Elmer,

Thank you for your questions – I’ll try to answer them to the best of my ability.

1). The balance in striking agreements for the benefit of the District lies not in the reality of the need to do so, but rather whom you have to negotiate with. In that there will be a reinforced Democratic majority (with far left and frankly - far right members) and the very strong potential of a new Democratic President, I will have the ability to coordinate the return of significantly more Federal tax money to our District and may actually start to see something like parity with respect how much we send to Washington and how much has to come back. During 24 years of military service I learned not that you have to go along to get along, but rather that two people who disagree can still work together on what they do agree on. The menu of allies in Congress who feel as I do crosses Party lines. That is why it is much more important to be known as an independent legislator - whose opinion and vote is sought after by all, rather than a rubber stamp for a party leader, be it the President or the Speaker of the House.

2). I have learned (the hard way in Federal politics) that it is important to be very careful to pick your fights and thus I refer this statement to the above answer. ((It was after all not a question))

3). Yes, and in fact on an accelerated timeline. The more stable the ground situation, the easier it is to implement the lessons learned from Bosnia where we established three semi-autonomous regions (largely already in place because of the rampant unrestricted ethnic cleansing that has taken place without controls of any kind). Any historical understanding of the Middle East will teach a curious student that the fundamental constant over the past 2,500 years has been the divide between the Arabs and the Persians. And that divide–between the Arab world and Iran–is the most important stabilizing factor that we can leverage. We cannot do it if we have 140,000 uniformed military personnel on the ground. This is the wrong occupation against the wrong enemy at the wrong time, using the wrong strategy with the wrong weapons–and all at too high a price. We must remember that the so called surge was an effort to create a working Iraqi government - that has yet to happen nor will it ever because the Iraqi people do not want and will not accept a Jeffersonian Democracy. They must choose for themselves what will work and no amount of “Democracy on the March” malarkey from the White House will change that.

4). In the specific “yes”. Property rights are in the same category as parental rights and should be those most strongly protected. I strongly opposed the taking of private property that has recently gained so much visibility in the North East and will continue to oppose any such efforts. As far as heating goes, if you can heat your home within the county and city codes–either with wood, coal, or any other legal fuel–then so much the better. As a Congressman, I would have neither the authority nor the inclination to change those local laws.

5). I attended both public and private Catholic schools. I had a great education (even the US Naval Academy is a very public school in a manner of speaking) and am largely the product of one of the most successful school system ever developed anywhere at any time on earth. While I have had my arguments with school boards, principals, and teachers, the responsibility and decisions that will impact my children’s schooling are mostly made around our kitchen table, where the kids were taught to do their homework before playing, to be accountable for their grades, and to respect their teachers (even when I disagreed with them). In the end, my wife and I had a lot more to do with the education of our children than the teachers did (after all, they were in our care 75% of the time). I support competitive private education as an option to the public school system, but only after the public school system is allowed to be fully functional. I do not approve of Federal invasion and control of local school issues–something which is at the heart of this Administration’s Every Child Left Unfunded legislation.

6). As someone who was told that they would be dead nearly ten years ago, I do understand the value of life. I support the death penalty under an exceptionally narrow set of circumstances while demanding that all currently convicted death penalty prisoners have their cases fully reviewed using the most up to date DNA technology available. We have simply seen too many situations where we have wrongfully convicted men and women who were later exonerated by DNA evidence to believe that innocent people have never been executed. I believe in finding the middle ground where we work together to make abortion the rarest and least sought after alternative possible. I believe in education (it’s better done by thinking adults than Hollywood), prevention, and adoption alternatives, but I believe strongly that this is not an issue for me or anyone else to legislate from Washington DC. I believe that politicians have no right to invade the privacy of American women, families, and communities by changing the current law.

7). The Constitution is the guiding document in this matter, which is why I have been exceptionally consistent in refusing to support any additional gun control legislation. We live in the State with the most gun control laws in the Nation, laws that have been put in place over the past decade by a Republican mayor in New York City, a Republican Governor, and a majority Republican Senate in Albany. I mention this not to implicate Republican politicians, but to demonstrate that this is an issue, like many, that cuts across the stereotypes commonly projected onto members of particular political parties.

8). The reality is that the pool of the truly needy now far exceeds the pool of the truly lazy in our state and our nation. Our new approach to international trade (an irrational insistence on destructive open door “free trade” agreements designed to benefit the few while our nation suffers) has created an economic rush to the bottom where virtually all of us are now poker chips on the gaming table of economic development– a condition where the value of every American, their family, and their dreams, has become negotiable.
I believe that that condition must change, but it will never change if we continue electing public officials who fund their campaigns from corporate donations and sell their votes before legislation even comes to the floor. Breaking that cycle of dependency is why I don’t accept corporate contributions. Does fraud exist in our welfare system? Yes. Will I support legitimate efforts to root out that fraud where it exists and see that the funds reach truly needy families? Of course. But I believe just as strongly in eradicating the causes of poverty and creating economic opportunities in Western NY and in our Nation in an effort to eliminate the need for these programs altogether.

9). This is a fundamental question, and the reality is that in the US Navy, before you can be a successful leader, you must be a successful follower. In the Navy, both officers and enlisted personnel are in the same boat and the success of any Division Officer (Company Commander) is judged on the success of his troops. If the military experience of relatives serves as an indicator, it should be noted that my father was enlisted before he was commissioned, and I spent four years as a Midshipman where low pay, hard work, and tribulation was a way of life. Past experience is no guarantee of any kind, but as any vet knows, a career in the military does help an individual understand the needs of your mess mates, the value of loyalty, and a commitment to duty. Today, that career has helped me to see not only the needs of the working families and businesses in this district, but the needs of our veterans as well.

Thanks again for your questions, and know that while we may not see eye to eye on everything, you will always know where I stand.

Best,

-Eric Massa

Thanks to both Elmer, for asking the questions and Eric, for the great answers.