Hi DrDave,

I haven't made it to the swamp of Washington DC yet. I currently serve in the Maine State Senate, so I spend most of my time at the state capitol in Augusta, ME, but I am running for the US Senate in November 2018.

To answer a few of your questions, people ask me all the time whether or not I support Donald Trump. To that I reply, I support the Constitution of the United States of America and the principles of human liberty enshrined within it. I cannot and will not pledge my allegiance to any person because you cannot be a servant of two masters. When President Trump's actions and proposals align with our Constitution and the principles of liberty, I will support him. When his actions and proposals do not, I will stand against him. For me, the person or the party that proposes an idea matters very little. What matters are the ideas themselves and the principles behind them.

On North Korea, I think we need to tread very carefully. We have experienced enough war these last two decades and the last thing we should want is to engage in another war halfway across the world. We should always exercise diplomacy first.

On Russia, I think its pretty clear that Russia did favor Trump over Clinton. They may have even directly engaged with platforms like Facebook in an attempt to sway American public opinion. And to that, I say, "So what?" I certainly don't like other nations involving themselves in our elections, and also, its hardly cause for World War III. Our own government regularly interferes in the elections of other nations across the world in ways far more troubling, in some cases completely overturning election results and deposing elected leaders. We should never mistake the leaders of Russia for "good guys" --- they are politicians, which generally means they are the most rotten examples humanity has to offer --- and at the same time, I can understand why they would try to sway American public opinion towards Trump. Hillary Clinton was threatening to establish a no fly zone over Syria and shoot Russian planes out of the sky. She was actively calling for American war against their nation. If all they did is post to Facebook, I can hardly blame them. American foreign policy has demonstrated that, when a candidate for office is calling for war against us, we interfere in ways far worse. Of course, Trump has not delivered on his campaign promise of staying out of Syria and ending the failed policy of nation building that we've pursued over the last two administrations, so maybe Russia made a mistake. Whoever is President, the warmongering continues.

Obamacare --- I oppose it, want to repeal it, and believe free markets, increased competition and consumer choice is how we will make healthcare affordable again.

Alternative Energy --- I believe the market should decide energy policy and that means cutting corporate welfare subsidies to all forms of energy (including big oil). Personally, I believe nuclear energy is the most promising technology available to save our environment, establish energy independence and generate affordable energy for Americans. There are many ways to pursue nuclear energy that are safer, cleaner and cheaper than what has been pursued in the past. There is a lot of promise held in research into thorium as an alternative nuclear energy source (instead of uranium) and liquid fluoride reactors as a safer alternative to traditional light water reactors.

I am pro-life. And my pro-life principles extend far beyond the issues of abortion. I believe human life is sacred and that is why I oppose the death penalty and oppose the senseless wars we have been waging without end in the Middle East for seventeen years. The Republican Party likes to call itself the "Pro-Life Party," but it makes a mockery of those ideals every time it proves itself the "Pro-War Party." We cannot call ourselves pro-life while we casually throw the lives of our men and women in uniform into conflicts with no clear mission and dismiss the deaths of millions in other nations as "collateral damage."

I hope that answers most of your questions. Thank you for taking the tie to engage.

For Liberty!
Sen. Eric Brakey