Ibrahim Taher
Ibrahim Taher (Republican Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Oregon's 4th Congressional District. He did not appear on the ballot for the Republican primary on May 21, 2024.
Biography
Ibrahim Taher was born in Eugene, Oregon. Taher earned a bachelor's degree in philosophy from Kuwait University. He also earned a master's in philosophy. Taher's career experience includes working as a high school philosophy teacher. He co-founded the organization Greens and Allies Against COVID Repression in 2020.[1]
Elections
2024
See also: Oregon's 4th Congressional District election, 2024
Oregon's 4th Congressional District election, 2024 (May 21 Republican primary)
Oregon's 4th Congressional District election, 2024 (May 21 Democratic primary)
General election
General election for U.S. House Oregon District 4
Incumbent Val Hoyle defeated Monique DeSpain, Justin Filip, and Dan Bahlen in the general election for U.S. House Oregon District 4 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Val Hoyle (D)  | 52.5 | 182,572 |
 | Monique DeSpain (R / Constitution Party) | 43.5 | 151,445 | |
 | Justin Filip (Pacific Green Party) | 2.6 | 9,054 | |
 | Dan Bahlen (L) | 1.4 | 4,920 | |
| Total votes: 347,991 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. House Oregon District 4
Incumbent Val Hoyle advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Oregon District 4 on May 21, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Val Hoyle | 98.4 | 73,444 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 1.6 | 1,212 | ||
| Total votes: 74,656 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. House Oregon District 4
Monique DeSpain defeated Amy Ryan Courser in the Republican primary for U.S. House Oregon District 4 on May 21, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Monique DeSpain | 57.8 | 31,436 |
 | Amy Ryan Courser | 41.2 | 22,418 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.9 | 498 | ||
| Total votes: 54,352 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Jeff Kubler (R)
- Ibrahim Taher (R)
- Raiph Huber (R)
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Taher in this election.
2022
See also: United States Senate election in Oregon, 2022
General election
General election for U.S. Senate Oregon
Incumbent Ron Wyden defeated Jo Rae Perkins, Chris Henry, and Dan Pulju in the general election for U.S. Senate Oregon on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Ron Wyden (D / Independent Party) | 55.8 | 1,076,424 |
 | Jo Rae Perkins (R / Constitution Party) | 40.9 | 788,991 | |
 | Chris Henry (Progressive Party) | 1.9 | 36,883 | |
 | Dan Pulju (Pacific Green Party) | 1.2 | 23,454 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 2,197 | ||
| Total votes: 1,927,949 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Michael Stettler (Constitution Party)
- Bret Westwood (Independent)
- Thomas Verde (Independent)
- John Newton (L)
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Oregon
Incumbent Ron Wyden defeated William Barlow and Brent Thompson in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Oregon on May 17, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Ron Wyden | 88.8 | 439,665 |
 | William Barlow | 7.1 | 35,025 | |
 | Brent Thompson | 3.5 | 17,197 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.7 | 3,279 | ||
| Total votes: 495,166 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. Senate Oregon
The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate Oregon on May 17, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jo Rae Perkins | 33.0 | 115,701 |
 | Darin Harbick | 30.7 | 107,506 | |
 | Samuel Palmer | 12.2 | 42,703 | |
 | Jason Beebe | 11.3 | 39,456 | |
 | Christopher Christensen | 8.1 | 28,433 | |
| Robert Fleming | 1.9 | 6,821 | |
 | Ibrahim Taher | 1.9 | 6,659 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.9 | 3,024 | ||
| Total votes: 350,303 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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2020
See also: United States Senate election in Oregon, 2020
United States Senate election in Oregon, 2020 (May 19 Republican primary)
United States Senate election in Oregon, 2020 (May 19 Democratic primary)
General election
General election for U.S. Senate Oregon
Incumbent Jeff Merkley defeated Jo Rae Perkins, Gary Dye, and Ibrahim Taher in the general election for U.S. Senate Oregon on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Jeff Merkley (D / Independent / Working Families Party) | 56.9 | 1,321,047 |
| Jo Rae Perkins (R) | 39.3 | 912,814 | |
 | Gary Dye (L) | 1.8 | 42,747 | |
| Ibrahim Taher (Pacific Green Party / Progressive Party) | 1.8 | 42,239 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 2,402 | ||
| Total votes: 2,321,249 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Watch the Candidate Conversation for this race!
