Roland Straten's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Roland Straten 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.
- Roland Straten. 2008. Project Vote Smart: New Jersey Congressional 2008 Political Courage Test. Checked SUPPORT for: "b) Abortions should always be legal."
- Roland Straten. Issue Position: Choice. "People should make decisions, not the government. The government should not interfere in people lives. The basic issue is whether or not you believe that the people have the ability to make decisions on how they should live their lives. You either believe that the people have the ability and should make their own decisions or that someone from government should tell them what to do. This really is the gist of the disagreement between my opponent and me. If you believe in liberty and choice, you will agree with most of what is said below and should vote for me. If you feel that people are not capable of making their own decisions, you will disagree and you should vote for my opponent." (votesmart.org)
- Roland Straten. 2008. Project Vote Smart: New Jersey Congressional 2008 Political Courage Test. Selected GREATLY DECREASE for: "f) Inheritance taxes."
- Roland Straten. 2008. Project Vote Smart: New Jersey Congressional 2008 Political Courage Test. Selected YES for: "4) Do you support the permanent repeal of the federal estate tax?"
- Roland Straten signed American Family Business Institute: No Death Tax. (www.nodeathtax.org)
- Roland Straten. 2010. National Association of Manufacturers: NAM 2008 Congressional Candidate Questionnaire NJ House 1. Selected YES for: "28. Would you vote for the permanent repeal of the estate tax without offsetting tax increases (PAYGO)?" (www.bipac.net)
- Roland Straten. Issue Position: Deficit & Spending. "Balancing the budget is really just a matter of common sense. If we are spending more than we have, we need to do one of two things. We can either increase revenue or cut spending. Congress, however, has allowed the budget to spiral out of control. When we look at each issue separately, we can easily forget the fact that the federal deficit and government spending play an overarching role in all aspects of life: commuting to work and traveling, protecting our families, retiring, receiving adequate health care. Many of our nation's problems could be solved if we had unlimited funds. Unfortunately, we do not have unlimited funds, and members of congress spending money as if we do is simply making our problems worse. We must prioritize and limit government spending. As a business owner of 35 years, I have developed the judgment to manage money responsibly, based on efficiency and logic, not partisan politics and special interest groups." (votesmart.org)
- Roland Straten. Issue Position: Economy. "The economy works best when the government keeps its hands out of it. Some taxes and regulations are necessary, but the federal government has become bloated. Facing difficult economic times, we need congress to shrink the size of government by cutting taxes and eliminating cumbersome regulations. Business and free enterprise create wealth, jobs, and tax revenue. Business must be encouraged to expand. I oppose all unnecessary regulations that hamper business expansion and I will work to remove these needless impediments to economic development. This is the key to progress." (votesmart.org)
- Roland Straten. Issue Position: The Bail Out. "I came to the conclusion that had I been in Congress, I would have voted for the Emergency Financial Package. For starters, I am philosophically opposed to government intervention. Tax payer money should not be used to bail out the excesses of the fat cats on Wall Street, many who were walking away with millions of dollars while leaving a mess for others to clean up. That said, the taxpayers are left holding the bag, and if we do not get the credit markets moving again it could have far reaching consequences that will affect our economy and our livelihood. Unfortunately, the vote yesterday became a referendum on the greed that exists on Wall Street, and we failed to address the problem. Let's be clear on one thing: the people who made piles of money on Wall Street will be fine regardless whether this bailout is passed." (votesmart.org)
- Roland Straten. 2008. Project Vote Smart: New Jersey Congressional 2008 Political Courage Test. Checked SUPPORT for: "a) Allow workers to invest a portion of their payroll tax in private accounts that they manage themselves."
- Roland Straten. Issue Position: Entitlements. "Social Security is an invaluable safety net, and it needs to be extended indefinitely. However, Social Security is not a full retirement program, and individuals must plan for retirement while they are employed. When Social Security was introduced, 17 people contributed for each person who received benefits. The ratio is now 3 to 1 and dropping. Complicating matters considerably is the fact that the federal government borrows from the fund constantly, so the "fund" does not really exist. If we want the program to be there for future generations of retirees, then we must restructure it. Congress, however, must strive to find a long-term solution that will minimize these negative impacts. In saving Social Security, we must allow the young to keep more of the fruits of their labor while allowing the elderly to retire with dignity and financial security. If these principles are adhered to, the Social Security solutions will benefit the economy and not burden it." (votesmart.org)
- Roland Straten. Issue Position: Social Security. "If elected, I will be among the legislators who embrace the fact that we must have the courage to find a solution to this problem, taking into consideration all suggestions. It is evident that many, perhaps all, constituencies will find some displeasure in the result, and some may react by voting against the representative to indicate their unhappiness. If elected, I will be among those who call for us to make the difficult decision to save the program. I will support it and take the consequences. They will be less painful than the demise of Social Security." (votesmart.org)
- Roland Straten. 2008. Project Vote Smart: New Jersey Congressional 2008 Political Courage Test. Checked SUPPORT for: "a) Support the use of the death penalty for federal crimes."
