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Robert Stackpole's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)

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Official Position: Candidate addressed this issue directly by taking the Political Courage Test.
Inferred Position: Candidate refused to address this issue, but Vote Smart inferred this issue based on the candidate's public record, including statements, voting record, and special interest group endorsements.
Unknown Position: Candidate refused to address this issue, or we could not infer an answer for this candidate despite exhaustive research of their public record.
Additional Information: Click on this icon to reveal more information about this candidate's position, from their answers or Vote Smart's research.
Other or Expanded Principles & Legislative Priorities are entered exactly as candidates submit them. Vote Smart does not edit for misspelled words, punctuation or grammar.

Robert Stackpole refused to tell citizens where he stands on any of the issues addressed in the 2010 Political Courage Test, despite repeated requests from Vote Smart, national media, and prominent political leaders.

What is the Political Courage Test?
This candidate has responded to a Political Courage Test in a previous election. As a continued effort to provide the American public with factual information on candidates running for public office, these archived responses are made available here.

Maine State Legislative Election 2008 Political Courage Test

The Political Courage Test asks candidates which items they will support if elected. It does not ask them to indicate which items they will oppose. Through extensive research of public polling data, we discovered that voters are more concerned with what candidates would support when elected to office, not what they oppose. If a candidate does not select a response to any part or all of any question, it does not necessarily indicate that the candidate is opposed to that particular item.

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding abortion.

a) Abortions should always be illegal.
X b) Abortions should always be legal.
c) Abortions should be legal only within the first trimester of pregnancy.
d) Abortions should be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape.
e) Abortions should be legal when the life of the woman is endangered.
f) Abortions should be subject to a mandatory waiting period.
g) Require clinics to give parental notification before performing abortions on minors.
I support a woman's right to choose. Whatever the choice is it should be legal and safe.

State Budget: Indicate what state funding levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one level per category, you can use a number more than once.State Taxes: Indicate what state tax levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one level per category, you can use a number more than once.

Greatly Increase a) Education (Higher)
Slightly Increase b) Education (K-12)
Maintain Status c) Emergency preparedness
Slightly Increase d) Environment
Maintain Status e) Health care
Slightly Increase f) Law enforcement
Greatly Increase g) Transportation and highway infrastructure
Slightly Decrease h) Welfare
Slightly Increase i) Other or expanded categories
Slightly Increase a) Alcohol taxes
Slightly Increase b) Cigarette taxes
Slightly Increase c) Corporate taxes
Maintain Status d) Gasoline taxes
Slightly Decrease e) Income taxes (incomes below $75,000)
Slightly Increase f) Income taxes (incomes above $75,000)
Greatly Decrease g) Property taxes
Maintain Status h) Sales taxes
Greatly Decrease i) Vehicle taxes
Maintain Status j) Other or expanded categories
No 1) Should state sales taxes be extended to Internet sales?
Yes 2) Should accounts such as a "rainy day" fund be used to balance the state budget?
Yes 3) Should fee increases be used to balance the state budget?
No 4) Should state funding to local school districts be reduced to help balance the state budget?
We need to think of state funding as investments. Investments that will bring returns. What we need is a consistent level of investment. It is the wide oscillations in funding that hurt the state and the local communities. Any financial planner will tell you to invest consistently and for the long haul. That's how you find success in your budget and that's how the state will find success in its budget.
Unfortunately taxes will continue to be high in Maine until we find additional sources of revenue. Possible sources of revenue include: Providing a quality education to all Maine children along with affordable post secondary opportunities. Maine all ready has a work force that is held in high regard nationally. With a highly educated work force will attract new businesses with good high paying jobs. Maine needs to develop a world class (five star) tourist industry. With the amount of potential energy in this state Maine can and should become a leader in green energy production.
Internet sales represent the future of small business. We should be doing everything we can to help these businesses thrive. The state should fund a super rainy day fund. This fund should have many strings attached. These strings should represent economic triggers that allow portions of the fund to be used. Not necessarily to balance the budget but to smooth out the great oscillations that come with the economic good times and bad times. We also need to constrain spending in the good times. Reducing state funding to schools only shifts costs to the local communities.

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding campaign finance and government reform.c) Do you support limiting the following types of contributions to state legislative candidates?

Yes a) Do you support the current limit of terms for Maine governors?
No b) Do you support the current limit of terms for Maine state senators and representatives?
Yes 1) Individual
Yes 2) PAC
Yes 3) Corporate
Yes 4) Political Parties
Yes d) Do you support requiring full and timely disclosure of campaign finance information?
Yes e) Do you support imposing spending limits on state-level political campaigns?
Undecided f) Should Maine participate in the federal REAL ID program?
I believe that the Maine Clean Election Fund works very well. I support continued and expanded use of MCEF.

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding crime.

a) Increase state funds for construction of state prisons and hiring of additional prison staff.
b) Establish the death penalty in Maine.
X c) Support programs to provide prison inmates with vocational and job-related skills and job-placement assistance when released.
X d) Implement penalties other than incarceration for certain non-violent offenders.
X e) Minors accused of a violent crime should be prosecuted as adults.
X f) Support state and local law enforcement officials enforcing federal immigration laws.
X g) Support hate crime legislation.
Providing for safe communities for people to live in is one the most important roles of government. Law enforcement officials must be supported and state and federal laws must be enforced.

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding education.

