suggested the federal government can help the proposed Alaska gas line by acting as a "bridge shipper." That means the federal government would agree to buy enough gas to fill the line if necessary, or at least guarantee the equivalent revenue stream for the pipeline owner. Will you support legislation to do this?
I would not rule it out or promise support at this time. The oil companies repeatedly told Frank Murkowski that they needed just a little bit more before they could build a pipeline. It is now clear that when faced with "use it or lose it," their demands were dropped. 7. Do you support offshore drilling in Bristol Bay?
Only with the strictest of environmental controls and monitoring for safety. Oil companies in Alaska have a proven track record of chipping away at the rules for safeguards. Case in point, in violation of Alaska statute, an Alyeska executive sent the oil spill containment boom to Seattle for cheaper storage, just before the Exxon Valdez hit the rocks.
8. What can the federal government or Congress do to further a natural gas pipeline should state measures such as an AGIA license fail to pass, or fail to "induce" a pipeline?
Provide an export license for North Slope butane, propane, and liquefied natural gas to insure access to the higher prices available through the world market, thereby enhancing the ability to finance delivery systems through Valdez and the Colliers chemical plant in Nikiski.
9. Some say oil companies have leased vast public acreage and are now sitting on the leases without drilling. Point Thomson in Alaska has been mentioned as an example. Do you believe this has anything to do with our energy crunch?
Every reader of the above question should ask this question: If you were in a position to sell a 100 barrels per day at $100 per day, (T= $10,000) what incentive would you have to increase your production to 120 barrels per day if the likely outcome was a drop in attainable price to $50 per day, for a total of $6,000? 10. Rural Alaska has been hit particularly hard by high fuel prices. Are there specific steps Congress or a member of Congress should take to address this?
The state has the biggest responsibility here. Alaska should use its resources to enable all Alaskans to heat their homes at a low, and relatively equal cost, by setting a BTU price at the same cost for all Alaskans.
Alaska should deliver gas, diesel and electric, and/or provide for alternate means of energy to do so.
Like fish and game, Alaska's energy resources should cost Alaskans no more than the cost of bringing it home. 11. Should Congress continue President Bush's tax cuts to stimulate the economy? Explain.
It is plain to see that George Bush's economic policies have destroyed the thriving economy President Clinton had built. Reversing President Bush's tax cuts should be the first step in the long road to repairing the damage he has done to this nation.
12. How important a priority is reducing the federal deficit? Explain.
Had we continued the policies of President Clinton, the deficit would have been paid off by now, and America would be in line for decades of low-interest rates and prosperity. The deficit has caused the dollar to fall and prices on imported products to increase dramatically. The last time we were in a similar position was in the late 1970s when we saw interest rates jump to 21 percent as a means of curbing inflation.
13. Should the U.S. tax code be simplified? Is it fair?
It is not fair, and it should be simplified by eliminating the tax code and replacing it with a "progressive flat tax" that could be explained in 1,000 words or less. By progressive flat tax I mean a higher percentage on income over a quarter million than under. Those making under $40,000 should pay no tax at all. All other forms of favoritism through taxation should be outlawed at all levels of government. 14. What should the future U.S. role in Iraq be?
None! GET OUT !! 15. How long do you believe the U.S. occupation should continue?
We have unfinished business on Afghanistan and an un-captured Osama bin Laden in Pakistan. The troops in Iraq should be offered two tickets to choose from for their immediate departure from Iraq. One that would take them directly home, and one that would take them to Afghanistan. The choice of which direction they go should be theirs. 16. Should a date be set for withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq? Explain.
Yes. As rapidly as they can be safely extracted. 17. What role should Congress have in deciding the kind of military approach the U.S. uses in Iraq?
Congress is remiss in its duties to the country. Out of fear of a once-popular president, Democrats and Republicans voted to send our troops even though most of them knew or should have known he was lying to them. We elected more Democrats to Congress in 2006 to get us out, but a gutless Congress has continued to knuckle under and provide war funding for that nut case in the White House. 18. Under what circumstances, if any, would you support a pre-emptive military strike against Iran to prevent it from acquiring nuclear weapons?