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Oregon
Incumbent Jeff Merkley advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Oregon on May 19, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jeff Merkley | 98.7 | 564,878 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 1.3 | 7,386 | ||
| Total votes: 572,264 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. Senate Oregon
Jo Rae Perkins defeated Paul Romero, Robert Schwartz, and John Verbeek in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate Oregon on May 19, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jo Rae Perkins | 49.2 | 178,004 |
 | Paul Romero | 30.4 | 109,783 | |
 | Robert Schwartz | 11.1 | 40,196 | |
 | John Verbeek | 8.1 | 29,382 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 1.2 | 4,250 | ||
| Total votes: 361,615 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Watch the Candidate Conversation for this race!
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Matthew Kulow (R)
Libertarian convention
Libertarian convention for U.S. Senate Oregon
Gary Dye advanced from the Libertarian convention for U.S. Senate Oregon on July 6, 2020.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | | Gary Dye (L) |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Pacific Green Party convention
Pacific Green Party convention for U.S. Senate Oregon
Ibrahim Taher advanced from the Pacific Green Party convention for U.S. Senate Oregon on June 6, 2020.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | | Ibrahim Taher (Pacific Green Party) |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Ibrahim Taher did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.
2022
Ibrahim Taher completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Taher's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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Father, husband, philosopher, and peace activist. Politically, my focus is on the issues, not parties or affiliations.
- We are witnessing the biggest power and wealth grab in human history under the guise of public health.
- Foreign policy has been always a key part for the globalization agenda in addition to its immorality. Must stop.
- Localization of the economy maintain the power in the hands of the people, stabilizes society and minimizes corruption.
Foreign policy, economy, and appropriation.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Campaign website
Taher's campaign website stated the following:
| “ |
Philosophy
1. Public Health and COVID911 Individuals are sovereign and the government has no right to intervene. The government has a limited, defined, and advisory role, generally, in public health. Enabling the public to achieve the best health outcomes, by research, knowledge sharing and possible coordination with local communities is the only responsibility and authority the government should have. Moreover, the government lacks the authority of imposing laws, rules, restrictions, and controls on the relationship between doctors and patients. Humans as humans are sovereign individuals. Sovereign individuals, parents, and the guardians of dependents hold the sole responsibility and authority of caring for their health and their dependents’ health. Electing the type of healthcare, treatment, and preventative measures are exclusively the responsibility of the individual, parents, and guardians. Parents’ and guardians’ negligence in providing the best health care to their dependents must not justify the government’s and the community’s intervention in their choice. Nevertheless, local communities should intervene on behalf of the minor or the dependent when the negligence of the parent or the guardian is causing significant and intolerable harm to the minor or the dependent. Such intervention must be logically, morally, and scientifically justified. The justification must not be controversial, vague, disputed, or driven by ideology, belief, disputed value, directive, propaganda or politics. Transmitted and tolerable diseases such as the flu, cold, and COVID911 do not warrant any government or community intervention. Individuals’ concerns and fear of such tolerable community diseases cannot be the basis of any intervention. Individuals’ rights and sovereignty must not be mistakenly considered a justification for irresponsible actions. Protecting oneself, children and dependents is the responsibility of the sovereign individuals.