X a) Support state funding of universal pre-K programs.
b) Support federal education standards and testing requirements for K-12 students (No Child Left Behind).
c) Support state education standards and testing requirements for K-12 students.
d) Support requiring public schools to administer high school exit exams.
e) Allow parents to use vouchers to send their children to any public school.
f) Allow parents to use vouchers to send their children to any private or religious school.
g) Provide state funding to increase teacher salaries.
h) Support using a merit pay system for teachers.
X i) Provide state funding for tax incentives and financial aid to help make college more affordable.
j) Support allowing illegal immigrant high school graduates of Maine to pay in-state tuition at public universities.
Public education is the backbone of this country. We need to send kids to school ready to learn. Make post graduate education more affordable. Allow for local control of schools. Let teachers teach!

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding employment.

X a) Increase funding for state job-training programs that re-train displaced workers and teach skills needed in today’s job market.
X b) Reduce state government regulations on the private sector.
X c) Provide low interest loans and tax credits for starting, expanding, or relocating businesses.
X d) Provide tax credits for businesses that provide child care for children in low-income working families.
X e) Increase state funds to provide child care for children in low-income working families.
X f) Increase the state minimum wage.
X g) Support laws that prevent employers from dismissing employees at will.
X h) Support financial punishments for those who knowingly employ illegal immigrants.
X i) Support increased work requirements for able-bodied welfare recipients.
X j) Increase funding for employment and job training programs for welfare recipients.
We need to invest directly in the children of low-income and welfare families. Not filter funds to children through the parents. We do this by providing child care and quality pre-school opportunities. We do this in combination with an increase in minimum wages so that all parents can work and support their families. Most importantly all are then contributing to the system.

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding the environment and energy.

X a) Promote increased use of alternative fuel technology.
b) Support increased production of traditional domestic energy sources (e.g. coal, natural gas, oil, etc).
c) Support providing financial incentives to farms that produce biofuel crops.
X d) Use state funds to clean up former industrial and commercial sites that are contaminated, unused, or abandoned.
e) Support funding for improvements to Maine's power generating and transmission facilities.
X f) Support funding for open space preservation.
X g) Limit carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases linked to global warming.
X h) Enact environmental regulations even if they are stricter than federal law.
I consider alternative fuel to be fuel cells or electricity. I don't think that biofuel is the answer. We have to be realistic. We are not just going to be able to turn a switch and run everything green. Traditional energy sources are going to be with us for awhile yet. However we need to focus continually on increasing the efficiency of all devices that run on fossil fuel while creating incentives to move more devices onto green energy fuels.

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding guns.

Yes a) Should background checks be required on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows?
No b) Should citizens be allowed to carry concealed guns?
No c) Should a license be required for gun possession?
Yes d) Do you support current levels of enforcement of existing state restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns?
Yes e) Do you support current state restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns?
We clearly need to make a distinction between sporting guns and guns made to exclusively to kill people. I am a hunter and gun owner. We need to be concerned about the rising rate of gun crime in our state. Somehow we need to strike a common sense balance.

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding health.

X a) Ensure that citizens have access to basic health care through managed care, insurance reforms, or state-funded care where necessary.
b) Guaranteed medical care to all citizens is not a responsibility of state government.
c) Support Dirigo Health in Maine.
X d) Limit the amount of damages that can be awarded in medical malpractice lawsuits.
e) Allow patients to sue their HMOs.
f) Require hospitals and labs to release reports on infections that are a risk to public health, while not compromising patient confidentiality.
g) Legalize physician assisted suicide in Maine.
h) Support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes.
I support affordable basic care for all citizens. This does not have be 100% state funded. My basic experiences tell me that one way to accomplish some of this is to introduce more competition into the health care market in this state. More competition will work to lower costs. Essentially, providing affordable health care for every citizen is problem that is best solved at the federal level.

['Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding social issues.', 'Legislative Priorities']

Yes a) Should Maine recognize civil unions between same-sex couples?
Yes b) Should same-sex couples be allowed to marry?
Yes c) Should Maine provide state-level spousal rights to same-sex couples?
Yes d) Do you support a moment of silence in public schools?
Yes e) Do you support voluntary prayer in public schools?
Yes f) Do you support sexual education programs that include information on abstinence, contraceptives, and HIV/STD prevention methods?
No g) Do you support abstinence-only sexual education programs?
Yes h) Should the state government consider race and gender in state government contracting and hiring decisions?
Yes i) Do you support affirmative action in public college admissions?
Yes j) Should Maine continue affirmative action programs?
Yes k) Do you support state funding of stem cell research?
Yes l) Do you support state funding of embryonic stem cell research?
No m) Do you support allowing pharmacists who conscientiously object to emergency contraception to refuse to dispense it?
In my opinion not allowing same-sex couples to marry and have the same rights as other married couples is discriminatory. I believe in the separation of church and state. Traditional moments of silence and voluntary prayer should be allowed. Parents should have the choice to either teach their kids themselves in whatever way they choose or voluntarily enroll them in an elective class in school. By doing nothing we are walking a tightrope that too often ends up with tragic consequences. Simply put affirmative action works. Scientists need access to every type of stem cell to find the best solutions.
The number one issue in this state today is the economy. Maine needs to stop being a follower and become a leader in economic development. This state is revenue starved. That is why taxes are high and there is a fee on everything. I would work to constrain spending in both the good times and the bad times, while eliminating or restructuring "bad debt" and "bad investments" (debt/investments with no good returns to the state). Work to develop a "super rainy day fund" so that a consistent amount of funds are available to the communities for road and schools, etc.

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