Note: All information taken from http://tinyurl.com/bvfhp5w date: 12/28/11.

Any names that are not Rob Zerban are usernames from website www.reddit.com

Rob Zerbans Stance on Issues:

Citizens United v Federal Election Commission: bceagles: What is your stance on Citizens United v Federal Election Commission? Would you stand behind an amendment on the federal level to overturn the decision of the majority in that case(the so called "corporate person-hood amendment")? Why or why not? | Rob Zerban: YES! Money is not speech and corporations are not people. We need to get the money out of the political process. That is why I support publicly funded elections. National Defense Authorization Act: parsons152: I've noticed that Ryan voted up the NDAA bill. How does your view differ from his? Also, how do you interpret the NDAA bill? | Rob Zerban: I believe we must be aggressive in fighting terrorism, but not give away our fundamental rights as Americans in the process. The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) includes some troubling provisions that would allow the military to pick up and/or imprison any Americans deemed threatening without a trial. The legal process isn't perfect, but it exists so everyone gets their day in court to defend themselves. || cos: So it's clear that you'd have voted in favor of the amendment to strip those provisions from the NDAA - an amendment which sadly did not pass in either house. However, if the final NDAA conference bill came up for a vote with that provision intact - which it did - and your choice were up or down on the whole thing ... how would you vote? | Rob Zerban: I would not vote for any bill that would compromise your civil rights. United States involvement in Libya: nazbot: 1) Did you support the operation in Libya? What was your position on Iraq? | Rob Zerban: Given the circumstances, I think President Obama made the best decision he could with regards to Libya. It's important to keep in mind we don't always have the same information the President does. Overall, it's unfortunate we had to take such actions to rectify the mistakes we have made in Libya over the last ~30 years. Tax Increases: nazbot: 2) Do you support increasing taxes? Why or why not? Maybe this is a tough question but I feel democrats need to address this and stop dancing around the issue | Rob Zerban: Yes, I support raising taxes on the wealthiest Americans and making corporations pay their fair share. Social Security and Medicare: nazbot: 3) How do you think SS and Medicare should be kept solvent? | Rob Zerban: Social Security is currently solvent. We need to stop borrowing money from the trust fund to give tax breaks to billionaires and corporations. Additionally, we can remove the caps on contributions. Medicare can be strengthened by expanding the system to cover everyone. Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act: nazbot: 4) Do you support Obamacare? Anything in it you'd modify? | Rob Zerban: I believe the Patient Protection and

Affordable Care Act was a good first step by did not go far enough. I was disappointed the public option was not included. Waterboarding: nazbot: 5) Is waterboarding torture? Do you support enhanced interrogation? | Rob Zerban: Yes it is torture. No, I do not. United States military involvement in the Middle East: nazbot: 6) What is your stance on Afghanistan? Should the US keep a presence there? Iraq? | Rob Zerban: We need to get out. Marijuana: nazbot: 7) Should marijuana be decriminalized? | Rob Zerban: Yes. Gay Marriage: Eaglerufio: 1) Do you support Gay Marriage? Would you support a bill that made it possible for same sex/trans couples to get married and share the same rights as hetero couples? | Rob Zerban: Yes. || Schneeballschlact: Do you think I deserve same civil rights afforded to you? I am a lesbian and many people in office do not think I merit the same rights they have. | Rob Zerban: Yes. Adoption by gay parents: Eaglerufio: 2) Do you support adoption by two Gay Parents? | Rob Zerban: Yes. Role of religion in America/politics: Eaglerufio: 3) Do you view this nation as a Christian Nation? Do you think churches should continue enjoying tax exempt status when they clearly use their money to influence state issues. | Rob Zerban: I believe the separation of church and state to be absolute. Abortion: Eaglerufio: 4) What is your stance on abortion and publicly funded agencies such as Planned Parenthood? | Rob Zerban: I am pro-choice. Occupy Wall Street: arcturussage: 1. What are/were your thoughts on Occupy Wall Street? | Rob Zerban: 1) I think its indicative of the public's frustration with Congress and the system that finances our elections. Like every movement, there are many ideas but here is what I think politicians should learn- people are tired of moneyed interests getting in the way of the right ideas. War on Drugs: arcturussage: 2. Where do you stand on the war on drugs? Do you think it has been successful? | Rob Zerban: 2) I believe in as much personal freedom as possible. I have seen the great harm "hard" drugs can do to communities. I believe there is a way to decriminalize marijuana to both increase revenues and to make sure we can shift away from jailing some nonviolent offenders. My belief is that reevaluating some of these policies can help police focus on more important priorities. Gun Control: arcturussage: 3. What are your thoughts on gun control? | Rob Zerban: 3) Americans have a complicated history with gun control. Clearly there needs to be protections in place to prevent criminal elements from obtaining lethal weapons. But we must also must protect the right of ordinary citizens to own guns, per our Constitution. I shoot skeet and trap occasionally. Stem Cell Research: post-a-cat-picture: As a fellow Wisconsinite, it's good to see a politician against SOPA. My question is since Wisconsin is a hub for medical research, would you favor Stem Cell Research to help the sick and our state's economy? Thanks! |

