Archibald Flower IV's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Archibald Flower IV 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.
Vermont State Legislative Election 2018 Political Courage Test
| Pro-life | a) Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| No | b) Should abortion be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support the prohibition of public funds for organizations that perform abortions? | ||
| The Libertarian party is split on the issue of abortion, and it all hinges on when someone believes a human life begins. I believe that science gives us the best answer that life begins at conception. http://l4l.org has many more details about the libertarian pro-life view. | |||
Budget Stabilization:Indicate which proposals you support (if any) for balancing Vermont's budget.
| Yes | a) Should the education budget be funded by a new education income tax instead of property taxes? | ||
| Yes | b) Reducing state employee salaries AND/OR pensions? | ||
| Yes | c) Instituting mandatory furloughs AND/OR layoffs for state employees? | ||
| d) Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients? | |||
| e) An income tax increase on any tax bracket? | |||
| I would lower taxes as much as possible. This must include lowering spending, as deficit spending is fiscally irresponsible and wholly immoral. And to clarify my "yes" answer to question a) (increasing income tax for education spending), this will ONLY apply if property taxes are abolished via Constitutional amendment, which is one of my key planks. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support any limits on campaign contributions to state candidates? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions? | ||
| c) Do you support the use of an independent AND/OR bipartisan commission for redistricting? | |||
| Yes | d) Do you support requiring a government-issued photo identification in order to vote at the polls? | ||
| The biggest issue for me regarding finance is transparency. So long as the voters can get accurate data, it's really their decision. | |||
| No | a) Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support the legalization of marijuana for recreational purposes? | ||
| c) Should a minor accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult? | |||
| d) Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police? | |||
| The state should not be able to put people to death because due process can not guarantee guilt. There have been cases where the defendant was sentenced to death even while their lawyer slept during trial. Society can be made safe from violent predators by locking them away for life. | |||
| No | a) Do you support state government spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support lowering state taxes as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support reducing state government regulations on the private sector? | ||
| No | d) Do you support expanding access to unemployment benefits? | ||
| No | e) Do you support requiring welfare applicants to pass a drug test in order to receive benefits? | ||
| No | f) Do you support an increase of the minimum wage of Vermont? | ||
| g) Should Vermont breweries be permitted to terminate distribution agreements with beverage distributors for no cause? | |||
| "Free markets, free people." We currently live in a tightly controlled corporate state, where the elites of corporations and the elites of government are essentially the same group. We need to re-establish genuine free markets and allow people to make their own contracts and economic choices. We can see empirical data through the world and through history, that the freer the markets, the faster quality and supply rise, while prices fall. This creates real wealth which then raises the standard of living for the whole of society. | |||
| No | a) Do you support adopting federal education standards in Vermont? | ||
| b) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | |||
| No | c) Should immigrants unlawfully present in the United States who graduate from Vermont high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| I will work to abolish Act 46, giving back control to local communities. I will work to increase educational opportunities by expanding private education and home schooling opportunities. | |||
| No | a) Do you support state funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, thermal)? | ||
| No | b) Do you support state government regulations of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support increasing state funding for clean drinking water initiatives? | ||
| Regarding c), I mainly want to see the state enforce standards against municipalities which dump sewage. The technology is readily available, and barring truly unforeseen circumstance, sewage treatment needs are very predictable. | |||
| No | a) Do you generally support gun-control legislation? | ||
| No | b) Should background checks be required on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows? | ||
| Yes | c) Should teachers be allowed to bring guns into the classroom? | ||
| No | d) Should a license be required for gun ownership? | ||
| Act 94 is immoral and unconstitutional, and I will take every opportunity I can to repeal it. All "gun control" is really just controlling non violent people, as criminals do not obey these laws. | |||
| Yes | a) Should the state government increase funding for treatment facilities to combat opioid abuse? | ||
| b) Do you support Medicaid expansion through Vermont's health care programs? | |||
| No | c) Do you support requiring individuals to purchase health care insurance? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support legislation that grants citizens the right to choose to die through euthanasia? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support eliminating religious exemptions for vaccinations? | ||
| The healthcare market is one of the most restrictive in the United States. We need to repeal massive amount of regulations and use a free market approach. Every other sector of the market that is less regulated, increases in quality and supply, and decreases in cost, faster than we see healthcare improve. | |||
| No | a) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Vermont's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| No | b) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Vermont's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| No | c) Do you support greater efforts by Vermont state government in closing the pay gap between men and women? | ||
| This country was founded upon the principle of equal rights for all - but anti discrimination laws go beyond the role of government which should be confined to preventing force or fraud. While I personally believe in the inherent worth of every individual, I also recognize that to violate the right of freedom of association would cause more problems and not actually solve any, despite it's promises to do so. | |||
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