Nebraska’s first congressional district debate
An exchange on foreign policy and national security
On Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, U.S. Congressman Mike Flood and State Sen. Carol Blood exchanged accusations regarding their views on different topics. These topics ranged from foreign policy, to the state of national security, as well as gun violence and the recent rise and use of artificial intelligence.
The biggest topic when it came to discussing foreign policy regarded the current situation between Israel and Hamas. Flood stated that he fully supports Israel, as well as their cause in the current conflict. He also described the events that took place on Oct. 7 of 2023, as the “9/11” for Israel.
Blood believed the United States should take a stance, urging movement forward towards a peaceful solution. Both Flood and Blood expressed their thoughts regarding the conflict and agreed that the safety of individuals who are not involved with the conflict is the utmost priority.
The second point was debating national security and immigration. Both parties had conflicting views when it came to immigration as Blood supports the idea that immigrant/asylum seekers should not experience “year long waits in order to have their day in court.” While Flood supports Trump’s “Remain in Mexico” order, which dictates that “asylum seekers wait in Mexico while their applications are pending rather than waiting in the U.S. for whatever president made certain promises to them.”
As for the topic of gun violence, both parties agree that mental health is a huge factor when it comes to school shootings and that more efforts must be made in order to focus on mental health and how it affects an individual. The topic of the Second Amendment was also included to which Flood responded with, “I’m not interested in infringing on any Nebraskan’s Second Amendment rights, and I think we have to keep that in mind because that is a right afforded to the citizens that came through the Bill of Rights, and it is a core value of mine.” Blood believes that actions at congressional level are needed in order to start making a difference and hopefully make a difference.
Technology such as AI has attracted much attention from the general public. Flood believes that there are many benefits, such as helping people understand things in better detail. However, he is also concerned that AI could utilize things that are in violation of federal law. Blood noted that precaution is needed when it comes to AI as, “the more knowledge it has the more dangerous it could become.”
by Robert Tengker