Peter Clemens' Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Peter Clemens has provided voters with clear stances on key issues by responding to the 2016 Political Courage Test.
Utah Congressional Election 2016 Political Courage Test
| Pro-choice | Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| I believe in the sanctity of life, and I believe in the need to nurture and take care of those same lives after they are born, thru programs like Head Start, pre-K kindergarten and school lunch programs. As a Physician I also believe that the relationship between a woman and her Doctor is sacred, and that the decision of whether to use contraception or not should be made in consultation with the Physician in her life, and not with a legislator. Likewise I believe decisions of whether to carry a pregnancy to term should be made via the same process. | |||
| Yes | In order to balance the budget, do you support reducing defense spending? | ||
| Yes | In order to balance the budget, do you support an income tax increase on any tax bracket? | ||
| Income tax rates are at an all-time low in this country, and I believe that all Americans see it as unfair when Warren Buffet's secy. pays a higher marginal tax rate than her billionaire boss, as does he. Americans believe in basic economic fairness, and the current system does not fall in a proportionate or fair manner on all Americans. | |||
| Yes | Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions? | ||
| Corporations are not people, and money is not speech, but money does imperil our democracy as a corrupting influence of special interest on politicians. I support a Constitutional Amendment to reverse the effects of Citizen's United and would sponsor or Co-sponsor such legislation. | |||
| No | Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| Yes | Do you support alternatives to incarceration for certain non-violent offenders such as mandatory counseling or substance abuse treatment? | ||
| No | Do you support mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent drug offenders? | ||
| I believe that a civilization or country that supports state-sponsored killing overestimates the deterrent effect of capital punishment as well as that country's ability to exercise and dispense justice. A state that deeds to itself the right to kill, makes of itself a violent and inherently unjust society. | |||
| Yes | Do you support federal spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | Do you support lowering taxes as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | Do you support providing tax incentives to businesses for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| The middle class has and always will be the economic backbone of a prosperous America. Tax policies that promote the growth of the middle class and small businesses will be a priority for a Congressman Peter Clemens. As someone who has been a small businessman all his life, I decry the Corporate welfare prevalent in entities such as banks too big to fail, and CEOs who make thousands of times the annual salary of the workers on the production floor. The straight line to reducing income inequality in our country runs directly through the middle class. | |||
| Yes | Do you generally support requiring states to adopt federal education standards? | ||
| I believe that decisions for local schools should be made locally as much as possible, but in a country competing in a global economy, there is nothing wrong with minimum standards in our schools, which will ultimately help our students in that marketplace, regardless of whether that student attends public school in Massachusetts or in Mississippi. That said, I am as concerned as any parent and American with the declining level of respect afforded to our teachers, and our seeming preoccupation with teaching to a test, rather than letting our educators educate our children. | |||
| No | Do you support building the Keystone XL pipeline? | ||
| Yes | Do you support government funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, thermal)? | ||
| Yes | Do you support increased regulations on the hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") industry? | ||
| I believe, as does the DOD, that the greatest threat to American and world population stability will come from the effects of climate change on the world's population. Therefore I support the advancement of energy forms which will not continue the indefensible release of greenhouse gases into our environment. It is ludicrous for us to continue subsidizing the oil and gas industry with tax credits and incentives, when the renewable energy sector does not enjoy those same benefits. This is " picking winners and losers " in its most extreme form, and reckless at best. | |||
| Yes | Do you believe that human activity is contributing to climate change? | ||
| Yes | Do you support the federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| The " belief " in climate change's anthropogenic cause is akin to one " believing " in gravity or in the fact that dinosaurs once roamed the earth. It is established fact, and should be accepted as such by a country that seeks to lead the world forward on a path to sustainable prosperity and stewardship for our planet. I care enough about the children and grandchildren of my constituents, to state unequivocally that time is running out for our species to make the needed course correction to keep our planet inhabitable for the world's children. | |||
| Yes | Do you generally support gun-control legislation? | ||
| I support the Second Amendment as a constitutionally guaranteed protection for all responsible gun owners in America, such as myself, and would never allow the constraint on that freedom. The discussion we should be having in a sane tone, is how do we keep guns out of the hands of those who are not responsible, and never will or can be. As a physician, I have been very concerned for years in the erosion of mental health facilities and mental health coverage for my patients, and would support legislation expanding such services, before more Americans die needlessly. | |||
