Mark Bliss' Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
Office:
- Council Member (Cape Girardeau, MO) - Ward 6
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.
Unknown Position: Candidate refused to address this issue, or we could not infer an answer for this candidate despite exhaustive research of their public record.
Additional Information: Click on this icon to reveal more information about this candidate's position, from their answers or Vote Smart's research.
Other or Expanded Principles & Legislative Priorities are entered exactly as candidates submit them. Vote Smart does not edit for misspelled words, punctuation or grammar.
Mark Bliss has failed to provide voters with positions on key issues covered by the 2020 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.
Missouri Congressional Election 2016 Political Courage Test
| Pro-life | Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| Pro-Life in all aspects of life, not just birth. | |||
| 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? | ||
| No | Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| Yes | Do you support alternatives to incarceration for certain non-violent offenders such as mandatory counseling or substance abuse treatment? | ||
| No | Do you support mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent drug offenders? | ||
| Non-violent crimes such as drug crimes should be reviewed and their constitutionality should be examined. | |||
| No | Do you support federal spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | Do you support lowering taxes as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | Do you support providing tax incentives to businesses for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| Cutting taxes on workers, and business owners, is an effective way to boost economic growth. | |||
| No | Do you generally support requiring states to adopt federal education standards? | ||
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| Attendance and test scores should not be our basis for school funding. | |||
| Yes | Do you support building the Keystone XL pipeline? | ||
| No | Do you support government funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, thermal)? | ||
| No | Do you support increased regulations on the hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") industry? | ||
| Competition through free-market research will create more efficient and effective energy solutions. | |||
| Yes | Do you believe that human activity is contributing to climate change? | ||
| No | Do you support the federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| As cultural and generational ideologies change, the market will reflect the consumer's desired changes to maintain their customer base. | |||
| Yes | Do you support repealing the 2010 Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare")? | ||
| Fining, or taxing, working-class families for not being able to afford insurance is criminal, and must be overturned. | |||
| Yes | Do you support requiring immigrants who are unlawfully present to return to their country of origin before they are eligible for citizenship? | ||
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| Yes | Do you support same-sex marriage? | ||
| Government has no constitutional authority to ban or grant marriages. It is a religious and cultural phenomenon that must not be regulated and used for revenue generation. | |||
| No | Should the U.S use military force in order to prevent governments hostile to the United States from possessing a nuclear weapon? | ||
| Unknown Position | Do you support increased American intervention in Iraq and Syria beyond air support? | ||
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| Yes | Do you support allowing individuals to divert a portion of their Social Security taxes into personal retirement accounts? | ||
| I support returning all social security taxes to workers, and make retirement accounts elective. | |||
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 | ||
| Eliminate | a) Capital gains taxes | ||
| Eliminate | b) Corporate taxes | ||
| Eliminate | c) Small business taxes | ||
| Eliminate | d) Excise taxes (alcohol) | ||
| Eliminate | e) Excise taxes (cigarettes) | ||
| Eliminate | f) Excise taxes (transportation fuel) | ||
| Eliminate | g) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Eliminate | h) Income taxes (middle-income families) | ||
| Eliminate | i) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| Eliminate | j) Inheritance taxes | ||
| Eliminate | k) Payroll taxes | ||
| Eliminate corporate welfare, subsidies. | |||
| These issues should be decided at the state level. | |||
| As a congressional representative of the fourth district of Missouri, I would work to reduce federal control of issues that should be decided on the local level. I would fight to keep tax dollars in Missouri to better fund our schools and other necessities. I promise to reject any legislation that infringes on the freedoms of Missourian's, whether it be whom to marry, or what to consume, or what to purchase or bear. I will restore liberties to the people of Missouri, and common sense to the overgrown and outdated federal government. |
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