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James Whitfield II's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)

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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.
Additional Information: Click on this icon to reveal more information about this candidate's position, from their answers or Vote Smart's research.
Other or Expanded Principles & Legislative Priorities are entered exactly as candidates submit them. Vote Smart does not edit for misspelled words, punctuation or grammar.

James Whitfield II refused to tell citizens where he stands on any of the issues addressed in the 2010 Political Courage Test, despite repeated requests from Vote Smart, national media, and prominent political leaders.

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Issue Positions

For Presidential and Congressional candidates who refuse to provide voters with their positions, Vote Smart has researched their public records to determine their likely responses. These issue positions are from 2010.

  • James Whitfiled. 2010. The Abigail Adams Project: Tennessee Candidate Questionnaire. Responded: "Pro-Life," to the question: "I consider myself:" (216.197.120.179)
  • James Whitfiled. 2010. The Abigail Adams Project: Tennessee Candidate Questionnaire. Selected SUPPORT for: "6. Requiring parental consent for abortions performed on girls under the age of 18." (216.197.120.179)
  • James Whitfiled. 2010. The Abigail Adams Project: Tennessee Candidate Questionnaire. Selected OPPOSE for: "4. Abortions funded by taxpayers;" "5. Partial birth abortions." (216.197.120.179)
  • James Whitfield. Issue Position: Sanctity of Life. "Few things are as miraculous as new life being brought into this world. Witnessing the birth of my daughter only strengthened my belief that we must protect the rights of the most defenseless members of our society. All life is a precious gift from God, whether it is an unborn child or a person in the twilight of their life. I firmly believe that life begins at conception and that we, American society, must protect life at all stages." (votesmart.org)
  • James Whitfield. Issue Position: Taxes. "I am a proponent of the Fair Tax. This is a common sense way to overhaul the current tax code. The Fair Tax replaces all federal income taxes, which essentially eliminates the need for the IRS, with a national retail sales tax. This solution is simple, fair, and completely voluntary. What's better, this allows American's, not the government, to control their own earnings. Aside from this broad tax reform, we need to continue tax breaks for low and middle-income Americans, make tax cuts on capital gains and dividends permanent, eliminate the "Death Tax", make permanent all the research and development tax credits for businesses making those investments, and we ought to lower the corporate tax rate from 35% to 25%." (votesmart.org)
  • James Whitfiled. 2010. The Abigail Adams Project: Tennessee Candidate Questionnaire. Selected OPPOSE for: "3. Passing the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) or the stimulus bill." (216.197.120.179)
  • James Whitfield. Free Market Capitalism. 27 February 2010. "It is time for us to take America back. Let's audit market regulations and eliminate those that prevent free market growth. Let's take a closer look at the Federal Reserve Bank and its control of our monetary system. Let's get back to an America that promotes growth and the betterment of self. Let's take our America back!" (www.votewhitfield.com)
  • James Whitfield. Issue Position: Economy. "The Federal government cannot intervene in the free-market without fault, as we have seen repeatedly over the years and most recently in the banking industry. The Congress created this trouble through greed and corruption and in that same spirit they attempted to correct it thus making the problems escalate. I believe in free-market capitalism. Small businesses are the backbone of the American economy. Increasing taxes on business has only proven to have a negative impact on economic growth and job creation. I believe that surest path to American economic growth is through small, limited government that controls spending, promotes growth, and does not overburden its citizens with taxes. When I get to Washington passing bills that are beneficial to the growth of small business here in Middle Tennessee will be a focus and priority." (votesmart.org)
  • Despite exhaustive research, Vote Smart was unable to find information about this candidate's position.
  • Despite exhaustive research, Vote Smart was unable to find information about this candidate's position.
  • James Whitfield. Education. 10 February 2010. "The education system in America today is one that should be controlled completely at the state and local level. Since its inception in 1979, America has been promised by its leaders that the Department of Education will be abolished, that promise has yet to come true. In a time when our federal government is running at a $1.5 trillion deficit the time for cutting back unconstitutional departments should be now. Maybe the $50 billion 2010 ED budget request should be canceled and that money sent to the states to allow them to address education the way they see fit." (www.votewhitfield.com)
  • James Whitfiled. 2010. The Abigail Adams Project: Tennessee Candidate Questionnaire. Selected OPPOSE for: "11. Imposing federal government regulations and restrictions upon states and American citizens in an effort to protect the environment." (216.197.120.179)
  • James Whitfield. Issue Position: Energy. "America has been blessed with an abundance of energy sources. Unfortunately we have allowed special interest groups to prevent us from utilizing these resources. This has resulted in America pouring billions of dollars into the pockets of countries who are not our friends in order to satisfy our seemingly bottomless need for oil. America needs to cut off the flow of dollars into these countries by utilizing our own energy sources. Oil and natural gas reserves in ANWR and the outer continental shelf are sufficient to provide fuel for generations, if used at current levels. The following steps should be done simultaneously: Take advantage of all local energy resources (oil, natural gas, wind, etc). Increase investment into alternative fuel sources. Increase tax breaks for companies involved in research and development. Begin building new nuclear power plants." (votesmart.org)
