Mikel Middleton's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Mikel Middleton has demonstrated Political Courage by telling citizens where he stands on the issues he may face if elected.
Connecticut 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? | ||
| 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? | ||
| No | f) Do you support requiring parental consent before an abortion is performed on a minor? | ||
| No | g) Do you support the prohibition of public funds for abortion procedures? | ||
| No | h) Do you support the prohibition of public funds for organizations that perform abortions? | ||
| Abortions should not be a means for birth control. Educational and availability of birth control means should be available at little or no cost to schools and clinics, without parental notification or consent. | |||
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 Connecticut's budget.
| Greatly Increase | a) Education (higher) | ||
| Greatly Increase | b) Education (K-12) | ||
| Slightly Increase | c) Environment | ||
| Maintain Status | d) Health care | ||
| Maintain Status | e) Law enforcement/corrections | ||
| Slightly Increase | f) Transportation/infrastructure | ||
| Maintain Status | g) Welfare | ||
| Eliminate | h) Other or expanded categories: | ||
| Slightly Increase | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | b) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | c) Corporate taxes | ||
| Greatly Decrease | d) Gas/Oil taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | e) Property taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Sales taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | g) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | h) Income taxes (mid-income families) | ||
| Slightly Increase | i) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| j) Other or expanded categories: | |||
| No | a) Tapping into Connecticut's "rainy day" fund | ||
| No | b) Increasing tuition rates at public universities | ||
| Yes | c) Reducing or eliminating public worker collective bargaining | ||
| Yes | 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 | ||
| mandates that are used to control social issues that have little or no impact to the health and safety of individuals or communities. | |||
| Elimination of duplicate positions in different departments and agencies. Maintain only those state jobs that are vital to the safety and welfare of residents and cities/towns. Develop a balanced budget plan for state programs. | |||
a) Do you support limits on the following types of contributions for state candidates?
| No | 1) Individual | ||
| Yes | 2) Political Action Committee | ||
| Yes | 3) Corporate | ||
| No | 4) Political Party | ||
| Yes | 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 greater public disclosure of donors for all organizations that seek to influence elections? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support the use of an independent AND/OR bipartisan commission for redistricting? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support requiring a government-issued photo identification in order to vote at the polls? | ||
| Children are required to obtain social security numbers at the time of birth, the issuing of government issued photo identifications would help id thief and fraud. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support alternatives to incarceration for certain non-violent offenders, such as mandatory counseling or substance abuse treatment? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana? | ||
| 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? | ||
| Minors should be held accountable for their actions, once they have reached the age of reason. Judgement and prosecution of minors should be evaluated by a team of independent observors (doctors, teachers, lawyer, clergy). Alternatives to incarceration for non-violent offenders could save the criminal justice systems lots of money and time. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support increased state funding for job-training programs that re-train displaced workers? | ||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support increased spending on infrastructure projects for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support providing direct financial assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure? | ||
| Reduction of governmental regulations that would improve private sector jobs and improvement of the state's economic outlook should be reviewed. Improving job-training programs and the re-training displaced workers would help bring about a change in the state's economy. | |||
| 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? | ||
| Yes | 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 Connecticut high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| Education must the primary goal for the future of generations yet to come and for the economic outlook for the state. Providing financial funding to local schools, charter schools and colleges must be made available to ensure our children receive the best education possible. The issue of illegal immigrants be eligible for in-state tuition provided that they provide allegiance to the government. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state funding for the development of alternative energy? | ||
| Yes | 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 state funding for improvements to Connecticut's energy infrastructure? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support state funding for open space preservation? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support enacting environmental regulations aimed at reducing the effects of climate change? | ||
| The search for alternative energy and more affortable environmental programs should be a priority of governmental control. | |||
| No | a) Do you support restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns? | ||
| Yes | b) Should background checks be required on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows? | ||
| No | c) Should citizens be allowed to carry concealed guns? | ||
| No | d) Should a license be required for gun possession? | ||
| The prinicipal of gun control has always been an issue for people. The possession of guns has been the core to the Bill of Rights. However, the keeping of military style weapons for collectors should be allowed. The conversion of guns that become automatic or high capacity should be restricted. The concealment of guns should be made another crime when in the commision of a violent crime. | |||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| There should be no reason for anyone to be denied health care insurance, or medical treatment should not be denied due to the inability of payment or pre-existing conditions. However, a mandatory purchase of health care insurance is poorly timed in this economical challenged time. | |||
| No | a) Should marriage only be between one man and one woman? | ||
| Yes | b) Should Connecticut continue to grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Connecticut's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Connecticut's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| The federal government and state must recognize same-sex couples as a legal issue and must allow all the rules that apply to man/woman marriages ge the same for same-sex marriages/couples. | |||
| The reduction of wasteful governmental spending and issues that result from political action groups, organizations, unions and/or private businesses must be addressed. The establishment of a balanced budget program and bring back to open government for the people and by the people should be a priority. |
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