Randal Dean Cooper

[{"question": "Ballotpedia survey responses", "answer_html": "<p>See also: <a href=\"/Ballotpedia%27s_Candidate_Connection\">Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection</a></p>\n<div class=\"row\"><div class=\"col-xs-10 col-md-6 col-xs-offset-1 col-md-offset-3\"><p><a href=\"https://ballotpedia.org/Ballotpedia%27s_Candidate_Connection\"><img align=\"middle\" alt=\"Candidate Connection\" src=\"https://cdn.ballotpedia.org/images/8/88/Candidate_Connection_Logo.png\" width=\"90%\"/></a></p></div></div>\n<p>Randal Cooper completed <a href=\"/Ballotpedia%27s_Candidate_Connection\">Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection</a> survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Cooper's responses.</p>\n<p><span class=\"expand-all\">Expand all</span> | <span class=\"collapse-all\">Collapse all</span></p>\n<div aria-multiselectable=\"true\" class=\"panel-group\" id=\"accordion\" role=\"tablist\"><div class=\"panel panel-default\"><div class=\"panel-heading\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapse-bio-122358-2022-07-05\" id=\"heading-bio-122358-2022-07-05\" role=\"tab\"><p class=\"panel-title\" style=\"font-size: 14px;font-weight: 600;\"><a aria-controls=\"collapse-bio-122358-2022-07-05\" aria-expanded=\"false\" class=\"collapsed\" data-parent=\"#accordion\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapse-bio-122358-2022-07-05\" role=\"button\"><i class=\"fa fa-chevron-right pull-right\"></i><i class=\"fa fa-chevron-down pull-right\"></i>\t\t\t\tWho are you? Tell us about yourself.\t\t\t</a></p></div><div aria-labelledby=\"heading-bio-122358-2022-07-05\" class=\"panel-collapse collapse\" id=\"collapse-bio-122358-2022-07-05\" role=\"tabpanel\"><div class=\"panel-body\" style=\"max-height: 500px; overflow-y: scroll;\"><div class=\"answers-container\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px;\">\t\t\t\tI’m a 51-year-old mechanical engineer and Democrat, married, with one child. Originally from Alabama, I've lived in Tennessee for the past 27 years. I’m pro-democracy, pro-women’s rights, pro-gay rights, pro-gun control, pro-legalization, pro-healthcare, pro-public education, and unequivocally pro-choice. I believe we’re a better country when we don’t treat some of our citizens like they don’t deserve equal protection under the law. I believe billionaires don’t pay nearly enough in taxes. I believe in a robust social safety net. I'm running for all Tennesseans in district 6, not just wealthy special interests.\t\t\t</span></div></div></div></div><div class=\"panel panel-default\"><div class=\"panel-heading\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapse-key-message-122358-2022-07-05\" id=\"heading-key-message-122358-2022-07-05\" role=\"tab\"><p class=\"panel-title\" style=\"font-size: 14px;font-weight: 600;\"><a aria-controls=\"collapse-key-message-122358-2022-07-05\" aria-expanded=\"false\" class=\"collapsed\" data-parent=\"#accordion\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapse-key-message-122358-2022-07-05\" role=\"button\"><i class=\"fa fa-chevron-right pull-right\"></i><i class=\"fa fa-chevron-down pull-right\"></i>\t\t\t\tPlease list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?\t\t\t</a></p></div><div aria-labelledby=\"heading-key-message-122358-2022-07-05\" class=\"panel-collapse collapse\" id=\"collapse-key-message-122358-2022-07-05\" role=\"tabpanel\"><div class=\"panel-body\" style=\"max-height: 500px; overflow-y: scroll;\"><div class=\"answers-container\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px;\"><ul><li>I will fight to protect democracy in this county. Republicans and the Supreme Court have signaled their clean intention to override the will of voters in upcoming elections and simply do what they want.</li><li>I will fight to protect women's right to choose. We are just starting to see the negative consequences of overturning Roe v. Wade, and we need candidates who will protect these long-established rights.</li><li>I will fight to limit the power of big business in this country. We are seeing record high inflation, caused by decades of giving businesses free money and not having them pay nearly their share of taxes on profits. If we want to fight inflation, we know the steps that work, but big business will fight to make sure those are never implemented.</li></ul></span></div></div></div></div><div class=\"panel panel-default\"><div class=\"panel-heading\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapse1-122358-2022-07-05\" id=\"heading1-122358-2022-07-05\" role=\"tab\"><p class=\"panel-title\" style=\"font-size: 14px;font-weight: 600;\"><a aria-controls=\"collapse1-122358-2022-07-05\" aria-expanded=\"false\" class=\"collapsed\" data-parent=\"#accordion\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapse1-122358-2022-07-05\" role=\"button\"><i class=\"fa fa-chevron-right pull-right\"></i><i class=\"fa fa-chevron-down pull-right\"></i>\t\t\t\tWhat areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?