Rick Waugh, Jr.'s Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
Key
Official Position: Candidate addressed this issue directly by taking the Political Courage Test.
Inferred Position: Candidate refused to address this issue, but Vote Smart inferred this issue based on the candidate's public record, including statements, voting record, and special interest group endorsements.
Unknown Position: Candidate refused to address this issue, or we could not infer an answer for this candidate despite exhaustive research of their public record.
Additional Information: Click on this icon to reveal more information about this candidate's position, from their answers or Vote Smart's research.
Other or Expanded Principles & Legislative Priorities are entered exactly as candidates submit them. Vote Smart does not edit for misspelled words, punctuation or grammar.
Rick Waugh, Jr. refused to tell citizens where he stands on any of the issues addressed in the 2010 Political Courage Test, despite repeated requests from Vote Smart, national media, and prominent political leaders.
Issue Positions
For Presidential and Congressional candidates who refuse to provide voters with their positions, Vote Smart has researched their public records to determine their likely responses. These issue positions are from 2010.
- Despite exhaustive research, Vote Smart was unable to find information about this candidate's position.
- Despite exhaustive research, Vote Smart was unable to find information about this candidate's position.
- Rick Waugh. Issue Position: Economy. "The most important issue facing the country right now is the economy. Wall Street seems to be doing just fine these days, but folks on Main Street are still struggling. We need to bring new jobs into the district, jobs on which you can support a family. We need to make it easier to start a small business, and easier for existing small businesses to hire new employees. We need to make sure that folks who have been laid off have access to the resources they need to get a new job, and stay productive members of society. This is how we are going to turn the economy around in the 7th district, and how we will strengthen Main Street from Richmond to Rappahannock County." (www.rickwaugh.com)
- Rick Waugh.Issue Posiotion: The Economy and Job Creation..7 August 2010. "Responsible stimulus measures have been critical to preventing an economic tailspin. Unfortunately, because unemployment has remained high due to the depth of the problems left behind by the Bush Administration, additional stimulus measures, such as infrastructure investments that lay a foundation for decades of prosperity, need to be considered." (www.rickwaugh.com)
- Despite exhaustive research, Vote Smart was unable to find information about this candidate's position.
- Despite exhaustive research, Vote Smart was unable to find information about this candidate's position.
- Rick Waugh. Issue Position: Education. "We cannot talk about the economy without talking about education. The sad fact is that right now, our education system is falling behind the education system in Europe and Asia, and we are now ranked 18th in education out of the 36 industrialized nations. What this means is that more and more of the well-paying jobs we need here in the 7th district will end up in India and China. We need to invest in individual school districts, and allow them the freedom to best meet the particular needs of their student bodies. We need to restructure national education standards, and ensure that we are teaching students the knowledge and skills they need in life, not just teaching them how to take standardized tests. Finally, we need to realize that teachers are essential to the future of our economy, and they deserve compensation adequate to support their families." (www.rickwaugh.com)
- Rick Waugh. The Richmonder: Interview with Rick Waugh. 4 June 2010. "Just as important, we must have education reform. It is time to stop making our teachers teach to tests, and to finally let them teach to children, creatively. We need our guidance counselors to see every child, not just the ones that are brave enough to seek the counselor out. Too many abuses are happening, abuses that we can hardly imagine. Not only that, we can reach every child to assist them in career development in whatever field they want to pursue. We need to help them with college and loan applications. Inform them of their options in terms of joining the military, although we shouldn't let recruiters pretend the military provides an easy lifestyle, because I know from my family experience that it doesn't." (therichmonder.blogspot.com)
- Rick Waugh. The Richmonder: Interview with Rick Waugh. 4 June 2010. "I am so frustrated with Virginia cutting education infrastructure in the Commonwealth. Right now our education system is average. I guess McDonnell wants it to be below average. We are currently ranked 18th out of 36 developed nations in education, yet our government officials in Virginia feel that education is a good place to cut? I am not sure what they are thinking. We need to work on wasteful spending in Virginia, but we should not be putting the boot on the throats of our teachers." (therichmonder.blogspot.com)
