Stephen Manderfeld's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Minnesota 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? | ||
| Parents should have the right to exclude their children from sex education classes that go against the parents' own beliefs. If this "opt out" option is not allowed I would only support abstinence-only sexual education programs. | |||
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 Minnesota's budget.
| Maintain Status | a) Education (higher) | ||
| Maintain Status | b) Education (K-12) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | c) Environment | ||
| d) Health care | |||
| Maintain Status | e) Law enforcement | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Transportation and highway infrastructure | ||
| Greatly Decrease | g) Welfare | ||
| Maintain Status | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | b) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | c) Corporate taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | d) Gasoline taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | 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) | ||
| Yes | a) Tapping into Minnesota's "rainy day" fund | ||
| No | b) Issuing the early release of certain non-violent offenders | ||
| No | c) Increasing tuition rates at public universities | ||
| Yes | d) Instituting mandatory furloughs and layoffs for state employees | ||
| No | e) Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients | ||
| Yes | f) Privatizing certain government services | ||
| I left health care blank because we need to fundamentally reform it in order to decrease costs. If we fail to do this, health care inflation will greatly increase and it will force us to either raise taxes on everyone or it will force reductions in all other spending areas. | |||
| We have to give incentives to businesses to start hiring. Leaving more money in their pockets is the best way to do this. | |||
| Government has grown beyond our ability to pay for it. Once again, if we do not get health care inflation under control, it will force us to massively raise taxes on everyone or it will force cuts in all other areas. I will focus my efforts on reforming health care in an attempt to lower costs. | |||
d) Do you support limits on the following types of contributions to candidates for state government?
| No | a) Do you support a state constitutional amendment mandating a retention election system for all judges? | ||
| No | b) Do you support limits on the number of terms for Minnesota governors? | ||
| No | c) Do you support limits on the number of terms for Minnesota state legislators? | ||
| Yes | 1) Individual | ||
| Yes | 2) Political Action Committee | ||
| Yes | 3) Corporate | ||
| Yes | 4) Political Party | ||
| Yes | e) Should candidates for state office be encouraged to meet voluntary spending limits? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support requiring full and timely disclosure of campaign finance information? | ||
| g) Other or expanded principles | |||
| No | 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? | ||
| 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? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| No | g) Should all funds raised from the sale of seized property be turned over to the state general fund? | ||
| I support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police when a suspect is charged with a crime. We do not need new immigration laws we just need the ones currently in place enforced. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support expanding gaming at race tracks? | ||
| No | c) Do you support public funding for construction of a new Vikings stadium? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support increased state funding for job-training programs that re-train displaced workers? | ||
| No | e) Do you support expanding access to unemployment benefits? | ||
| No | f) Do you support providing financial incentives to the private sector for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| No | g) Do you support increased spending on infrastructure projects for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| No | h) Do you support providing direct financial assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure? | ||
| Government should not provide direct financial assistance to businesses but instead should allow them to keep more of their own money. | |||
| No | a) Do you support national education standards? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support alternative pathways to teacher licensure? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support requiring public schools to administer high school exit exams? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support using a merit pay system for teachers? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support the state government providing college students with financial aid? | ||
| No | g) Should illegal immigrants who graduate from Minnesota high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| It is time that we had education reform and that will not happen when our legislators are endoresed and protected by the teacher's union. | |||
| 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)? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support lifting the state moratorium on the construction of new nuclear power plants? | ||
| No | d) Do you support providing financial incentives to farms that produce biofuel crops? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support state funding for improvements to Minnesota's energy infrastructure? | ||
| No | f) Do you support state funding for open space preservation? | ||
| Yes | g) Should mining companies be required to provide financial assurance to cover the estimated cost of environmental impact before starting operations? | ||
| No | h) Do you support enacting environmental regulations aimed at reducing the effects of climate change? | ||
| i) Other or expanded principles | |||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| The only restrictions I support are common sense ones where convicted criminals are barred from purchasing guns. This can be accomplished with an instant background check. | |||
| No | a) Do you support a universally-accessible, publicly-administered health insurance option? | ||
| 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 Minnesota? | ||
| No | g) Do you support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes? | ||
| The only way we will expand access to health care is by controlling the costs. This will not be accomplished by the federal health care reform just passed. Health care inflation continues to rocket upwards and must be brought under control. One of my goals will be to bring price transparency to the health care industry. | |||
| Yes | a) Should marriage only be between one man and one woman? | ||
| b) Should Minnesota 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? | ||
| f) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Minnesota's anti-discrimination laws? | |||
| g) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Minnesota's anti-discrimination laws? | |||
| While I believe that marriage should only be between one man and one woman, I also believe that members of the GLBT community deserve to be treated with respect and should be free from discrimination. I reject the idea that the courts should solve these cultural issues. Only through the democratic process should these issues be decided. | |||
| My top 3 priorities will be as follows: 1. Solve our budget crisis without raising taxes. 2. Enact health care reform that tackles health care inflation that is threatening our economy. I will emphasize price transparency and HSA and FSA accounts for more of citizens. I will work to reject the federal health care bill that places a one size fits all solution on the states. 3. I will work for education reform that enhances parents' choices when educating their children. I will take on the special interests that block those reforms. |
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