By Brandon Moseley
Alabama Political Reporter
Wednesday, July 12, 2017, The Alabama Political Reporter (APR) sat down for a long discussion with Republican US Senate Candidate Bryan Peeples about the issues likely to face the US Senate.
Peeples said, “I am a Rand Paul Republican. I think differently than some of the other candidates. I support actually fighting for the individual rights of the citizens. I was described on the campaign trail, As a blend of John F Kennedy and Rand Paul. I take that as a great honor. It is very humbling to hear that.”
Peeples is a 37-year-old small business owner. “I help people who want to start a mom and pop business. I also help existing businesses adjust to modern ways of doing things in areas like IT and technology.”
APR: Do you like President Trump’s plan to have a joint US/Russian cybersecurity effort?
Peeples: No, Russia is not our friend not our ally we should not be sharing anything with them…Trump is keeping the old adage of keeping your enemies close…the optics of the proposal are not good.
APR: Should the US go to a single payer healthcare care plan such as Medicare for all?
Peeples: No.
APR: Should individuals be able to opt out of any healthcare system we put in place?
Peeples: Yes, absolutely. I believe that should be true of Social Security as well.
APR: Should there be a pathway for citizenship for illegal aliens?
Peeples: Yes, and I would refrain from using the term illegal alien. Undocumented immigrants. We need comprehensive immigration reform. We have been talking about this for 50 years. We should not however disenfranchise people going through the legal immigration process. I take the same position on this as Presidents Reagan and Bush.
APR: Do you support President Trump’s plan to spend a $trillion in infrastructure spending?
Peeples: No. though we need to improve our infrastructure. Peeples said that we should do more privatization and get back to private companies providing more of our infrastructure needs. We can do so much better with what we have.
APR: Do you favor requiring that all states honor the other states concealed carry permits? Reciprocity?
Peeples: No, I believe in the 10th amendment. Whether to allow that should be up to the voters in each State and should not be a Federal mandate.
APR: The US Navy has shrunk dramatically since the 600 ship navy of the 1980s. Do you favor plans to enlarge the Navy to 325 ships or more?
Peeples: We still have the largest standing navy nain the world. China has increased their naval presence in the Pacific. We should match their production in a smart way and a financial way.
APR: Should the United States get out of the United Nations?
Peeples: Absolutely. We should have limited involvement with the United Nations. Their peace keeping missions do not go as planned. We are the host nation and spend more money than any other nation in the world. When you have one major player who will not condemn North Korea on their ICBM launch when all the other players have condemned it that poses a problems. The United Nations continues to recognize nations like Saudi Arabia on their human rights council.
APR: High speed rail advocates have proposed a Birmingham to Atlanta to Charlotte high speed rail line as one of the
first phases of a Los Angeles to Boston transcontinental high speed rail line, is this something you would support?
Peeples: It is a State issue. It is not a Federal issue. Countries like Germany and Japan where they have high speed mag rail lines infrastructure within their border can transport people quickly from place to place. It would increase job growth for rural areas. I believe government funds should not be used for that.
APR: Do you favor building President Trump’s border wall?
Peeples: No. I think it is a gross misappropriation of funds and will fall on tax payers shoulders. Peeples said that he favors hiring more border agents and using more technology to guard the border. That being said an increase in border security on the southern border needs to be accompanied with an increase in funding of our Coast Guard, because 98 percent of drugs come from our coasts rather than the southern border.
APR: Should Federal initiatives like No Child left Behind, Common Core and the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) be repealed and the states and local school systems be given freedom to set their own standards on education?
Peeples: Those programs should be repealed. but there should be a national standard that all states be held to. Having grown up in different states, I experienced firsthand the problems of not having a national standard in place. Too many teachers are teaching how to take the test; when the modern job market requires the ability to think critically. They are not teaching how to think critically.
APR: Would you support the use of nuclear weapons if North Korea were to hit the United States with a nuclear armed ICBM?
Peeples: Absolutely not.
APR: Farming and Forestry are Alabama’s largest industries do you support EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt’s effort to roll back the Obama Administration’s new interpretation of the Waters of the US rule which farmers and foresters say would have been detrimental to their occupations?
Peeples: I do. The farming and agriculture community are part of the small business community and they are the backbone of this country. We need to do anything possible to grow those industries.
Peeples said that he supports repealing. Over-burdensome regulation that put in jeopardy the future growth of our nation.
The Major Party Primaries will be on August 15, 2017. If necessary the Special Primary Runoff Elections will be on September 28, and the Special General Election will be on December 12.