\t\t\t</a></p></div><div aria-labelledby=\"heading1-122358-2022-07-05\" class=\"panel-collapse collapse\" id=\"collapse1-122358-2022-07-05\" role=\"tabpanel\"><div class=\"panel-body\" style=\"max-height: 500px; overflow-y: scroll;\"><div class=\"answers-container\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px;\">\t\t\t\tInfrastructure / transportation, science &amp; technology, healthcare, education. As an engineer raised by schoolteachers, I know the demands of a global economy and the needs for an educated workforce reaching through the rest of this century.\t\t\t</span></div></div></div></div><div class=\"panel panel-default\"><div class=\"panel-heading\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapse2-122358-2022-07-05\" id=\"heading2-122358-2022-07-05\" role=\"tab\"><p class=\"panel-title\" style=\"font-size: 14px;font-weight: 600;\"><a aria-controls=\"collapse2-122358-2022-07-05\" aria-expanded=\"false\" class=\"collapsed\" data-parent=\"#accordion\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapse2-122358-2022-07-05\" role=\"button\"><i class=\"fa fa-chevron-right pull-right\"></i><i class=\"fa fa-chevron-down pull-right\"></i>\t\t\t\tWhat characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?\t\t\t</a></p></div><div aria-labelledby=\"heading2-122358-2022-07-05\" class=\"panel-collapse collapse\" id=\"collapse2-122358-2022-07-05\" role=\"tabpanel\"><div class=\"panel-body\" style=\"max-height: 500px; overflow-y: scroll;\"><div class=\"answers-container\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px;\">\t\t\t\tThe single most important characteristic needed to be a good elected official is integrity. <br/><br/>\r\nIf your representative lies to you (about the results of an election, for instance), you cannot trust them to work in your best interests--they're working in the interests of whatever would motivate them to tell that lie in the first place.\t\t\t</span></div></div></div></div><div class=\"panel panel-default\"><div class=\"panel-heading\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapse3-122358-2022-07-05\" id=\"heading3-122358-2022-07-05\" role=\"tab\"><p class=\"panel-title\" style=\"font-size: 14px;font-weight: 600;\"><a aria-controls=\"collapse3-122358-2022-07-05\" aria-expanded=\"false\" class=\"collapsed\" data-parent=\"#accordion\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapse3-122358-2022-07-05\" role=\"button\"><i class=\"fa fa-chevron-right pull-right\"></i><i class=\"fa fa-chevron-down pull-right\"></i>\t\t\t\tWhat legacy would you like to leave?\t\t\t</a></p></div><div aria-labelledby=\"heading3-122358-2022-07-05\" class=\"panel-collapse collapse\" id=\"collapse3-122358-2022-07-05\" role=\"tabpanel\"><div class=\"panel-body\" style=\"max-height: 500px; overflow-y: scroll;\"><div class=\"answers-container\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px;\">\t\t\t\tI want to make sure that my son, and all of our children, have more opportunities than I did. That they live with more freedom, better education, safer streets, more self-determination, and better economic opportunity than we did growing up.\t\t\t</span></div></div></div></div><div class=\"panel panel-default\"><div class=\"panel-heading\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapse4-122358-2022-07-05\" id=\"heading4-122358-2022-07-05\" role=\"tab\"><p class=\"panel-title\" style=\"font-size: 14px;font-weight: 600;\"><a aria-controls=\"collapse4-122358-2022-07-05\" aria-expanded=\"false\" class=\"collapsed\" data-parent=\"#accordion\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapse4-122358-2022-07-05\" role=\"button\"><i class=\"fa fa-chevron-right pull-right\"></i><i class=\"fa fa-chevron-down pull-right\"></i>\t\t\t\tWhat was your very first job? How long did you have it?\t\t\t</a></p></div><div aria-labelledby=\"heading4-122358-2022-07-05\" class=\"panel-collapse collapse\" id=\"collapse4-122358-2022-07-05\" role=\"tabpanel\"><div class=\"panel-body\" style=\"max-height: 500px; overflow-y: scroll;\"><div class=\"answers-container\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px;\">\t\t\t\tIf you don't count mowing neighborhood lawns as a child, my first job was as a bagger in a grocery store that I had the summer after I turned 16. That sort of job is still around, but the \"bagging\" part of it has vanished, of course. Even as first job as a high school student, I was paid more than minimum wage, because we were represented by a union.\t\t\t</span></div></div></div></div><div class=\"panel panel-default\"><div class=\"panel-heading\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapse5-122358-2022-07-05\" id=\"heading5-122358-2022-07-05\" role=\"tab\"><p class=\"panel-title\" style=\"font-size: 14px;font-weight: 600;\"><a aria-controls=\"collapse5-122358-2022-07-05\" aria-expanded=\"false\" class=\"collapsed\" data-parent=\"#accordion\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapse5-122358-2022-07-05\" role=\"button\"><i class=\"fa fa-chevron-right pull-right\"></i><i class=\"fa fa-chevron-down pull-right\"></i>\t\t\t\tWhat do you perceive to be the United States' greatest challenges as a nation over the next decade?