Greg Zotta's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Greg Zotta submitted the 2010 Political Courage Test after the official deadline and release of results to the media. The candidate's late responses are provided here as a public service.
Missouri State Legislative Election 2010 Political Courage Test
| Pro-life | a) Do you consider yourself pro-choice or pro-life? | ||
| Yes | b) Should abortion be legal only within the first trimester of pregnancy? | ||
| Yes | c) Should abortion be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape? | ||
| Yes | d) Should abortion be legal when the life of the woman is endangered? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support requiring parental notification before an abortion is performed on a minor? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support requiring parental consent before an abortion is performed on a minor? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support sexual education programs that include information on abstinence, contraceptives, and HIV/STD prevention methods? | ||
| Yes | h) Do you support abstinence-only sexual education programs? | ||
| I support age appropriate sex education with emphasis on abstinence. I oppose partial birth abortions, infanticide and embryonic stem cell research. | |||
1) State SpendingIndicate what state funding levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one level per category; you may use a number more than once.2) State TaxesIndicate what state tax levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one level per category; you may use a number more than once.3) Budget StabilizationIndicate which proposals you support (if any) for balancing Missouri's budget.
| Maintain Status | a) Education (higher) | ||
| Maintain Status | b) Education (K-12) | ||
| Maintain Status | c) Environment | ||
| Maintain Status | d) Health care | ||
| Maintain Status | e) Law enforcement | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Transportation and highway infrastructure | ||
| Maintain Status | g) Welfare | ||
| Maintain Status | h) Other or expanded categories | ||
| Maintain Status | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | b) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | c) Corporate taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | d) Gasoline taxes | ||
| Eliminate | e) Property taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Sales taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | g) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Maintain Status | h) Income taxes (middle-income families) | ||
| Maintain Status | i) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| Maintain Status | j) Other or expanded categories | ||
| Yes | a) Tapping into Missouri's "rainy day" fund | ||
| No | b) Issuing the early release of certain non-violent offenders | ||
| No | c) Increasing tuition rates at public universities | ||
| No | d) Instituting mandatory furloughs and layoffs for state employees | ||
| No | e) Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients | ||
| Yes | f) Privatizing certain government services | ||
| I checked maintain status until I was in a position to check the budget. The State needs to get the budget in order, which would include spending cuts. I would recommend an across the board spending cuts in all departments, until we could look to see if some programs would need to be phased out or eliminated. I support law enforcement and education. The transportation and highway infrastructure should be funded through the gasoline taxes. | |||
| I favor a flat tax. I believe everyone reaps the benefits from living in this great country, therefore everyone should contribute to support it. I am not in favor of exorbitant "sin" taxes. I do not like the way taxes on homes are reassessed every two years. Many elderly people are on fixed incomes and due to reassessments on their homes may be taxed out of them. That is WRONG. I believe people should be able to keep most of their money and contribute some of it to support in the defense of this country. | |||
| The legislators need to look at the overall budget and determine the programs that need to be cut. The purpose of a "rainy day" fund would be to use it if need be. | |||
d) Do you support limits on the following types of contributions to candidates for state government?
| Yes | a) Should land seized through use of eminent domain be restricted to public use? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support limits on the number of terms for Missouri governors? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support limits on the number of terms for Missouri state legislators? | ||
| No | 1) Individual | ||
| No | 2) Political Action Committee | ||
| Yes | 3) Corporate | ||
| No | 4) Political Party | ||
| No | e) Should candidates for state office be encouraged to meet voluntary spending limits? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support requiring full and timely disclosure of campaign finance information? | ||
| My preference for financing campaigns would be for individuals to contribute as much as they want, whenever they want, to whomever they want as long as they fully disclose it. Like-minded individuals could pool their money together to form a club with other individuals as long as there is full disclosure on who is in the club and the amount they contribute. It should be individuals making their own choice and not GROUP think, which is what you get with contributions coming from corporations or unions. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support alternatives to incarceration for certain non-violent offenders, such as mandatory counseling or substance abuse treatment? | ||
| Yes | c) Should the possession of small amounts of marijuana be decriminalized? | ||
| Yes | d) Should a minor accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult? | ||
| No | e) Should a minor who sends sexually-explicit or nude photos by cell phone face criminal charges? | ||
| No | f) Do you support a comprehensive ban on text messaging while driving? | ||
| No | g) Should red light cameras be used to detect traffic violations? | ||
| Yes | h) Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police? | ||
| Should a minor who sends sexually-explicit or nude photos by cell phone face criminal charges? It depends on what was sent. There are obscenity and child pornography laws on the books. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support capping interest rates on payday loans? | ||
| c) Do you support increased state funding for job-training programs that re-train displaced workers? | |||