COVID911 As outlined in my statements from March 26th, 2020, May 15th, 2020, July 15th, 2020, Aug 5th, 2020, and Feb 9th, 2021, COVID911 is a war on the people. This political event weaponized science, defamed it, and used it to usher in a system that resembles slavery. SARS-CoV2 is an epidemiologically mild virus. Therefore, prevention and mitigation for 99% of the population are not justified scientifically and logically. The government’s violations of our human and constitutional rights had no moral, scientific or logical justification. Even if, for the sake of the argument, assuming that the virus is severe and intolerable, it is undisputed according to the dominant narrative that only a fraction of the population is vulnerable to it. Furthermore, if we assumed that, for the sake of the argument, that the virus is intolerable to a significant portion of the population, the implemented measures that violate our rights are not the only options that the government could have chosen. Worse, the enacted measures themselves are proven to be, scientifically, invalid. The COVID event is a political event that was allowed to take place by our executive, legislative and judicial branches of our government. Only a handful of our public officials stood up for us. It is our responsibility to stand up, united, for our future.
No regime change wars should be allowed. Peace, Respect Sovereignty and Fairness must be the pillars for any foreign policy. Wars must only be allowed to defend ourself from a direct attack on our nation. By peace, we eliminate any act of war or what could potentially lead to violence. Conflicts must be solved with diplomacy without any provocative negotiations. Peacekeeping is a very noble mission and the international community is responsible for keeping the world a safe place. Using peace as a pretext for provoking a war or violence must be prohibited. Our country must abide by these ethics and stop our hegemonic projects across the entire world. The United States must withdraw its military from any war whether declared or not and bring all our troops home. What we mean by Respect Sovereignty is that we must not force, middle or intervene in any nation’s affairs. Our country has to be a model in respecting the way other nations wish to govern themselves. Self-determination is, and only, that nation’s own right; no country has the right to interfere with others rights. The United States must stop forcing other nations to adopt our political, economic and cultural systems. Arming, supporting rebellions and assisting coups in other nations and countries is the clearest exemplification for disrespecting and meddling in others own affairs. Our country must stop such ongoing plans and refrain from any similar attempts in the future. Protecting other nations from oppression must go through its international proper channels according to the UN charter. Fairness in foreign policies extends to several aspects of international relations between states and nations. It is important to assert on two aspects of fair policies: 1) our economic interests must not justify harming the economy of another nation. Competing and expansion in the global trade market have to be ethical in a way that does not thrive on the expenses of others or by bullying and manipulation. Our government global hegemony has been crossing — and is still crossing, every line of ethics and fairness since World War II. Our strongest economy resulted from and is maintained by our global hegemony. We must not justify our greed, we need to get rid of it. 2) Our international policies and relations must be built on Mutual Benefits. Preventing other nations from developing their economy by unethical methods to maintain our dominance must not be acceptable. Our military and armed forces have to exist solely for one purpose, that is defending ourselves from a direct attack and imminent threat to our nation. We have the duty to protect our international interests through diplomacy, peace and the proper internationals channels in the UN, but not through wars and violence. Sanctions are acts of war that harm mostly the vulnerable of any nation; especially kids and elderly. We have to be a model in protecting and abiding by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
3. Environment We have to protect our environment and also reject the globalists’ climate change narrative. We, as humans, must adopt a lifestyle that satisfies our essential needs and preserves the planet. Our right to use natural resources must not be abused as an excuse that could negatively impact the environment, lead to species’ extinction, or pollute the air or the water. The limited right of using the resourcing of this planet is indisputable. That is, every human has the right to use nature to obtain his/her food, clothing, medicine, and dwelling. We also have the right to use the environment and natural resources for our non-vital needs with the strict condition of not negatively impacting the planet. Our lifestyle, which has been shaped by our economy, is harming the planet that we are obligated to preserve. We have no right to destroy the earth because we are not the only habitats of this planet and we are not the only humans that will live on it. A lifestyle that uses clean and renewable energy that does not pollute the air and water and doesn’t harm other species on the planet is very easy to achieve with the current development of science. We have no excuse whatsoever, for continuing our destructive lifestyle. The greed of corporatism has no limits, governments must regulate and restrain this greed. Large corporations and governments are mainly guilty of polluting and destroying the planet; by using toxic chemicals, destructive agricultural practices, geoengineering, GMOs, and various micro-wave uses. The guilt of corporations, which is driven by their greed, and in some cases by certain ideologies, is the largest. The oil industry is one of the largest polluters on the planet. Minimizing the use of oil by turning it into natural and clean energy and localizing the economy is a goal that must be pursued. This minimization and the search for cleaner alternatives must not harm the people in any shape or form. Protecting the environment is not only one nation’s responsibility, but governments from all over the world must also do their own part in protecting the planet. The United Nations could be utilized to provide a space for knowledge sharing and cooperation, however, central planning is usually harmful and controlled by the elitist class that does not represent the people’s interests. Protecting the planet and the environment must not be confused by the scientifically invalid claims of the climate change movement. The climate change claims are being used to justify the upcoming totalitarian and authoritarian future along with the biosecurity state. The technocratic future pushed by the globalists resembles slavery, erodes our basic human rights, and radically changes our cultures and values to be compatible with their Fourth Industrial Revolution vision.
