e-Interview with Niger Innis

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InnisDistrict 4 is Nevada’s newest Congressional district and was created as a result of the 2010 Census.  Located in the central portion of the state, it includes most of northern Clark County, parts of Douglas and Lyon counties, and all of Esmeralda, Lincoln, Mineral, Nye and White Pine counties. More than four-fifths of the district's population lives in Clark County.

1. Why are you running for a Congressional seat?

Six years after being promised “hope” and 8 years after the Democrats took control of the Senate, Americans have lost hope in the American Dream. A fundamental goal of all Americans for centuries has been that we can work hard, raise our families and give our children better opportunities than we had- that each generation is better off than the one before.

With staggering national debt and government getting more and more intrusive, it’s impossible to make the argument that our children will be better off, will have better opportunities than we have had. I chose to run because the American Dream is dying and if we are going to save it, we need to change how Washington works for the people.

2. Give a brief summation of your professional and political background.

I have spent my entire professional career working for people. As a leader of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) I have helped voice the concerns of the African-American community and helped find conservative solutions to problems created and augmented by big government.

I have also worked as the Chief Strategist for TheTeaParty.net. As a Tea Party leader, I have worked to voice the concerns of millions of Americans who have felt underrepresented in Washington. I have been honored to stand with the millions of Americans who have voiced their frustration and demanded a government that works for the people.

3. Define your political philosophy.

I am a true, authentic conservative. That label has been hijacked by many establishment Republicans who want to appear as conservatives, but for me, that means opposing policies that augment the size and role of government and supporting policies that foster free-market principles and increased liberty for people.

4. If you win the Primary, you will be running against the incumbent Congressman in the General election.  He is well-backed financially.  Do you have sufficient financial resources to run a competitive Primary & General Election campaign?  Do you anticipate having to use your own money?  If so, to what degree?

My opponent, Steven Horsford, is very well-funded because the Democrats crafted this district with the intention of it remaining in the hands of Democrats in perpetuity. With my community involvement coupled with my long history of political advocacy, it’s clear that I am willing to roll up my sleeves and work tirelessly for the people to whom I am accountable. I am the only Republican candidate that can beat Rep. Horsford and I will do so by advancing conservative principles and with the help of the aggressive fundraising efforts of my team.

5. What makes you more qualified than your Primary opponent to serve in this position?

Simply put: I can beat Steven Horsford and my primary opponent, Cresent Hardy, cannot. I have a long history of community involvement, helping advance conservative principles in the private sector. I have a history of political advocacy. Mr. Hardy has a history of going along to get along. From supporting the creation of Nevada’s Obamacare exchange to his support for expanding Medicaid, Hardy has shown himself to be moderate and an election between Mr. Hardy and Mr. Horsford is an election between Democrat and Democrat-Lite.

6. Define your Congressional district – geographically, demographically and politically.

Congressional District 4 is comprised of 7 counties, the southern most county is Clark, which includes the City of North Las Vegas and extends North-ward to Lyon, Mineral, Esmeralda, Nye, and Lincoln counties. The district has both urban and rural communities. CD4 has a 57% minority demographic, with the registered Democrats outnumbering Republican registration by 37,000.

7. What do you see as the three most important issues related to your district?

A.) Income inequality: It is no exaggeration to say that the American dream is in serious peril. The key to reviving the American dream and decreasing income inequality is to foster greater opportunities, not promising an equality of outcome for everyone through government programs. Nevada lingers behind the national unemployment rate and if Nevada is going to avoid becoming the next California, lawmakers must consider job creation our top priority.

The greatest antidote to income inequality is job creation and the best job creators are businesses in the private sector. While Wall Street is enjoying record profits, the wages of the average American has stagnated and we must enhance job opportunities in the district. We must lower taxes to ease the burdens on small businesses who want to grow and hire employees and re-incentivize entrepreneurialism. By lessening the taxation burden on small businesses, I will help create jobs in Nevada and help keep jobs in Nevada.

