Ron Bassilian'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.
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.
Ron Bassilian has provided voters with clear stances on key issues by responding to the 2018 Political Courage Test.
California Congressional Election 2018 Political Courage Test
| Pro-choice | Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| Generally I think abortion is a field the government has no power over, heinous an act as we think it may be. But we can put some limitations on things like third trimester abortions, or withholding public funding from places that perform it. | |||
| Yes | In order to balance the budget, do you support an income tax increase on any tax bracket? | ||
| No | In order to balance the budget, do you support reducing defense spending? | ||
| Defense spending has been reduced enough under the Obama administration. We need to have our national defense funded at the level where we can continue to uphold our promises to our allies and not abandon them. Nobody wants to talk about tax increases or budget cuts. But if we're going to have a balanced budget, we can't rule out either. | |||
| No | Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions? | ||
| It sounds like a great idea. The question is how do you do it? What stops a wealthy entity from using their money to support someone they like in a manner they see fit? Too much regulation only serves to protect wealthy players with high priced lawyers from small incoming competitors. | |||
| No | Do you support federal spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | Do you support lowering corporate taxes as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Both of these are not a simple yes/no answer. But it's true that economic growth is not a government function, and it can't spend our way out of a recession. I'm not a big fan of trickle down economics either, but if we tax corporations out of the country then we don't have an economy. | |||
| No | Do you support requiring states to adopt federal education standards? | ||
| My understanding is the federal government has done more to ruin our education system than help it by getting involved. Such matters should be left to the states. | |||
| Yes | Do you support government funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, thermal)? | ||
| Yes | Do you support the federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| Again, a tricky question. Too many of these bills are well sounding pork barrel legislation. I would have to see a bill do real good for the nation before I voted for it. If written properly, subsidies for renewable energy would be a cheap way to get us off fossil fuels. | |||
| No | Do you generally support gun-control legislation? | ||
| This is a free country. We can't solve our problems by adding laws on what people can and can't do. Every time the Democrats talk about this, everyone's reaction is to run to the gun store. | |||
| Yes | Do you support repealing the 2010 Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare")? | ||
| This was a tax on the poor young and healthy and a subsidy to wealthy health care providers. We need to redo this legislation from scratch. | |||
| Yes | Do you support the construction of a wall along the Mexican border? | ||
| Yes | Do you support requiring immigrants who are unlawfully present to return to their country of origin before they are eligible for citizenship? | ||
| Again, a gray area. Maybe a wall isn't the best way to achieve border security. But I ask those who oppose it - are you at least for a secure border? All too often, the answer there is no. So a wall becomes a litmus test of commitment to a proper immigration system. I would support a bill requiring return of unlawful immigrants for citizenship well before I supported one that required their return for any legal status. | |||
| No | Do you support the legalization of marijuana for recreational purposes? | ||
| The issue here is some states want it legal, but the federal government does not. So there's an inconsistency here. I wouldn't be spearheading any efforts to make this legal at the federal level. Decriminalizing, possibly. My priority would be to give law enforcement a consistent legal framework on this issue. | |||
| No | Should the United States use military force in order to prevent governments hostile to the U.S. from possessing a nuclear weapon? | ||
| No | Do you support increased American intervention in Middle Eastern conflicts beyond air support? | ||
| Our allies in the middle east have matured and are now capable of defending and improving the region without our direct help. Our direct help only harms our interests in the region and can quickly backfire. We should use it only in case of major emergency. | |||
| I've said my campaign rested on three issues I thought were bipartisan: * support police and military * keep immigration legal * American values are worth defending. None of these issues require funding. They're simply a return to the role I see government needs to play to play a positive role in our lives. |
Vote Smart does not permit the use of its name or programs in any campaign activity, including advertising, debates, and speeches.