4. Health Care Health care must not be an industry and also must not be controlled by the government. Having proper physical and mental health care is a human right. Communities and states are responsible for providing the best health care to their residents. Sick people should worry only about their well-being. The culture of making a profit out of sickness is reprehensible and inhuman. Treating people who are in pain and providing the health care they need is one of the most honorable jobs. In the past, when the greed of corporatists was not controlling us, health care was provided by a physician who was eager to help people out of compassion and humanitarian senses; it wasn’t a business. Sick people were given the care they need with no obligation of paying the physician. The whole community was honoring, cooperatively, their physician with covering the expenses of medicine and what he needed to continue serving his community comfortably. It is understandable that current medicine is more complex than ever before. And that the needed budget for researching and covering the expenses is very high. On the other hand, it is not understandable nor justifiable making a profit out of sickness. Helping people with what they suffer from must not be a business. The expenses of health care should be covered by the community through their local government or preferably an independent nonprofit organization. The current business of health care that includes pharmaceutical companies, insurance companies, and for-profit medical institutions is driven by greed and in some cases by evil ideologies. The government cannot interfere in the patient-doctor relationship, nor regulate medicine, or be in control of the healthcare system. The federal government, especially, has no right to influence, regulate or control healthcare. Medicare and Medicaid must be completely provided, including regulations and funding, by the local state government. Government health agencies are largely captured by special interests groups and big pharma. The corruption of the CDC, FDA, EPA, NIH, NIAID, and OSHA must end. These agencies, in fact, are utilized in a way that centralizes power and advances special interests groups. It might be a good idea to replace these agencies with local state agencies.
5. Immigration Immigration is a human right but our complex world necessitates strong and secure borders. No open borders. Every person has the right to choose his home and no one has the right to prevent others from this human right. Unless allowing immigrants will have a serious negative impact, societies and nations should not prohibit people’s right in immigrating. Countries and societies in this era, are much complicated than the past. Governments are responsible for maintaining a complex system that can only be managed appropriately within certain limits and capacities; open borders must not be an acceptable policy. Systematizing immigration is the government’s responsibility that should require establishing laws that ensure the continuation and the enhancement of government’s services, security, quality of life, healthcare system, living wages and employment affairs, education, civil rights and justice, and safety. People immigrate for various and different reasons that generally can be reduced to one of three categories: asylum seekers, dreamers and relatives. 1) An asylum seeker is a person who is forced to leave his home for reasons that include but not limited to: life endangerment, physical violence, extreme poverty, natural disaster and unbearable oppression. Ethically, nations are obligated to offer asylum seekers the help they need to the best of their ability. Asylum seekers have the priority for the admission. 2) Relatives and families of residents should not be denied entry to the country when no threat is found. Governments are obligated to allow children to reunite with their biological parents or at least two grandparents or relatives in the case of the absence of parents. 3) Dreamers are the people who immigrate to enhance the quality of their lives. Examples of life enhancements include but not limited to poverty, healthcare, justice, safety, education, and career. There is no ethical obligation toward dreamers: governments can choose to prioritize the admission of who can potentially participate in developing the country. The unexpected increase of residents could lead to negative consequences; therefore, entering the country must be through the legal process. Illegal entry must not be considered a crime if the person is of the first category. The option of deporting people of the second category must not lead to the separation of the family members; parents must have the option of leaving with their children, even when the kids are citizens if authorities determined that the parents should not be allowed to remain in the country. Detention is a form of imprisonment; no one should be detained for his desire to immigrate. Detention centers must be converted to refugees camps that provide the needed help for asylum seekers until the process of documentation is done. No one should be held against his will, if the refugee chooses to leave the country, his will must be respected without any record that could deny him an entry in the future. Immigrants of the second and third categories should not be able to use the refugees’ camps, they have to apply for immigration from their country. The speed of the process is essential to provide the help the refugees need and to reduce the numbers of illegal entries. Read Article 13, 14 & 15 of the UDHR.