- Roland Straten. 2008. Project Vote Smart: New Jersey Congressional 2008 Political Courage Test. Checked SUPPORT for: "j) Support federal education standards and testing requirements for K-12 students (No Child Left Behind)."
- Roland Straten. Issue Position: Education. "Educating our children is one of the most critical functions of government. But the federal government's function is not to actually do the educating. Its function is to enable and encourage individuals and local governments to set up programs to give our children a top-notch education. In many places, we are succeeding, giving our children a marvelous education. Our Colleges and Universities are the best in the world. We can be proud of this. Though many of our schools are top-notch, we need to provide a thorough education for every person in America, not just those who can afford it or who happen to live in a strong school district. Parents should be given the choice of where to send their children. It is my firm belief that parents, not government bureaucrats, know where their children should be educated. Only by letting parents decide whether or not a school is performing will we weed out the bad schools and allow the good schools to grow." (votesmart.org)
- Roland Straten signed Americans for Prosperity: No Climate Tax. 16 August 2010. (www.americansforprosperity.org)
- Roland Straten signed the Contract from America. "Stop costly new regulations that would increase unemployment, raise consumer prices, and weaken the nation's global competitiveness with virtually no impact on global temperatures." (www.thecontract.org)
- Roland Straten. Issue Position: Environment. "We are using too much energy and must reduce our energy use for many reasons. I have included global warming under this section because some solutions to global warming may include significant reductions in freedom for people. We need to be very careful to make sure that the proposed solutions will work and not have unintended consequences. There is a lot of nonsense promulgated on global warming, much of which will actually make the situation worse, not better. I am an engineer and have been working on saving energy all of my life. An engineer's job is to make things more efficient. What is the solution? First we have to understand facts. Everything we do uses energy. And usually a better lifestyle requires more energy. If you walk to work, you use very little energy; if you ride your bike, a little more; if you drive even more; and if you fly your corporate jet across the country, a whole bunch. Everything in your lifestyle uses energy, a warm apartment, lights, watching television, and cooking food. Living an energy efficient lifestyle can mean major changes in ones lifestyle. There are only three things that will reduce our energy consumption. One is less people, two lower everyone's standard of living, or three: do things more efficiently by have engineers and other technical people design and build systems that get more out of existing energy." (votesmart.org)
- Roland Straten. Straten Supports Gore on Energy Policy. 24 July 2008. "Former Vice President Al Gore's challenge to switch all the nation's electricity production to wind, solar, and other environment friendly sources within 10 years makes sense. While I do not agree with everything Vice President Gore said, he made some very valid points which we should listen to and do our best to implement. Mr. Gore rightly points out that we have virtually unlimited solar energy and we need to develop new technology to harness that power. With the rising cost of oil, wind and solar power will become increasingly cost competitive. Mr. Gore's comment that 'We just have to listen to what the engineers and scientists are telling us about the advances in the efficiency and the reductions in cost of how we can use solar and wind and also geothermal' is refreshing. This is one of the very few times that a politician has advocated listening to the people who make the systems work before deciding what should be done." (votesmart.org)
- Roland Straten. 2008. Project Vote Smart: New Jersey Congressional 2008 Political Courage Test. Checked SUPPORT for: "a) Allow individuals to carry concealed guns."
- Roland Straten. 2008. Project Vote Smart: New Jersey Congressional 2008 Political Courage Test. Gun Issues: e) Other or expanded principles: "I am for the rights given to us in the constitution, not only the women's right to choose, but the man and women's right to purchase and carry a weapon to defend themselves, to hunt, or to collect. I think the supreme court pretty much got in right in the recent Washington case."
- Roland Straten. 2008. Project Vote Smart: New Jersey Congressional 2008 Political Courage Test. Selected ELIMINATE for: "d) Restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns."
