Morgan Bowen's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Morgan Bowen 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.
Issue Positions
For Presidential and Congressional candidates who refuse to provide voters with their positions, Vote Smart has researched their public records to determine their likely responses. These issue positions are from 2010.
- Davidson, Lee. 2008. Deseret News: Bishop would drill; Bowen wants less pork. 18 October 2008. "One candidate says America's economic woes could be improved if Congress pushed for more oil drilling and energy of all sorts. The other says the real key is to stop Congress from taking donations from big-money special interests and then doing them favors. That is a key difference between Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, and Democrat Morgan Bowen in their answers to a Deseret News questionnaire on campaign issues. Both candidates [Rob Bishop, Morgan Bowen] are anti-abortion, oppose same-sex marriage and support capital punishment. Both support efforts against illegal immigration, including beefing up border fences and hiring more border patrol agents." (www.deseretnews.com)
- Morgan Bowen. 2010. Campaign For Liberty: Utah Candidate Survey. Responded YES to the question: "Indicate the tax cuts you are willing to vote for: Estate Tax Cut" (www.campaignforliberty.com)
- Geraci, Charles. 2008. Herald Journal News: 1st District candidates opposed to the bailout. 4 October 2008. "The two main candidates for Utah's 1st Congressional District seat have voiced concerns on the $700 billion financial bailout plan approved by Congress on Friday, with one voting against it in Washington and the other condemning the legislation from Utah...Democratic challenger Morgan Bowen also blasted the bailout, contending it rewarded greedy corporate executives at the expense of average Americans." (news.hjnews.com)
- Geraci, Charles. 2008. Herald Journal News: Bishop, Bowen vying for Congress. 28 October 2008. "On the U.S. economy, both of the candidates [Bishop, Bowen] agreed that the ,700 billion bailout bill passed by Congress was not the best approach...Bowen believes the bailout bill should have included more protections and benefits to middle class households, as well as small businesses. "I probably would have supported something that was geared more toward the middle class and the small businesses of this country, who really through no mismanagement or fault of their own are victims of the credit crunch at this point," said Bowen. In addition, he's calling for reform of the financial system in general and thorough investigations into how the system has operated. "I don't think the $700 billion is the end," Bowen said. "I think there's the potential for it to be the beginning of a massive socialization of companies in this nation, and that to me is a very scary thought." (news.hjnews.com)
- Morgan Bowen. Morgan Bowen on Bailouts. 23 September 2008. "Now we want to trust this administration with $700 billion to $1 trillion in taxpayer's money to bail out these companies? There should be a criminal investigation held immediately. These individuals should be in jail, not receiving the benefits they're gonna get from bilking and raping the American public?at this point I think the deregulatory that got us into this mess lays squarely in the majority that held office since 2000 to 2006. So I want to make sure that we put a stop to this and that's why I've taken a strong stance against this." (vodpod.com)
- Morgan Bowen. Morgan Bowen on the Economy. 9 October 2009. "Obviously we're in a huge economic crisis and the question is was the $700 billion that we put together here in Congress just last week, a $700 billion bail out, the question is, was that the right thing to do? And I took a stand against that based on principle and a few principles that I have. Number one, I don't think it is right that we had individuals that are going to make huge amounts of money, huge profits off this. We just hear from Secretary Palsen that a lot of this money is going to go to foreign banking firms. It's leaving the country to shore up foreign banks. To me there's something just a little wrong with the whole picture. Having said that, there's a case to be made that if this wasn't done, that we'd go into some economic collapse or melt down. I guess we won't know. There's also talk now that this $700 billion was simply the end of the beginning, not the beginning of the end to the crisis. That this may balloon and they may be coming back with their hand for more, more, more for more. Some estimates are talking about $5 trillion more dollars just to cover the melt down that is going on globally. What this does, in my estimation, and this is where my concern is, we bailed them out. We provided this money. Where does the money come from? Well, foreign sources, bonds, you name it, there's lots of way of getting the money. And quite frankly the fed can order the printing of more money?.So my concern is as we shore up these banks, we devalue the currency by increasing the money supply, and we have either two issues that could happen: we could have hyperinflation issue or people are simply not in the position to buy because jobs are being cut and things happen and we could have hyperdeflation. Neither would be good for the county." (vodpod.com)
- Morgan Bowen. Issue Position:Jobs and Economy. "The financial meltdown was created by greedy bankers and both Republican and Democratic party politicians who have engaged in years of pay to play, crony capitalism. The Wall Street Bankers get the bail outs (the gold mine). The American people get the shaft. To fix this problem Americans must work to change the way business in done in Washington." (votesmart.org)
- Morgan Bowen. Pass or Fail: The Bailout Bill is Bad for Everyday Americans Criticizes Bishop for Self Preservation. 6 October 2008. "Now, as the American economy is beginning to pay for the gross profit of those few who run these massive conglomerates, at the expense of working Americans, the Federal Government is running to the rescue with hundreds of billions in tax payer money with no protections for the very people expected to foot the bill. Our elected officials are doing little more than rewarding the machine of greed and corruption that they had a hand in creating. "The size and scale of the companies calling for a bailout shed light on the corruption and duplicity of Congress. Never would the federal government run to the rescue of small business. This is a clear example of pay for play protection. The kind of insurance that only campaign donations can buy. "Those in Congress, like my opponent, are complicit and responsible. Rob Bishop's vote against last week's "$700 Billion Stick-up Bill" was little more than an act of selfish self preservation; a false abdication of responsibility for his political philosophies and voting habits. "Congress should be writing protections for the millions of innocent Americans who are being punished by the consequences of unbridled greed and arrogance. From pension protections to stop gap, low interest loans, the Congress could be serving the citizens of America instead of those who have worked so tirelessly to bleed America dry. This bailout plan is a travesty." (votesmart.org)