6. Economy: Workers The principles of the free market and collective bargaining must guide our laws. Workers are partners, not slaves. Wages must have the power to provide a decent life. The current economic system is the worst imaginable version of capitalism. In many aspects, it treats workers like slaves. As a matter of fact, one of the essential reasons for ending slavery in the US was an economic reason; it was not a purely ethical movement. With the advent of the industrial revolution, having workers was more profitable than owning slaves; they are only obligated to pay workers salaries without having to meet their other needs such as housing and healthcare. Nonetheless, corporatists defined the word ‘worker’ as the person who works for the capital owner and is compensated for his work. As a consequence, the worker’s partnership in creating the profit is not acknowledged. Workers are partners with the capital owner; they work with his capital to produce a profit that must be divided fairly. The fair share of the profit when there is one worker using someone’s capital is around 50% for each. Again, workers have rights in the profit, their salaries must reflect this right. Our laws allow shareholders to exploit workers; they can take, in some cases, more than 10 thousand times what the lowest-paid worker makes. The problem of income inequality is one of the direct consequences of not acknowledging employees as partners who have direct rights in the profit. The government must not intervene in the relationship between the employee and his employer. Collective bargaining is a useful tool to solve this problem. Nevertheless, I strongly believe that by localizing the economy, the problem of liveable wages will be solved. The loss of manufacturing jobs due to disastrous trade deals such as NAFTA, TTP, and now the USMCA, has directly damaged the balance between living expenses and livable wages. The public support for family-owned businesses and local manufacturers, and deregulations (Free Market) are foundational in solving this problem. Unions might also be a useful tool for fair labor demands, although they are weaponized by ideologically driven groups and the establishment. Livable wages should mean that the lowest-paid worker can afford housing, clothing, healthcare, and food for himself and his family without the need to be in debt. Balancing the expenses of life and wages is communities’ responsibility. This responsibility must not be understood in a way that justifies the government interference in the relation between the employees and their employers. Empowering the employees with tools like collective bargaining and forming unions is what we mean by the government’s responsibility among others. Lowering living expenses is more practical than raising wages when we consider international markets.
7. Economy: Real Estate & Loans A strict control that adheres to the principles of liberty and the free market. Loans Money is not a product, and shouldn’t be treated as one. The culture of making more money through lending it to people who have no other choice to cover their ‘needs’, is an oppressive culture. Life necessities and needs, like medical care and housing, are human needs that must not be used for profit by lenders and others. Lending money for people to cover life necessities is a form of help, its unethical to make a profit off of people in ‘need’. Home loans “mortgages” are no exception from what loans must be. Student loans are shameful frauds legalized by our corrupted politicians. That is, providing non-for-profit education is states’ responsibility, it reflects its development and ensures its continuity. Real estate The real estate market has to be regulated by the state to ensure the availability of affordable housing for every citizen. The current housing crisis can be reduced to two main reasons: 1. the drastic shift in the culture of family. The philosophy of individualizing societies has impacted the family structure in the US. Beginning in the 1960s -or maybe before, to the present, families started to shrink, the extended family has been replaced with the nuclear family. The inventions of birth control methods and the rising financial difficulties have helped to delay the idea of marriage and normalize sexual relationships before marriage. As the culture of marriage was fading, the concept of civil partner was taking its place. The phenomena of single parenting emerged, amounting to nearly 50% of families in the US. This drastic change in the family structure was not met with the same drastic housing supply. 2. The influence of bankers and giant real estate investors, which falls under the problems created by the centralized economy. Government regulation must not be understood in a way that justifies the interference between sellers and buyers, or between landlords and tenants. The government’s role in such relations is to ensure that both parties are honoring their agreement. The legislative branch and the judiciary branch must ensure that both parties are adhering to the agreed-upon contract. Rent rates should not exceed 20% of a minimum-wage monthly income for an individual, and houses prices should not exceed what is paid for as rent in 15 years. Housing stability and security are essential for a stable society. The free market concept is the best solution and control. However, in many situations, the free market is under the grip of the super-wealthy class. Local communities may demand specific regulations to protect them from monopolies if needed. Such restrictions can be only adopted by the overwhelming majority of the local community. But even in such case, imposing restrictions that prevent people from practicing their right to commerce should not be a regular and widely spread tool.
