Kyle McCullough's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Kyle McCullough has provided voters with clear stances on key issues by responding to the 2015 Political Courage Test.
Virginia State Legislative Election 2015 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? | ||
| 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? | ||
| As bad as it would be to callously tell a woman, facing an unwanted pregnancy, that she must go through with it - endangering her health and quite possibly her life - it would be far worse tell that to a child. And, for some children, that is what we are doing when we require parental notification. A girl in that position should be given counseling. She should be advised to talk it over with her parents or guardians. But at the end of the day, if she believes that she can't, she is probably right. | |||
1) Budget Stabilization:Indicate which proposals you support (if any) for balancing Virginia's budget.2) 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.3) 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.
| No | a) Tapping into Virginia's "rainy day" fund | ||
| No | b) Decreasing funding for public universities | ||
| No | c) Reducing state employee salaries AND/OR pensions | ||
| No | d) Instituting mandatory furloughs AND/OR layoffs for state employees | ||
| No | e) Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients | ||
| Greatly Increase | a) Education (higher) | ||
| Greatly Increase | b) Education (K-12) | ||
| Slightly 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 | ||
| Slightly Increase | b) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | c) Corporate taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | d) Small business taxes | ||
| Greatly Increase | e) Gas/Oil taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | f) Property taxes | ||
| Eliminate | g) Sales taxes | ||
| Greatly Decrease | h) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | i) Income taxes (mid-income families) | ||
| Slightly Increase | j) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| We need to make our tax code more progressive. Since ever-larger portions of the State's wealth are concentrated in the hands of a very few people, those people need to be responsible for a larger portion of the State's tax burden. By doing that, we can balance the budget and raise revenue without raising taxes on the typical working Virginian. By implementing the Medicaid expansion, and accepting the billions of dollars the Federal government has offered us to do so, we can save money on indigent care and use those savings to help balance the budget. Also find efficiency savings. | |||
| Implementing the Medicaid expansion will allow us to spend more on health care, by spending the money that the Federal government has offered. This will save us money on indigent care and also raise revenue -- as we tax the health care providers who will effectively be paid by the Federal government. So, while total spending on health care will go up, the net cost to the State will actually go down. Also, we are sending too many low-level offenders to prison. We can save a lot of money there without sacrificing public safety. | |||
| I believe that basically all taxes on cars should be rolled into the gas tax. Eliminate the registration fees, ad valorem taxes and sales taxes on them, and on car parts, making it less expensive to own a car, but encouraging people to drive them less and keep them in better repair. It will also shift some of our tax burden from Virginia residents to people who are passing through the state and even more to out-of-state industries that are transporting goods through the state - clogging our roads, polluting our air, and contributing nothing to the state of VA. | |||
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? | ||
| At least, require corporations to get shareholder's permission, as we do with union dues. If X% of shareholders decline: X% of campaign and lobbying dollars go to them as extra dividend. Districts should be drawn so that the expected electoral result closely matches the popular vote. If 45% vote Democrat and 55% Republican, we should expect 45% of legislators to be Democrat and 55% Republican. For voter ID: take a picture at registration - or first time one votes, if already registered. Keep in database. Take another at ballot every vote. If they do not obviously match, use provisional ballot. | |||
| 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 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) Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police? | ||
| I'm very ambivalent on capital punishment; but yes, I believe some crimes are so heinous it is appropriate. But the standard for capital punishment should be: beyond *ALL* doubt, not just beyond *reasonable* doubt. Innocent people have been convicted. That should NEVER happen in a capital case. Before legalizing marijuana, I want to see how well it is working in other states. Decriminalize for now. State and local police should work with Federal authorities, neither refusing to enforce, nor going beyond what the Federal government asks. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support government spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support lowering taxes as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support increased state funding for job-training programs that re-train displaced workers? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support expanding access to unemployment benefits? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support providing financial incentives to the private sector for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support providing direct financial assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure? | ||
| Yes | h) Do you support an increase of the minimum wage? | ||
| All of these have to be looked at on a case-by-case basis. What are the details of the program in question? I have proposed a graduated increase in the minimum wage, so that a trainee can be paid the Federal minimum for up to three months - with raises every three months for their first year. My proposed minimum after one year of employment is $13.25/hr. | |||
| 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? | ||
| No | 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 Virginia high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| Common Core needs improvement, but there should be a voluntary common standard for all states. Merit pay should be on top of a reasonable salary that attracts good teachers. I could only support vouchers and charter schools if we have very strong protections to make sure poorer, and challenged students are not being left behind in underfunded schools. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, thermal)? | ||
| 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 state funding for improvements to Virginia'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? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support increased regulations of the hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") industry? | ||
| The state should encourage energy improvements to homes and businesses. Qualifying improvements should be eligible for low-interest loans which will take priority over other loans. The banks, knowing that these loans will be paid back first, will be happy to lend at the lowest available rates. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you generally support gun-control legislation? | ||
| 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? | ||
| Closing the gun-show loophole is really the only gun control, that we do not already have, that I strongly support. It is grossly unfair to local gun shops that they have to provide background checks, while fly-by-night outfits do not. Gun shops should provide background checks, at a state-mandated very low cost, for all private gun purchases. | |||
| 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? | ||
| No | c) Do you support interstate health insurance compacts? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare")? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support requiring individuals to purchase health care insurance? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| I support single-payer, but it is not on the table at the Federal level and I don't think it would be practical for the state. So it's kind of a moot point. We should have guidelines for malpractice awards, where going beyond the guidelines means an appeal will be automatically granted. Everyone in the state should have health insurance. Those who don't become free riders, raising costs for everyone else. The ACA fines people who can afford insurance, but choose to free-ride; the state should fine them as well. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support same-sex marriage? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Virginia's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Virginia's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| My own marriage would have been illegal in many states prior to Loving v. Virginia in 1967. How could I deny to others what I so cherish for myself? | |||
| Medicaid expansion -- will more than pay for itself. The savings in indigent care, the taxes we will collect from the additional health care workers, and the revenue generated as this money circulates through the state will more than pay for the 10% required state contribution. Raising the minimum wage -- will raise revenue, as this money circulates through the state. Increased education funding -- will cost money. I plan to pay for it with the money we save from things like implementing the Medicaid expansion -- and through a more-progressive tax code. |
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