| d) Do you support expanding access to unemployment benefits? | |||
| No | e) Do you support providing financial incentives to the private sector for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| No | f) Do you support increased spending on infrastructure projects for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| No | g) Do you support providing direct financial assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure? | ||
| How Democrat policies affected the job market. They mishandled the housing crisis, causing the housing market to collapse. Obama said the American people should not be going to Vegas. Obama demonized corporations for having ?lavish? conventions.Many corporations canceled their convention. Thus, the hotel, convention and tourism industry were negatively impacted. Obama forced the closing of many profitable auto dealerships when they took over GM and Chrysler. He has called for a moratorium on offshore drilling. These actions not only affect the primary businesses, but it also affects the ancillary businesses. Obama and his policies have caused unemployment to rise. | |||
| No | a) Do you support national education standards? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support requiring public schools to administer high school exit exams? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support using a merit pay system for teachers? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support the state government providing college students with financial aid? | ||
| No | f) Should illegal immigrants who graduate from Missouri high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| I believe we should get back to neighborhood schools, and in those schools the children should be taught the basics which includes our history on our founding. I prefer tax credits over vouchers, because with vouchers there would be a tendency for the government to influence the curriculum. | |||
| No | a) Do you support state funding for the development of alternative energy? | ||
| No | b) Do you support state funding for the development of traditional domestic energy sources (e.g. coal, natural gas, oil)? | ||
| No | c) Do you support providing financial incentives to farms that produce biofuel crops? | ||
| No | d) Do you support state funding for improvements to Missouri's energy infrastructure? | ||
| No | e) Do you support state funding for open space preservation? | ||
| No | f) Do you support enacting environmental regulations aimed at reducing the effects of climate change? | ||
| I am against Cap and Trade legislation. Global warming is a hoax. The corporations that are pushing for it are making money from it. They are making green from going green. The United States needs to become energy independent as a matter of National Security. There needs to be an energy policy that works, which includes drilling where the oil is, nuclear power, clean coal and other alternative fuel sources. | |||
| No | a) Do you support restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns? | ||
| No | b) Do you support requiring background checks on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support allowing individuals to carry concealed guns? | ||
| No | d) Do you support requiring a license for gun possession? | ||
| There are EVIL people in the world. People need to be able to defend themselves from these evildoers. You have a God given right to be able to protect yourself and your family. I say you have a duty to do so. This means you should be able to arm yourself anywhere. These rights are protected under the second amendment of the constitution. Criminals do not care about laws. Criminals will carry and use weapons against their victims. Law abiding citizens abide by laws, even unjust gun laws restricting them from protecting themselves. | |||
| No | a) Do you support a universally-accessible, publicly-administered health insurance option? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support expanding access to health care through commercial health insurance reform? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support interstate health insurance compacts? | ||
| No | d) Should individuals be required to purchase health care insurance? | ||
| No | e) Do you support monetary limits on damages that can be collected in malpractice lawsuits? | ||
| No | f) Do you support legalizing physician-assisted suicide in Missouri? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes? | ||
| If the healthcare legislation was so GREAT, why did they need to bribe certain Senators and Representatives in order to get them to vote for it? Why did Pelosi say, ?We have to pass the bill, to find out what?s in the bill?? Why are the laws not being enforced when both parties state there are billions of dollars in waste and fraud in the system? The American people stood up and opposed this monstrosity, yet they were not heard. The mandate is unconstitutional. The healthcare legislation was about control and the loss of freedom. | |||
| Yes | a) Should marriage only be between one man and one woman? | ||
| No | b) Should Missouri allow same-sex couples to form civil unions? | ||
| No | c) Do you support state funding for stem cell research? | ||
| No | d) Do you support state funding for embryonic stem cell research? | ||
| No | e) Do you support the state's use of affirmative action? | ||
| No | f) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Missouri's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| No | g) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Missouri's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Affirmative Action puts doubt in people?s minds. Did the person get the position because they are qualified for it or because of affirmative action? No one should get preferential treatment, instead it should be based on merit. | |||
| I believe in following the Constitution, limited government, listening to constituents, reading the bills, cutting out needless and duplicitous laws. I am against government abuse of eminent domain. Government should not take private property from one individual and give it to another. There are unnecessary and duplicitous laws. Policemen are turning into revenue producers by laws passed like primary seat belt, cell phone and red light cameras. Proponents say it's for safety, but their intentions are to create revenue. The proposed Meth law requires a prescription for cold remedies which has unintended consequences for law-abiding citizens and businesses. |
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