Lincoln Attorney, Dennis Crawford, recently made a campaign visit to Osceola Wednesday, October 4th. Crawford is a declared candidate for the First District Congressional Seat, currently held by Jeff Fortenberry. He has been a personal injury attorney in Lincoln since 1986.
Dennis supports the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obama care, and would thwart the efforts by Republicans in the Congress to repeal and replace that law. He is also very interested in renewable energy and feels that wind energy is greatly underutilized in our state. He commented that, “Nebraska is the fourth windiest state in the country. Investments in renewable energy would be a win for all Nebraskans”.
Dennis shared his thoughts with the Polk County News in an interview during the meeting to give a general overview of what has shaped his opinions and political aspirations over the last several years.
When asked about his position on immigration Dennis stated that he believes in an earned pathway to citizenship for undocumented workers in the United States. He supports the DACA program (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals). This program allows some individuals who entered the country as minors illegally, to receive a renewable two years of deferred action from deportation and be eligible for a work permit.
When asked about his perspective on gun control in light of recent events, most notably the Las Vegas shooting, Dennis began by saying his thoughts and prayers go out to the victims and their families. He also commended the members of law enforcement and the health care workers for their incredible efforts in dealing with the trauma and tragedy. He made mention of the good citizens of Las Vegas standing in line to donate blood. He had these comments about his perspective on gun control. ” I think we have too many guns and they are just too loosely regulated. I think we need an improved background check system. I support bringing back the “Brady Act”.
When asked about his perspectives on our Ag. economy, Dennis stated he supports the NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) and is against cutting crop insurance programs.
He offered his thoughts about dealing with North Korea. “I support maintaining a robust and overwhelming military presence in the area. “Communicate to Kim that if he does anything militarily that we will strike back and strike back hard. And I think that will work, I don’t think he wants war, I think life is good for Kim and he wants to keep it that way.”
He supported President Obama’s opening up relations with Cuba and would like to see the United States restore normal trade with them. He stated that the embargo against Cuba was precipitated by the Cold War. Currently there are number of other countries who are investing and building hotels in Cuba and that it would be a benefit for the United States to normalize relations with them.
Dennis believes that we should stay out of Iraq and let them solve their own problems. He sees Afghanistan as a quagmire. “I don’t believe nation building is possible.” We should maintain a minimum amount of troops to keep Al Quiada and the Taliban in check to make certain that those groups do not attack the United States or it’s allies.
Crawford ended his remarks by saying he feels that it is time to repeal and replace the current administration in Washington and that he would like to represent Nebraska as a Democrat in the First District Congressional Seat.