| No | Do you support repealing the 2010 Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare")? | ||
| I have been a physician all of my working life, and as both a primary care doctor and a specialist I have had to watch too many times, impotently, while my uninsured patients languish with disease and injury, and tragically sometimes die from those illnesses/ injuries. I am glad for the expansion of access, and for the revoking of the pre-existing illness clause. That said, health care is still far too costly and "unaffordable" for too many. Because of my skill set, I'll be part of the ongoing process to succeed where we have not yet, in making care affordable. | |||
| No | Do you support requiring immigrants who are unlawfully present to return to their country of origin before they are eligible for citizenship? | ||
| This is an impractical and ridiculously expensive idea, which would do great damage to the US economy and to immigrant families. While I do support steps that would require from those who are in the country with undocumented status, to prove that they are willing to make some sacrifices for this country if they desire to remain as citizens, this is not one of those steps I would support or recommend. | |||
| Yes | Do you support same-sex marriage? | ||
| It is the law of the land. I support the laws of my country, and expect all other Americans to do the same. | |||
| Yes | Do you support increased American intervention in Iraq and Syria beyond air support? | ||
| Yes | Should the U.S use military force in order to prevent governments hostile to the United States from possessing a nuclear weapon? | ||
| As a veteran and as the son of a WW2 veteran and the father-in-law of an Iraqi war veteran, I take the responsibility for the utilization of American force of arms very seriously. These are two instances where we must act, or must consider acting in the future. That is not to say that this would be my first or even my preferred course of action, but we must be willing to fight in the defense of the liberty of ourselves and our allies, if we have no other recourse. | |||
| No | Do you support allowing individuals to divert a portion of their Social Security taxes into personal retirement accounts? | ||
| I support the Social Security program as it is, and believe we should allow no changes which might imperil the health of this program. Social security is a contract we have with the elderly and the retired among us, those who have raised us and provided for us the free society we now enjoy and may prosper in. And what goes around, comes around, and one day we too can be provided for when we need help. There is no private retirement program in America that has ever been conceived of which can boast this security and promise. | |||
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.
| Maintain Status | a) Agriculture | ||
| Slightly Increase | b) Arts | ||
| Slightly Decrease | c) Defense | ||
| Greatly Increase | d) Education | ||
| Slightly Increase | e) Environment | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Homeland Security | ||
| Maintain Status | g) International aid | ||
| Greatly Increase | h) Medical Research | ||
| Greatly Increase | i) Scientific Research | ||
| Slightly Increase | j) Space exploration | ||
| Maintain Status | k) United Nations | ||
| Maintain Status | l) Welfare | ||
| Maintain Status | a) Capital gains taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | b) Corporate taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | c) Small business taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | d) Excise taxes (alcohol) | ||
| Slightly Increase | e) Excise taxes (cigarettes) | ||
| Slightly Increase | f) Excise taxes (transportation fuel) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | g) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | h) Income taxes (middle-income families) | ||
| Greatly Increase | i) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| Slightly Increase | j) Inheritance taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | k) Payroll taxes | ||
| I want to expand spending in those areas of government spending which will fuel job growth for the middle class, while providing a safety net for those among us who cannot help themselves. I believe in the space program as part of our national consciousness, and want tp provide a slight expansion in spending on the arts and on our National parks, because these areas have been recently ravaged by other congresses | |||
| there is no way for us as a society to address the income inequality gap in America today, which if left unaddressed will one day lead to massive contraction of our economy and possible revolution, without increasing the tax burden in a significant way on those Americans who benefit the most from the economic benefits of this system, the super wealthy at the pinnacle of the pyramid. Warren Buffet and others like him are aware and alive to this economic reality, trickle down economics and the failed policies of the past which have grown this gap, do not. | |||
| First priority is to reduce as a percentage of our GDP, the spending on Health care. We are currently spending approx. 20% of our GDP on healthcare and have outcomes that do not place us anywhere near the top of the pile in many important measures. I support the Merckley Bill which would provide for a public option, would reduce the cost of Part D medicare spending by enabling Medicare to negotiate costs with the pharmaceutical industry, and require cost-containment in the private insurance marketplace. Then I would greatly expand infrastructure spending which would drive high paying job growth |
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