Carl Thompson's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Carl Thompson has demonstrated Political Courage by telling citizens where he stands on the issues he may face if elected.
West Virginia State Legislative Election 2012 Political Courage Test
| Pro-life | a) Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| Yes | b) Should abortions be illegal after the first trimester of pregnancy? | ||
| No | c) Should abortion be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape? | ||
| No | 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 the prohibition of public funds for abortion procedures? | ||
| Yes | h) Do you support the prohibition of public funds for organizations that perform abortions? | ||
| I have yet to find an incident when an abortion was required to save the mother's life. I would waver on this issue if legislation would be written for true medical emergencies and not an excuse for having an abortion for convenience. I would prefer this very personal decision in a time of emergency to be between the family and medical experts. | |||
1) State Spending:Using the key, indicate 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 Taxes:Using the key,indicate 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 Stabilization:Indicate which proposals you support (if any) for balancing West Virginia's budget.
| Maintain Status | a) Education (higher) | ||
| Maintain Status | b) Education (K-12) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | c) Environment | ||
| Maintain Status | d) Health care | ||
| Maintain Status | e) Law enforcement/corrections | ||
| Slightly Increase | f) Transportation/infrastructure | ||
| Slightly Decrease | g) Welfare | ||
| h) Other or expanded categories: | |||
| Greatly Decrease | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Greatly Decrease | b) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Greatly Decrease | c) Corporate taxes | ||
| Greatly Decrease | d) Gas/Oil taxes | ||
| Greatly Decrease | e) Property taxes | ||
| Greatly Decrease | f) Sales taxes | ||
| Greatly Decrease | g) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Greatly Decrease | h) Income taxes (mid-income families) | ||
| Greatly Decrease | i) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| Greatly Decrease | j) Other or expanded categories: | ||
| No | a) Tapping into West Virginia's "rainy day" fund | ||
| No | b) Increasing tuition rates at public universities | ||
| Yes | c) Reducing or eliminating public worker collective bargaining | ||
| No | d) Reducing state employee salaries AND/OR pensions | ||
| Yes | e) Instituting mandatory furloughs AND/OR layoffs for state employees | ||
| No | f) Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients | ||
| I believe we need revenue to operate essential state services but my general view of taxation is theft. | |||
| The state has to dramatically cut the size of government by first identifying waste, not essential services, eliminate cronyism and nepotism, control and keep an accurate account of all expenditures constantly looking for ways to save. We need to be better custodians of taxpayer money and not be looking for more ways to spend. | |||
a) Do you support limits on the following types of contributions for state candidates?
| No | 1) Individual | ||
| No | 2) Political Action Committee | ||
| No | 3) Corporate | ||
| No | 4) Political Party | ||
| No | b) Should candidates for state office be encouraged to meet voluntary spending limits? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support requiring full and timely disclosure of campaign finance information? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support the use of an independent AND/OR bipartisan commission for redistricting? | ||
| No | e) Do you support requiring a government-issued photo identification in order to vote at the polls? | ||
| f) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support reducing prison sentences for those who commit non-violent crimes? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support alternatives to incarceration for certain non-violent offenders, such as mandatory counseling or substance abuse treatment? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana? | ||
| Yes | e) Should a minor accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult? | ||
| No | f) Should a minor who sends sexually-explicit or nude photos by cell phone face criminal charges? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police? | ||
| Another alternative to prison sentences for non-violent crimes is public service projects like: grass and weed cutting, tree trimming and removal, sweeping public roads and sidewalks, general trash pick-up, provide services to non-profit agencies. Breaking a sweat while working to pay back a debt to society is a win-win for everyone involved. | |||
| 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? | ||
| Taxes and government regulation contribute to West Virginia being one of the least business friendly states. Present funding for job-training should be sufficient, not sure what expanding access to unemployment benefits actually means. There should be permanent financial incentives for job creation called: lower taxes and less regulation. Infrastructure should be maintained regardless of who needs a job; it is not the duty of government to create jobs, which should be left to the private sector. If government would stay out of the pockets and business of private sector businesses we wouldn't have such a big economic and employment problem. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support the national Common Core State Standards initiative? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support a merit pay system for teachers? | ||
| No | c) Is the tenure process for public school teachers producing effective teachers? | ||
| Yes | d) Should parents be allowed to use vouchers to send their children to any school? | ||
| No | e) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support the state government providing college students with financial aid? | ||
| No | g) Should illegal immigrants who graduate from West Virginia high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| h) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| 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 increased regulations on mountaintop removal mining and disposal? | ||
| No | d) Do you support increased regulations on hydraulic fracturing or "fracking" in the Marcellus Shale? | ||
| No | e) Do you support state funding for improvements to West Virginia's energy infrastructure? | ||
| No | f) Do you support state funding for open space preservation? | ||
| No | g) Do you support enacting environmental regulations aimed at reducing the effects of climate change? | ||
| h) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| No | a) Do you support restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns? | ||
| No | b) Should background checks be required on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows? | ||
| Yes | c) Should citizens be allowed to carry concealed guns? | ||
| No | d) Should a license be required 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) Do you support requiring individuals to purchase health care insurance? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support monetary limits on damages that can be collected in malpractice lawsuits? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes? | ||
| g) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| No | a) Should marriage only be between one man and one woman? | ||
| Yes | b) Should same-sex couples be allowed to form civil unions? | ||
| No | c) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in West Virginia's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| No | d) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in West Virginia's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| I dont personally agree with same sex marriage but as a liberty minded American I believe as long as the rights of others are not infringed I dont care what other people do. The government should not be in the marriage business. I also would be in favor of a ballot referendum regarding the issue of same sex marriage. | |||
| 1. Reduce the size of state government. 2. Eliminate government waste and be more accountable for all expenditures, eliminate cronyism and nepotism. 3. Reduce burdensome taxes and regulations on business and our citizens so we can start attracting job creating businesses to our state. |
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