Lori Barden's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Lori Barden has provided voters with clear stances on key issues by responding to the 2016 Political Courage Test.
Rhode Island State Legislative Election 2016 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? | ||
| parental consent and notification, although ideal in a healthy parent child relationship, maybe the final event to destroy one as well. I believe non-influential (honest, non-religious) dialogue and counselling must be made available to the minor prior to and after any reproductive procedure. | |||
1) State Spending: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: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.
| Maintain Status | a) Education (higher) | ||
| Maintain Status | b) Education (K-12) | ||
| Slightly Increase | c) Environment | ||
| Slightly Increase | d) Health care | ||
| Slightly Increase | e) Law enforcement/corrections | ||
| Slightly Increase | f) Transportation/infrastructure | ||
| Maintain Status | g) Welfare | ||
| Slightly Increase | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | b) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | c) Corporate taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | d) Small business taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | e) Gas/Oil taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Property taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | g) Sales taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | h) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Maintain Status | i) Income taxes (mid-income families) | ||
| Maintain Status | j) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| Yes | k) Do you support applying sales taxes to all online purchases? | ||
| I do not necessarily see spending more money as the answer to our problems. Where you see increases, it is really around the education behind the program. We need to culturally educate our law enforcement, we need to educate our elderly on services already available to them, we need to educate our welfare recipients to better their health and employment opportunities- eventually reducing the need for the system. Our education (k-12) system needs to look at HOW we are spending money and where gains are being made and start collaborating. We need to start thinking higher ed earlier! | |||
| People will never stop enjoying a drink and regardless of every surgeon general warning it hasn't stopped them from smoking. Slightly increasing these taxes will only add pennies to the consumer's bill but millions to the state. I don't see increasing personal taxes as a way to entice anyone to move to RI, and I also don't think lowering them will allow us to continue with services our community needs. I do believe Small Businesses need support and taxing them with trivial details only hastens their search to locate elsewhere. | |||
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 | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| Political campaigns should have a spending limit- the more local the race the lower the limit. This would encourage more people to make an effort to run for office. Knowing that in order to be successful you have to raise $$$ will intimidate people out of even trying. Photo identification should only be required if the state will wave the fee for obtaining one. Folks on tight budgets and limited income can not always find the extra money in order to get their id. | |||
| 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) 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? | ||
| No | f) Do you support delaying the seizure of assets by law enforcement officials until after a conviction? | ||
| e and f have too much grey area to just say Yes or No I feel we need to improve our immigration policies in order to make it financially available to those who are looking to call the US their home, but need our law enforcement to follow the guidance given to them. Seizure of assets needs to look at the crime, if there is a possibility (strong possibility) of terrorism then seizure should not wait until after conviction. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support government spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| No | e) Do you support expanding access to unemployment benefits? | ||
| No | f) Do you support requiring welfare applicants to pass a drug test in order to receive benefits? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support providing financial incentives to the private sector for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| Yes | h) Do you support providing direct financial assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure? | ||
| Yes | i) Do you support an increase of the minimum wage? | ||
| No | j) Should employers be able to ask about applicants' criminal history before interviewing them? | ||
| Government spending should be done ethically and with great caution, but needs to be done to stimulate economic growth. Lowering taxes in one area will often mean increasing it elsewhere, equitable taxation is our best bet. Government regulations should guide the private sector, not be done for the sake of taxation or regulatory fees. Expanding access to unemployment benefits should be in the form of job training, improved transportation, education (free or reduced tuition) Minimum wage should be increased but not at the detriment of the small business owner. We also need mid-wage opportunities to become bountiful in RI. | |||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| 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 Rhode Island high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| Common Core Standards are just that, standards not curriculum. They should guide the benchmark. Merit should be based on ALL aspects of the child's development, not JUST a test score but the social-emotional, communal, and civic development of a child as well. There are great tenured teachers and there are not great tenured teachers- this should not be the qualifier for employment, we need meet the needs of the children first! Unless college becomes more accessible we will need to continue to offer financial aid- without it we are not creating or maintaining a viable workforce | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, thermal)? | ||
| Yes | 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 Rhode Island'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? | ||
| I have seen the damage of fracking and oppose the practice. We can utilize the RI Resource Recovery Center and the natural gas emitted daily to help support the community's needs. We need to find new sources that will in turn create income for the state- solar and wind energy are two I believe in. | |||
| 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? | ||
| Yes | c) Should citizens be allowed to carry concealed guns? | ||
| Yes | d) Should a license be required for gun possession? | ||
| Any gun legislation is gun-control, be it more control or less. I am not against the 2nd amendment but believe we need to improve the process. This was written when the arms one would bear took 10 minutes to load between shots, semi-automatic weaponry was inconceivable in 1791. Like other licenses we need to have a renewal process that would take into consideration mental well being. | |||
| 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 ("Obamacare")? | ||
| 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? | ||
| Interstate health insurance makes sense in the confines if New England Health insurance reforms should not negatively impact the consumer they are meant to support and help. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support same-sex marriage? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Rhode Island's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Rhode Island's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| d) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| Small business, education, and community voice- being an advocate for opportunity and change. Education must be looked at differently and adapted to the needs of the community and state. This means ALL parties are at the table- administration, parents, teachers, students, government agencies, and members of the community. Small business needs opportunity to succeed, and the state should provide more support to ensure that. I may have an opinion, but ultimately my job as state representative is to vote on behalf of the community I represent. |
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