Independent Student Newspaper for the University of Texas at San Antonio

The Paisano

Independent Student Newspaper for the University of Texas at San Antonio

The Paisano

Independent Student Newspaper for the University of Texas at San Antonio

The Paisano

Gubernatorial democratic candidate speaks on immigration, war, weapons

     John Courage, democratic candidate for congress, says he needs the help of UTSA students to stop the impending Republican threat from taking over our country.

     Courage spoke at a recent meeting for the UTSA College Democrats. He is currently running for the 21st district seat in Congress, which encompasses eight counties in south-central Texas.

     He expressed deep concern over the control of the House of Representatives by the Republicans and the two other branches of government.

     ”If you want to change that, you need to vote Democrat,” Courage said.

     According to Courage, Democrats need only win fifteen seats in congress to retake the House.

     The upcoming election in November for district 21 is a special election, since the district was readjusted due to the unfair districting to minimize the strength of minority voters in south-central Texas.

     The major threat to Courage’s chances at District 21 is the incumbent Lamar Smith.

     Although UTSA is actually in the 23rd District, Courage is rounding up as many voters as possible to help with the Democratic cause to reestablish the party.

     Courage answered questions about current issues, including immigration.

     ”I believe we need a smart plan for immigration,” Courage said. “Because the people who come here are economic refugees.”

    Courage suggests that the U.S. can help itself by helping other countries.

     ”We need to help the foreign nations to develop their nations so that [illegal immigrants] won’t have to come here,” Courage said.

     At the same time, he believes that we should still be fair to our own nation by persecuting major corporations that are addicted to cheap immigrant labor.

     ”We need to hold the corporations accountable to the laws,” Courage said.

     He also said that the U.S. needs to stop funding other nations and supplying them with weapons.

     ”The U.S. is the world’s number one arms dealer,” Courage said. “We need to take our foreign aid and turn it into economic aid.”

     When asked about the Iraq war, he expressed disgust with how the U.S. was leading the country into an unnecessary war.

     ”I believe it is a war for George W. Bush to finish what his father started,” Courage said. “I believe it is a war to control oil in the Middle East.”

     Although he is against the war, he doesn’t believe pulling out the U.S. military from Iraq is the best way to handle the situation.

     ”We need a measured plan to get out of there,” Courage said. “We need to come up with a plan, and Iraq needs to stop the [sectarian] fighting.”

 

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