Meet Steve Cox, Independent Candidate For California's 39th Congressional District
Steve Cox is a progressive independent seeking to represent California's 39th congressional district (a seat currently flipped by Republican Young Kim in the 2020 election, but voted 54% to 44% in favor of Joe Biden in the national election). Cox holds an array of political positions, which he lays out on his platform page complete with statistics and graphs.
Despite having been a candidate in the 2020 election, and having a well-articulated litany of popular views, a news search for "Steven Cox independent candidate" returns almost no coverage from any major news outlets on Google, and the only interviews available on YouTube are from small, independent progressive outlets. I suppose legacy media is intimidated by an Independent whose slogan is "The Parties Are The Problem".
One issue addressed on Cox's platform page is government waste, detailing a plethora of examples, as well as his support for ending the "forever wars", so I asked Mr. Cox if he would support a cut to the Pentagon's budget. He said that he supports the idea, coupled with a reallocation of the subtracted funds towards policies which would benefit Americans here at home, and further stated his belief that "it could easily be less than half of what it is today".
On the subject of healthcare, his "Issues Page" advocates for "universal healthcare" and states that "healthcare is a right", which is a phrasing we have heard innumerable times from both progressives, and the centrists who have coopted their rhetoric, so I asked specifically if he would be a "yes" vote, or a "no" vote on Jayapal's "Medicare For All" bill. His unequivocal single word response? "Yes".
I also asked what he believes can be done in Congress about the escalating tensions between the DPRK and China, and the US. Cox stated his belief that "we need to stop policing the world", noting that "our government treats the entire planet as if it's all property of the USA".
In consideration of the silent acquiescence of progressive members of Congress (Bernie Sanders included) towards the extradition and prosecution of Julian Assange, I asked Cox if he would be willing if elected to use his platform as a Congressman to advocate for Assange's freedom, to which he responded "absolutely".
Another issue expanded upon on his campaign's website include increased accountability at the VA, tax cuts for the poor and middle class, higher taxes on the wealthiest Americans, raising the minimum wage (to $15/hr), legalizing marijuana, support for the 2nd amendment, criminal justice/police reform, and getting money out of politics (Cox supports publicly financed elections).
On the subject of healthcare, his "Issues Page" advocates for "universal healthcare" and states that "healthcare is a right", which is a phrasing we have heard innumerable times from both progressives, and the centrists who have coopted their rhetoric, so I asked specifically if he would be a "yes" vote, or a "no" vote on Jayapal's "Medicare For All" bill. His unequivocal single word response? "Yes".
I also asked what he believes can be done in Congress about the escalating tensions between the DPRK and China, and the US. Cox stated his belief that "we need to stop policing the world", noting that "our government treats the entire planet as if it's all property of the USA".
In consideration of the silent acquiescence of progressive members of Congress (Bernie Sanders included) towards the extradition and prosecution of Julian Assange, I asked Cox if he would be willing if elected to use his platform as a Congressman to advocate for Assange's freedom, to which he responded "absolutely".
Another issue expanded upon on his campaign's website include increased accountability at the VA, tax cuts for the poor and middle class, higher taxes on the wealthiest Americans, raising the minimum wage (to $15/hr), legalizing marijuana, support for the 2nd amendment, criminal justice/police reform, and getting money out of politics (Cox supports publicly financed elections).