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Editor’s Note: In June 2012, Civil Beat sent 10 questions to each of the candidates registered to run in the Aug. 11 primary for U.S. Congressional District 1. All five responded, including C. Kaui Jochanan Amsterdam. The questions and answers are reproduced below in full. Read the responses by Charles Djou and Colleen Hanabusa to see how Amsterdam’s positions compare to those of his main competitors. Click on each topic listed below to read Civil Beat’s question and Amsterdam’s response.

• Drone Strikes
• Transportation
• Federal Debt
• Economic Growth
• Health Care Policy
• Global Warming
• Bipartisanship
• District Distinctions
• 112th Congress
• Overlooked Issue

1. President Obama has significantly increased the use of drones to assassinate terrorist targets. The policy has been criticized for denying due process rights for at least one American living abroad, and for the collateral killing of civilians. Do you support this policy — why or why not?

I support President Obama’s use of drones to destroy terrorist targets in order to eliminate terrorism and save lives. Accordingly, before their implementation, sufficient assessments of drone use and prevention of undesirable, negative collateral impacts must be done and managed. Great care must be taken to eliminate undesirable collateral damage, injury, and killing of civilians. Such great care is a demonstration of my perspective, theme, and action to make Hawaii and America “a Light to the World” and advance Hawaii’s motto: “Ua Mau Ka Ea O Ka Aina I Ka Pono/ The Life Of The Land Is Perpetuated in Righteouness”. ↩ back to top

2. Transportation and infrastructure are critical to an island state — especially the neighbor islands. How would you work to increase federal support for Hawaii’s roads, airports and harbors?

Since transportation and infrastructure are critical to our island state of Hawaii, especially our neighbor islands, I presently would serve and work to support such areas as Hawaii’s roads, airports, and harbors by encouraging and utilizing private enterprise or businesses to fulfill such needs, providing employment, minimize federal financial support to decrease our economy’s deficit, relieve tax burdens on our hard working citizens, avoid expanding our already cumbersome big government bureaucracy with its huge spending and deficits, and advance economic surplus. ↩ back to top

3.A divided U.S. Congress has not been able to come to agreement on how to lower the federal debt, in spite of bipartisan recommendations from the Simpson-Bowles deficit commission and others. What is your evaluation of those recommendations, which include hard decisions regarding entitlement programs, defense spending and taxes?

The recommendations from the Simpson-Bowles deficit commission or Report of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform of December 2010 sought to present information on the state of our economy, I believe, in order to manage and resolve our federal deficit and to stabilize and strengthen our economy in light of spending, which has been and is projected to increase faster than revenues, so government will have to continue borrowing money to spend and perpetuate a crisis of public debt. My evaluation is to accept the Commission’s recommendations with its hard decisions with their suitable curbs, caps, and cuts regarding entitlement programs, defense spending, and taxes in order decrease spending and encourage and increase revenue in order to overcome the deficit and crisis of public debt toward achieving economic stability and strength. ↩ back to top

4.The major issue for most candidates is jobs and the economy. Can you identify a concrete example of how you as representative would go about stimulating growth both nationally and in Hawaii?

Since the major issue for most candidates is jobs and the economy, most candidates will remain part of and follow the herd and have nothing brilliant to resolve this issue and nothing new for society. While I address this issue, I find other issues also to be major, contribute to this issue, and merit addressing.

First, to address this issue and the means to go about stimulating growth locally in Hawaii, nationally, and internationally, the office itself of U.S. Congress Representative, District 1, along with my being a Hawaiian Jew, would be the means and provide the authority and numerous and diverse resources, which would be helpful, important, and vital to stimulate growth and achieve my aim of making Hawaii and America “a Light to the World and advancing Hawaii’s motto: Ua Mau Ka Ea O Ka Aina I Ka Pono/The Life Of The Land Is Perpetuated in Righteousness”.

