Edward Gonzalez's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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California Congressional Election 2010 Political Courage Test
| Pro-choice | 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) Should federal subsidies be prohibited from being used for abortion procedures? | ||
| Abortion is not listed in the United States Constitution, so by definition it is a state issue. I support ending all federal subsidies that go to groups that perform abortions. | |||
1) SpendingIndicate 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.2) 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.
| Eliminate | a) Agriculture | ||
| Eliminate | b) Arts | ||
| Greatly Decrease | c) Defense | ||
| Greatly Decrease | 1) Intelligence operations | ||
| Greatly Decrease | 2) Military hardware | ||
| Greatly Decrease | 3) National missile defense | ||
| Maintain Status | 4) Salary and benefits for active duty personnel | ||
| Maintain Status | 5) Programs to improve troop retention rates | ||
| Greatly Decrease | 6) Research and development of new weapons | ||
| Eliminate | d) Education | ||
| Greatly Decrease | e) Environment | ||
| Greatly Decrease | f) Homeland security | ||
| Eliminate | g) International aid | ||
| Eliminate | h) Medical research | ||
| Eliminate | i) Scientific research | ||
| Eliminate | j) Space exploration | ||
| Greatly Decrease | k) United Nations | ||
| Eliminate | l) Welfare | ||
| Maintain Status | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Eliminate | b) Capital gains taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | c) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Eliminate | d) Corporate taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | e) Gasoline taxes | ||
| Eliminate | f) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Eliminate | g) Income taxes (middle-income families) | ||
| Eliminate | h) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| Yes | 3) Do you support the elimination of the federal estate tax? | ||
| Yes | 4) Do you support requiring the federal budget to be balanced each year? | ||
| No | 5) Do you support using government funds in an effort to stimulate and improve the economy? | ||
| Education and welfare are necessary programs in society. However, federal control of these programs has resulted in poor performance, abuse, and escalating costs. Cut all federal control and allow states total control of these programs. Other programs that are unconstitutional should gradually be unfunded and evetually eliminated. | |||
| The current tax system and the IRS are disasters. We need to completely restructure our tax system. I favor a flat, national sales tax. | |||
| Federal stimulus has gone to propping up failed businesses. Giving tax money to incompetent businessmen does nothing to help the economy. Businesses should grow or decline based on their own merit, not political connections. Government can and should stimulate the economy by cutting taxes for everyone. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support privatizing elements of Social Security? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector? | ||
| No | c) Do you support increasing the federal minimum wage? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support the ability of workers to unionize? | ||
| No | e) Do you support federal funding for job-training programs that retrain displaced workers? | ||
| Social Security as a federal program is an unsustainable ponzi scheme. The only viable solution is to give individuals control over their own funds. The money belongs to the people, therefore they should be in control of it. Minimum wage laws hurt young men and women from poor families (usually minorities) by making it difficult for them to enter the job market. We should reduce or illiminate minimum wage laws for all individuals under the age of 25, revitalizing the old practice of apprentice programs. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support increasing the amount individuals are permitted to contribute to federal campaigns? | ||
| Yes | b) Should Congress regulate indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support removing all contribution limits on federal campaigns? | ||
| No | d) Should candidates for federal office be encouraged to meet voluntary spending limits? | ||
| No | e) Do you support giving the President the power of the line item veto for items concerning appropriations? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support limiting the President's ability to define how legislation is applied through the use of signing statements? | ||
| Congress should regulate campaign contributions only to prevent foreign governments from "owning" any elected official. The Constitution gives Congress the power to appropriate funds, not the President. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| No | b) Do you support programs that provide prison inmates with vocational and job-related training and job-placement assistance when released? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support programs that provide prison inmates with substance abuse treatment? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support reduced prison sentences for non-violent offenders? | ||
| No | e) Do you support mandatory prison sentences for selling illegal drugs? | ||
| f) Other or expanded principles | |||
| No | a) Do you support federal education standards and testing requirements for K-12 students? | ||
| No | b) Do you support federal funding for universal pre-K programs? | ||
| No | c) Do you support federal funding for charter schools? | ||
| No | d) Do you support federal funding for K-12 school vouchers? | ||
| No | e) Do you support the federal government providing college students with financial aid? | ||