\t\t\t</a></p></div><div aria-labelledby=\"heading5-122358-2022-07-05\" class=\"panel-collapse collapse\" id=\"collapse5-122358-2022-07-05\" role=\"tabpanel\"><div class=\"panel-body\" style=\"max-height: 500px; overflow-y: scroll;\"><div class=\"answers-container\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px;\">\t\t\t\tIf we don't fully commit to the process of democracy (as inefficient and burdensome as it sometimes is), we won't be a nation capable of setting an example to the rest of the world when it comes to free and fair elections. We need to work to limit the consolidation and power of big business, including tech monopolies, because they are working to undercut the free market process that keeps prices low and goods flowing. We have got to continue to fix healthcare, including women's rights to abortion, if we're going to be able to compete as a nation on a global scale.\t\t\t</span></div></div></div></div><div class=\"panel panel-default\"><div class=\"panel-heading\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapse6-122358-2022-07-05\" id=\"heading6-122358-2022-07-05\" role=\"tab\"><p class=\"panel-title\" style=\"font-size: 14px;font-weight: 600;\"><a aria-controls=\"collapse6-122358-2022-07-05\" aria-expanded=\"false\" class=\"collapsed\" data-parent=\"#accordion\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapse6-122358-2022-07-05\" role=\"button\"><i class=\"fa fa-chevron-right pull-right\"></i><i class=\"fa fa-chevron-down pull-right\"></i>\t\t\t\tWhat are your thoughts on term limits?\t\t\t</a></p></div><div aria-labelledby=\"heading6-122358-2022-07-05\" class=\"panel-collapse collapse\" id=\"collapse6-122358-2022-07-05\" role=\"tabpanel\"><div class=\"panel-body\" style=\"max-height: 500px; overflow-y: scroll;\"><div class=\"answers-container\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px;\">\t\t\t\tThere is too much entrenched power in Washington--the power of incumbents with multimillion-dollar war chests, funded by special interests, means that too many politicians are no longer answerable to their constituents, but only to the folks who pay for their campaigns. We need to end this, and if term limits is the way to go about it, then so be it. But I also think the unlimited political money era that was ushered in by the Citizens United decision needs to end, because without changing that we will only be replacing one set of corrupt politicians with a new set even more beholden to special interests.\t\t\t</span></div></div></div></div><div class=\"panel panel-default\"><div class=\"panel-heading\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapse7-122358-2022-07-05\" id=\"heading7-122358-2022-07-05\" role=\"tab\"><p class=\"panel-title\" style=\"font-size: 14px;font-weight: 600;\"><a aria-controls=\"collapse7-122358-2022-07-05\" aria-expanded=\"false\" class=\"collapsed\" data-parent=\"#accordion\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapse7-122358-2022-07-05\" role=\"button\"><i class=\"fa fa-chevron-right pull-right\"></i><i class=\"fa fa-chevron-down pull-right\"></i>\t\t\t\tDo you believe that compromise is necessary or desirable for policymaking?\t\t\t</a></p></div><div aria-labelledby=\"heading7-122358-2022-07-05\" class=\"panel-collapse collapse\" id=\"collapse7-122358-2022-07-05\" role=\"tabpanel\"><div class=\"panel-body\" style=\"max-height: 500px; overflow-y: scroll;\"><div class=\"answers-container\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px;\">\t\t\t\tThere are areas where it's absolutely necessary to compromise. Economic and tax policy, were we're working on setting percentage rates or income thresholds, it's possible to reach a middle ground where everyone gets some of what they want but nobody gets the whole thing.<br/><br/>\r\nIn other areas, where one side is asking for human rights to be violated, for instance, compromise means allowing \"some\" human rights to be violated--there's no middle ground there, and no reason to compromise.\t\t\t</span></div></div></div></div></div>\n<div class=\"small\" data-nosnippet=\"\"><p><i><b>Note:</b> Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.</i></p></div>", "answer_text": "See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection\n\nRandal Cooper completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Cooper's responses.\nExpand all | Collapse all\nWho are you? Tell us about yourself. I’m a 51-year-old mechanical engineer and Democrat, married, with one child. Originally from Alabama, I've lived in Tennessee for the past 27 years. I’m pro-democracy, pro-women’s rights, pro-gay rights, pro-gun control, pro-legalization, pro-healthcare, pro-public education, and unequivocally pro-choice. I believe we’re a better country when we don’t treat some of our citizens like they don’t deserve equal protection under the law. I believe billionaires don’t pay nearly enough in taxes. I believe in a robust social safety net. I'm running for all Tennesseans in district 6, not just wealthy special interests. Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office? I will fight to protect democracy in this county. Republicans and the Supreme Court have signaled their clean intention to override the will of voters in upcoming elections and simply do what they want. I will fight to protect women's right to choose. We are just starting to see the negative consequences of overturning Roe v. Wade, and we need candidates who will protect these long-established rights. I will fight to limit the power of big business in this country. We are seeing record high inflation, caused by decades of giving businesses free money and not having them pay nearly their share of taxes on profits. If we want to fight inflation, we know the steps that work, but big business will fight to make sure those are never implemented. What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about? Infrastructure / transportation, science & technology, healthcare, education. As an engineer raised by schoolteachers, I know the demands of a global economy and the needs for an educated workforce reaching through the rest of this century. What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official? The single most important characteristic needed to be a good elected official is integrity. If your representative lies to you (about the results of an election, for instance), you cannot trust them to work in your best interests--they're working in the interests of whatever would motivate them to tell that lie in the first place. What legacy would you like to leave? I want to make sure that my son, and all of our children, have more opportunities than I did. That they live with more freedom, better education, safer streets, more self-determination, and better economic opportunity than we did growing up. What was your very first job? How long did you have it? If you don't count mowing neighborhood lawns as a child, my first job was as a bagger in a grocery store that I had the summer after I turned 16. That sort of job is still around, but the \"bagging\" part of it has vanished, of course. Even as first job as a high school student, I was paid more than minimum wage, because we were represented by a union. What do you perceive to be the United States' greatest challenges as a nation over the next decade? If we don't fully commit to the process of democracy (as inefficient and burdensome as it sometimes is), we won't be a nation capable of setting an example to the rest of the world when it comes to free and fair elections. We need to work to limit the consolidation and power of big business, including tech monopolies, because they are working to undercut the free market process that keeps prices low and goods flowing. We have got to continue to fix healthcare, including women's rights to abortion, if we're going to be able to compete as a nation on a global scale. What are your thoughts on term limits? There is too much entrenched power in Washington--the power of incumbents with multimillion-dollar war chests, funded by special interests, means that too many politicians are no longer answerable to their constituents, but only to the folks who pay for their campaigns. We need to end this, and if term limits is the way to go about it, then so be it. But I also think the unlimited political money era that was ushered in by the Citizens United decision needs to end, because without changing that we will only be replacing one set of corrupt politicians with a new set even more beholden to special interests. Do you believe that compromise is necessary or desirable for policymaking? There are areas where it's absolutely necessary to compromise. Economic and tax policy, were we're working on setting percentage rates or income thresholds, it's possible to reach a middle ground where everyone gets some of what they want but nobody gets the whole thing. In other areas, where one side is asking for human rights to be violated, for instance, compromise means allowing \"some\" human rights to be violated--there's no middle ground there, and no reason to compromise.\nNote: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it."}, {"question": "Campaign website", "answer_html": "<p>Cooper's campaign website stated the following:\n</p>\n<div style=\"height:400px;overflow:scroll;border:1px solid gray;margin:20px;padding:10px;\">\n<table data-nosnippet=\"\" style=\"border-collapse: collapse; border: none;background-color: transparent; auto; ;\">\n<tbody><tr>\n<td style=\"border:none; color:#B2B7F2;font-size:35px;font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-weight: bold; text-align: left; padding: 10px 3px;\" valign=\"top\" width=\"20\">“\n</td>\n<td style=\"border: none; padding: 4px 10px;\" valign=\"top\">\n<p><b>VOTING BOOTH SPEED ROUND</b>\n</p><p>So you’ve found yourself in the voting booth and you’ve come across the name Randal Cooper on your ballot, and you’re wondering “what’s with that guy?” \n</p><p>But you don’t have time to read a few paragraphs on every single issue, so I’m going to give you the fast version here, and if you want a more nuanced “How do we solve it?” view you can read more later.