Chuck Sutphen's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Chuck Sutphen has refused to provide voters with positions on key issues covered by the 2014 Political Courage Test, despite repeated requests.
This candidate has responded to a Political Courage Test in a previous election. As a continued effort to provide the American public with factual information on candidates running for public office, these archived responses are made available here.
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? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| e) Since medical science has reached the point it has, danger to the life of the mother would be extremely rare, and the consent of the father of the baby should be obtained before any such procedure. | |||
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) | ||
| Maintain Status | c) Environment | ||
| Maintain Status | d) Health care | ||
| Greatly Increase | e) Law enforcement | ||
| Slightly Increase | f) Transportation and highway infrastructure | ||
| Slightly Decrease | g) Welfare | ||
| Slightly Decrease | h) Other or expanded categories | ||
| Slightly Increase | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | b) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | c) Corporate taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | d) Gasoline taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | e) Property taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | f) Sales taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | g) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | h) Income taxes (middle-income families) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | i) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| Greatly Decrease | j) Other or expanded categories | ||
| No | 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 | ||
| f) gasoline tax monies should be put into the roads and highways, not mass transit for the inner cities. | |||
| d) As stated above, motor fuel taxes should be used exclusively for maintenance and expansion of roads and bridges e) Property taxes should be eliminated for Seniors over 65 who own their homes. | |||
| b) Non-violent offenders may be released into "halfway houses" if they meet requirements for release. This way they may be taught trades so they can stay productive when released. d) State employees should be treated no differently than private-sector employees. | |||
d) Do you support limits on the following types of contributions to candidates for state government?
| Yes | a) Do you support a state constitutional amendment mandating a retention election system for all judges? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support limits on the number of terms for Minnesota governors? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support limits on the number of terms for Minnesota state legislators? | ||
| No | 1) Individual | ||
| Yes | 2) Political Action Committee | ||
| Yes | 3) Corporate | ||
| No | 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 | |||
| 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? | ||
| 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? | ||
| 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? | ||
| No | g) Should all funds raised from the sale of seized property be turned over to the state general fund? | ||
| g) Seized property proceeds should go to law enforcement for the purchase and maintenance of equipment and training of officers. | |||
| 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? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support providing financial incentives to the private sector for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| f) Reducing government regulations will allow for private sector job creation. g) I will support this type of expenditure only if it helps create permanent jobs, not like "census-taker" temporary jobs which do nothing to help the economy. | |||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| No | e) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| g) Illegal immigrants are breaking the law, and should be prosecuted, not allowed to tap our system for their benefit. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state funding for the development of alternative energy? | ||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| h) The climate will change no matter what we do, or don't do. The climate changed before we were here, and continues to change while we are here. | |||
| No | 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? | ||
| d) We should not need a license to exercise our Constitutional Rights under the 2nd Amendment. Also consider the 10th Amendment. | |||
| No | a) Do you support a universally-accessible, publicly-administered health insurance option? | ||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes? | ||
| h) Other or expanded principles | |||
| Yes | a) Should marriage only be between one man and one woman? | ||
| No | b) Should Minnesota allow same-sex couples to form civil unions? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support state funding for stem cell research? | ||
| No | d) Do you support state funding for embryonic stem cell research? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support the state's use of affirmative action? | ||
| No | 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? | |||
| e) Only if Affirmative Action works both ways... f) I get no special consideration because of my sexual orientation, why should anyone else? What folks do at home is their own business, but I don't need to be discriminated against, nor does anyone need to be discriminated in favor of, just because they choose a different sexual life-style than I do. We should all be treated the same under the Constitution. | |||
| If elected I hope to help reduce the size of state government, lower taxes on businesses to bring jobs back to Minnesota, and reduce individual taxes so people have money to spend, thus creating the need for more products, which will create the need for more workers, which will create more taxpayers, which will benefit all Minnesotans. You cannot spend yourself or your state into prosperity. You can only create more people needing government assistance, which does nothing for anyone but the government. The government is supposed to be working for We The People, not the other way around. |
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