Secondly, I would stimulate growth by enforcing laws that allow for a prosperous free market, discourage government from unsuitably competing with or over-regulating the free market, encourage entrepeneurship and small business growth, eliminate complex, counter productive, time consuming, inefficient procedures, which may be encountered as with the SBA, implement more supportive, efficient procedures, provide suitable accountable as available funding as grants, loans, and subsides, encourage private enterprise, innovations, inventions, which increase employment, consumerism, and economic stimulation, eliminate unnecessary government bureaucracy and positions, adjust and provide reasonable government salaries, eliminate waste, unnecessary expenses, and taxes, and overall thereby increase consumerism and stimulate growth in Hawaii, nationally, and internationally.

Thirdly, the restoration of the Hawaiian Kingdom will supercharge or superstimulate economic growth in Hawaii. As the United Kingdom or England’s tourism and economy is greatly stimulated by its Kingdom features, so also our Native Hawaiian People and All of our People of Hawaii will be blessed and benefitted by my action, with God’s help, to restore the Hawaiian Kingdom, which will be a blessing for us all.

Finally, Peace advanced in Jerusalem, Israel, and the Middle East will decrease conflict and the very high military expenses, which America and Israel, have been burdened with. Peace between our Israelis of Israel and our Palestinians will initiate and spark peace among our Arab neighbors throughout the Middle East. Accordingly, finances for conflict and war can then be available, shifted, and used in multiple ways to stumlate growth and to meet numerous other needs also previously referred to of all parties involved locally, nationally, and internationally.

With being elected by our People of Hawaii, with our faith, prayers, action, and God’s needed help, we shall advance “The Shaloha Quest” and accomplish the marvelous work and wonder of these things and make Hawaii and the America “a Light to the World”. ↩ back to top

5.Regardless of how the U.S. Supreme Court rules on President Obama’s Affordable Care Act, what would your goals be in terms of health care policy as a representative? Would you support universal health care?

Being an Educator and serving in the health care field and as a U.S. Representative, my goals in terms of health care policy would be to integrate into the current operating system the elements of (1) educating and encouraging every citizen to maintain a healthy lifestyle, which includes proper nutrition, exercise, rest, recreation, activity, (2) medical check-ups, (3) community health and preventative medicine, (4) accessibility to affordable, quality health care, (5) maintaining Medicare and Medicaid with changes to simplify the billing and coding procedures and streamline the system to facilitate participation, (6) eliminating waste, fraud, and unnecessary costs, (6) advancing suitable medical liability reform, which will reduce this cause of the high cost of health care, and (7) encouraging the availability of a fairer and wider set of health insurance options that would best fit health health consumer needs. I would advance these elements to assist our citizens and society toward personal and collective development or actualization, living and experiencing a healthy, meaningful. enjoyable life, and being better able to be “a Light to the World”. ↩ back to top

6.Global warming is real, and rising sea levels will certainly impact Hawaii. What steps would you take as a U.S. Representative to mitigate the effects of global warming?

To mitigate the effects of global warming, I would minimize and eliminate the need and use of fossil fuel, which also contributes to our high cost of living, international threats and conflicts, and the greenhouse effect resulting in the problem of global warming.

Furthermore, I would replace fossil fuel energy and use alternative energy resources and elements such as (1) research, development, and use of alternative technology and energy resources, (2) use of magnetic motors, (3) promote alternative energy resource programs, inventions, and projects, (4) advance from geothermal, solar, wave, and hybrid energy to advanced forms such as hydrogen usage, (5) use setbacks from shorelines to prevent flooding and provide for pollution protection, and (6) encourage local, national, and international compliance with use of current fossil fuel and technologies that mitigate against pollution in industry and society. ↩ back to top

7.Longtime D.C. observers say the inability of the two major parties to work with each other has never been worse, especially in the U.S. House. Many experienced leaders are leaving office rather than continue in such a hostile climate. Is compromise necessary to governance — and if so, how would you reach out to your colleagues to craft and pass legislation?