\n</p><p>Inflation: <b>Against</b>\n</p><p>Women’s right to choose: <b>For</b>\n</p><p>LGBTQ+ rights: <b>For</b>\n</p><p>Sensible gun control: <b>For</b>\n</p><p>Expanding Immigration: <b>For</b>\n</p><p>Increasing Minimum Wage: <b>For</b>\n</p><p>Public education: <b>For</b>\n</p><p>Universal healthcare: <b>For</b>\n</p><p>Voting rights legislation: <b>For</b>\n</p><p>Cannabis Legalization: <b>For</b>\n</p><p>Ending Felony Disenfranchisement: <b>For</b>\n</p><p>Separation of Church and State: <b>For</b>\n</p><p>Campaign Finance Reform: <b>For</b>\n</p><p>Union Representation: <b>For</b>\n</p><p>Right-to-work: <b>Against</b>\n</p><p>Holding those involved in the January 6 insurrection related attempts to subvert the will of the people by denying the results of free and fair election to account for their crimes: <b>For</b>\n</p><p><br/>\n<b>LGBTQ+ Rights</b>\n</p><p>LGBTQ+ people are among the most marginalized people in this nation. They have no enumerated protections under federal law, and many state laws, including Tennessee’s, are openly discriminatory and hostile to them. Couple that with increasingly vitriolic right wing rhetoric in the media and among elected officials, and it places them at significant risk.\n</p><p>Chief among the right-wing talking points is that of LGBTQ+ discussion “grooming” children. Make no mistake, sexual abuse of children is horrible. And there have been some horrible instances of sexual abuse of children in schools, in churches, in day care centers, on sports teams, and among the privileged elite, including powerful politicians.\n</p><p>Every time a right-wing pundit or politician says a schoolteacher telling kids that LGBTQ+ people exist is “making kids trans” it takes resources and focus away from the very real sexual abuse that’s actually happening to kids every day in this country. People like that are putting kids at risk. Kids scared to tell their teachers about the sexual abuse they’re experiencing at home because the teachers aren’t allowed to talk about that sort of stuff. Kids getting physically abused for being gay, scared to tell anyone because of this discourse. People need to take a side–does they want to help kids, or do they want to chase a boogeyman invented by the right wing media and their dark-money funders that put real kids in real danger?\n</p><p>As such, I’m opposed to “Don’t Say Gay” bills as advanced in Florida and Tennessee, support gay marriage, and gender-affirming healthcare.\n</p><p><br/>\n<b>Inflation</b>\n</p><p>Inflation is has become a severe problem not only in the United States, but worldwide, both in terms of gas prices and the costs of goods and services.\n</p><p>In order to implement a long term fix for inflation, we will need to come to terms with the root causes of it:\n</p><p>You will see economists in the press talking about how increasing wages leads to more inflationary pressures, not fewer, but these opinions are not borne out by actual data. Especially when you consider that wages have not increased (unless you count billionaires) and inflation is through the roof. So what are the actual causes?\n</p><p>First, federal monetary policy has been a free-for-all for big business. The Federal Funds Rate has been less than one percent since the housing crisis of 2007, so big business and banks have been able to borrow money for almost nothing for over a decade.\n</p><p>In addition, in 2020 congress and the Trump administration injected over a trillion dollars into the economy via the PPP program with little oversight, a move that kept many businesses afloat during the early lockdown phase of the pandemic, but greatly increased inflationary pressures.\n</p><p>Similarly, many industries in the US (and worldwide) now operate as oligopolies, with only a handful of companies in direct competition with one another, carving up markets and allowing them to charge “what the market will bear” instead of anything related to the actual costs of goods and services. Couple this with supply chain issues for items like semiconductors (manufactured largely by only two companies globally), and there is more than sufficient potential for price-gouging.\n</p><p>Finally, the 2017 Republican tax package cut taxes for big businesses by 40%, encouraging them to take advantage of profits and discouraging them from creating jobs or increasing wages.\n</p><p>What can be done to fix it?\n</p><p>In the long term, we need an adjustment in federal monetary policy, interest rates, tax code, and full enforcement of antitrust legislation.\n</p><p>In the short-term, we need to restore the child tax credit, implement tax cuts for working families, passing price-gouging legislation, and establish a living wage.\n</p><p><br/>\n<b>Reproductive Rights</b>\n</p><p>On June 24, the Supreme Court issued its ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson, reversing its decision in Roe v. Wade, and sending the decision on reproductive choice down to state governments.