Ralph Linden's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
Key
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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Ralph Linden has provided voters with clear stances on key issues by responding to the 2018 Political Courage Test.
Iowa State Legislative Election 2018 Political Courage Test
| Pro-life | a) Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| Yes | b) Should abortion be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support the prohibition of public funds for organizations that perform abortions? | ||
| d) Other or expanded principles: | |||
1) Budget Stabilization:Indicate which proposals you support (if any) for balancing Iowa's budget.
| No | a) Reducing state employee salaries AND/OR pensions? | ||
| Yes | b) Instituting mandatory furloughs AND/OR layoffs for state employees? | ||
| No | c) Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients? | ||
| No | d) An income tax increase on any tax bracket? | ||
| e) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support any limits on campaign contributions to state candidates? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support the use of an independent AND/OR bipartisan commission for redistricting? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support requiring a government-issued photo identification in order to vote at the polls? | ||
| Corporations are not allowed to donate. | |||
| No | a) Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| No | b) Do you support the legalization of marijuana for recreational purposes? | ||
| Yes | c) Should a minor accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police? | ||
| e) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state government spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support lowering state taxes as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support reducing state government regulations on the private sector? | ||
| No | d) Do you support expanding access to unemployment benefits? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support requiring welfare applicants to pass a drug test in order to receive benefits? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support an increase of the minimum wage of Iowa? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support offering state tax incentives to attract businesses to Iowa? | ||
| Yes | h) Do you support limiting the ability of state employees to use collective bargaining? | ||
| Increase of minimum wage has to be within reason otherwise the companies with put in computers to replace actual humans. | |||
| No | a) Do you support adopting federal education standards in Iowa? | ||
| No | b) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | ||
| No | c) Should immigrants unlawfully present in the United States who graduate from Iowa high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| No | d) Do you support increasing funding for the state education budget? | ||
| Education standards need to conform to local control. In other words get rid of Common Core in the state. The state budget needs to be examined to find out any waste. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, thermal)? | ||
| No | b) Do you support state government regulations of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support increasing state funding for clean drinking water initiatives? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support providing economic incentives to Iowa farmers who participate in the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy ("INRS")? | ||
| Renewable such as fracking and take away the need to import oil from foreign countries. | |||
| No | a) Do you generally support gun-control legislation? | ||
| Yes | b) Should background checks be required on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows? | ||
| Yes | c) Should teachers be allowed to bring guns into the classroom? | ||
| Yes | d) Should a license be required for gun ownership? | ||
| Current gun owners don't need additional regulation. No more control because it would affect our 2nd amendment. | |||
| Yes | a) Should the state government increase funding for treatment facilities to combat opioid abuse? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support Medicaid expansion through Iowa's health care programs? | ||
| No | c) Do you support requiring individuals to purchase health care insurance? | ||
| No | d) Do you support legislation that grants citizens the right to choose to die through euthanasia? | ||
| No | e) Do you support eliminating religious exemptions for vaccinations? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support increasing state funding for children's mental health services? | ||
| Opioid use is a big problem. We need to monitor physicians that give prescriptions that are unnecessary and give a different kind of prescription that would take care of the problem instead of an opioid. | |||
| No | a) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Iowa's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| No | b) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Iowa's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support greater efforts by Iowa state government in closing the pay gap between men and women? | ||
| Yes | d) Should state employees be held financially liable when sued for inappropriate behavior in the workplace? | ||
| e) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| Examine the state budget to see what really isn't needed so we could keep more money in the taxpayers pockets. School safety. Teachers and/or administrators that volunteer to train with guns to keep our children safe. Another option is to have armed security and the teachers and administrators would be given a Smart phone with a GPS so the shooter could be located immediately. Nullify the NDAA like they did in Idaho. NDAA indefinite detention without the right to an attorney passed in 2013. There would have to be cuts here and there to finance any of these if necessary. |
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