Robert Bowen's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Robert Bowen 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.
Colorado State Legislative Election 2014 Political Courage Test
| Pro-choice | a) Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| Abortion after first trimester should be for health of mother, or extreme problems with pregnancy only. In Colorado, a law provides that in case of a minor, abortion can only occur if a judge decides to allow it without parental notification if circumstances exist where parental notification is deemed harmful to minor. I think public funds should be allowed if abortion is for the health of the mother. | |||
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 Colorado's budget.
| Greatly Increase | a) Education (higher) | ||
| Greatly Increase | b) Education (K-12) | ||
| Greatly Increase | c) Environment | ||
| Slightly Increase | d) Health care | ||
| Slightly Decrease | e) Law enforcement/corrections | ||
| Greatly Increase | f) Transportation/infrastructure | ||
| Maintain Status | g) Welfare | ||
| Maintain Status | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | 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) | ||
| Yes | a) Establishing a "rainy day" fund | ||
| No | b) Increasing tuition rates at public universities | ||
| No | 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 | ||
| Colorado has under-funded education for years due to TABOR. We need to catch up. We need to invest in green energy for the economy, the environment and to slow climate change. We need to reduce incarcerations and increase treatment of addiction and mental illness.This will eventually reduce cost of prisons and law enforcement. If we raise the minimum wage, we can reduce the cost of social programs. We need to increase funding for infrastructure, including mass transit. | |||
| In Colorado, no tax can be raised without voter approval. That said, we need to find a consensus for increasing gas tax that funds highways, or find a new source of revenue. Higher income families need to pay their fair share of taxes because the burden falls on the middle class. A major problem at federal level are the special tax-breaks lobbyists have written into tax code that results in the average middle class taxpayer paying a higher percentage than a billionaire. This is wrong and results in income inequality which hurts the economy. | |||
| We must not solve our problems on the backs of the poor, public employees, those on pensions, or the health of the poor. It is unconscionable that we would consider cutting pensions people depend on for retirement and allowing billionaires and corporations to pay no tax or little tax. It is outrageous to short change higher education by making it unaffordable for the middle class and lower-income students. We have decimated the number of state employees due to austerity. We do not need to impose furloughs We need to close tax loopholes instead. | |||
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 | ||
| 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 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? | ||
| Money in politics has corrupted government. The Supreme Court made it worse. We need to get money out. We need to make sure there is full disclosure of who contributes, how much, and what it is spent on. We need to put limits on contributions to stop billionaires and special interests from buying Congress, State Legislatures, and other officials. If contributions are speech, and "if is operative word, it can still be limited. Libel is speech but not protected. Shouting "fire" in a theater is speech, but not protected. We must limit contributions whether they are speech or not. | |||
| 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? | ||
| Yes | c) Should a minor accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult? | ||
| No | d) Should a minor who sends sexually-explicit or nude photos by cell phone face criminal charges? | ||
| No | e) Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police? | ||
| I once supported capital punishment, but no longer. Punishment should be life without parole. We spend too much money and assets on the death penalty. It has not been a deterrent to murder. Eliminating the death penalty will result is swifter justice, closure for victims, save money. Minors over 12 should be tried as adult and held accountable for these type crimes, but judge should be allowed options on sentencing based on the age of minor. Sending nude photos should not be crime but dealt with by counselling. It could be a sign of a future behavioral problem. | |||
| No | 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 government spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support providing direct financial assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support an increase of the minimum wage? | ||
| All of these are a qualified yes except (b) and (g). Some regulations are bad and should be changed or repealed. Other regulations are too weak to be effective. Unemployment is often denied to those who deserve it, and the long-term unemployed and veterans need benefits. Money to private sector for job creation should be rare and other incentives used first. Foreclosure assistance should be provided in case of fraud by lender, and paid by imposed penalties. There may be circumstances when a loan to help owners save homes might be appropriate to protect communities and property values. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support the national Common Core State Standards initiative? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support a merit pay system for teachers? | ||
| Yes | c) Is the tenure process for public school teachers producing effective teachers? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| Yes | g) Should illegal immigrants who graduate from Colorado high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| Merit pay should reward exceptional teachers, not a tool to enforce political agenda of school boards. Tenure may need to be revised, not eliminated. A teacher must not fear losing their job due to whims of administration or board. Vouchers undermine the public school system. Private schools are a choice, not a necessity. Vouchers jeopardize the education of those who can not afford a private school even with a voucher. I support funding charter schools that meet Common Core standards, and do not discriminate or teach a certain a religious doctrine. That would violate the First Amendment. | |||
| Yes | 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 Colorado's energy infrastructure? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support state funding for open space preservation? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support government regulations of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| Fossil fuels already get tax breaks and subsidies, and do not need more. We need to transition to clean renewable energy, and we need to subsidize them to the level fossil fuel has been subsidized for the last 100 years. We need to preserve open space If we don't, it will be lost forever. We need trees and plants to absorb carbon. We must reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and government must mandate that or profit will trump the public good. | |||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| Yes | c) Should citizens be allowed to carry concealed guns? | ||
| No | d) Should a license be required for gun possession? | ||
| Felons, people under an order of protection or restraining order, terrorists, the mentally ill, should not be allowed to own guns. Background checks should be required on all gun transfers except between direct family members, like Colorado requires. Carrying concealed weapons should be done with permit and background check only, and subject to training. Concealed weapons should not be allowed everywhere. Businesses should have right to exclude weapons. Guns should not be allowed in schools, day care, bars, parks, and other places local government deems appropriate. | |||
| 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? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act? | ||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| Medicare for everyone would solve the problem with health care. In the absence of that, I support private insurance reform provided by the the ACA as opposed to the old system. Medicaid expansion has provided health care to millions who need it, and reduced costs of emergency rooms. In the absence of universal Medicare, I support mandating health insurance like we mandate auto insurance, and mortgage lenders mandate insurance on the homes they finance--to make people assume personal responsibility. I support some reasonable limits on malpractice suits to stop abuse, but we must protect patients and make providers responsible. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support same-sex marriage? | ||
| Yes | b) Should same-sex couples be allowed to form civil unions? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Colorado's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Colorado's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| The government must not allow discrimination, period. This includes discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. As for marriage, if a religion does not accept same-sex marriage for its members, it must not be forced to marry same sex couples, or recognize their marriage for religious purposes. But, the government can not discriminate on issue of marriage licenses, or the rights and benefits afforded to other marred persons. Government can not discriminate on mixed racial marriage, so it is the same principle. While religions can't be forced to marry same sex couples, they should be tolerant and loving. | |||
| There are many problems, here are two. One, need to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 and adjust it every two years for the cost of living, and insure equal pay for equal work.This will raise people and children out of poverty; provide new customers for local business thus creating jobs; and reduce taxpayer-funded social programs. Second, we must protect water and soil from fracking by making frackers clean, recycle and reuse the water and stop dumping into the ground. Local government must be allowed to regulate fracking through zoning (not ban). We must inspect 100% of wells for compliance. |
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