Christopher Comden's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Michigan 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? | ||
| Typically, I will vote for what I have been able to discern is the wish of the majority of my constituents even if I disagree with it. There are certain times when my moral standards will not allow me to, though. I believe abortion is wrong and cannot in good conscience vote to make it easier. Hypothetically, if the majority of constituents want this I would vote "present". I won't be voting against the constituents or my moral principles. | |||
1) Budget Stabilization:Indicate which proposals you support (if any) for balancing Michigan's budget.
| Yes | a) Reducing state employee salaries AND/OR pensions? | ||
| No | b) Instituting mandatory furloughs AND/OR layoffs for state employees? | ||
| No | c) Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients? | ||
| No | d) An income tax increase on any tax bracket? | ||
| I believe stabilizing the budget, first and foremost, needs to come from eliminating wasteful spending and improving the efficiency of our government. We need to make smarter investments in our infrastructure instead of quick and easy fixes that will not last. It will mean slower progress and greater costs at first, but it may mean that sometime in the future most of Michigan would NOT be a construction zone and expenses would decrease significantly. | |||
| No | 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? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| There will always be a way for money to be used to help a candidate. It would be better to allow contributions to made directly and force the candidate to take responsibility for them. This would include more public reporting of contributions BEFORE the election. A bipartisan commission has a nice ring to it, but the same problems will occur as they do with legislators they will just be harder to see. The people have some control now by being able to vote for their legislator and the ability to recall them. There'll be no control over an independent commission. | |||
| No | a) Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| No | b) Do you support the legalization of marijuana for recreational purposes? | ||
| Yes | c) Should a minor accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police? | ||
| Although I do not support the legalization of marijuana, many of the people I have talked to have expressed their approval. I have no moral objection to it so as a Senator, based on my current information, I would support it. I am in support of state and local police enforcing EVERY law. If the people don't like a law then we should change them, not put our law enforcement in a difficult situation. On a case by case basis minors who have exhibited the ability to rationalize as an adult could be prosecuted as one. | |||
| 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? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support expanding access to unemployment benefits? | ||
| Yes | 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 Michigan? | ||
| No | g) Do you support increasing state funding for improving Michigan's roads and bridges? | ||
| No | h) Do you support eliminating Michigan's mandatory no-fault auto insurance? | ||
| I support changing Michigan's auto insurance structure and reducing the ridiculously high cost it is to citizens. I also support making auto insurance mandatory in whatever form it is. I support limited expansion of unemployment benefits to assist people in getting back on their feet and fully employed. I do support drug testing to receive full welfare benefits. There needs to be a method for assisting those who are addicts to become drug free and productive citizens, though. I support waiters & waitresses receiving the same minimum wage as everyone else. | |||
| No | a) Do you support adopting federal education standards in Michigan? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | ||
| No | c) Should immigrants unlawfully present in the United States who graduate from Michigan high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| The federal government needs to get out of Michigan and its schools especially. The State of Michigan also needs to take a step back and give more control of education to the local districts who know best how to reach their students. The State should be a resource for districts to succeed, not an overlord. I support state funding for charter schools and limited benefits to private schools through the sharing of resources with public schools such as lunch programs, music/band classes, testing, sports, etc. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, thermal)? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support state government regulations of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support increasing state funding for clean drinking water initiatives? | ||
| No | d) Do you support decommissioning the Enbridge Line 5 pipeline, which carries oil from Canada to the U.S.? | ||
| I very much support the replacement of the Line 5 pipeline starting today, but not stating a date that it needs to be shut down with no alternatives. I want Michigan to learn from this pipeline and have its own team of inspectors to lead inspections on this and other pipelines to draw their own conclusions from the day a pipeline is first installed. We depended on the Federal government and Enbridge itself to give us accurate and timely information. That was the wrong decision. I support regulations for emissions balanced with practical transitioning from current standards. | |||
| No | 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 teachers be allowed to bring guns into the classroom? | ||
| Yes | d) Should a license be required for gun ownership? | ||
| Regarding teachers, that should be up to the individual districts. I believe a practical way can be created for gun shows to have more regulation even if it means taking a person's information and running the background check after the fact and reporting to law enforcement any problems. I don't believe it is unreasonable for a license to be required and I support the registration of individual weapons. I am NOT in support of banning AR-15s or any other semi-automatic weapon. I do believe we should not have fully automatic weapons or bump stocks. | |||
| No | a) Should the state government increase funding for treatment facilities to combat opioid abuse? | ||
| No | b) Do you support Medicaid expansion through Michigan's health care programs? | ||
| No | c) Do you support requiring individuals to purchase health care insurance? | ||
| No | d) Do you support legislation that grants citizens the right to choose to die through euthanasia? | ||
| No | e) Do you support eliminating religious exemptions for vaccinations? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support using state funds to provide public health services to citizens exposed to lead contamination in the Flint Water Crisis? | ||
| Flint is a special case because it happened under the State's watch. The State needs to take responsibility for it. My no answers should not be construed as a lack of support for treatment facilities of opioid abuse. It may become necessary, but I would like to see the progress of private and local efforts using different funding fight this battle first. They are better equipped to handle local crises. State funding may need to be used eventually. | |||
| No | a) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Michigan's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| No | b) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Michigan's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| No | c) Do you support greater efforts by Michigan state government in closing the pay gap between men and women? | ||
| Yes | d) Should able-bodied "food stamps" (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) recipients meet a work requirement to be eligible for benefits? | ||
| I could support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Michigan's anti-discrimination laws if it also included the right of those with religious beliefs to not be forced to provide a service that was against their beliefs. The state can close the gap for government employees. In the private sector there are many factors that affect pay from one industry to another and one thing that needs to be looked at is if women should be paid more or men be paid less. It greatly depends on the position they hold. | |||
| My main priority is to listen to the people of my district for the entire term from beginning to end. In addition, true road improvements, lower health care costs, lower rates for auto insurance and significant improvements to our education system are priorities. Funding for true road improvements can be achieved by decreasing state expenses and budgeting for the long term. This may mean that some roads will not be improved as quickly as we would like, but when they are they will be the best roads Michigan has ever had. |
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