  • Gun Owners of America. 2010. Project Vote Smart: Interest Group Ratings. In 2010 Gun Owners of America gave James Whitfield a grade of A. (www.goapvf.org)
  • James Whitfiled. 2010. The Abigail Adams Project: Tennessee Candidate Questionnaire. Selected OPPOSE for: "7. Imposing government restrictions on an individual's right to keep and bear arms." (216.197.120.179)
  • James Whitfield. Issue Position: 2nd Amendment. "The U.S. Constitution guarantees the right to bear arms and clearly prohibits the federal government from infringing upon the rights of law abiding citizens to protect themselves. Washington politicians and special interest groups seem to throw that part of the constitution away and continually attempt to take this right from us. From Chicago to DC it is obvious that gun bans do not lower or prevent gun violence. I am a strong supporter of the Second Amendment and will fight any effort to compromise the rights it guarantees." (votesmart.org)
  • James Whitfield. A Health Care Option Not Discussed. 17 April 2010. "The trouble that Americans are experiencing with health care today is the result of a changing country and market demographics. The troubles are being increased and felt by more because the government years ago attempted to "fix" a problem by meddling with the free market capitalism of the health care market so as to benefit large business and the employees of those businesses. This "fix" has resulted in the eventual harm to small businesses and the self-employed. This is one of the unintended troubles caused when government tries to "help" resolve a market problem instead of allowing the market to resolve it. If the federal government is so concerned with providing equality to everyone, this is one situation where equal opportunity is not but should be allowed. America, we need to open our eyes and realize that the government we have put in place is not after the best interest of The People, but after its interest in staying in power by controlling the lives of the majority. This is obvious in many aspects of our lives so if you truly desire to live a life that is free, the kind of life that was envisioned by our founders, it is up to you. Let us join together and take OUR America back." (www.votewhitfield.com)
  • James Whitfiled. 2010. The Abigail Adams Project: Tennessee Candidate Questionnaire. Selected OPPOSE for: "1. Taxpayer-funded health care that is mandated and run by the government." (216.197.120.179)
  • James Whitfield. Issue Position: Health Care. "As we have seen here in Tennessee, government run healthcare is not patient friendly or physician friendly. The problem with health care in America is not that we are lacking a government run program but that we have too much government intervention in health care. I believe the first steps are to allow health care companies to be able to provide coverage across state lines which will allow them to expand their available markets. In addition there must be tort reform and measures put in place to prevent frivolous lawsuits. I also believe that health coverage should be decoupled from employment allowing for all individuals, regardless of their employer, to purchase their own health coverage using pre-tax dollars. Decoupling insurance from employment has many benefits. This will allow employers to offer employees immediate pay increases. The health insurance market would immediately grow exponentially causing plan rates to decrease. Allow all citizens to purchase their health plan with pre-tax dollars as well as open health savings accounts to be used to help cover all health related costs. Since Jan06 more than $400 Billion in social services has been spent on illegal immigrants. Much of that is health care related. Immediately stop all social services provided to Illegal immigrants. Giving Americans control of their own health care is the only truly American way to solve this problem." (votesmart.org)
  • James Whitfield. Aliens and Immigration: A Common Sense Fix. 28 April 2010. "To address illegal aliens currently present in the US, state and local law enforcement must have authority to identify, arrest, and deport illegal aliens. Taxpayer funded social services provided to illegal aliens must be halted. Those employing illegal aliens must be held accountable for breaking the law, as well. If the alien's funding and income are cut off then they will be forced to relocate. Some will be tempted to label such an approach as cruel. However, it is completely consistent with the immigration policies of other countries. Try sneaking into Canada, Great Britain, France or even Mexico itself and living off of their social system. You will find that America's policy is quite lenient compared to other nations and has been for years." (www.votewhitfield.com)
  • James Whitfield. Issue Position: National Security. "Every state in America today is a virtual border state therefore every state needs to be given the power to identify, arrest and deport illegal persons. The southern border of the United States is continuously porous and allows millions of foreigners to enter America illegally each year. These illegal immigrants have become a burden on all social services in the communities where they reside. While I am sympathetic to the plight of foreigners and their desire to enjoy the freedoms and opportunity we have here in America, I strongly believe they should only enter legally. That said, the legal process currently in place to facilitate visas is full of bureaucracy and far too arduous. This process should be overhauled and refined so as to allow a legal flow of immigrants." (votesmart.org)
  • James Whitfield. Issue Position: National Security. "The greatest crime our government can commit against its citizens is to ask them to go to war while not providing them with the equipment and resources they need to defend themselves and win. I believe America should strengthen its armed forces and grow the number of their members. America has enemies in the world who hate the freedoms we enjoy. In order for us to ensure that we always have these freedoms it is necessary that America's military and intelligence agencies continue to remain the best in the world in both training and equipment." (votesmart.org)
  • James Whitfiled. 2010. The Abigail Adams Project: Tennessee Candidate Questionnaire. Selected SUPPORT for: "8. State marriage amendments that define marriage to be only between one man and one woman." (216.197.120.179)

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