Candidats républicains: Ils doivent répondre à un questionnaire de 25 questions pour espérer toucher les 889 millions des frères Koch

C’est un scoop du Washington Post. Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce, l’entité chargée de la collecte de fonds pour un réseau politique soutenu par les frères Charles et David Koch, deux milliardaires américains, a envoyé jeudi à tous les candidats républicains déclarés et putatifs un questionnaire de 25 questions. Mais aussi aux candidats … démocrates, même s’il y a peu de chances que ces derniers bénéficient vraiment de l’aide des frères Koch. Objectif: savoir à qui verser la manne de 889 millions de dollars que les deux magnats des hydrocarbures entendent donner aux candidats républicains de leur choix pour la présidentielle américaine de 2016.

Le questionnaire touche à tout: la croissance économique, la réforme de l’Etat social, la politique étrangère, la justice pénale et la réduction des déficits. Les candidats ont jusqu’au 18 juillet pour restituer les quatre pages de questionnaires. Les frères Koch semblent peu intéressés par les positions des candidats sur des questions sociétales telles que le mariage gay ou l’avortement.

Voici les questions en anglais publiées dans le Washington Post:

Question #1: What specific policies would your administration pursue to create greater opportunity for all Americans?

Question #2: Do you believe too many activities are criminalized in America and, as a result, too many people are incarcerated? What criminal justice reforms would you support?

Question #3: Do you believe current federal prohibitions and policies used to fight drug abuse are working? If not, what would you change?

Question #4: Do you believe federal spending on education is insufficient?

Question #5: Do you believe some government programs or policies present barriers to opportunity for the poorest Americans? If so, which are the most destructive?

Question #6: How would your administration address rising health care costs?

Question #7: If repealed by the Supreme Court, would you support extending federal subsidies for health insurance in states without exchanges, even if it would extend individual and employer mandates?

Section 2: Combating Cronyism and Corporate Welfare

Question #8: Do you agree government mandates and subsidies distort the economy and allow certain individuals and corporations to profit at the expense of others?

Question #9: Do you support reauthorizing the Export-Import Bank?

Question #10: Do you support federal agricultural subsidies?

Question #11: Do you believe the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) was necessary?

Question #12: Do you support the federal Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS)?

Question #13: Should tax reform eliminate all preferential treatment and credits for individuals, industries and activities in order to lower marginal tax rates?

Section 3: Restoring Fiscal Sustainability

Question #14: What is your plan to deal with the $18 trillion national debt and the more than $200 trillion unfunded liability burden facing the U.S.?

Question #15: As president, would you uphold the overall discretionary spending limits set by the Budget Control Act of 2011?

Question #16: Do you believe the debt limit should be used to leverage federal spending reductions?

Question #17: Do you support increasing tax revenue in order to pay for infrastructure spending?

Question #18: Do you support Social Security and Medicare reform that would increase the age of eligibility and reduce benefits for wealthier retirees?

Question #19: Do you support expanding Medicaid eligibility under the Affordable Care Act?

Question #20: Do you support capping federal spending on Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program by allowing states to control those funds in the form of federal grants?

Question #21: Do you support targeted federal spending or limited tax benefits to help spur economic growth within a particular industry or geographic area?

Section 4: Shaping Foreign Policy

Question #22: What criteria would you use to determine when to deploy U.S. armed forces overseas? For instance, should the military be used to address humanitarian crises abroad?

Question #23: Do you believe military intervention in Libya made America safer? Should the U.S. intervene in Syria and/or Ukraine?

Question #24: Should the U.S. use any means necessary to prevent Iran from building a nuclear weapon even if it required the use of ground forces?

Question #25: Can current military spending be reduced without compromising national security?