- Roland Straten. 2008. Project Vote Smart: New Jersey Congressional 2008 Political Courage Test. Selected SLIGHTLY DECREASE for: "c) Enforcement of existing restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns."
- Roland Straten signed The Club for Growth: Repeal It! (www.repealit.org)
- Roland Straten signed the Contract from America. "Defund, repeal and replace the recently passed government-run health care with a system that actually makes health care and insurance more affordable by enabling a competitive, open, and transparent free-market health care and health insurance system that isn't restricted by state boundaries." (www.thecontract.org)
- Roland Straten. 2008. National Association of Manufacturers: Congressional Candidate Questionnaire NJ House 1. Responded: "The private sector is best suited to manage health care access and cost," to the question: "14. Please identify which of the following options comes closest to your philosophy for dealing with the issue of rising health care costs." (www.bipac.net)
- Roland Straten. Issue Position: Health Care. "We have an obligation to provide health care to all of our citizens. Most will agree that we have one of the best, if not the best, health care systems in the world. Its only problem is that it is too expensive. It has become overly cumbersome and is burdened with nonproductive regulations. All politicians want to reduce the cost of health insurance and make affordable health care available to every American. The solutions range from government-provided health care to tax laws and incentives that will produce an affordable plan for everyone. Each of the solutions has supporters and detractors from various special interests resulting in congressional gridlock. We must, however, make these difficult decisions. My experience and skills will enable me to evaluate the various solutions and vote for what is best for America. These are the elements I feel must be incorporated into the healthcare solution: [...] Encourage health savings accounts and private, flexible spending plans." (votesmart.org)
- Roland Straten. Pascrell: Health Care Law "Far From Perfect." 27 July 2010. "If I am elected to Congress, I will vote to repeal the healthcare bill and replace it with reform legislation based on free markets and competition. I am going to spend the next three months reminding people of Bill Pascrell's support for the job-killing Pelosi agenda and contrasting his vision of the future with mine." (votesmart.org)
- Roland Straten. 2008. Project Vote Smart: New Jersey Congressional 2008 Political Courage Test. Immigration Issues: i) Other or expanded principles: "This is a problem that has taken 50 years to create and will not be solved overnight. There are three things that must be done to work our way out of this mess. First, we must give potential immigrants accurate and timely information on their status. After this is done, we must secure the borders, and finally through attrition work down the number of illegals by deporting those who break the law and allowing those who obey the laws a path to legal status (but not a general amnesty)."
- Roland Straten. 2010. NumbersUSA: 2010 New Jersey 08th District Primary. Selected YES for: Do you OPPOSE offering the officially estimated 11 million people illegally in the U.S. long-term work permits and/or a path to citizenship (whether through a blanket amnesty or an 'earned legalization' or other form)?" (www.bipac.net)
- Roland Straten. 2010. National Association of Manufacturers: NAM 2008 Congressional Candidate Questionnaire NJ House 1. Responded: "NO: I like securing the border, but don't like the amnesty," to the question: "16. Would you vote for comprehensive immigration legislation that would secure the border, dramatically increase H-1B visas and provide a path to citizenship for those already in the United States illegally?" (www.bipac.net)
- Roland Straten. Issue Position: National Security. "If we had been keeping proper attention to aliens, we would know the answers. It would be easy to say, let's enforce our laws. But the truth is we haven't been enforcing our laws, because we have failed to properly fund INS. Now we have an estimated 12 million illegal aliens in our country. Another truth is that there is no practical, cost-effective way to find and permanently expel these people. We selectively enforce laws all the time, and we did not enforce this one; now we have to deal with the circumstance. And for humanitarian and economic reasons, expelling them is not a viable tactic, even if it were possible. Breaking up families and expelling people who have lived and contributed here for long periods of time is not the American way. And many of these people contribute to our economy and lifestyle, doing the jobs American workers do not want to do. Yes, we can seal some borders, but our borders are thousands of miles long, and it is equally impractical and economically not feasible to seal them all. Those who wish to enter illegally will find a way...A comprehensive plan would reliably identify one as either a citizen or as a resident alien. Those who are not legal residents must be given the opportunity to become legal, either by some kind of work program or by adopting a course toward citizenship, or expelled if they have no legitimate reason to be here from this country's perspective. Soon, because legal citizenship and/or residence would have to be proven, those who were not, would be easily identified by all of us. Moving forward, INS or some such agency would have to be charged with making immigration process fair and quick, keeping track of aliens in this country, and expelling illegal residents. It will require an increase in funding, but it will be more than worth the investment." (votesmart.org)
