Joel Robinson's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Joel Robinson has refused to provide voters with positions on key issues covered by the 2016 Political Courage Test, despite repeated requests from Vote Smart and voters like you.
This candidate has responded to a Political Courage Test in a previous election. As a continued effort to provide the American public with factual information on candidates running for public office, these archived responses are made available here.
Idaho State Legislative Election 2014 Political Courage Test
| Pro-life | a) Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| 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 the prohibition of public funds for abortion procedures? | ||
| Yes | h) Do you support the prohibition of public funds for organizations that perform abortions? | ||
| Abortions kill a human baby. I would encourage any woman with a pregnancy to consider adoption c) Rape or incest should be handled immediately via morning after pills. Once a baby is underway, especially after the first trimester, I advise giving birth and considering adoption. It is not the child's fault. i) I want to carefully craft continued abortion restrictions that will pass court muster, until unborn babies are safe. I would like to require doctors performing abortions have hospital privileges for the continued care of their patients. | |||
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 Idaho's budget.
| Slightly Increase | a) Education (higher) | ||
| Slightly Increase | b) Education (K-12) | ||
| Maintain Status | c) Environment | ||
| Slightly Decrease | d) Health care | ||
| Slightly Decrease | e) Law enforcement/corrections | ||
| Slightly Increase | f) Transportation/infrastructure | ||
| Slightly Decrease | g) Welfare | ||
| Slightly Increase | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | b) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | c) Corporate taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | d) Gas/Oil taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | e) Property taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Sales taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | g) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Maintain Status | h) Income taxes (mid-income families) | ||
| Slightly Increase | i) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| No | a) Tapping into Idaho'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 | ||
| No | e) Instituting mandatory furloughs AND/OR layoffs for state employees | ||
| No | f) Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients | ||
| We need to balance needs of education with continual spiral of prisons, health care, and welfare. There is never enough money to go around. | |||
| c) Small businesses like dentists and shops have a large investment in tools. The personal property business tax needs to be reduced to unburden these businesses. d) we need infrastructure repairs. Those who use the highways should pay for the highway maintenance. | |||
| g) I would like to see increased audits of food stamps, medicaid, and other welfare programs. I feel there are many taking advantage of systems designed for the disabled and needy. If we weed out the fraudsters there will be more for the truly needy. | |||
a) Do you support limits on the following types of contributions for state candidates?
| Yes | 1) Individual | ||
| Yes | 2) Political Action Committee | ||
| Yes | 3) Corporate | ||
| Yes | 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 the use of an independent AND/OR bipartisan commission for redistricting? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support requiring a government-issued photo identification in order to vote at the polls? | ||
| Money corrupts. We need campaign contribution limits. | |||
| No | 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? | ||
| No | c) Do you support legalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| a) Innocent people are sometimes convicted. b) Idaho prisons are full of mentally ill and drug offenders. Prison is not the answer to every offense. c) Idaho should implement civil penalties and counseling without giving people lifetime criminal records. 84% of all Idaho marijuana arrests are possession. e) Sexting should be handled in juvenile court with fines and/or misdemeanors and mandatory counseling. I do not favor making life-time felony sex offenders out of kids sending photos. We need to keep these photos out of the reach of sexual predators. | |||
| 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? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| No | e) Do you support government spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| No | f) Do you support providing direct financial assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support an increase of the minimum wage? | ||
| e) We cannot spend our way our to prosperity. Every dollar spent by the government must first be confiscated from citizens. g) I support a discussion on raising the minimum wage. It has been unchanged for decades. | |||
| No | 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 Idaho high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| d) Federal courts restrict where and how vouchers can be used. Idaho must work within those limits. e) schools should be under local control, whether traditional or charter. f) Idaho should support technical and trade schools in addition to traditional schools. We need skilled blue color workers as much as college graduates. Idaho must not encourage rising prices by adding too much money to the mix. | |||
| 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)? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support state funding for improvements to Idaho's energy infrastructure? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support state funding for open space preservation? | ||
| No | e) Do you support government regulations of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| c) Idaho involvement in energy infrastructure should be very limited and mostly just regulatory. Energy development and infrastructure belongs in the private sector as much as possible. | |||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| Yes | d) Should a license be required for gun possession? | ||
| I hold an enhanced concealed carry permit. I have held a regular concealed carry permit for many years. a) Idaho felons should not own guns. Those judged insane by the courts should not own guns. The second amendment is not about hunting. It is about the fundamental right of the people to protect themselves from people who would harm them. | |||
| 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 Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act? | ||
| No | e) Do you support requiring individuals to purchase health care insurance? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support monetary limits on damages that can be collected in malpractice lawsuits? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes? | ||
| g) I am ready to engage in dialog on medicinal marijuana. We need to learn from the mistakes of those states around us and choose the best practices. Idaho should honor those passing through Idaho with valid prescriptions from other states without enabling their consumption within the state. | |||
| No | a) Do you support same-sex marriage? | ||
| No | b) Should same-sex couples be allowed to form civil unions? | ||
| No | c) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Idaho's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| No | d) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Idaho's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| e) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| Payday loan relief: We need to lower the rates and fees. Idaho rates are highest in nation, average 540% Twenty states have outlawed these predatory loans by lowering the rate cap to 36% Prison reform: Idaho has very high incarceration rates. We need alternatives for mentally ill, substance abusers, and work release for non-violent offenders. We cannot imprison everyone. Stop private prisons. Stop shipping offenders out of state. Advocate for Deaf and disabled. Idaho Deaf community wants licensing of Sign Language interpreters. We need to limit medicaid expansion to the disabled. Protect personal privacy for phones and computers. |
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