| I am a school principal. The Department of Education and programs like "No Child Left Behind" are total failures. The only way to improve education in the United States is return the control of education to parents and local school boards. I support abolishing the Department of Education. | |||
| No | a) Do you support enacting environmental regulations aimed at reducing the effects of climate change? | ||
| No | b) Do you support international emissions targets aimed at reducing the effects of climate change? | ||
| No | c) Do you support allowing energy producers to trade carbon credits under a "cap and trade" system? | ||
| No | d) Do you support strengthening fuel efficiency standards on all gasoline and diesel-powered engines, including cars, trucks, and sport utility vehicles? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support domestic oil exploration in federally-protected areas? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support federal funding for the development of alternative energy? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support the development of nuclear reactors? | ||
| I support enacting environmental regulations aimed at improving and maintaing the quality of air, water, and soil. The effects of pollution on human health is clear and measurable and must be protected through effective legislation based on the protection of life and property rights. | |||
| No | a) Do you support restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you believe that the Second Amendment guarantees the right of individual citizens to own guns? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support allowing individuals to carry concealed guns? | ||
| No | d) Do you support a ban on assault rifles? | ||
| The federal government has no authority to restrict the private ownership of firearms. | |||
| No | a) Do you support a publicly-administered health insurance option? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support expanding access to health care through commercial health insurance reform? | ||
| Yes | c) Should the federal government expand eligibility for tax-free medical savings accounts? | ||
| No | d) Do you support monetary limits on damages that can be collected in malpractice lawsuits? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support relaxing regulations on the importation of prescription drugs? | ||
| The best way to long term, effective healthcare reform is through the expansion of tax-free health savings accounts, allowing health insurance companies to compete across state lines, allowing individuals and families to purchase catastrophic insurance, and allowing international companies to sell prescription drugs in the United States. | |||
| No | a) Do you support a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants? | ||
| No | b) Do you support decreasing the number of legal immigrants allowed into the country? | ||
| No | c) Do you support establishing English as the official national language? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police? | ||
| The problem of illegal immigration has been inflamed by free social services and welfare programs. Illegal immigrants should have no access to tax funded services. If an individual wants to legally join our system and pay taxes, there should be a pathway. I support a system where illegal immigrants can join our economy as legal residents with a right to work. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support United States military action in Afghanistan? | ||
| No | b) Do you support increasing military assistance for Afghanistan? | ||
| No | c) Do you support increasing economic development assistance for Afghanistan? | ||
| No | d) Should the United States continue to strike suspected terrorist targets in Pakistan? | ||
| e) Do you support granting aid to countries when it is in the security interests of the United States? | |||
| f) Should the United States support the creation of a Palestinian state? | |||
| g) Do you support increasing sanctions on Iran if it continues to defy United Nations mandates? | |||
| Yes | h) Do you support the withdrawal of United States troops from Iraq? | ||
| Yes | i) Do you support the United States' involvement in free trade agreements? | ||
| I support peace and free trade with all nations that desire the same. The problems in the Middle East have been going on for thousands of years. Regardless of our good intentions, the United States government can do little more than encourge peace and act as a mediator when necessary. We should never commit ourselves militarily to one side. | |||
| No | a) Should marriage only be between one man and one woman? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support allowing openly-gay men and women to serve in the United States military? | ||
| No | c) Do you support federal funding for embryonic stem cell research? | ||
| Yes | d) Should the federal government end affirmative action programs? | ||
| Government has no business defining marriage for anyone. Marriage is between two individuals, and when they so choose, their church. Legally speaking, a civil union should be available to any and all individuals. The entire concept of "affirmative action" is racist by definition. Individuals should be hired/fired based on competence, not skin color. | |||
| 1. Reform our current tax code and the IRS. I support abolishing all income and payroll based taxes and replacing them all with a single, flat, national sales tax. 2. The Federal Reserve has printed over $1,000,000,000,000 over the past two years. This is dangerous. Congress needs to conduct a full audit of the Federal Reserve. 3. Balance our budget. |
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