America had the world's backing as a fair arbitrator of world peace when Bush took office. George Bush has squandered that moral high ground. A pre-emptive military strike without the full support of the United Nations would unite most of the countries around the world against us, and place international law on the side of Iran if and when they should find a way to strike back. Clear UN support is essential if we do.
19. How good a job is the military and the Veterans Administration doing in providing ongoing care to soldiers and ex-soldiers who served in the war? What specifically would you do to improve services?
Bush duped thousands of young people into fighting, sustaining injuries and sometimes dying for a lie. As many of them figured it out, he jerked them back into his trap through stop-loss.
Years they've spent in combat and sometimes rehab that could have been spent in college. Whatever the cost, America owes it to them to restore their lives to where they could have been, as best we are able.
20.What role do human-caused emissions of greenhouse gases play in global warming: None, some, most, or all? Explain.
Humans can't expect to dump billions of tons of carbon into the atmosphere year after year without some consequences. It doesn't matter whether our contribution is 40 percent or 80 percent, we can readily survive the cost of addressing it, even if we are wrong. Failing to address it could turn out to be one of the most expensive lessons in human history. 21. What legislation currently in Congress comes closest to the policy you would advocate for dealing with climate change?
I support the Kyoto Treaty and would have voted for the bill the senate turned down, known as the "cap and trade" bill which was designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. And as far as the effect on our economy, I think cap and trade would have spawned new industries, offsetting the adverse effects it might have had. However, should we fail to deal with global warming, the economy may turn out to be the least of our problems.
22. Coastal erosion is a serious issue in a number of rural Alaska villages, with discussions about relocating some communities. Do you believe this is appropriate or realistic? Explain.
We Caucasians forced a somewhat nomadic society to settle into the fixed locations they occupy today. Then, with a little help from a billion or so Asians, we in the modern world, warmed up the planet, and melted the sea ice that protected their shores, enabling the waves of the sea to come in and devour the shores we forced them to settle on. I think we bear some responsibility to come to their aid.
23. Is it appropriate to use the polar bear listing as a threatened species to limit oil and gas development in the Arctic or regulate distant greenhouse gas emissions? What other steps, if any, do you think government and industry should take to protect Alaska's polar bear population?
While the polar bear is threatened by the melting of the ice cap, exploration and production in Alaska's waters isn't going to make it melt any faster. Courts should be empowered by Congress to consider cause and effect when deciding what is required for compliance with the Endangered Species Act. About the only thing our government can do is to start cooperating with other governments to address the issue.
24. What's your position on the proposed Pebble mine in southwest Alaska? How do you plan to vote on the "Clean Water" initiative on the August ballot?
While sympathizing with NANA and Red Dog, I'm voting yes. NANA's shareholders get 25 percent of the profits from Red Dog and Alaskans should get just as much from Pebble. Under current law, Alaska gets almost nothing. The initiative will provide future legislators with bargaining chips to get our fair share while implementing strict but doable environmental safeguards. For self-protection and regional benefit, Bristol Bay and Calista Native Corporations should own shares in Pebble. 25.Are changes needed in the way congressional earmarks work? Under what circumstances should members of Congress be allowed to direct federal spending to specific projects in their district?
An earmark is an appropriation that invites corruption by bypassing congressional scrutiny. Most of the bribery in state, local and federal government results from public officials directing government contracts, assets, or favored treatment to associates, clients, or business partners through earmarks. It should be a felony, punishable by 20 years, regardless of whether a quid pro quo is proven. Such a law would go a long ways toward eliminating corruption at all levels of government. 26. What should Congress do, if anything, to help increase the supply of doctors in Alaska?
If the University of Alaska had a medical school we wouldn't have a shortage. It is long over due.
27. Some major Alaska fisheries have been "rationalized." That is, individual shares have been assigned to fishermen and even to processors. Do you support this approach for more of Alaska's fisheries?
Rationalization sounded good in the beginning, but turned out to be an elaborate scheme to permanently tie up the bounty of the Bering Sea for a select few corporations, family and friends of Ted Stevens' and their heirs. Rationalization needs to be trashed and replaced with a system that enables hard-working young men and women to work their way into the industry in competition for the bounty of Alaska's fisheries.
