Scott Thomas' Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Maine State Legislative Election 2010 Political Courage Test
| Pro-life | 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) 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? | ||
| It is not clear whether (g) is asking if this is the type of program I support, or if I would support inclusion of abstinence with the other topics. I am answering the latter question. Item (c) has an inappropriate implication, that I support abortion in such cases. That is correct, but I do feel that circumstances may make it appropriate to leave that choice to the responsible party. Item (b) implies approval of first trimester abortion. I do not approve of abortion, other than as indicated in (c) and (d). | |||
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 Maine's budget.
| Slightly Decrease | a) Education (higher) | ||
| Greatly Decrease | b) Education (K-12) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | c) Environment | ||
| Greatly Decrease | d) Health care | ||
| Maintain Status | e) Law enforcement | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Transportation and highway infrastructure | ||
| Greatly Decrease | g) Welfare | ||
| h) Other or expanded categories | |||
| Maintain Status | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| b) Cigarette taxes | |||
| Slightly Decrease | c) Corporate taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | d) Gasoline taxes | ||
| Greatly Decrease | e) Property taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Sales taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | g) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | h) Income taxes (middle-income families) | ||
| Greatly Decrease | i) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| j) Other or expanded categories | |||
| No | a) Tapping into Maine's "rainy day" fund | ||
| No | b) Issuing the early release of certain non-violent offenders | ||
| Yes | c) Increasing tuition rates at public universities | ||
| Yes | d) Instituting mandatory furloughs and layoffs for state employees | ||
| Yes | e) Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients | ||
| Yes | f) Privatizing certain government services | ||
| g) Other or expanded principles | |||
c) Do you support limits on the following types of contributions to candidates for state government?
| Yes | a) Do you support limits on the number of terms for Maine governors? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support limits on the number of terms for Maine state legislators? | ||
| Yes | 1) Individual | ||
| Yes | 2) Political Action Committee | ||
| Yes | 3) Corporate | ||
| Yes | 4) Political Party | ||
| No | d) Should candidates for state office be encouraged to meet voluntary spending limits? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support requiring full and timely disclosure of campaign finance information? | ||
| I do not support the current term limits requirements on the State legislature, as they are ineffective. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| No | f) Do you support allowing sex offenders to petition for removal from the sex offender registry? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police? | ||
| (e) should be punished no differently than if the same image was distributed on paper. Regarding (f) I would support relaxing the requirements if standards could be adequately demonstrated over a significant period of time. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector? | ||
| No | b) Do you support increased state funding for job-training programs that re-train displaced workers? | ||
| No | c) Do you support expanding access to unemployment benefits? | ||
| No | d) Do you support providing financial incentives to the private sector for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| g) Other or expanded principles | |||
| No | a) Do you support national education standards? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support requiring public schools to administer high school exit exams? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support using a merit pay system for teachers? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support the state government providing college students with financial aid? | ||
| No | f) Should illegal immigrants who graduate from Maine high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| Charter schools should receive state funding if that funding comes from the state education budget (i.e., it is not additional funds). Financial aid should be provided if the program requires and enforces repayment of student loans with interest. | |||
| 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)? | ||
| No | c) Do you support providing financial incentives to farms that produce biofuel crops? | ||
| No | d) Do you support state funding for improvements to Maine's energy infrastructure? | ||
| No | e) Do you support state funding for open space preservation? | ||
| No | f) Do you support enacting environmental regulations aimed at reducing the effects of climate change? | ||
| Each of these areas of potential state funding will be funded by private enterprise if they are economically viable. | |||
| 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? | ||
| e) Other or expanded principles | |||
| 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 placing health warnings on cellular phones? | ||
| No | g) Do you support legalizing physician-assisted suicide in Maine? | ||
| No | h) Do you support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes? | ||
| With regard to (h) I believe that licensed physicians should have available to them to prescribe for their patients any drug which has been shown to be both safe and an effective treatment for their patient's disease. | |||
| Yes | a) Should marriage only be between one man and one woman? | ||
| No | b) Should Maine allow same-sex couples to form domestic partnerships? | ||
| 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? | ||
| No | f) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Maine's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| No | g) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Maine's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| There are a number of ways that same-sex couples do not receive the same legal benefits as married couples. Many of these can be overcome by the same-sex couple having properly prepared wills, trusts, or contracts. To the extent these private arrangements are not adequate, I would consider domestic partnership as an option to rectify this situation. | |||
| My highest priority is to bring jobs to Maine by removing barriers to companies starting business in, or relocating to, Maine. These barriers include the high cost of regulatory compliance, high corporate and personal taxes, high energy costs, and high health insurance costs. Closely related is bringing the state's spending under control, by reducing the cost of welfare programs through tightening eligibility requirements and cutting benefits, as well as cutting spending in other programs where Maine's spending is out of line, to be more in line with those provided by similar states. |
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