\n</p><p>That means that in Tennessee, abortion is illegal from the instant a sperm and egg get together. Doctors in Tennessee now commit a felony by performing an abortion (including prescribing medication) at any time during the pregnancy. There are no exceptions for rape or incest.\n</p><p>The state is party to compounding the worst possible child abuse you can imagine. There are exceptions for “the life or health of the mother,” but in order to receive care, you have to prove that in court. In other words, if a doctor performs an abortion to save the life of the mother (for, say, an ectopic pregnancy) they could still be arrested and charged with a felony—the law says they’re in the clear, but it “must be proven by a preponderance of the evidence.”\n</p><p>This could arguably eliminate abortions entirely (including those to save the life of the mother) in some counties, depending on how vigorously the DA prosecutes these cases.\n</p><p>Additionally, a law signed in May makes it so that mail-order abortion pills are illegal in Tennessee. The law is that a doctor has to be present.\n</p><p>All of this is unacceptable. And, based on statements by people like Marsha Blackburn about birth control, only the first step in Republican efforts to end women’s rights.\n</p><p>If elected, my goal is to codify Roe v. Wade into law, and to take steps to make sure we’ve got a Supreme Court that recognizes the rights to privacy granted by the 9th and 14th Amendments to the Constitution.\n</p><p><br/>\n<b>Education</b>\n</p><p>For decades I’ve heard the same nonsense: “I don’t send my kids to public school, why should I have to pay for public school?”\n</p><p>Republicans consider public education as an entitlement program—something we can do away with entirely so we have a steady source of underpaid labor.\n</p><p>Education is the primary engine that drives class mobility in this country. It’s no wonder that Republicans are opposed to making it more widely available, and instead use it as an opportunity to provide absolute minimum resources at public expense.\n</p><p>Both of my parents were schoolteachers. I’ve been a schoolteacher in Tennessee–it is the one of the hardest jobs you can imagine, even before you factor in attacks from politicians and people who don’t even have children in school.\n</p><p>Public education needs to be protected, expanded, and fully funded. Educators need to make wages that encourage them to enter the profession, not to make more money doing anything else. And public officials who attack teachers need to find another line of work.\n</p><p><br/>\n<b>Data Driven Policy</b>\n</p><p>There’s an old joke among engineers:\n</p><p>Q: Why did the engineer cross the road?\n</p><p>A: Because he looked in the file and that’s what they did last year.\n</p><p>Here’s the part where I ruin the joke by explaining it: Engineers find the joke hilarious because it plays on the engineering stereotype of being risk-averse. We’re much more likely to do something with a proven track record of success than to try something new that could have millions of dollars in cost overruns and potential unknown consequences. We’re also fond of buying the second version of a product to come to market, after they’ve had a chance to work out the bugs.\n</p><p>The same holds true of government policy.\n</p><p>When this country was founded, we didn’t have examples of what a democracy could be. Our system of government is often described as the ‘grand experiment” of democracy. An experiment that was, for its time, a rousing success–enough so that the countries in the control group generally abandoned their strong monarchies and established some variation of our system within fifty years. They saw the data, saw the success, and made changes.\n</p><p>After its early success, though, the US has been loath to embrace things that work. Other countries run circles around us in healthcare, education, child care, transportation, infrastructure, public safety, and manufacturing, and we consistently fail to adopt the best practices of these countries to give Americans the opportunity to compete on a level playing field.\n</p><p>As an engineer, that’s what I’m trained to do: Find what works, copy it, and then make it better. My policies are informed by best practices, not industry lobbying efforts: the best outcome for Americans isn’t going to be the best outcome for the health insurance industry, or gun manufacturers, or the companies trying to skim billions in profits out of education, or giant telecoms.\n</p><p>Getting into the data and making sure that policies work makes me a different kind of candidate, and will make me a different kind of legislator.