In light of gridlock in Congress, I would reach out to my colleagues to craft and pass legislation basically by applying Hawaii’s motto of “Ua Mau Ka Ea O Ka Aina I Ka Pono” by using (1) courtesy and kindness, (2) a reaching across the aisle and supporting what is reasonable and right when encountered, and (3) dedication, creativity, and persuasion in advancing what I propose. At the same time, my use of leadership in advancing my aims and actions can be achieved without having to use a standard legislative approach. Under such a situation, I would eliminate the procedure of having to even craft and pass legislation and would accordingly avoid gridlock while advancing on the path to be “a Light to the World”. ↩ back to top

8.How is the 2nd Congressional District different from the 1st Congressional District? Or are their issues largely the same?

With District 1 being Oahu with a larger population and a more city oriented lifestyle and District 2 being our major Islands with a less dense population and non-large city oriented lifestyle, there are differences with such features and similarities with basic human needs. Whatever the differences and similarities, which may characterize and exist with each district, I as US Congress Representative, District 1, will serve and coordinate with our US Congress Representative, District 2, and our Senators in order to meet our needs and interests of Hawaii Nei and make Hawaii and America “a Light to the World”. ↩ back to top

9.What is the best thing the 112th Congress did, and why? What’s the worst thing, and why?

The best thing the 112th Congress did was to pass Bill HR 386 to end the practice of including more then one subject in a single bill by requiring that each bill enacted by Congress be limited to only one subject, and for one, and for other purposes. This bill prevented unrelated and cleverly integrated items or subjects, which could be leveraged into a bill, be beneficial to the introducer and constituency, but unbeknownst to other lawmakers, passed, and enacted by Congress. The Bill maintained order, clarity, honesty, and forthrightfulness in the legislative process of the enactment of bills in Congress. Likewise, it reduced spending on unknown expenditures, reduced deficit spending, increased budget balancing, relieved tax burdens on out hard working citizens, and maintained fiscal accountability. On the other hand, the worst thing during the 112 Congress was President Obama’s deficient Energy Plan, which lacked the advancement of alternative energy resources particularly hydrogen and ending our dependency on fossil fuel, which problems are elaborated previously in Question 6. ↩ back to top

10. What is an issue you think is important to address as a U.S. House candidate — one that perhaps has not been given sufficient attention during the campaign?

The issue I, C. Kaui Jochanan Amsterdam, think that is important to address as U.S. Representative, District 1, which I ask for your vote, which has not been given sufficient attention during the campaign is “who will take the torch of our outstanding, dedicated Native Hawaiian Daniel Akaka and advance it forward”? I ask your support to accept and advance the torch to make Hawaii and America “a Light to the World and advance Hawaii’s motto: Ua Mau Ka Ea O Ka Aina I Ka Pono”.

With your support, our faith, prayers, action, and God’s help, we shall shine our Light and advance what I call “The Shaloha Quest”. Shaloha is a term I derived several years ago combining Shalom in Hebrew, Salam in Arabic, and Aloha in Hawaiian and it means Love, Peace, and Aloha. Being a Hawaiian Jew, having advanced humanitarian public service over 35 years locally, nationally, and internationally, and having been educated at 8 universities, and worked, served, and resided locally, nationally in America, and internationally in Europe and Israel/ Middle East, I am prepared and shall go beyond what everyone else can and shall do: (1) Restore the Hawaiian Kingdom and supercharge Hawaii’s economy for our Native Hawaiian People and for All of our People of Hawaii Nei to enjoy, and (2) Advance Peace in Jerusalem, Israel, and the Middle East. Such information and elaborations can be reviewed previously in Question 4. I shall serve and accomplish all other duties and aims and “The Shaloha Quest” in one term. The opportunity is now and we can’t let it slip away; it’s not just nice, but urgent. Elect me, C. Kaui Jochanan Amsterdam, to serve, do these things, and together with God’s help, we shall advance the Torch and make Hawaii and America “A Light To The World”. ↩ back to top