James Buckmaster's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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James Buckmaster has failed to provide voters with positions on key issues covered by the 2018 Political Courage Test, despite repeated requests from Vote Smart and voters like you.
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.
Kentucky Congressional Election 2012 Political Courage Test
| Pro-life | Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| Life begins at conception and ends at natural death. I will support pro-life legislation | |||
| Yes | Do you support United States' combat operations in Afghanistan? | ||
| No | Do you support a timetable for withdrawal from Afghanistan? | ||
Indicate which proposals you support (if any) for balancing the federal budget.In order to balance the budget,
| No | do you support reducing defense spending? | ||
| No | do you support an income tax increase on any tax bracket? | ||
| Yes | do you support reducing Medicaid spending? | ||
| No | do you support reducing Medicare spending? | ||
| Yes | Is balancing the budget a legislative priority? | ||
| Those retirees deserve our thanks and support for all they did to build this great nation. They have little means to support themselves without Medicare and Social Security. | |||
| No | Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions? | ||
| Agree with recent Supreme Court decision regarding campaign finance. Corporations and unions should be allowed free speech. | |||
| No | Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| Life is to be protected. Capital punishment is to be rare if non existent. How can a felon ask for forgiveness if he is dead? What if we convicted the wrong person? | |||
| No | Do you support federal spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | Do you support providing tax incentives to businesses for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| Yes | Do you support spending on infrastructure projects for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| No | Do you support the temporary extension of unemployment benefits? | ||
| Yes | Do you support the 2010 temporary extension of tax relief? | ||
| The only way to stimulate this economy is by placing money in the hand of the consumer not removing it with higher taxes. John F. Kennedy reduced corporate taxes in the early 1960's and the post war recession was reversed throughout the 1960's. Responsible spending for infrastructure is what we have been waiting for to no avail. Use the money the corpse of Obamacare to fund these projects. | |||
| No | Do you support requiring states to implement education reforms in order to be eligible for competitive federal grants? | ||
| Let the states make these decisions without the intrusive hand of the Federal government. We will set our own curriculum and our own standards. | |||
| No | Do you believe that human activity is contributing to climate change? | ||
| No | Do you support the federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| Bad science leads to bad policy | |||
| Yes | Do you support repealing the 2010 Affordable Care Act? | ||
| No | Should individuals be required to purchase health insurance, as mandated in the 2010 Affordable Care Act? | ||
| This Act is unconstitutional. Period. There are other ways to help these people without destroying our freedom. No mandated purchases or mandated treatment protocols. See my web page for details. | |||
| No | Do you support requiring illegal immigrants to return to their country of origin before they are eligible for citizenship? | ||
| Yes | Do you support allowing illegal immigrants, who were brought to the United States as minors, to pursue citizenship without returning to their country of origin? | ||
| Yes | Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration law by state and local police? | ||
| This must be done on a case review basis. Humanely. An illegal immigrant who has been here 20 years and raised a family is different from say one who has been here less than 5 years and has a family. Just giving birth here does not qualify for citizenship, especially if your parents are here illegally.We have the right to defend our sovereignty as a nation. | |||
| Yes | Do you support targeting suspected terrorists outside of official theaters of conflict? | ||
| Yes | Should the U.S use military force in order to prevent Iran from possessing a nuclear weapon? | ||
| No | Do you support allowing individuals to divert a portion of their Social Security taxes into personal retirement accounts? | ||
| Cannot do this without weakening the base of Social Security. If this were done it would have to be very gradual so those who are dependent on social security would not suffer and any cuts in government entitlement programs need to go to this fund and strengthen it for the future. For example 10 of the SS tax could be diverted for those 55 and above and a large percentage from the younger contributors. This is not a entitlement program, Social Security is a contract between the US Government and those who worked to contribute to the fund. | |||
SpendingIndicate what federal spending levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one number per category; you can use a number more than once.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.
| Slightly Decrease | a) Agriculture | ||
| Greatly Decrease | b) Arts | ||
| Slightly Increase | c) Defense | ||
| Greatly Decrease | d) Education | ||
| Greatly Decrease | e) Environment | ||
| Slightly Decrease | f) Homeland Security | ||
| Greatly Decrease | g) International aid | ||
| Slightly Decrease | h) Medical Research | ||
| Slightly Decrease | i) Scientific Research | ||
| Greatly Increase | j) Space exploration | ||
| Greatly Decrease | k) United Nations | ||
| Greatly Decrease | l) Welfare | ||
| Maintain Status | a) Capital gains taxes | ||
| Greatly Decrease | b) Corporate taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | c) Excise taxes (alcohol) | ||
| Maintain Status | d) Excise taxes (cigarettes) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | e) Excise taxes (transportation fuel) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | f) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Greatly Decrease | g) Income taxes (middle-income families) | ||
| Greatly Decrease | h) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| Eliminate | i) Inheritance taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | j) Payroll taxes | ||
| Constitutionally we are to support the Arts. I think with a closer review of what we are supporting there can be a reduction, significant reduction in wasteful spending but as a nation we are obligated to preserve and support music and visual arts. | |||
| Off set these tax reductions with spending cuts. Real cuts, not Boehner cuts. Get money back in the hands of individuals and out of the government's hands. Let the consumer loose and the economy will surge. | |||
| Jobs Government can only do limited things to stimulate the economy. Infrastructure yes, but lets see the results. If we want to stimulate the economy then cut taxes and cut expenses. Energy Energy independence is a matter of national security. It will also bring the middle east stability if they do not see oil as a bargaining tool for Western aid. Encourage use of other resources like Kentucky coal. Debt If we are going to cut taxes then we have to cut expenditures. Pay down the debt and remove our subservience to other countries especially those that are our adversaries. |
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