B.) Immigration and Civic Revival: My America First immigration reform policy centers around 8 critical points to effect meaningful, long-lasting and fair immigration reform. Our nation’s immigration policy is in tatters and citizens can no longer afford to send do-nothing bureaucrats to Washington who talk much but accomplish little. My 8-point America First immigration platform outlines an immigration policy that allows for an easier-to-navigate system of legal immigration that supports the free market principles upon which our nation was founded and that all starts with securing the border.

For decades, Washington bureaucrats have sought amnesty in exchange for the promise of throwing money at the problem of illegal immigration at a later date. We are a nation of immigrants that must allow for easier, legal methods of immigration and assimilation, but we must be willing to put American values and American workers first. These 8 principles are the answers to the long-unanswered question that hovers in Washington, “What are we going to do about immigration reform?”

C.) Healthcare: Obamacare is having devastating effects on citizens all across the nation. Though the stated purpose of the healthcare overhaul was to help provide insurance coverage for the estimated 15% of the population without health insurance, Obamacare is costing millions of Americans their insurance plans, is destabilizing the medical field with burdensome regulations and costs and is expanding the role of Medicaid dramatically. The healthcare system has been broken for a long time, but more government just isn’t the answer when big government has been the problem.

A healthcare system that is responsive, available and affordable for everyone should be our goal. Of course, we need to help those who need health insurance, but not at the expense of those who already have health insurance that works. Any reform needs to be fair and balanced.

I will continually push for the repeal of Obamacare and push for common-sense, free market-based healthcare reforms that will end government monopolies and foster competition amongst insurers across state lines to lower premiums and deductibles and will work with the American Bar Association to enact much-needed tort reforms to reduce the costs of malpractice insurance and thereby reduce the costs of healthcare.

8. It appears that millions of acres of Nevada lands are destined to have the sage grouse (among other species) listed as a protected species.  What is your position in regards to this issue?  Explain.

Protection of the sage grouse will impact 17 million acres of land in 16 counties in  Nevada, this concerns me me because of the impact on mining, grazing, farming, oil and gas exploration, fences, roads, power lines, wind turbines and solar panels, a variety of recreational activities, and more. In fact, this proposed action actually contradicts mandates for the BLM to manage public lands with the intent to providing access to multiple users. Let me be clear, I am an avid environmentalist, but I do believe human beings are part of the environment and need protecting too.

9. Define your position in regards to approving/voting against a proposed national budget.

Nevadans all throughout our great state work hard and support their families while operating on a budget. Why should it be any different for our government? We need more accountability in Washington and that begins with cutting spending, increasing efficiency in bloated bureaucracy and passing and sticking to a budget.

10. Define and explain your position in regards to internet gaming.

My concern is the risk to children and gambling addicts is substantial and our current ability to monitor their activity is limited. Americans are also vulnerable to criminals who use stolen identities to set up fraudulent online gaming accounts.  Congress should not pass legislation that promotes online gaming until we have sufficient means to regulate firms and monitor activity as we do with the “brick and mortar” gaming establishments . The challenge will be to enact and enforce effective protections and deterrents for all Americans.

11. Define your position in regards to proposed military personnel cutbacks and cutbacks to the benefits of future enlistees.

It’s no secret that our government has a serious spending problem, but our spending on military personnel is not one of them. To avoid meaningful spending cuts, Democrats routinely offer up the false choice to Republicans: cut military benefits or nothing at all.

We must take care of our national heroes as they have taken care of us. Government must reduce its spending, but these cuts must come from bloated programs, not our brave men and women of the armed forces.

12. Define your position in regards to unemployment benefits and benefit extensions.  What changes, if any, would you propose to improve our unemployment benefit system?