Rob Zerban: Yes. I favor stem cell research. The investments we make in science will pay off in big ways down the road in terms of healthier lives for people and new innovations. We have always been a nation that has led the world in science because we stay open-minded to the possibilities. Social service responsibility of government: xcprussia: What is the responsibility of the state when it comes to providing security for its citizens? What does "security" mean to you? Would "security" include employment, food, shelter, etc? | Rob Zerban: I think the way the question is phrased is not how I approach this. I don't think we owe this to the state. The question is what kind of people we want to be and what we want our government to reflect about us. The question is whether we want to be a nation of selfish people that let problems go unanswered, (such as financial regulation, environmental protection, education, our infrastructure, etc), or whether we all work together to make our lives better. It is not a duty but a choice to cooperate to improve our country. High speed rail: monkeymarine: What are your views on high speed rail? Do you think it's a viable option for the area? Would you vote to invest money in infrastructure? | Rob Zerban: I do support high speed rail. Unfortunately, Gov. Walker dismantled the Region Transit Authority and declined hundreds of millions of dollars that would have put people in Wisconsin back to work while improving our infrastructure and reducing our dependence on foreign oil. Stop Online Piracy Act: swgolde: 1) Can you explain your stance on bills like SOPA? | Rob Zerban: SOPA is a complex issue but here is how I approach it- the first thing to remember is that our free speech is our most fundamental right as Americans and this is critical to our society and economy. It is also critical to innovation and this process of free speech, which we are doing right now on reddit, is what enables us to share and develop the ideas that impact the world. We need to preserve the free nature of the internet. I believe that more and more people are going to pay for content they enjoy to be able to use on many devices and in different formats, and the benefit to a company of brand growth, new fans, and advertising, can be a great benefit. Companies need to start thinking outside of the box and leveraging the exposure to greater benefit. There are many online companies that oppose SOPA including Google, Facebook, Twitter, Zynga, eBay, Mozilla, Yahoo, AOL, and LinkedIn. These companies wrote a letter to key members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, saying SOPA poses "a serious risk to our industry's continued track record of innovation and job creation, as well as to our nation's cybersecurity." I think where it goes too far is that it allows unilateral measures to revoke IP addresses or domain names. In short, I recognize the need for content providers to be able to profit and benefit from their work but there needs to be a middle ground approach to this issue.

The following positions are in response to roydude22: What problems do you see going on in congress right now? What will you do about them? How do you plan to represent the american people? And are you going to be a leader this country needs or just another spokesperson? Rob Zerban: Way too much money! We need to get rid of Citizens United and elect people based on ideas, not bank accounts. Rob Zerban: Redistricting. The ways the lines are drawn do not make sense. Instead of uniting communities and creating representation, they are designed to entrench incumbents. This does not produce good results. Rob Zerban: Term limits. I believe politics should not be a career, but a period of service. I think having term limits would change the way people approach their time in Congress.

