Michael Shepard's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Texas Congressional Election 2010 Political Courage Test
| Pro-choice | a) Do you consider yourself pro-choice or pro-life? | ||
| Yes | 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) Should federal subsidies be prohibited from being used for abortion procedures? | ||
| I am pro-choice because I believe in the limitations of the federal government. If the feds can declare abortion as murder, then they can also determine that a miscarriage should be investigated for involuntary manslaughter. This is too much reach for the federal government. Personal values are taught through family, church, and friends - not by federal law. I am personally, morally against abortion and would not participate in it in any way - this is the values my parents taught me. However, I am morally against a government that over reaches more so. | |||
1) SpendingIndicate what federal funding levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one number per category- you can use a number more than once.2) 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 Decrease | b) Arts | ||
| Maintain Status | c) Defense | ||
| Slightly Increase | 1) Intelligence operations | ||
| Slightly Increase | 2) Military hardware | ||
| Slightly Decrease | 3) National missile defense | ||
| Slightly Increase | 4) Salary and benefits for active duty personnel | ||
| Greatly Increase | 5) Programs to improve troop retention rates | ||
| Maintain Status | 6) Research and development of new weapons | ||
| Slightly Increase | d) Education | ||
| Slightly Increase | e) Environment | ||
| Slightly Decrease | f) Homeland security | ||
| Greatly Decrease | g) International aid | ||
| Maintain Status | h) Medical research | ||
| Slightly Increase | i) Scientific research | ||
| Slightly Decrease | j) Space exploration | ||
| Slightly Decrease | k) United Nations | ||
| Slightly Decrease | l) Welfare | ||
| m) Other or expanded categories | |||
| Slightly Increase | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | b) Capital gains taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | c) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Eliminate | d) Corporate taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | e) Gasoline taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | f) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | g) Income taxes (middle-income families) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | h) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| Greatly Increase | i) Other or expanded categories | ||
| Yes | 3) Do you support the elimination of the federal estate tax? | ||
| No | 4) Do you support requiring the federal budget to be balanced each year? | ||
| Yes | 5) Do you support using government funds in an effort to stimulate and improve the economy? | ||
| Most taxes are passed on to the consumer. Corporate taxes are a great example of this. I believe a solution to replace all current taxes and eliminate the IRS would be a Value Added Tax. It is equal and fair. The more purchases, the more taxes. The less purchases, the less taxation. Elimination of the IRS is important. The IRS is an arm of government that can be life-altering and intrusive. Tax collection would be a duty of State Comptrollers. | |||
| #4 - I don't support this in the case of military or emergency needs. #6 - I support this because it has historically been successful. However, the current stimulus funds have too many fingerprints of lobbyists on it and is not being utilized in the best manner | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support privatizing elements of Social Security? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector? | ||
| No | c) Do you support increasing the federal minimum wage? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support the ability of workers to unionize? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support federal funding for job-training programs that retrain displaced workers? | ||
| f) Other or expanded principles | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support increasing the amount individuals are permitted to contribute to federal campaigns? | ||
| Yes | b) Should Congress regulate indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions? | ||
| No | c) Do you support removing all contribution limits on federal campaigns? | ||
| No | d) Should candidates for federal office be encouraged to meet voluntary spending limits? | ||
| No | e) Do you support giving the President the power of the line item veto for items concerning appropriations? | ||
| No | f) Do you support limiting the President's ability to define how legislation is applied through the use of signing statements? | ||
| g) Other or expanded principles | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support programs that provide prison inmates with vocational and job-related training and job-placement assistance when released? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support programs that provide prison inmates with substance abuse treatment? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support reduced prison sentences for non-violent offenders? | ||
| No | e) Do you support mandatory prison sentences for selling illegal drugs? | ||
| f) Other or expanded principles | |||
| No | a) Do you support federal education standards and testing requirements for K-12 students? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support federal funding for universal pre-K programs? | ||
| No | c) Do you support federal funding for charter schools? | ||
| No | d) Do you support federal funding for K-12 school vouchers? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support the federal government providing college students with financial aid? | ||
| f) Other or expanded principles | |||
| No | a) Do you support enacting environmental regulations aimed at reducing the effects of climate change? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support international emissions targets aimed at reducing the effects of climate change? | ||
| No | c) Do you support allowing energy producers to trade carbon credits under a "cap and trade" system? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support strengthening fuel efficiency standards on all gasoline and diesel-powered engines, including cars, trucks, and sport utility vehicles? | ||
| No | e) Do you support domestic oil exploration in federally-protected areas? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support federal funding for the development of alternative energy? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support the development of nuclear reactors? | ||
| h) Other or expanded principles | |||
| No | a) Do you support restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you believe that the Second Amendment guarantees the right of individual citizens to own guns? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support allowing individuals to carry concealed guns? | ||
| No | d) Do you support a ban on assault rifles? | ||
| e) Other or expanded principles | |||
| No | a) Do you support a publicly-administered health insurance option? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support expanding access to health care through commercial health insurance reform? | ||
| Yes | c) Should the federal government expand eligibility for tax-free medical savings accounts? | ||
| No | d) Do you support monetary limits on damages that can be collected in malpractice lawsuits? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support relaxing regulations on the importation of prescription drugs? | ||
| f) Other or expanded principles | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants? | ||
| No | b) Do you support decreasing the number of legal immigrants allowed into the country? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support establishing English as the official national language? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police? | ||
| e) Other or expanded principles | |||
| No | a) Do you support United States military action in Afghanistan? | ||
| No | b) Do you support increasing military assistance for Afghanistan? | ||
| No | c) Do you support increasing economic development assistance for Afghanistan? | ||
| Yes | d) Should the United States continue to strike suspected terrorist targets in Pakistan? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support granting aid to countries when it is in the security interests of the United States? | ||
| No | f) Should the United States support the creation of a Palestinian state? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support increasing sanctions on Iran if it continues to defy United Nations mandates? | ||
| Yes | h) Do you support the withdrawal of United States troops from Iraq? | ||
| Yes | i) Do you support the United States' involvement in free trade agreements? | ||
| I believe that #F should be decided by the region they are located and determined as valid or invalid by the UN. | |||
| Yes | a) Should marriage only be between one man and one woman? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support allowing openly-gay men and women to serve in the United States military? | ||
| No | c) Do you support federal funding for embryonic stem cell research? | ||
| No | d) Should the federal government end affirmative action programs? | ||
| e) Other or expanded principles | |||
| Term Limits For Congress - No less than 6 years, no more than 12 for any single office. Measurements - Every bill should be assigned objectives the bill is aimed to achieve in order to determine the success of the proposed policy. No special privileges for those serving in Congress or Lobbyists. Whatever laws are apply to citizens are equally applied to those in goverment or those who lobby goverment. Anonymous Bill Submission - The author of a bill is not revealed until after it is accepted or rejected in hopes to keep congressional votes objective. |
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