8. Police and Law Enforcement Law enforcement agencies must adhere to the constitution not officials’ unlawful orders. Law enforcement’s role usually is essential in societies, and depending on its practices it could be an honorable job or a weaponized tool for the establishment. Our police are given more power than the whole department of justice; they can prosecute you, judge, convict you, and execute; within seconds. Police and law enforcement must not abuse their powers to harass, humiliate, insult or endanger any human. Their sole mission is to protect people, make sure we are safe, and enforce law and order. The granted powers for police and other law enforcement must not be given arbitrarily without strict criteria. Understanding the constitution, courage, patience, diplomacy, morality, compassion, and high intellectual skills, must be present and evaluated carefully in this sector; to minimize the possibility of giving this huge power to the wrong person. There is no greater oppression than being killed for no valid reason by someone who must protect you. Police cannot use aggression or fatal shooting without strict rules and without accountability. The right of punishment is exclusively obtained by a court ruling. Firearms must not be used to shoot, intimidate or scare the public. The only acceptable reason to use firearms is to prevent known equal harm to self and others if and only if there was no other way to prevent it. A mere fear for life is not an acceptable justification to use firearms. Suspicion of having a gun, or merely holding it or even threatening another person with it, all of that is not enough justification to fatally use firearms; that is, holding, having, or threatening others with a gun are not crimes that can be punished with death. Psychological harm by police and law enforcement should not be permitted unless necessary. Militarizing law enforcement agencies does not increase safety, but only risks the potential use of illegal force against the people in tyrannical times. Demilitarizing the police and prohibiting egregious practices such as the ‘no nock raids’ must not mean reducing the size of police or reducing safety protocols and tools.
9. The Media Media is a tool of propaganda controlled by the ruling class. The media is the main source of public information. The only function that the media must have is reporting facts. A media that hide the truth, manipulate it or spread false information is outrageously dangerous; false information could lead to stripping people from their rights, contribute in oppressing groups or nations and it could even destroy entire countries. Governments and people in power try, always, to control the flow of information in any society for the sole purpose of protecting their profits and special interests. Media outlets nowadays are businesses that are controlled by the highest bidders who continuously seek to serve their own special interests. The mainstream media in our country is owned by six corporations and functions as a propaganda machine. Our government, which is controlled by the same parties that control the media, has protected the mainstream media; they haven’t been held accountable for laying, twisting information, covering up for criminals and attacking truth-tellers. As a matter of fact, our government itself uses and filters what appears on the MSM. It is crucial, for the public, to always look at the main sources of information with scrutiny. Because, the compromised MSM depends completely on the fact that humans, as their nature, submit to authority. MSM has an authoritative status in the flow of information. For instance, the news reported on CNN are dealt with as facts by most of the Americans and accepted without any suspicion. We must always hold our judgments and positions until we examine/check the information ourselves or by confirm it with other reliable methods. Moreover, the media can shape our politics, economy, culture and society. In politics, the media has been successful in keeping the public unaware of many important policies that enabled corruption to continue. The idea of voting to the lesser evil, for example, is extensively believed by Americans which effectively preserved the failed two-parties system in our politics for decades. MSM has been defending this idea by, vehemently, disregarding the existence of other parties’ candidates. The media also, through advertising, shaped the culture of consumption. Shifting people’s perception and evaluation have resulted in a more excess profit for large corporations. In particular, redefining commodities as necessities has led to swing our feelings and desires. The media’s menace goes beyond politics and advertisement. Substantial reform is exceptionally needed in this aspect of our lives.