- Morgan Bowen. Morgan Bowen on Social Security. 29 March 2010. "Social Security is a program that has been around since the 1930s and it was a stop gap program to help people when they got to retirement age if they didn't have a way to take care of their physical needs and financial needs. It's been one of those programs that's been very very successful when you look at the big picture of it?One of the things they tried to do a couple of years ago in Congress, they tried to do this idea of privatizing social security and now you can see how dangerous that would be to put your social security money in a private investment fund. And if you look at just within the last 9 months people have lost, the DOW has lost, almost a third of its value in nine months. So you could talk to people about retire amounts or saving accounts and plans and they have lost about a third. Could you imagine if Social Security was in a system like that and all of sudden you're about to retire and 1/3 of your money has evaporated. Social Security, you may call it old fashioned, you may call it whatever you want, but it is a Social Security safety net and I think it is an important thing?Definitely this idea of privatization, if you think about what they were trying to do, it could have been disastrous for this program." (vodpod.com)
- Davidson, Lee. 2008. Deseret News: Bishop would drill; Bowen wants less pork. 18 Oct. 2008. "Both candidates [Rob Bishop, Morgan Bowen] are anti-abortion, oppose same-sex marriage and support capital punishment. Both support efforts against illegal immigration, including beefing up border fences and hiring more border patrol agents." (www.deseretnews.com)
- Morgan Bowen. Morgan Bowen on Education. 29 March 2010. "It looks as though 'No Child Left Behind', number one, there's a lack of full funding of the programs and the other thing that they have a problem with 'No Child Left Behind' is the teachers are being forced to teach to a standardized test and we're losing this element of teaching to students and so I'm of the mind as I talk to teachers that either number one there has to be serious, serious reforms of No Child Left Behind or maybe even scrapping it altogether and coming up with something new. I think the less federal influence we have in the educational process and the more local control and abilities we have in the education process are really really vital to the education system we've got. And I think we need to include more parent input, and even student input, on how we create an education policy?I don't think teaching to a standardized test and pushing the envelope on these teachers with a standardized, one sized fits all package, is the right approach for American education." (vodpod.com)
- Geraci, Charles. 2008. Herald Journal News: Trio squares off. 20 Sept. 2008. "Bowen said oil companies should be charged more to lease federal land. He also argued for charging them royalties which would be used to develop alternative energy." (news.hjnews.com)
- Morgan Bowen. 2010. Campaign For Liberty: Utah Candidate Survey. Responded YES to the question: "Will you oppose so-called "Cap and Trade" legislation?" (www.campaignforliberty.com)
- Morgan Bowen. 2010. Campaign For Liberty: Utah Candidate Survey. Responded YES to the question: "Will you vote to oppose any legislation that allows the federal government to prohibit the sale, use, or carrying of firearms?" (www.campaignforliberty.com)
- Morgan Bowen. First Interview With the Local Newspaper Today. 19 March 2008. "First interview with the local newspaper today. Among the topics I remember discussing? The Second Amendment: As a full-time, tenured college professor for over 20 years, I wish even one law abiding student or faculty member at any of the universities where recent mass killings have occurred had taken out the murderer immediately. The ideal of a gun free zone is certainly appealing, but why do we assume government can make these kinds of laws real? especially in the face of even a single determined criminal? The illusion that a law alone can create a weapon-free, gun-free, crime-free zone, is fantasy, puts more people at risk, and has tragically been shown time and again does more harm than good." (votesmart.org)
- Despite exhaustive research, Vote Smart was unable to find information about this candidate's position.
- Davidson, Lee. 2008. Deseret News: Bishop would drill; Bowen wants less pork. 18 October 2008. "One candidate says America's economic woes could be improved if Congress pushed for more oil drilling and energy of all sorts. The other says the real key is to stop Congress from taking donations from big-money special interests and then doing them favors. That is a key difference between Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, and Democrat Morgan Bowen in their answers to a Deseret News questionnaire on campaign issues. Both candidates [Rob Bishop, Morgan Bowen] are anti-abortion, oppose same-sex marriage and support capital punishment. Both support efforts against illegal immigration, including beefing up border fences and hiring more border patrol agents." (www.deseretnews.com)
- Morgan Bowen. First Interview With the Local Newspaper Today. 19 March 2008. "First interview with the local newspaper today. Among the topics I remember discussing: Immigration Policy: We cannot have one until we secure our borders. We do that in Korea, we did it during the cold war in Europe, we're doing that in Iraq, so why not here? I don't know how we do that, but it's clear we can when we really want to." (votesmart.org)
- Despite exhaustive research, Vote Smart was unable to find information about this candidate's position.
- Davidson, Lee. 2008. Deseret News: Bishop would drill; Bowen wants less pork. 18 October 2008. "One candidate says America's economic woes could be improved if Congress pushed for more oil drilling and energy of all sorts. The other says the real key is to stop Congress from taking donations from big-money special interests and then doing them favors. That is a key difference between Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, and Democrat Morgan Bowen in their answers to a Deseret News questionnaire on campaign issues. Both candidates [Rob Bishop, Morgan Bowen] are anti-abortion, oppose same-sex marriage and support capital punishment. Both support efforts against illegal immigration, including beefing up border fences and hiring more border patrol agents." (www.deseretnews.com)
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