<sup class=\"reference\" id=\"cite_ref-quotedisclaimer_2-0\"><a href=\"#cite_note-quotedisclaimer-2\">[2]</a></sup>\n</p>\n</td>\n<td style=\"border: none; color: #B2B7F2; font-size: 35px; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-weight: bold; text-align: right; padding: 10px 1px;\" valign=\"bottom\" width=\"20\">”\n</td></tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"cquotecite\" colspan=\"3\" style=\"border: none; padding-right: 4%\"><cite style=\"font-style: normal;font-size: smaller; float: right;\">—Randal Cooper's campaign website (2022)<sup class=\"reference\" id=\"cite_ref-3\"><a href=\"#cite_note-3\">[3]</a></sup></cite>\n</td></tr></tbody></table>\n</div>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1548351761485-0\"><script>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display(\"div-gpt-ad-1548351761485-0\"); });</script></div>", "answer_text": "Cooper's campaign website stated the following:\n“ VOTING BOOTH SPEED ROUND So you’ve found yourself in the voting booth and you’ve come across the name Randal Cooper on your ballot, and you’re wondering “what’s with that guy?” But you don’t have time to read a few paragraphs on every single issue, so I’m going to give you the fast version here, and if you want a more nuanced “How do we solve it?” view you can read more later. Inflation: Against Women’s right to choose: For LGBTQ+ rights: For Sensible gun control: For Expanding Immigration: For Increasing Minimum Wage: For Public education: For Universal healthcare: For Voting rights legislation: For Cannabis Legalization: For Ending Felony Disenfranchisement: For Separation of Church and State: For Campaign Finance Reform: For Union Representation: For Right-to-work: Against Holding those involved in the January 6 insurrection related attempts to subvert the will of the people by denying the results of free and fair election to account for their crimes: For LGBTQ+ Rights LGBTQ+ people are among the most marginalized people in this nation. They have no enumerated protections under federal law, and many state laws, including Tennessee’s, are openly discriminatory and hostile to them. Couple that with increasingly vitriolic right wing rhetoric in the media and among elected officials, and it places them at significant risk. Chief among the right-wing talking points is that of LGBTQ+ discussion “grooming” children. Make no mistake, sexual abuse of children is horrible. And there have been some horrible instances of sexual abuse of children in schools, in churches, in day care centers, on sports teams, and among the privileged elite, including powerful politicians. Every time a right-wing pundit or politician says a schoolteacher telling kids that LGBTQ+ people exist is “making kids trans” it takes resources and focus away from the very real sexual abuse that’s actually happening to kids every day in this country. People like that are putting kids at risk. Kids scared to tell their teachers about the sexual abuse they’re experiencing at home because the teachers aren’t allowed to talk about that sort of stuff. Kids getting physically abused for being gay, scared to tell anyone because of this discourse. People need to take a side–does they want to help kids, or do they want to chase a boogeyman invented by the right wing media and their dark-money funders that put real kids in real danger? As such, I’m opposed to “Don’t Say Gay” bills as advanced in Florida and Tennessee, support gay marriage, and gender-affirming healthcare. Inflation Inflation is has become a severe problem not only in the United States, but worldwide, both in terms of gas prices and the costs of goods and services. In order to implement a long term fix for inflation, we will need to come to terms with the root causes of it: You will see economists in the press talking about how increasing wages leads to more inflationary pressures, not fewer, but these opinions are not borne out by actual data. Especially when you consider that wages have not increased (unless you count billionaires) and inflation is through the roof. So what are the actual causes? First, federal monetary policy has been a free-for-all for big business. The Federal Funds Rate has been less than one percent since the housing crisis of 2007, so big business and banks have been able to borrow money for almost nothing for over a decade. In addition, in 2020 congress and the Trump administration injected over a trillion dollars into the economy via the PPP program with little oversight, a move that kept many businesses afloat during the early lockdown phase of the pandemic, but greatly increased inflationary pressures. Similarly, many industries in the US (and worldwide) now operate as oligopolies, with only a handful of companies in direct competition with one another, carving up markets and allowing them to charge “what the market will bear” instead of anything related to the actual costs of goods and services. Couple this with supply chain issues for items like semiconductors (manufactured largely by only two companies globally), and there is more than sufficient potential for price-gouging. Finally, the 2017 Republican tax package cut taxes for big businesses by 40%, encouraging them to take advantage of profits and discouraging them from creating jobs or increasing wages. What can be done to fix it? In the long