10. Politics: Congress. A republican form of government means that Congress must represent nothing other than the people’s will. The congress’s only job is to represent people’s wishes on how the government and laws should look like. The authority of the congress and the government is powered by the people; without their consent, they have no legitimacy. Members of Congress must listen to their constituents and represent their voices. Transparency is not a courtesy the representative can choose to entertain, it is an essential condition to be in this position. Needless to mention, people’s opinions and knowledge differ from each other. If the majority of the constituents are leaning toward an unbeneficial opinion, the representative must engage in lengthy discussions with them and, honestly, inform them about the reality of the issue, before taking any action. The representative must serve the people and their interests. Careerists, partisan and self-serving politicians are harmful to the people and must not be elected to any office. The corruption in politics impacts every aspect of our lives. Corrupt politicians make sure to hide their crimes and violations from the public: they cover up for each other, maintain the status quo and deceive people. It is essential for the people to choose their representatives based on their merits and values. We must support values and principles, not parties, groups or persons. People are subject to change, we must reevaluate politicians and keep them under scrutiny constantly. The people are responsible for choosing their representative, and accordingly responsible for the consequences of their votes. Indeed, politicians trick and deceive people to get their votes; they offer them what they like to hear, make promises and then ignore them. This is why honesty and morality are essential criteria for choosing a representative. The representative must be, also, wise, knowledgeable and courageous: he needs to be wise and knowledgeable to choose what is best for the people, and he needs to be brave to fight for what he chose. If a politician only fights corruption when it benefits him or his party, then he or she is corrupt as much as the one leading the corruption. Moreover, this type of politicians is not only corrupt but also dangerous, he/she is using people’s trust to hide his/her corruption. Businesses, PACs and corporation’s money in politics must be forbidden. PACs and corporations make donations and contribution to politicians to influence them. This is bribery that has been outrageously and heinously legalized before our eyes. Any money that seeks influence on politicians must be banned. Sadly, most politicians in our country are corrupt and controlled by the highest bidder. The consequence of allowing other than grassroots money in politics is very obvious: the politician will not serve the people if it contradicts his/her donor’s interests. Additionally, politicians will not be defending the weak and vulnerable but instead, the rich and powerful. This outrageous reality is one of the main reasons that we have the current corrupt system.
11. Politics: legislation The principles of liberty, free market, family values, societal utilities, peace, and morality must be pillars of our laws. Acknowledging the importance of order and justice in societies, policies, laws and legislations must defend and protect three foundational values: Justice, people utility and family. Laws must be good for as many people as possible. Justice is a fundamental and wide value to which equality, freedom, rights, and responsibility are subordinates. Equality is included in the definition of justice, it means treating everyone, in the same category, by the same treatment without any discrimination. Sex, wealth, age, and health are different categories. The equality that does not take these characteristics into account could be unjust and be a form of oppression. In some cases, the line between equality and justice is very fine, wisdom is very essential in such cases. For instance, inequality of pay between males and females for a job with identical specifics is not fair and unacceptable. But, taking the special needs of motherhood into account for paid leave, is a form of discrimination that is required for justice. Rights and responsibilities are too included in the definition of justice. Freedom is an important right, but it must not be mistakenly defined as the unconfined freedom of the individual within society. Individuals have responsibilities toward their societies and not only rights. The current conditions of freedom are dangerous to societies, it only gets restrained when there is direct violence or oppression imposed on others, the psychological well-being of the society is often ignored or unnoticed. Individualizing laws destroys societies. Laws must preserve societies and protect them; they must be good for the entire society. Rights must not be confused with personal desires and must not harm societies and ‘humanity’. The utility of the people should also mean ensuring that the people in the society are able to live, economically, a decent life. It should not mean that societies are allowed to adopt a law that benefits them and, parallelly, harms other societies or nations. The current economic system, especially since the 1960s, has participated significantly in destroying communities and societies. The corrupt political system that is controlled by rich oligarchs, neglected families, broke them and encouraged individualizing societies. Our laws must protect children to the highest degree from this corruption. The psychology of children requires a healthy family structure. Child psychological needs, regardless of sex, are balanced by having his/her father and mother in his/her life. Kids must not be separated from their parents before conducting an extremely detailed analysis of the case; for the damage of separation might not be reversible. The rise of mental health problems in our country is unprecedented, and by large it is a direct consequence of the changes in the family structure in our culture. Drastic and rapid solutions must be a priority for lawmakers: they must act boldly before we reach an irreversible damaging point. Needless to say, families are the foundational structure of societies and nations, a broken structure leads to weakness and chaos.