The following positions are in response to Twoodeep: So can you state a few of your positions on these for us now? Rob Zerban: Ending the money in politics by supporting the Move to Amend, publicly financed elections, and any other vehicle to end the corrupting influence of money. Rob Zerban: Enhancing health care reform with a public option or Medicare for all. Rob Zerban: Job creation by investing in infrastructure and any other programs to employ the unemployed, and ending free trade deals and replacing them with fair trade deals that will protect manufacturing jobs in the district. Rob Zerban: Investing in education and research to create innovation for the future. Rob Zerban: Shifting our tax code to benefit small and medium-size businesses, not large corporations with large lobbying firms. Rob Zerban: Enhancing financial reform and protecting consumers. Rob Zerban: Finally, protecting Social Security and Medicare from Republican attempts at privatization.

Miscellaneous Do you list your stances on issues anywhere? Stang1776: Where on your web page do you talk about the issues? Like our foreign policy, monetary policy, drug war, etc. | Rob Zerban: This is my first run and I am working on building out the campaign. That is why next month, I am bringing on some new staff that will help add more to the website. I work to communicate on Facebook, Twitter, email, and now Reddit to answer questions as well as, of course, person to person. I should have more up soon and you can always ask me by going to robzerban.com and clicking on contact me. General: Rob Zerban: I think any and all of these ideas would help Wisconsin and this district, but my focus in the campaign will be on the more generally popular issues including manufacturing jobs and economic recovery, Paul Ryan's corrupt funding sources, stopping the wasteful tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires, and the need to defend seniors programs. These are the issues I think the electorate will be most responsive to. Association with PACs: NorthAve: Are you associated with any PACs? If so, which ones and why are they interested in you? | Rob Zerban: I am supported by Senator Russ Feingold's PAC Progressives United as well as members of Congress. I am also supported by the Council for a Liveable World which works to reduce nuclear weapons across the globe. Finally, many labor organizations support me since my focus is to rebuild the middle class. Negotiation: EagleFalconn: Are you willing to be negotiated with? One of the biggest problems with our current set of legislators is that they are all idealogues. We need to know where politicians stand on issues, but we also need to know that they will not be obstructionists. We would like to create a movement of moderates to support you, and a truthful answer to this question is important. What issues are you willing to negotiate on? What will you never give ground on, no matter what? Are you prepared for us to hold you to those? I'm not looking for an exhaustive list, but your top picks would be helpful. | Rob Zerban: Absolutely I'm willing to negotiate - that is a part of the process. I disagree with obstructionist tactics that threaten to shut down the government when you don't get your way. That said, when it comes to making sure every single person has their rights and an opportunity to achieve a great life, that is not worth negotiating away. || wagnerjr: Where do you draw the line between what is and isn't negotiable? What are your hard-line stances? | Rob Zerban: The problem I see is that too many politicians know what is right, but they back down when they are confronted by money and special interests. I am ready to make the tough choices to stand with the people, even if that means taking the consequences. Online activism: otisl: What are your thoughts on reddit targeting members of congress whose politics they disagree with? | Rob Zerban: The political process has been shifted towards those with the money to communicate on television, and to get the support of the political establishment. That is why I am such a fan of the free internet. The internet is democracy in action- it lets each individual have a voice. I think users of reddit should raise their voices and votes until Congress listens, changes, and acts.

Petition to recall Governor Scott Walker: gjbrown27: Does your signature appear [on the petition to recall Scott Walker]? | Rob Zerban: Yes. Inspiration: znew711: Who has been your single biggest inspiration? | Rob Zerban: My mom. She raised me as a single parent and worked extremely hard to do the best she could and has always shown me unconditional love. Politically, one person I look up to is Sen. Russ Feingold. He was willing to be a lone vote against the Patriot Act. I think someone should have the guts to stand for their values if they hold office. Violence: Raiancap: Do you believe it is moral to use violence against peaceful people? | Rob Zerban: No.