- Roland Straten. 2010. The Record: 8th District GOP primary a battle of conservatives. "Straten, a former Navy officer, believes stability can be achieved in Afghanistan and the U.S. military must remain engaged." (www.northjersey.com)
- Roland Straten. Issue Position: National Security. "Afghanistan is also a battle in this global war, and fighting to achieve victory in one battle by giving up another is poor strategy." (votesmart.org)
- Roland Straten. Issue Position: Defense. "Achieve victory in both Afghanistan and Iraq. Both are fronts in a global war against the RIF." (votesmart.org)
- Roland Straten. Issue Position: War on Terror. "We know that in order to defeat this enemy, there will be many battles in this war on many different fronts. One was in Afghanistan. I have always thought that the war in Iraq was a misnomer; it should have been the battle of Iraq. Other secret and semi-secret battles are being fought right now. There are battles here in the United States, Europe, Pakistan, Chechnya, Palestine, and Indonesia to name a few. Radical Islamists must be confronted in all of these areas. These confrontations consist not only of military force by the entire world, but we must implement strategies that teach the people the benefits of a free and democratic society. It would be tragic if we surrendered the battle of Iraq when we are at the verge of a complete victory. The surge is working. The good news is that if you review the position of all the major candidates, none advocates an outright surrender. They all have a plan of phased reduction; the only difference is how fast and whether or not the reduction is based on results in Iraq or a pre-planned timetable. Regardless of who is elected President, the congress must support the President in this fight. We must show a solid front against this enemy or risk losing the war." (votesmart.org)
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.
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. | |||
| 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) Dilation and extraction or "partial-birth" abortion procedures should be legal. | |||
| g) Medicare, Medicaid, and federal subsidies should be prohibited from being used on abortion procedures. | |||
| h) Other or expanded principles. | |||
Indicate what federal funding levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one number per category, you can use a number more than once.1) Budget Priorities2) Defense Spending3) TaxesIndicate what federal tax levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one number per category, you can use a number more than once.Family Income TaxesOther TaxesDeductions/Credits
| Slightly Decrease | a) Agriculture | ||
| Slightly Decrease | b) Arts | ||
| Maintain Status | c) Defense | ||
| Maintain Status | d) Education | ||
| Slightly Decrease | e) Environment | ||
| Maintain Status | f) FEMA | ||
| Maintain Status | g) Homeland security | ||
| Slightly Decrease | h) International aid | ||
| Maintain Status | i) Law enforcement (Federal) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | j) Law enforcement (State) | ||
| Maintain Status | k) Medical research | ||
| Maintain Status | l) National parks | ||
| Slightly Decrease | m) Public health services | ||
| Slightly Decrease | n) Scientific research | ||
| Maintain Status | o) Space exploration programs | ||
| Maintain Status | p) Transportation and highway infrastructure | ||
| Slightly Decrease | q) United Nations | ||
| Slightly Decrease | r) Welfare | ||
| s) Other or expanded categories | |||
| Maintain Status | a) Armed forces personnel training | ||
| Maintain Status | b) Intelligence operations | ||
| Maintain Status | c) Military hardware | ||
| Maintain Status | d) Modernization of weaponry and equipment | ||
| Maintain Status | e) National missile defense | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Pay for active duty personnel | ||
| Maintain Status | g) Programs to improve troop retention rates | ||
| Maintain Status | h) Research and development of new weapons | ||
| Maintain Status | i) Troop and equipment readiness | ||
| j) Other or expanded categories | |||
| Eliminate | a) Less than $12,000 | ||
| Greatly Decrease | b) $12,001-$40,000 | ||
| Greatly Decrease | c) $40,001-$100,000 | ||
| Greatly Decrease | d) $100,001-$180,000 | ||
| Greatly Decrease | e) $180,001-$350,000 | ||
| Slightly Decrease | f) $350,001 and above | ||
| g) Other or expanded categories | |||
| Maintain Status | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Greatly Decrease | b) Capital gains taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | c) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | d) Corporate taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | e) Gasoline taxes | ||
| Greatly Decrease | f) Inheritance taxes | ||
| g) Other or expanded categories | |||
| Maintain Status | a) Charitable contribution deduction | ||
| Maintain Status | b) Child tax credit | ||
| Slightly Decrease | c) Earned income tax credit | ||
| Greatly Increase | d) Medical expense deduction | ||
| Maintain Status | e) Mortgage deduction | ||
| Greatly Increase | f) Student loan credit | ||
| g) Other or expanded categories | |||
| Yes | 4) Do you support the permanent repeal of the federal estate tax? | ||
| Yes | 5) Do you support requiring the federal budget to be balanced each year? | ||
| 6) Other or expanded principles | |||
Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding campaign finance and government reform.
