George Fearing

George Fearing is the Democratic candidate in the 2008 congressional elections for the 4th Congressional District (map) of Washington. He won the Democratic nomination to challenge incumbent Rep. Doc Hastings (R-Wash.).

Positions, record and controversies
Provided by George Fearing upon request:

The Patriot Act was an inappropriate response to 911. The Act permits unconstitutional and unneeded infringements upon the privacy of citizens. I wish to rescind the Patriot Act.

The Iraq War has been counterproductive. The current government of Iraq is incompetent, if not corrupt. The war has made America less safe, in that the war has stretched the capabilities of our military and has created new terrorists. I would vote to immediately return our troops from Iraq. I am concerned about the repercussions of removing our troops from Iraq, but those repercussions will be a lesser evil than keeping our troops inside Iraq.

I opposed the Bush tax cuts of 2001 and 2003 and will not vote to extend the cuts. I oppose the "borrow and spend" policies of the Republican Party. The policies have led to devastating budget deficits, which render us a debtor nation to Chinese and Indian creditors and mortgage the future of our children. I wish to return to the balanced budgets the nation enjoyed at the end of the Clinton years. I want to end tax breaks granted to large corporations and oil companies and increase lease payments paid by oil companies for the use of offshore property.

I consider climate change a real and pressing problem. I consider climate change to be the result of human activities. I want to reduce carbon emissions to begin to reverse global warming. I would vote to raise fuel efficiciency standards for vehicles sold in the United States.

I support working people and labor unions. I support the Employee Free Choice Act, which allows unions to form without a vote, if a majority of workers sign a card requesting a union. When union elections are required, employees are subject to intimidation from management. Wal-Mart has avoided unions by intimidating its workers.

I oppose breaching dams on the Snake and Columbia Rivers. I believe we can save the salmon by developing new technology to allow salmon to safely bypass the dams.

I oppose privatizing any portion of the Social Security system. I support Medicare negotiating with drug companies to lower the purchase price of drugs.

I oppose gun control. I consider individuals to have a second amendment right to bear arms. I also fear that outlawing guns will leave guns only in the hands of criminals.

I support a single person payee universal health care system, similar to the program in Canada and Britain.

I support a woman’s constitutional right to making reproductive decisions with her physician, including the right to an abortion in the first two trimesters of the pregnancy and the right to an abortion in the third trimester, if the continued pregnancy will cause the death or serious health problems to the mother.

I oppose trade agreements with countries, who do not have similar labor laws and environmental laws to the United States' laws. Otherwise, our farmers and manufactures cannot compete with the growers and manufacturers in other nations. I would repeal NAFTA, CAFTA and most other trade agreements. Until the United States insists that Mexico and Central American nations have similar health and safety laws as the U.S., America will be inundated by undocumented workers. NAFTA takes jobs from Americans and allows American manufacturers to profit off unfair labor conditions in Mexico.

I do not believe there should be an immigration reform bill, until we enforce our borders. Otherwise, undocumented workers will continue to flow into America and we will continue to have an underground economy. Once the borders are enforced, I would likely allow a path to citizenship for undocumented workers who have not been convicted of a felony.

I support public financing of congressional campaigns. I abhor the access given to large contributors by politicians. Because of the influence of money in politics, major problems such as health care and climate change will not come until there is public financing of campaigns.

I oppose members of Congress receiving any gifts or taking any trips at the expense of lobbyists.

Bio
George Fearing was born in 1957, in Hinsdale, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. His father was a Protestant minister, and his mother was a nurse.

In college, he served as a summer intern, first for Senator Warren Magnuson and later for Congressman Thomas Foley. He graduated from Walla Walla College in 1979, and from the University of Washington Law School, in 1982. He has since practiced law in the Tri-Cities. His area of practice involves civil litigation. Most of his cases involve representing cities, counties, or other municipal corporations in lawsuits, including civil rights lawsuits, and public construction project disputes. Fearing also represents victims of employment discrimination and civil rights violations. Notably, he represented Franklin County Democrats and Hispanics in a lawsuit to realign the Franklin County Board of County Commissioner districts.

Mr. Fearing served on the Walla Walla College Alumni Board of Trustees from 1994 to 2000. He served as a board member of Tri-Cities Junior Academy from 1993 to 1999. He served on the Pasco Riverview Seventh Day Adventist Church Board from 1983 to 1989 and 1998 to 2006. He is a trustee of the Interfaith Religious Liberty Foundation, a Sacramento based organization that promotes strict separation of church and state. The foundation presents seminars, publishes literature, and produces videos, on the subject of religious liberty and separation of church and state. Fearing has also served in various positions with the Franklin County Democratic Central Committee, and the Legislative District 16 Caucus. He ran for the Washington State Legislature in 2006.

2008 elections
Fearing won the Democratic nomination to challenge Rep. Doc Hastings (R-Wash.) in the 2008 congressional elections.

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Campaign contributions
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Committees
Fearing will be assigned committees if and when he is elected to Congress.

Contact
Official Fearing for Congress campaign website

George for Congress ‘08 2415 W. Falls Ave Kennewick, WA 99336

Related SourceWatch articles

 * 2008 U.S. congressional elections
 * 2008 U.S. congressional election dates
 * Portal:Washington State and the U.S. Congress

External resources

 * 2008 Race Tracker page on Washington’s 4th Congressional District
 * "Official George Fearing for Congress Website"