term, we need an adjustment in federal monetary policy, interest rates, tax code, and full enforcement of antitrust legislation. In the short-term, we need to restore the child tax credit, implement tax cuts for working families, passing price-gouging legislation, and establish a living wage. Reproductive Rights On June 24, the Supreme Court issued its ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson, reversing its decision in Roe v. Wade, and sending the decision on reproductive choice down to state governments. That means that in Tennessee, abortion is illegal from the instant a sperm and egg get together. Doctors in Tennessee now commit a felony by performing an abortion (including prescribing medication) at any time during the pregnancy. There are no exceptions for rape or incest. The state is party to compounding the worst possible child abuse you can imagine. There are exceptions for “the life or health of the mother,” but in order to receive care, you have to prove that in court. In other words, if a doctor performs an abortion to save the life of the mother (for, say, an ectopic pregnancy) they could still be arrested and charged with a felony—the law says they’re in the clear, but it “must be proven by a preponderance of the evidence.” This could arguably eliminate abortions entirely (including those to save the life of the mother) in some counties, depending on how vigorously the DA prosecutes these cases. Additionally, a law signed in May makes it so that mail-order abortion pills are illegal in Tennessee. The law is that a doctor has to be present. All of this is unacceptable. And, based on statements by people like Marsha Blackburn about birth control, only the first step in Republican efforts to end women’s rights. If elected, my goal is to codify Roe v. Wade into law, and to take steps to make sure we’ve got a Supreme Court that recognizes the rights to privacy granted by the 9th and 14th Amendments to the Constitution. Education For decades I’ve heard the same nonsense: “I don’t send my kids to public school, why should I have to pay for public school?” Republicans consider public education as an entitlement program—something we can do away with entirely so we have a steady source of underpaid labor. Education is the primary engine that drives class mobility in this country. It’s no wonder that Republicans are opposed to making it more widely available, and instead use it as an opportunity to provide absolute minimum resources at public expense. Both of my parents were schoolteachers. I’ve been a schoolteacher in Tennessee–it is the one of the hardest jobs you can imagine, even before you factor in attacks from politicians and people who don’t even have children in school. Public education needs to be protected, expanded, and fully funded. Educators need to make wages that encourage them to enter the profession, not to make more money doing anything else. And public officials who attack teachers need to find another line of work. Data Driven Policy There’s an old joke among engineers: Q: Why did the engineer cross the road? A: Because he looked in the file and that’s what they did last year. Here’s the part where I ruin the joke by explaining it: Engineers find the joke hilarious because it plays on the engineering stereotype of being risk-averse. We’re much more likely to do something with a proven track record of success than to try something new that could have millions of dollars in cost overruns and potential unknown consequences. We’re also fond of buying the second version of a product to come to market, after they’ve had a chance to work out the bugs. The same holds true of government policy. When this country was founded, we didn’t have examples of what a democracy could be. Our system of government is often described as the ‘grand experiment” of democracy. An experiment that was, for its time, a rousing success–enough so that the countries in the control group generally abandoned their strong monarchies and established some variation of our system within fifty years. They saw the data, saw the success, and made changes. After its early success, though, the US has been loath to embrace things that work. Other countries run circles around us in healthcare, education, child care, transportation, infrastructure, public safety, and manufacturing, and we consistently fail to adopt the best practices of these countries to give Americans the opportunity to compete on a level playing field. As an engineer, that’s what I’m trained to do: Find what works, copy it, and then make it better. My policies are informed by best practices, not industry lobbying efforts: the best outcome for Americans isn’t going to be the best outcome for the health insurance industry, or gun manufacturers, or the companies trying to skim billions in profits out of education, or giant telecoms. Getting into the data and making sure that policies work makes me a different kind of candidate, and will make me a different kind of legislator. [2] ” —Randal Cooper's campaign website (2022) [3]"}]