| X | a) Support increasing the amount individuals are permitted to contribute to federal campaigns. | ||
| b) Prohibit Political Action Committee (PAC) contributions to candidates for federal office. | |||
| c) Allow unregulated soft money campaign contributions to political parties or committees. | |||
| X | d) Remove all contribution limits on federal campaigns and parties. | ||
| e) Support prohibiting ads containing candidates' name that are paid for by third parties from airing 60 days before a primary and 30 days before a general federal election. | |||
| f) Support instant run-off voting (IRV). | |||
| X | g) Support designating Election Day as a national holiday. | ||
| X | h) Support giving the President the power of the line item veto for items concerning appropriations. | ||
| i) Support limiting the President's use of signing statements in order to prevent an alternative interpretation of the bill. | |||
| j) Support a federal shield law to protect reporter-source privilege. | |||
| From my experience in this campaign, the McCain Feingold law should be called the keep the incumbents in office law. The regulations are difficult to understand and incumbents can receive virtually unlimited funds while challengers do not have the resources to contact hundreds of thousands of people via franked campaign flyers. I do, however, believe in full disclosure of all campaign funds received. The current, system, however requires that every check is hand entered. The system must be automated. | |||
Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding crime.
| X | a) Support the use of the death penalty for federal crimes. | ||
| b) Eliminate the use of the death penalty for federal crimes. | |||
| X | c) Support programs to provide prison inmates with vocational and job-related skills and job-placement assistance when released. | ||
| X | d) Support programs to provide prison inmates with drug and alcohol addiction treatment. | ||
| e) Reduce prison sentences for those who commit non-violent crimes. | |||
| f) Support mandatory jail sentences for selling illegal drugs. | |||
| g) Support strict penalties for internet crime (e.g. hacking, identity theft, worms/viruses). | |||
| h) Require that crimes based on sexual orientation be prosecuted as federal hate crimes. | |||
| i) Other or expanded principles | |||
Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding education.
| a) Support the federal government funding universal pre-K programs. | |||
| X | b) Allow parents to use vouchers to send their children to any public school. | ||
| X | c) Allow parents to use vouchers to send their children to any private or religious school. | ||
| X | d) Allow teachers and professionals to receive federal funding to establish charter or magnet schools. | ||
| e) Increase funding for the Pell Grant program. | |||
| X | f) Decrease interest rates of Stafford Loans. | ||
| X | g) Support federal tax incentives to help families save for college. | ||
| h) Ban university financial aid officers from owning stock in or accepting gifts from student loan lenders. | |||
| i) Require universities to disclose financial relationships with lenders. | |||
| X | j) Support federal education standards and testing requirements for K-12 students (No Child Left Behind). | ||
| k) Eliminate all federal education standards and testing requirements for K-12 students (No Child Left Behind). | |||
| I am a very strong school choice advocate. | |||
Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding employment.
| a) Increase funding for national job-training programs that retrain displaced workers or teach skills needed in todays job market. | |||
| X | b) Reduce government regulation of the private sector. | ||
| X | c) Encourage employers to offer child care services, flex-time scheduling, comp-time, and unpaid leave for family emergencies. | ||
| d) Increase the federal minimum wage. | |||
| e) Support the right of workers to unionize. | |||
| f) Eliminate all federal programs designed to reduce unemployment. | |||
| g) Include sexual orientation in federal anti-discrimination laws. | |||
| h) Include gender identity in federal anti-discrimination laws. | |||
| Some of these questions can be interpreted in different ways. I basically agree with a lot of these questions, but the answer as to what I will specifically support will be determined by the details. I am against over burdensome regulation. | |||
Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding the environment and energy.
