Anthony Catella: Candidate profile

Bio

Party: Republican

City: St. Charles

Office sought: U.S. Congress, 14th District.

Age: 49

Family: Mother and father, one sister.

Occupation: store clerk, formerly a Catholic priest

Civic involvement: Election judge, precinct captain, Army veteran, volunteer in many organizations, CAP and a captain in the Indiana Guard Reserve, seeking reappointment in the U.S. Army Reserve. I am a branch qualified Army Chaplain. Previous elected office: elected precinct captain for STC 18 on March 20, 2018.

Previous elected offices held: None.

Incumbent? No.

Website: catellaforcongress.com.

Questions and Answers

1. What have the past three years of Donald Trump's unconventional leadership taught us about politics in the United States? What is the best thing his presidency has done? What is the most significant criticism you have of it?

Over these last three years the U.S. has had a unique type of president in Donald Trump. I think first of all his election was a sign that Americans wanted a non-politician to lead. His electoral victory signaled a desire for the country to rise above partisan frays and look to the nation's interests above all. There has been a lot of corruption in government due to persons too long staying in office and this has been a cause of much of the corruption. He has attempted to get rid of as much corruption as possible but as always the vested interests are resisting. This is the main cause of the extreme partisanship. The best thing Trump has done is show that a citizen of the country who has not been an office holder can run for president and win the confidence of the electoral vote. I only wish that a man or woman of ordinary means could do this if they felt so called. I am happy to be able to do this in running for Congress, although it is a bit easier because it is not as big an effort as a presidential run. 2. What needs to be done to get Congress to work constructively, whether that be senators and representatives of both parties working with each other or Congress itself working with the president?

The Congress of the United States can work constructively if they would realize they are not the Democratic and Republican conventions in continual session. It needs to bridge the partisan divide as they need to work together as Americans for Americans. The Congress and the President do not work for or against one another, they work parallel to and with one another on behalf of the citizens who elect them to speak for them in this Republican form of government of ours. For this Congress to impeach the President does not reflect well of itself. This impeachment has retarded the work of this Congress. The problem is that Trump is a threat to a lot of the vested interests of the many politicians who have been in Washington way past their usefulness. If not this Congress then the next Congress can work with the President and as other congresses have done, accomplish constructive deeds which redound to the glory of the nation. I would like to be a part of that kind of Congress.

3. What do you see as the most important issues to address regarding immigration reform? If you oppose funding for a wall, what steps do you support to try to control illegal immigration?

The most important issue regarding immigration reform is the logistics of how to vet and either admit or return them to their own country. I support the wall if this is what it takes to protect our country from people who come here without respecting our rules and customs. I am not against immigration or immigrants, I am for legal immigration processes. As to the wall I understand that Mexico is to pay for it.

4. Please define your position on health care reform, especially as it relates to the Affordable Care Act.

I believe everyone has a right to be healthy but it is not the primary responsibility of the government. The Affordable Health Care Act is a government-sponsored plan which socializes medicine, makes people wait far too long for the care they need. It has failed in Canada and their people are coming here for care and this overburdens us. The best health care is provided by the private sector. This can be done if doctors, insurance agencies and the pharmaceutical companies see that the state of a family's health must not be determined by the size of a family's wealth. The medical profession is about increasing people's health, not its own wealth.

5. What is your position on federal funding for contraception, the Violence Against Women Act and reproductive rights?

I am not for federally funding contraception. I am not for violence against women or anyone. When reproductive rights are invoked I often am puzzled by this. By this I think it is meant that the woman is the sole determiner of whether she gives birth or aborts. I think it should be that the unborn have reproductive rights too, but that is usually not considered. I am pro-life and think the idea of reproductive rights for women are illogical and morally questionable. The term is really just another veil of what is really at issue: whether or not an unborn child can live or die.

6. What do you consider America's role in world affairs? What are we doing correctly to fill that role? What else should we be doing?

The role of America in world affairs since the second world war has been that of moral leader and exemplar of freedom and defender of the peace. Through cold war and the global war on terror the U.S. has done wonders. We fulfill this role by instruction and example. We can teach other nations how to act but they must do the work themselves. We must recognize that some nations may choose ways unlike our own but it is for themselves that they are choosing. This is what America should want for the world, a peaceful world community of free and independent states, Our greatest threat is from Iran, North Korea and Russia. The foreign policy of the United States is based on what we have always believed as a nation a secure peace, the liberty of the human person and the sacred character of human rights. This is the burden we bear and it is admired by most of the world, however it is opposed by the violent ideologies of radical Islamic terrorism and socialism and dictatorship. Our example in the world must show a rational alternative to these evils. May the light of wisdom shine before our counsels and lead us toward a country at peace and a world where freedom endures.

7. Do you believe climate change is caused by human activity? What steps should government be taking to address the issue?

Climate change may be due to human actions but I am sure other factors are involved. We should always educate ourselves on the best decisions we can make to protect the air we all breathe so our actions will not increase the dangers of climate change. The government should not spend billions of dollars on a "green new deal," This issue can best be addressed by the genius and ingenuity of our scientific community, our scientists and engineers.