Brandon Lape's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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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.
Ohio Congressional Election 2020 Political Courage Test
| Pro-choice | Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| I do not like this question as it is used to polarize people time and time again. Politically, I believe Government needs to stay out of this peoples' bedrooms. Abortion is a choice not taken into lightly. Government should not be involved in a woman's choice to acquire abortion services. Abortion services should NEVER be funded nor subsidized by Government. If there is a market and a clinic can stand on their own as a private business, they should be allowed to do so. I support and will protect a woman's Right to abortion services up until the 20 weeks. | |||
| No | In order to balance the budget, do you support an income tax increase on any tax bracket? | ||
| No | Do you support expanding federal funding to support entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare? | ||
| We need to get Government out of the Insurance industry. Social Security forces us to buy an insurance product in the form of an annuity. There are much better products out there but we are forced to buy this one. I support an Opt-Out option of Social Security where we pay everyone back what has been paid in and allow them to invest in the private market. This will take the money out of the hands of Government that has been caught with their hands in the proverbial cookie jar. (abusing Artical VI of the Social Security Act.) | |||
| No | Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions? | ||
| Corporations and Unions should be allowed to endorse and financially support candidates. It is up to the people to see who is supporting a candidate as that will tell them who their representative is willing to help most. I am a person of the people and for the people. My campaign is not owned by corporations or PACs. If a corporation wanted to contribute to me, that's fine. But I will always maintain that I work for the people. They elect me, they are my boss. I am their representative and no one else. | |||
| No | Do you support the protection of government officials, including law enforcement officers, from personal liability in civil lawsuits concerning alleged misconduct? | ||
| Absolutely not. I support ending qualified immunity. Citizens deserve the ability to hold officials and officers accountable in civil court. In the case of Breonna Taylor, the tax payers are going to payout damages to her family. This wouldn't be the case if we got rid of qualified immunity. Instead, her family could sue the officers and even the judge that signed the no-knock warrant. Officers and officials would have to purchase some form of occupation insurance similar to malpractice. We also need to end no-knock warrants, mandatory minimum sentencing, civil asset forfeiture, and the failed War on Drugs. | |||
| No | Do you support increasing defense spending? | ||
| I support decreasing defense spending by working with other House members to declare war or end financing of foreign conflicts. We can still have a strong military without a strong global military presence. We can bring our troops home. We can also stop funding opposition forces and other countries' military overseas. No amount of Military might will protect a Government from spending its way into oblivion. | |||
| 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? | ||
| No | Do you support providing financial relief to businesses AND/OR corporations negatively impacted by the state of national emergency for COVID-19? | ||
| I don't like that it is needed in the first place. The Federal Government dragged it's feet in creating a plan for the pandemic and it devastated the economy. My employer and even family and friends businesses have relied on PPP programs to pay their employees during this tough time. There is nothing I can do about existing programs that have already been appropriated; I do not support any further programs. I recommend State Government refrain from taking drastic measures in handling future pandemics as the Federal Government can no longer afford floating another mass shutdown. | |||
| No | Do you support requiring states to adopt federal education standards? | ||
| The Department of Education, at the Federal level, needs ended. Education needs to be localized. Trickle down taxation does not work. Taxes should no longer be collected at the Federal level for education. People have much better control how their tax dollars are spent at the local level. They also have a much better understanding of what the local school district's needs are. | |||
| No | Do you support government funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, geo-thermal)? | ||
| No | Do you support the federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| No part of the Energy industry should be subsidies by the Government. The coal industry is dying because of other technologies advancing. Nuclear is coming back due to corruption in Ohio politics. Natural Gas has become the new backbone to the energy industry. Solar, Wind, and Battery technology is on the cusp of new innovations that may completely change the industry. It is up to private industry to out sell and out pace the competition. That is what capitalism is all about. Competition breads innovation and lowers cost leaving consumers as the benefactors. | |||
| No | Do you generally support gun-control legislation? | ||
| Gun control is only about control. Gun ownership is a Right. The second amendment is there so we can protect ourselves against tyranny, from the Government turning on their people. It is also there in the event the Government fails to protect the people. It allows them the means to protect themselves or even protect the Government. We need to restore the second amendment by: Repealing the Gun Control Act of 1968 Repealing the National Firearms Act of 1934 Repealing the Federal Firearms Act This would allow us to end the ATF. Prohibition is over. Why are they needed? | |||
| Yes | Do you support repealing the 2010 Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare")? | ||
| No | Do you support requiring businesses to provide paid medical leave during public health crises, such as COVID-19? | ||
| Government should not be permitted to force businesses to "foot the bill" when States attempt to shut things down. States should also not rely on the Federal Government to supplement Tax Revenue losses when they decide to shut down their economies. | |||
| No | Do you support the construction of a wall along the Mexican border? | ||
| No | Do you support requiring immigrants who are unlawfully present to return to their country of origin before they are eligible for citizenship? | ||
| We are wasting tax dollars building walls, militarizing boarder patrol, and subcontracting detention facilities for undocumented immigrants. Instead, immigration needs to be streamlined and easier. The program needs to be more inviting to get more immigrants to "want to" go through the legal process. Growing a nations population through immigration will increase the diversity and bring more talent from all walks of life. We need not fear humans from different countries becoming neighbors and members of our communities, we need to embrace it. | |||
| No | Should the United States use military force to prevent governments hostile to the U.S. from possessing a weapon of mass destruction (for example: nuclear, biological, chemical)? | ||
| Yes | Do you support reducing military intervention in Middle East conflicts? | ||
| The United States have been involved in hundreds of years of conflicts and wars. It is time we give peace a chance and bring our troops home. We can still have a strong military without having a military presence around the globe. | |||
| Yes | Do you generally support removing barriers to international trade (for example: tariffs, quotas, etc.)? | ||
| Open trade will only benefit the US. Government barriers hurt American businesses trying to get products supplied by other countries. The process slows down shipping and can cost companies potential revenue. | |||
| Restore Civil Liberties and Individual Rights: Restore the Second Amendment to its original state End mandatory minimum sentencing End qualified immunity End civil asset forfeiture End no knock warrants End the war on drugs Exercise Fiscal Responsibility and Eliminate Deficit Spending: Repeal the Patriot Act End ATF, DEA, Department of Homeland Security, NSA, Department of Education None of the above positions cost the American tax payer. It saves them money. Address Social Entitlements and Welfare Reform: Opt-Out Social Security Open Insurance Markets (promote competition across state lines) Sell Government Assets to pay back what was stolen from Social Security. |
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