I have said it publically, that I am torn over the proposed extension of unemployment insurance. I have a tremendous amount of empathy in this miserable economy and the so-called smoke and mirrors recovery for those who are unemployed and looking for a job. I won’t rule out extending unemployment insurance. But, continuing to extend unemployment benefits with no solutions to create real jobs, is not the ultimate answer for those who are unemployed. The ultimate answer is to radically energize and liberate small businesses to create jobs. The best solution for someone who is unemployed is not more unemployment insurance.

In Congress I would propose to limit the extensions of unemployment insurance while aggressively creating an environment for small business to flourish through tax credits, SBA loans, and other innovative incentives.

13. Define your position on dealing with the illegal immigrants living in this country.

I have worked to craft an 8-point plan for an America First Immigration Reform policy that centers on free-market ideals, assimilation and border security. It can be found at SecureAmericaNow.us.

These eight principles are essential guidelines for crafting a meaningful, long-lasting America First Immigration Reform package that puts the needs of Americans first.

We simply must accept that the immigration problem needs to be addressed. Before we can figure out how to address the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants already in America, we must first secure the border. Any discussion with Democrats that promises future border security in exchange for a pathway to citizenship right now is a non-starter. We must, first and foremost, secure the border before we can have any meaningful discussion about immigration reform.

14. Define your position on how this country should deal with protecting our borders from illegal immigration.

Democrats and soft, establishment Republicans like to pretend that it’s an impossible task. It’s not. We must secure the border through technological means as well as with active border patrols. We must also be willing to bolster programs such as E-verify that enforce compliance with our nation’s immigration laws. We must also strengthen visa monitoring to better keep track of who is overstaying their visas.

15. Define your position on the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) and what you would attempt to do if elected.

It was obvious before Obamacare that the healthcare field was flawed. However, what Obamacare has done is ruthlessly augment the cracks in the foundation that caused the problems.

We must repeal Obamacare; there’s no doubt about it. It was a bad bill to begin with and has only gotten worse. To fix it, we must work with members on both sides of the aisle to come up with real, meaningful solutions, not the tired, old quick-fixes. To repeal the law, we must rely on principled conservatives to win elections and do what the American people need: repeal the law.

16. Do you support the Nevada Republican Central Committee endorsing candidates prior to the Primary election?

Yes, I do support the process. It appears to me the NRCC is doing exactly what other high ranking Nevada elected officials do by endorsing their “hand-picked” candidates in the primary by lending their name, hosting events, and raising money.

17. The Nevada Republican Party (as well as the Republican Party nationwide) is openly and contentiously divided between the very conservative ‘tea party’ element and more moderate Republicans.  Should this be a concern to future Republican successes at the ballot box?  If so, how can the differences be resolved at least to a point of not hindering success in the General election?

Future Republican candidates for elected office should remember that the Republican Party is supposed to be the party of conservatism. Conservatism has always been the heart and soul of the Republican Party and those who frequently side with Democrats as a means of political expediency must begin their move to the right if they intend to earn the votes of Republicans.

18. If there is an issue that has not been addressed in the previous questions, here is your chance to address it:

Nevada is a unique state. With both natural resources and the tourism industry helping to drive the economy of the Silver State, we must be mindful of the effects government regulations and taxation have on the industries that so many Nevadan families rely upon.

Our approach to economic recovery must focus on private sector solutions coupled with increased government responsibility. We must lower the burdens on businesses so that they may grow and hire more.

Also, with $17 trillion in national debt, we must get our spending under control in a meaningful way. People are taxed enough already; we cannot remedy our debt problem with taxes. Real, meaningful reform must come from spending cuts and easing of tax burdens on businesses.

These interviews are posted on Nevada News & Views (www.nevadanewsandviews.com) and/or NewsDesk by Nancy Dallas (www.ndbynd.com).  Reposting of any interview by interested parties must include the disclaimer the interview was originally posted in the above publications.  Questions or comments may be directed to Nancy Dallas at nancy@nancydallas.com or 775-847-0129.