| a) Strengthen the regulation and enforcement of the Clean Water Act. | |||
| b) Strengthen the regulation and enforcement of the Clean Air Act. | |||
| X | c) Support increased development of traditional energy resources (e.g. coal, natural gas, oil). | ||
| d) Strengthen emission controls on all gasoline and diesel-powered engines, including cars, trucks, and sport utility vehicles. | |||
| e) Strengthen fuel efficiency standards on all gasoline and diesel-powered engines, including cars, trucks, and sport utility vehicles. | |||
| X | f) Support domestic oil exploration in areas that are currently restricted. | ||
| X | g) Encourage further development and use of alternative fuels. | ||
| X | h) Support the use of ethanol as an alternative fuel. | ||
| X | i) Support research and development of nuclear reactors as an alternative energy source. | ||
| j) Allow energy producers to trade pollution credits under "cap and trade" laws. | |||
| k) Support international mandatory emission targets to limit global warming. | |||
| l) Support international voluntary emission targets to limit global warming. | |||
| As stated above, I am very much against unnecessary and burdensome regulations. I support regulations when there is a need, but we must be very careful of unintended consequences. I am for a smart energy policy designed by engineers and technicians, not by lawyers, special interests, and fear mongers. | |||
Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding guns.On (c) and (d), indicate what levels (#1-6) you support for the following categories.
| X | a) Allow individuals to carry concealed guns. | ||
| b) Ban the sale, ownership or possession of handguns except by law enforcement and other government officials. | |||
| Slightly Decrease | c) Enforcement of existing restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns. | ||
| Eliminate | d) Restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns. | ||
| I am for the rights given to us in the constitution, not only the women's right to choose, but the man and women's right to purchase and carry a weapon to defend themselves, to hunt, or to collect. I think the supreme court pretty much got in right in the recent Washington case. | |||
Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding health.
| a) Implement a universal healthcare program to guarantee coverage to all Americans, regardless of income. | |||
| X | b) Expand eligibility for tax-free medical savings accounts. | ||
| X | c) Allow the importation of prescription drugs into the United States. | ||
| X | d) Support expanding prescription drug coverage under Medicare. | ||
| X | e) Offer tax credits to individuals and small businesses to offset the cost of insurance coverage. | ||
| X | f) Support expanding child healthcare programs. | ||
| X | g) Providing healthcare is not a responsibility of the federal government. | ||
| g may be inconsistent with my other answers. Providing health care is not the responsibility of the federal government, but it sure can help individual provide for their health care with some intelligent policies. | |||
Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding immigration.
| a) Decrease the number of legal immigrants allowed into the country. | |||
| X | b) Establish English as the official national language. | ||
| X | c) Support a temporary worker program. | ||
| d) Support harsher financial punishments for those who knowingly employ illegal immigrants. | |||
| e) Support amnesty for illegal immigrants already working in the United States. | |||
| f) Illegal immigrants should have to return to their countries of origin before being considered for citizenship. | |||
| g) Illegal immigrants should be given a pathway to citizenship. | |||
| h) Support merit-based visas over family-based visas. | |||
| This is a problem that has taken 50 years to create and will not be solved overnight. There are three things that must be done to work our way out of this mess. First, we must give potential immigrants accurate and timely information on their status. After this is done, we must secure the borders, and finally through attrition work down the number of illegals by deporting those who break the law and allowing those who obey the laws a path to legal status (but not a general amnesty). | |||
International AidIndicate which principles you support (if any) regarding international aid.International PolicyIndicate which principles you support (if any) regarding international policy.International TradeIndicate which principles you support (if any) regarding international trade.
