ISSUES
Steve, why are you running for Congress?
To make life better for the people who live in the 1st Congressional District of Tennessee. And I have the right skills and passion for the 1st District that we need right now in Washington.
I’m a small business owner of a law firm, and I’m a trained mediator who knows how to deliver win-win outcomes. I’m not a career politician, but my 10 years as a City Commissioner and Mayor gave me valuable insights into how to get things done. I will be an excellent ambassador for our District and will help make our local communities better places to live, work, worship and raise a family.
You speak of special skills. Can you offer some examples of how you used those skills as Mayor of Johnson City?
How will you help the 1st District recover from the COVID Pandemic?
We’ve all been impacted in some way by the Coronavirus. Several of our counties have been especially hard hit because of suspended travel to tourist locations. I will make sure that our small business owners and families here in the 1st District have the best opportunity to recover through government support. I also urge voters in the 1st District to support local small businesses by choosing them for your purchases in the months ahead. For workers who have lost their jobs, I will work hard to see that there is Federal support in finding your next job.
Phil Roe did a great job for the 1st District. Can you live up to that standard?
What are your core beliefs that would make you a great Congressman?
Every person has the right to build a successful life here in America. Government is here to protect and support that freedom to be a success… not to infringe with heavy taxes or overreach on our Bill of Rights. I believe that my Conservative Republican values can protect those freedoms here in the 1st District.
The best social program is a good job. I will help bring good jobs to every community in our District as well as promote tourism to our beautiful, natural attractions as well as our historical and entertainment sites.
The Republican Party needs to be the party that offers solutions to our Nation’s problems. And Congress, with its dismal approval rating, needs to up its game.
Are you pro-life?
What is your view on immigration?
Will you support the second amendment if you are elected to Congress?
What about the First Amendment?
The COVID Crisis has seen unprecedented growth in the Federal budget. What is your view on Federal spending?
What is your view on the size of government and accountability?
There are many family farms in the 1st District. How will you support them?
What is your view on healthcare?
What are your views on the opioid crisis?
One very promising development involves our local use of “drug courts.” These programs consist of a judicially supervised drug treatment program that offers someone arrested on drug charges the chance to avoid jail and fight addiction by meeting the requirements of the program.
What are your views on national defense?
What about your views on public education?
What about foreign trade?
Do you feel that our veterans are well taken care of in America?
Many of your opponents are accepting donations from special interests. What is your position on this matter?
How do you feel about limits?
Steve Darden – I think term limits are the only way to reduce the influence of special interests and their huge sums of money. The only people who seem to be against term limits are career politicians. The President has term limits; why should Senators and Congressman be any different?
What is your view on America's relationship with Israel?
As a high school senior, through the United Methodist Church, I attended a multi-day seminar at the United Nations. Among the presentations that I and other attendees heard was a forum at which a representative of the Israeli government and a representative of the Palestinian movement spoke. It was 1978, a mere 6 years after the murder of several Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Summer Olympic Games.
The representatives were both mannerly, intelligent, well-spoken and informative. Now, however, over 40 years later, a peaceful resolution between Israel and the Palestinians remains elusive. The United States should encourage a peaceful solution but does not have the authority to mandate such an outcome or its terms. Instead, we should continue to encourage a solution resulting from direct negotiations between the parties. We could, however, serve a mediator role.
There are, of course, those who foment conflict, including Iran. Iran is neither a friend to Israel nor the United States and we must continue to counter Iran’s influence in the region. Iran is the largest state sponsor of terrorism in the world. President Trump made a very important move when he acted to keep Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
I further support the annual renewal of $3.3 Billion as part of the Memorandum of Understanding.
In 2018, President Trump enacted the move of the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem. The move was appropriate and, in my opinion, should be permanent.
Israel’s ability to function in the international community is vital and must be protected. Thus, I will oppose the BDS movement.
The horrors of the holocaust and the clear anti-Jewish sentiment that continues to exist in the world make it morally imperative that the United States of America always be a staunch ally of Israel. To me, our alliance must be preserved without question. Such support includes providing security assistance to Israel and resisting hostile nations and organizations such as Hamas Hezbollah.
For most of my lifetime, the major problems and majority of armed conflicts in which our nation has been involved are rooted in the Middle East. As such, it is in our national interest as well as being the right thing to do to protect Israel and to benefit from its strength as an intelligence-sharing ally, a military power, and a beacon of hope and freedom in the world.