Bob Stephens' Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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California 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? | ||
| 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) Other or expanded principles | |||
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 California's budget.
| Slightly Increase | a) Education (higher) | ||
| Slightly Increase | b) Education (K-12) | ||
| Slightly Increase | c) Environment | ||
| Maintain Status | d) Health care | ||
| Slightly Increase | e) Law enforcement | ||
| Slightly Increase | f) Transportation and highway infrastructure | ||
| Maintain Status | g) Welfare | ||
| h) Other or expanded categories | |||
| Slightly Increase | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | 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) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | h) Income taxes (middle-income families) | ||
| Slightly Increase | i) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| Greatly Decrease | j) Other or expanded categories | ||
| No | a) Tapping into California's "rainy day" fund | ||
| Yes | b) Issuing the early release of certain non-violent offenders | ||
| Yes | c) Instituting mandatory furloughs and layoffs for state employees | ||
| No | d) Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients | ||
| Yes | e) Privatizing certain government services | ||
| Cut business taxes to encourage growth & hiring | |||
| f) change the pension system to decrease costs. Decrease size of government with hiring freeze - Eliminate "Sacred Cow" programs | |||
e) Do you support limits on the following types of contributions to candidates for state government?
| No | a) Should California hold a constitutional convention to rewrite the state constitution? | ||
| No | b) Do you support changing the requirement for state budget passage from a two-thirds vote to a majority vote? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support limits on the number of terms for California governors? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support limits on the number of terms for California state legislators? | ||
| Yes | 1) Individual | ||
| Yes | 2) Political Action Committee | ||
| Yes | 3) Corporate | ||
| Yes | 4) Political Party | ||
| Yes | f) Should candidates for state office be encouraged to meet voluntary spending limits? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support requiring full and timely disclosure of campaign finance information? | ||
| Special interest groups have found ways to spend huge amounts of money to "buy elections" This must be stopped | |||
| 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? | ||
| 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? | ||
| The Federal Government has failed in it's duty to protect the borders of the United States - California must protect itself. | |||
| 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? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support providing financial incentives to the private sector for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| Yes | 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 suspending the sale of bonds that would finance the California high-speed rail? | ||
| Businesses are leaving the state every day due to smothering regulations and high business taxes. California must become business friendly once again to build business confidence & begin hiring. | |||
| Yes | 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 California high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| g) Other or expanded principles | |||
| 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 California's energy infrastructure? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support state funding for open space preservation? | ||
| f) Do you support enacting environmental regulations aimed at reducing the effects of climate change? | |||
| f) too broad a statement There must be a balance between protecting the environment and sustaining a vigorous economy. It doesn't help to have the strongest environmental laws and have 20% unemployment | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns? | ||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support requiring a license for gun possession? | ||
| Citizens should continue to have the right to protect themselves, their families and their property. This does not extend to large & dangerous weapons such as an AK 47. The safety of the community must be protected. | |||
| No | a) Do you support the establishment of a single-payer, publicly-administered health care system for California? | ||
| No | b) Do you support a universally-accessible, publicly-administered health insurance option? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support expanding access to health care through commercial health insurance reform? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support interstate health insurance compacts? | ||
| No | e) Should individuals be required to purchase health care insurance? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support monetary limits on damages that can be collected in malpractice lawsuits? | ||
| No | g) Do you support legalizing physician-assisted suicide in California? | ||
| Yes | h) Do you support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes? | ||
| There is already a bill on the books regarding prescription of marijuana. | |||
| Yes | a) Should marriage only be between one man and one woman? | ||
| Yes | b) Should California allow same-sex couples to form domestic partnerships? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support state funding for stem cell research? | ||
| Yes | 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 California's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| No | g) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in California's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| h) Other or expanded principles | |||
| The California legislature is broken. The incumbents are watching the destruction. I will move to lower business taxes and reduce smothering regulations. Businesses are leaving California every day. Overregulation at all levels and high taxes are crippling them. Confident businesses will invest and employ. The state pension system is a disaster. It must be changed to a sustainable defined contribution plan. This is my top priority. Education must reward excellence for successful teaching. Educational bureaucracy gets in the way. Get the dollars down into the classroom. Put a freeze on bloated government hiring. It will save millions. |
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