| X | a) Support the United States granting aid to countries when extraordinary circumstances cause disaster and threaten civilian lives. | ||
| X | b) Support the United States granting aid to countries when it is in the security interests of the United States. | ||
| X | c) Eliminate United States aid for any nation with documented human rights abuses. | ||
| d) Aid granted by the United States should be scaled back and eventually eliminated. | |||
| e) Other or expanded principles | |||
| Yes | a) Should the United States continue to provide leadership in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process? | ||
| Yes | b) Should the United States support the creation of a Palestinian state? | ||
| Yes | c) Should the United States impose greater international sanctions on Iran if it continues to defy United Nations mandates? | ||
| Yes | d) Should the United States support the Lebanese government against insurgent forces? | ||
| Undecided | e) Should the United States maintain its troop levels in Iraq? | ||
| Undecided | f) Should the United States withdraw its troops from Iraq? | ||
| Undecided | h) Should the United States apply greater economic and diplomatic sanctions against North Korea if it fails to abide by its agreement to suspend its nuclear program? | ||
| Undecided | i) Should the United States increase financial support for Afghanistan? | ||
| Undecided | j) Should the United States increase military support for Afghanistan? | ||
| Undecided | k) Should the United States trade nuclear fuel to India for civilian purposes? | ||
| Undecided | l) Should the United States decrease financial support for Pakistan? | ||
| Undecided | m) Should the United States decrease military support for Pakistan? | ||
| Yes | n) Should the United States be involved in bringing an end to the violence in Darfur, Sudan? | ||
| Yes | o) Should the United States be involved in bringing an end to the violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo? | ||
| Undecided | p) Should the United States provide economic and military support to the Transitional Government of Somalia? | ||
| Undecided | q) Should the United States use sanctions to encourage the government of Zimbabwe to end its human rights abuses? | ||
| Undecided | r) Should the United States support the creation of an independent nation of Kosovo? | ||
| No | a) Do you support the United States imposing economic sanctions on China? | ||
| No | b) Do you support the United States imposing trade sanctions on Venezuela? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support the United States involvement in free trade agreements? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support the United States involvement in intergovernmental organizations dedicated to trade? | ||
| e) Other or expanded principles | |||
| e & f are totally determined by the status the occupation and recommendations of the military. Any legislature who has made up his or her mind before knowing the facts should not be elected. | |||
| See g above. The answer to any of these questions could change on a moments notice. Don't you think our policy toward Russia may change based on Georgia? | |||
Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding national security.
| Yes | a) Do you support using military tribunals to try suspected terrorists when ordinary civilian courts are deemed inappropriate or impractical? | ||
| Undecided | b) Should law enforcement agencies have greater discretion to monitor domestic communications, to prevent future terrorist attacks? | ||
| Yes | c) Should the United States hold foreign states accountable for terrorists who operate in their country? | ||
| Undecided | d) Should the federal government increase funding to states and cities for homeland security? | ||
| Undecided | e) Do you support pre-emptive military strikes against countries deemed to be a threat to United States national security? | ||
| Undecided | f) Do you support the creation of a federal identification card system? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support long-term use of National Guard troops to supplement the armed forces in assignments overseas? | ||
| Undecided | h) Should the United States expand its missile defense shield? | ||
| Again none of these questions are really yes or no questions and where I have answered yes indicates a stronger feeling for those issues. Specifically on f, I am philosophically opposed to a national ID system, but feel that for practical purposes, we may have to have one. | |||
Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding social issues.
| No | a) Should same-sex couples be allowed to marry? | ||
| No | b) Do you support a federal constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman? | ||
| Undecided | c) Do you support federal funding for research on existing embryonic stem cell lines? | ||
| Undecided | d) Do you support federal funding to create lines of stem cells from new embryos? | ||
| No | e) Should the federal government consider race and gender in government contracting decisions? | ||
| Undecided | f) Should the federal government continue affirmative action programs? | ||
| No | g) Should the federal government regulate internet gambling? | ||
| h) Other or expanded principles | |||
Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding Social Security.
| X | a) Allow workers to invest a portion of their payroll tax in private accounts that they manage themselves. | ||
| b) Ensure the viability of Social Security by increasing the payroll tax. | |||
| c) Decrease benefits paid to retirees. | |||
| X | d) Support proportional increases of Social Security benefits based on the cost of living index. | ||
| e) Raise the retirement age for individual eligibility to receive full Social Security benefits. | |||
| e maybe depending upon budget numbers and forecasts. | |||
Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding welfare and poverty.
| a) Require welfare recipients to spend at least 40 hours a week in a combination of work and training programs. | |||
| b) Continue to give states and local governments flexibility in and responsibility for welfare programs through federal block grants. | |||
| c) Support housing assistance for welfare recipients. | |||
| d) Abolish all federal welfare programs. | |||
| e) Other or expanded principles | |||
| 1) Reduce spending, taxes, and excessive federal regulation. (no funding required) 2) Develop a sane, reasonable energy policy written by engineers and technicians, not lawyers, special interests, and fear mongers. (no funding required) 3) Our children deserve a first rate education. Parents should choose a school based on the child's needs. A school should not be chosen based on the parent's income on address. (pilot programs might required funding, but education is currently paid for by the States and that should remain so -- funding of pilot programs would be minimal) |
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