- Rick Waugh. Cantor Still Wants to Drill in Chesapeake Bay Right Away. 2 June 2010. "Until BP can find a way to stop crude oil from gushing into the Gulf of Mexico and arriving on our shores, we wouldn't want to move forward with off-shore drilling anywhere, especially off the Virginia coast. Obviously neither BP nor the government knows how to deal with a worst-case environmental scenario, and NO OFFSHORE DRILLING should take place until a proven disaster prevention protocol is established, which appears to be a long time from now. If oil drilling is Cantor's idea of a 'comprehensive' energy policy, we are in more trouble. It is unconscionable. Solar, wind, switchgrass, and nuclear power all have proven track records in producing energy, yet Cantor and his cronies refuse to break with Big Oil and Saudi Arabia. Let's take care of the current problem and get some fresh ideas out there. Continuing to rely on non-renewable fuels -- and so to put our security in the hands of the Middle East -- is bad energy policy, bad environmental policy, and bad national security policy." (www.rickwaugh.com)
- Rick Waugh. Issue Position: Energy. "Every day that our country is dependent on foreign oil is another day our country is at risk. Vladimir Putin in Russia, Hugo Chavez in Venezuela, Mahmoud Ahmedinejad in Iran and Muammar al-Gaddafi in Libya are counting on the United States to do nothing to change our energy policy. We are allowing brutal, aggressive extremist regimes like Iran to threaten Israel, one of our strongest allies, because we lack the political courage to tackle our energy problems. We will never achieve a stable Middle East when we are helping the enemies of democracy to build their militaries with petro-dollars. We need to start spending that money on energy produced here in the United States, including solar, wind, biofuel, and geothermal power. We need to re-examine the full costs of nuclear power. Nuclear power can be part of the solution, but only if it is safe, cost effective, and plants and disposal facilities are properly located. By investing in clean, American energy, not only will we be taking money away from our most dangerous enemies, saving the lives of American soldiers, but we will be creating jobs right here in the 7th district." (www.rickwaugh.com)
- Rick Waugh. The Richmonder: Interview with Rick Waugh. 4 June 2010. "I will never vote for off shore deep water drilling, period. I will never take the word from an oil company that we are safe again. I will look at the recommendations of government scientists and independent scientists, but not industry shills. Allow me to point out that Cantor has been calling for Chesapeake Bay drilling to begin in the next year. If he were to admit he made a mistake after the BP disaster, I would think: Okay, well he was wrong to begin with, but at least his sanity is intact. Yet he hasn't done that! He has dug in his heels. He still wants to drill in Virginia's waters, the sooner the better apparently. It's madness! He has the gall to accuse Obama of failing to lead because Obama has reconsidered offshore drilling in light of the disaster. What this shows is that Cantor doesn't represent people, he represents oil companies and Wall St. banks... We need to harness wind, and solar energy. We need to have a comprehensive energy plan that includes hydro, wind, solar, switchgrass, and safe nuclear technologies. What our oil companies and those politicians bought by Big Oil fail to tell us is that the "Drill, Baby, Drill!" strategy will not provide any profit for another 10 years. The other forms of storing and creating energy are safer, cleaner, and more profitable in a shorter time frame. Oil is old news. It's time for a change. And this change will create jobs into the district!" (therichmonder.blogspot.com)
- Rick Waugh. Reactions to the Supreme Court: Gun Decision. 29 June 2010. "My reaction to McDonald v. Chicago: As an outdoorsman from a military family I understand the importance of responsible gun ownership. Like the President, I believe that the Second Amendment confers an individual right to bear arms. It is important that states, cities, and counties retain some ability to pass commonsense laws that make sense for each individual community. Justice Alito spoke to this concern and some of the law-enforcement communities' concerns in his opinion, but I believe some additional concerns remain." (www.rickwaugh.com)
- Rick Waugh. The Richmonder: Interview with Rick Waugh. 4 June 2010. "It is unfathomable to me that Cantor wants to repeal the health care reform - imperfect as that reform may be - and that Cantor would just say 'Too bad' to the people with preexisting conditions. The struggling Virginians are the majority, not the minority. Our middle class is dwindling, which the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Yet Cantor has the audacity to take away the safety nets that were established in the 1930s and 1940s to provide stability to the nation." (therichmonder.blogspot.com)
- Despite exhaustive research, Vote Smart was unable to find information about this candidate's position.
- Rick Waugh. The Richmonder: Interview with Rick Waugh. 4 June 2010. "My father retired from Norfolk Naval Base, and I am grateful for the experiences of the military life when I was a boy. That life taught me the ideas of determination, fairness, and discipline. I also learned a lot of history during that period. One lesson I was taught was the importance of diplomacy and how it needs to be used first, before risking the lives of anyone. But I also learned how our solders need to be well equipped, well funded, and fully volunteered. We must have clear missions set before us, with exit strategies, so that the United States military can defend our country in a manner that is swift and effective." (therichmonder.blogspot.com)
Vote Smart does not permit the use of its name or programs in any campaign activity, including advertising, debates, and speeches.