Carlyann Johnson Ackermann's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Vermont State Legislative Election 2010 Political Courage Test
| Pro-choice | a) Do you consider yourself pro-choice or pro-life? | ||
| 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? | ||
| h) Do you support abstinence-only sexual education programs? | |||
| No abortion, unless medically necessary or the result of rape or incest, should be paid for by tax- payer dollars. Parents are legally and morally obligated to ensure the health and well being of their children until they reach 18 years of age, are emancipated and/or married. Therefore it is the right of a parent to know and be informed of any/all medical procedures that are required for that child. | |||
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 Vermont's budget.
| Slightly Decrease | a) Education (higher) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | b) Education (K-12) | ||
| Maintain Status | c) Environment | ||
| Maintain Status | d) Health care | ||
| Slightly Increase | e) Law enforcement | ||
| Slightly Increase | f) Transportation and highway infrastructure | ||
| Maintain Status | g) Welfare | ||
| Maintain Status | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | b) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | c) Corporate taxes | ||
| Greatly Decrease | d) Gasoline taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | e) Property taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | f) Sales taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | g) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | h) Income taxes (middle-income families) | ||
| Maintain Status | i) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| j) Other or expanded categories | |||
| No | a) Tapping into Vermont's "rainy day" fund | ||
| No | b) Issuing the early release of certain non-violent offenders | ||
| Yes | c) Increasing tuition rates at public universities | ||
| d) Instituting mandatory furloughs and layoffs for state employees | |||
| No | e) Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients | ||
| f) Privatizing certain government services | |||
| See comment in Budget Stabilization section. We can not spend what we do not have. | |||
| All government agencies and departments (including assembly and senate), should be required to go to a "Zero" based accounting system and not rely of the previous year's budget as has been the norm. Each budget item should be carefully analyzed and objective decision should be made as to whether the item is truly necessary and/or can be eliminate. Programs/departments should be analyzed/audited periodically to determine if they are working, or not. Those not working as intended should be eliminated and/or reorganized. | |||
d) Do you support limits on the following types of contributions to candidates for state government?
| Yes | a) Do you support the use of instant runoff voting for Vermont elections? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support limits on the number of terms for Vermont governors? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support limits on the number of terms for Vermont 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 | |||
| a) Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | |||
| 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? | ||
| For D and E, evidence would have to be strong and without a doubt that the act has occurred. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector? | ||
| b) Do you support increased state funding for job-training programs that re-train displaced workers? | |||
| 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? | ||
| 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? | ||
| I would support b,c, and e providing we have the money do do so. We can only spend what we have. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support national education standards? | ||
| b) Do you support consolidating Vermont's school districts? | |||
| 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? | ||
| e) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | |||
| f) Do you support the state government providing college students with financial aid? | |||
| No | g) Should illegal immigrants who graduate from Vermont high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| The decision regarding our schools should be left at the local level. It is the parents /community that knows what is best for our children and what we can and can not afford. I would support school choice, which would allow all students especially low income to have access to the best education that Vermont has to offer. School choice would also provide a competitive environment that would require low performing schools to bring up their performance. I look to the community that I represent to tell me what direction they wish to go. My job is to represent them | |||
| a) Do you support state funding for the development of alternative energy? | |||
| 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 providing financial incentives to farms that produce biofuel crops? | ||
| d) Do you support state funding for improvements to Vermont's energy infrastructure? | |||
| 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? | |||
| Our utilities are profit making organizations, it is their responsibility to provide the rate payer with sufficient and efficient energy. It is up to our representatives and the PSB to ensure that they do this in a safe and cost effective manner. | |||
| 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? | ||
| The Vermont Constitution, and the US Constitution provide the right to keep and bear arms and the US Supreme Court has up held this constitutional right. | |||
| 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? | ||
| f) Do you support legalizing physician-assisted suicide in Vermont? | |||
| Yes | g) Do you support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes? | ||
| According to the CBO, The Census Bureau and the VP Middle Class Task Force Report, approx. 51 million people require assistance in obtaining health care. There should be a program that assists those 51 Million. Those that can afford health care should be allowed to obtain in the most economical manner possible opening the ability to purchase insurance across state lines would go a long way toward reaching that goal. Decisions as to a person's care and needs should be a matter between the physician and patient. | |||
| Yes | a) Should marriage only be between one man and one woman? | ||
| b) Should Vermont continue to grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples? | |||
| c) Do you support state funding for stem cell research? | |||
| d) Do you support state funding for embryonic stem cell research? | |||
| e) Do you support the state's use of affirmative action? | |||
| f) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Vermont's anti-discrimination laws? | |||
| g) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Vermont's anti-discrimination laws? | |||
| The law has been instituted in these matters. Whether to keep or change is an issue that should be left up to the people of Vermont/voter. However, I do not believe that one's sexual orientation should have any bearing on one's right to work. | |||
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