Michael Moshe Starkman

Political Party: Republican
Current Position: Moshe Technologies, Owner; Montgomery County Young Republicans, President; Maryland Club Developments of Young Republicans, Vice President
District: Four
Political Experience: Jeff Stein's campaign team during the 2006 U.S. Congress for Maryland's Eighth District, campaign manager

This is not original reporting. All information has been compiled from Starkman's campaign web site. Silver Chips Online posts this news summary to provide readers with a forum for discussion.

In 2006, not only did Michael Starkman serve as the campaign manager for candidate Jeff Stein's campaign in Maryland's Eighth Congressional District, Starkman also ran his own campaign in Maryland's Fourth Congressional District. He participated in the race after no Republicans volunteered and the Central Committees of Montgomery and Prince George's County nominated him. Starkman's experiences in these two campaigns have made him feel ready to serve and represent his electorate, according to his campaign web site.

Like a true conservative, Starkman strongly opposes illegal immigration and supports placing measures to protect U.S. borders. Securing the country's energy production is also high on Starkman's list of priorities. He supports increased domestic energy production to begin ending the United States' dependence on Middle Eastern oil.

In addition to oil trading with the Middle East, China's trade with the United States is another relationship that Starkman does not support. Starkman describes China as "a fast growing, brutal government that is openly hostile to the U.S.," according to his web site. He claims that the United States owes 26 percent of its trade deficit to China and should not support a dictatorship that "exploits child labor, disregards human rights, flouts environmental protections and has engaged in ethnic cleansing against Tibetans," according to Starkman's web site.

On a few issues, Starkman veers from the conservative view, taking a more centrist or sometimes, a more liberal stance. On the issue of religion, Starkman's positions are mixed. Starkman grew up attending a small Jewish school and is now president of the Torah Youth Association. His religious upbringing instilled in him an opposition to the removal of god in schools and government, but Starkman does advocate for separation between church and state.

Starkman also supports a clear division between state and federal government, believing that issues like education are more effectively dealt with by local and state governments. Unlike most conservatives, Starkman opposes the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). He feels that schools should be governed locally because different areas have different methods of teaching and schools cannot be nationally standardized.

Following the traditional liberal view, Starkman also opposes the use of military force in Iran. He believes that the war in Iraq was not justified and that the military leaders were not prepared for non-traditional combat, a problem that could plague U.S. forces in Iran as well. Starkman concedes that he is unsure how he would have voted on extending the war in Iraq in 2007.