12. Education Parents are the authority and the government can only offer optional help. Nations’ developments are measured by their investment in education. Investing in education is, factually, an investment in the future of the nation. No civilization can last without knowledgeable and moral people. Education provides the public with one of the most powerful weapons to success: knowledge. Ignorance is the enemy of any society; it leaves them vulnerable to the endless challenges of life. Building societies and nations begin by supporting them with the power of knowledge. The fate of any nation and civilization lies in the hands of its future generations. Investing in the education of future generations and their psychological and physical well-being is essential for any nation that wishes to last and continue its developments. Governments are responsible for providing the means to strong and moral education to all of its citizens. It is also, the government’s responsibility, to ensure that all citizens are able to receive education of all levels. Most state universities and colleges in the country have shifted from being educational institutions to unethical money-making institutions that benefit plutocrats by: exploiting the public with student loans, shaping the education to maintain the status quo, and controlling what can be learned by censorship and harassment. Legislatures must keep politics out of education. Parents have the right to choose the type of education their children would receive. The government’s role should be advisory and impartial toward parents’ elected type of education. No student should be forced to learn values or information without the permission of their parents. Educational institutions must only teach facts and objective information without any direction toward certain ideologies. Controversial facts, morals and social values must not be taught in schools. The facts must be proven scientifically with a common consensus. Disputable theories have to be taught as a hypothesis along with its counter opinion. The universal and indisputable rules and values of morality and society should be injected into the educational process. Values like peace, justice, respect, self-control, kindness, selflessness, cooperativeness, honesty, generosity, and bravery are universal moral values that are essential for any society. Religious education should be available and optional. Sexual education must not be beyond protection methods if necessary. Public schools must not directly or indirectly teach sexual relations types, preferences and, controversial and disputed family structures, especially in middle and high school; the psychological sensitivity is the highest in this age. It is also vital to focus on building and developing critical and logical thinking skills; it pertains to every aspect of life.[2] |
” |
| —Ibrahim Taher's campaign website(2022)[3] | ||
2020
Ibrahim Taher completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Taher's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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Antiwar, Anti-oppression and anticorruption. Husband, father and philosopher.
- Ending endless covert and overt wars
- Stopping the role of money in politics
- Establishing social and economic justice.
Foreign policy. Criminal justice. Campaign finance. Election reform. Healthcare. Livable wages. Protecting the environment.
Represent the will of the majority of the people. Engage with the constituents in honest discussions.
Philosophy teacher. 4 years
Internal corruption.
No. Integrity and prioritizing people over self is what we need.
Must be revoked
To be able to perform the job in a way that serve the people.
Yes, work relations only.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
See also
2024 Elections
External links
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Candidate U.S. House Oregon District 4 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Ibra Taher’s campaign website , "Biography," accessed March 30, 2022
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Ibrahim Taher's campaign website, “Philosophy,” accessed March 28, 2022
