Terrence O'Connor'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.
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Terrence O'Connor refused to tell citizens where he stands on any of the issues addressed in the 2012 Political Courage Test, despite repeated requests from Vote Smart, national media, and prominent political leaders.
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.
Pennsylvania State Legislative Election 2010 Political Courage Test
| Pro-life | a) Do you consider yourself pro-choice or pro-life? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| No | g) Do you support sexual education programs that include information on abstinence, contraceptives, and HIV/STD prevention methods? | ||
| No | h) Do you support abstinence-only sexual education programs? | ||
| c) IF PROVEN d) IF PROVEN Sex education should be done by parents, not in school because its a subject that's impossible to teach without conveying moral judgments. | |||
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 Pennsylvania's budget.
| Slightly Decrease | a) Education (higher) | ||
| Maintain Status | b) Education (K-12) | ||
| Maintain Status | c) Environment | ||
| Slightly Decrease | d) Health care | ||
| Maintain Status | e) Law enforcement | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Transportation and highway infrastructure | ||
| Greatly Decrease | g) Welfare | ||
| Greatly Decrease | h) Other or expanded categories | ||
| Maintain Status | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Greatly Decrease | b) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | c) Corporate taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | d) Gasoline taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | 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) | ||
| j) Other or expanded categories | |||
| No | a) Tapping into Pennsylvania's "rainy day" fund | ||
| No | b) Issuing the early release of certain non-violent offenders | ||
| Yes | c) Increasing tuition rates at public universities | ||
| Yes | d) Instituting mandatory furloughs and layoffs for state employees | ||
| Yes | e) Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients | ||
| Yes | f) Privatizing certain government services | ||
| Decrease state bureaucracy by layoffs & hiring freeze that is enforced. | |||
| State bureaucracy is too big. GOV'T needs to do more with less, like private sector. | |||
d) Do you support limits on the following types of contributions to candidates for state government?
| Yes | a) Do you support limits on the number of terms for Pennsylvania governors? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support limits on the number of terms for Pennsylvania state legislators? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support reducing the size of the General Assembly? | ||
| No | 1) Individual | ||
| No | 2) Political Action Committee | ||
| No | 3) Corporate | ||
| No | 4) Political Party | ||
| No | e) Should candidates for state office be encouraged to meet voluntary spending limits? | ||
| No | f) Do you support requiring full and timely disclosure of campaign finance information? | ||
| We should reinstate a thing called free speech. That works better than gov't regulation. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| No | b) Do you support alternatives to incarceration for certain non-violent offenders, such as mandatory counseling or substance abuse treatment? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| Yes | e) Should a minor who sends sexually-explicit or nude photos by cell phone face criminal charges? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police? | ||
| Convicted drug Buyers should have a choice between prison or be drafted into the National Guard & sent overseas to help our military efforts. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector? | ||
| No | b) Do you support increased state funding for job-training programs that re-train displaced workers? | ||
| No | c) Do you support expanding access to unemployment benefits? | ||
| No | d) Do you support providing financial incentives to the private sector for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| No | e) Do you support increased spending on infrastructure projects for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| No | f) Do you support providing direct financial assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure? | ||
| No | g) Do you support the taxation of cigars and smokeless tobacco? | ||
| I have signed the "NO NEW tax pledge" and I believe in it. We are grossly overtaxed. Government interference is killing industry & the private sector. | |||
| 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? | ||
| No | e) Do you support the state government providing college students with financial aid? | ||
| No | f) Should illegal immigrants who graduate from Pennsylvania high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| e) I supported state tuition help for college in the past. But now the state is insolvent. Therefore it has to be eliminated. NO NEW TAXES. f) They should be deported. | |||
| 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? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support state funding for improvements to Pennsylvania's energy infrastructure? | ||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| Develop coal, gas, oil & nuclear power through the private sector. License the private sector to develop coal marcellus gas, oil & most of all-NUCLEAR Power. Then start running cars on compressed natural gas from PA! | |||
| 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? | ||
| Repeal state sales tax on guns & ammo, which in my opinion is unconstitutional. Gov't should not be allowed to tax the excersize of Constitutional rights. | |||
| 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? | ||
| Yes | 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 Pennsylvania? | ||
| No | g) Do you support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes? | ||
| Obamacare is unconstitutional & our State Legislature needs to openly reject it by legislation called the PA Freedom of Healthcare act. House Bill 2053 of 2009. | |||
| Yes | a) Should marriage only be between one man and one woman? | ||
| No | b) Should Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| No | g) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Pennsylvania's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| e) No. Unconstitutional Affirmative action is a blatant violation of the 14th amendment to the Constitution, effectively making white people 2nd class citizens. It's outrageous. | |||
| It's time for the state legislatures across this country to stand up under the 10th amendment, as equal cosoverigns & insist that the Federal gov't get back within its enumerated powers under the constitution. It's time to stand up for individual liberty & states' rights & stop the state Dems' outrageous gasoline tax increase. NO NEW TAXES! Cut the size of state govt with thousands of layoffs of BEUROCRATS ONLY. |
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