Amanda Swafford's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
Key
Official Position: Candidate addressed this issue directly by taking the Political Courage Test.
Inferred Position: Candidate refused to address this issue, but Vote Smart inferred this issue based on the candidate's public record, including statements, voting record, and special interest group endorsements.
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Amanda Swafford has provided voters with clear stances on key issues by responding to the 2014 Political Courage Test.
Georgia Congressional Election 2014 Political Courage Test
| Pro-choice | Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| The government should not be involved in individual medical decisions. | |||
| Yes | In order to balance the budget, do you support reducing defense spending? | ||
| No | In order to balance the budget, do you support an income tax increase on any tax bracket? | ||
| No | Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions? | ||
| As media companies merge and grow in power, the cost of advertising increases. This leaves independent candidates at a distinct disadvantage when it comes to reaching voters in a broad and meaningful way. Expanding the definition of what a "corporation" is effectively silences concerned citizens who wish to band together to take on the political system. And by restricting the sources of funding available to candidates, we indirectly limit the choices and variety of options we have and can prohibit one group of voters from participating. | |||
| No | Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| No system is completely flawless and sometimes there is corruption. However, those in our government responsible for the operation of our criminal justice system, including our courts and law enforcement, are solid professionals who use extraordinary care every day to ensure justice is properly administered and rightfully adjudicated. We should sentence convicted individuals appropriately, and in the most egregious cases put them to work in the least hospitable environment possible. There they can work to cover all costs for their room, board and care that taxpayers are currently paying for. | |||
| No | Do you support federal spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | Do you support lowering taxes as a way of promoting growth in the economy? | ||
| No | Do you support providing tax incentives to businesses for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| Unfortunately, tax incentives have become just another way for Big Government to pick winners and losers in our current economic environment. When government picks winners and losers, it?s the everyday citizens on Main Street who lose. Taxpayers, entrepreneurs and our small business owners are rarely the beneficiaries of selective tax incentives. The true small government solution is to significantly reduce government spending across the board in order to cut taxes for everybody - businesses and individuals. When everyone has control over more of their own money, government can't pick winners and losers, therefore, we all win. | |||
| No | Do you support requiring states to implement education reforms in order to be eligible for competitive federal grants? | ||
| Yes | Do you support building the Keystone XL pipeline? | ||
| Yes | Do you support reducing restrictions on offshore energy production? | ||
| No | Do you believe that human activity is contributing to climate change? | ||
| No | Do you support the federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| Federal regulatory restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions allows Big Government to once again pick winners and losers in the environmental game. Federal regulations also create huge barriers to entry for smaller, entrepreneurial companies who may want to start a company offering a better environmental option in a particular market. Responses to our greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental concerns would be better handled in our court system, allowing individuals or others aggrieved by emissions to seek damages for any harms done. Our courts can best decide the issues of fact and science and punish the worst. | |||
| No | Do you support requiring illegal immigrants to return to their country of origin before they are eligible for citizenship? | ||
| We must separate the issues of immigration and entitlement reform before we can seriously begin any attempt at reforming our immigration laws. No illegal immigrant should receive instant citizenship while our current entitlement system is in place, including the existing mandate to provide a public education to every illegal immigrant. However, after true entitlement reform is achieved and we ensure those immigrants seeking citizenship that sought status under our legal procedures are eligible first, we should not force someone to return to their original country prior to obtaining citizenship just for the sake of returning. | |||
| No | Do you support targeting suspected terrorists outside of official theaters of conflict? | ||
| No | Should the U.S use military force in order to prevent governments hostile to the United States from possessing a nuclear weapon? | ||
| Nuclear weapons in the control of a hostile group or sovereign government that has made a direct threat to the United States should be a top priority for our government. The United States Congress should debate the proper response and, if necessary, bring forth a vote to proceed or, in exceptional cases, issue a formal declaration of war. And the entire nation must be engaged in the responsibility of such a decision. | |||
| Yes | Do you support allowing individuals to divert a portion of their Social Security taxes into personal retirement accounts? | ||
SpendingIndicate what federal spending levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one number per category; you can use a number more than once.TaxesIndicate what federal tax levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one number per category; you can use a number more than once.
| Eliminate | a) Agriculture | ||
| Eliminate | b) Arts | ||
| Greatly Decrease | c) Defense | ||
| Eliminate | d) Education | ||
| Eliminate | e) Environment | ||
| Greatly Decrease | f) Homeland Security | ||
| Eliminate | g) International aid | ||
| Eliminate | h) Medical Research | ||
| Eliminate | i) Scientific Research | ||
| Eliminate | j) Space exploration | ||
| Eliminate | k) United Nations | ||
| Eliminate | l) Welfare | ||
| m) Other or expanded categories | |||
| Eliminate | a) Capital gains taxes | ||
| Eliminate | b) Corporate taxes | ||
| Eliminate | c) Excise taxes (alcohol) | ||
| Eliminate | d) Excise taxes (cigarettes) | ||
| Eliminate | e) Excise taxes (transportation fuel) | ||
| Eliminate | f) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Eliminate | g) Income taxes (middle-income families) | ||
| Eliminate | h) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| Eliminate | i) Inheritance taxes | ||
| Eliminate | j) Payroll taxes | ||
| k) Other or expanded categories | |||
| The primary responsibility of government is to preserve and protect our individual rights. The Constitution is about personal responsibility and freedom, not government mandates forcing everyone to conform. We must eliminate the power of big government to pick winners and losers by substantially reducing spending in every area of the federal government. The tax code violates our privacy and attempts to control our behavior in ways the Founding Fathers never intended. Our two party system has promised reform for decades but all we ever get is the same old broken system. It's time we change that. |
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