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Douglas Alexander's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)

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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.
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Issue Positions

For Presidential and Congressional candidates who refuse to provide voters with their positions, Vote Smart has researched their public records to determine their likely responses. These issue positions are from 2022.

  • Despite exhaustive research, Vote Smart was unable to find information about this candidate's position.
  • Despite exhaustive research, Vote Smart was unable to find information about this candidate's position.
  • Despite exhaustive research, Vote Smart was unable to find information about this candidate's position.
  • Despite exhaustive research, Vote Smart was unable to find information about this candidate's position.
  • Despite exhaustive research, Vote Smart was unable to find information about this candidate's position.
  • Despite exhaustive research, Vote Smart was unable to find information about this candidate's position.
  • Despite exhaustive research, Vote Smart was unable to find information about this candidate's position.
  • Despite exhaustive research, Vote Smart was unable to find information about this candidate's position.
  • Despite exhaustive research, Vote Smart was unable to find information about this candidate's position.
  • Despite exhaustive research, Vote Smart was unable to find information about this candidate's position.
  • Despite exhaustive research, Vote Smart was unable to find information about this candidate's position.
  • Despite exhaustive research, Vote Smart was unable to find information about this candidate's position.
  • Despite exhaustive research, Vote Smart was unable to find information about this candidate's position.
  • Despite exhaustive research, Vote Smart was unable to find information about this candidate's position.
  • Despite exhaustive research, Vote Smart was unable to find information about this candidate's position.
  • Despite exhaustive research, Vote Smart was unable to find information about this candidate's position.
  • Despite exhaustive research, Vote Smart was unable to find information about this candidate's position.
  • Despite exhaustive research, Vote Smart was unable to find information about this candidate's position.
  • Despite exhaustive research, Vote Smart was unable to find information about this candidate's position.
  • Despite exhaustive research, Vote Smart was unable to find information about this candidate's position.
  • Despite exhaustive research, Vote Smart was unable to find information about this candidate's position.
  • Despite exhaustive research, Vote Smart was unable to find information about this candidate's position.
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.
Unknown Position Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation?
My #1 issue is generating momentum to impose term limits on members of Congress. The idea behind term limits is 1) to get rid of career politicians, and 2) attract an entirely different person to run for Congress, with entirely different motivations once in office. They would much more likely have the heart of public servants. As an independent, I'm choosing not to take a stand on this poignant yet polarizing issue, since it would cause me to instantly lose ~50% of voters attention. Politicians cynically fund raise on this issue; it is now a state issue, Congress is out.
Unknown Position Do you support expanding federal funding to support social safety net programs such as Social Security and Medicare?
It's not that simple: it is cynical for politicians from both parties to click "yes" and say the right things, but continue to spend our children's tax dollars and add to our $31,000 000 000 000 federal debt by routing tax dollars to the power brokers on K street who help them stay in office. Neither SS nor Medicare will survive if our government continues this out-of-control spending. The best way to shore up these two important safety nets is to get term limits on Congress, which is the only way to stop irresponsible spending.
Yes Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations,unions, and individuals?
Yes, but we will never get true, effective campaign finance reform until we pass term limits on Congress, get the career politicians out, and send citizen legislators to Congress who will pass genuine, real campaign finance reform with no loopholes.
Unknown Position Do you support the protection of government officials, including law enforcement officers, from personal liability in civil lawsuits concerning alleged misconduct?
It's not an easy yes & no. For Police I support qualified immunity one time. That is, they should be told consistently that if they kill or severally injure someone inappropriately, they'll be kicked out off the force. Just as a Navy Captain of a ship is relieved of duty if a major mishap occurs on his/her watch. So they can use deadly force knowing they are protected, but if they abuse it, their career is over.
Unknown Position Do you support increasing defense spending?
I'm former military, but I'd want to do a serious evaluation and talk to numerous experts to get a sense of how warfare is evolving and where our money is being spent. Cybersecurity is huge, as is the threat of damage to infrastructure bring our country to its knees without one shot being fired. We need to have good reasons to increase, decrease, or maintain our military spending.
No Do you support federal spending 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?
Unknown Position Do you support the federal government taking action, beyond those of the Federal Reserve, to alleviate inflation?
The federal government does not make things. It does not grow things. It has a legitimate reason to tax citizens and spend it on governmental responsibilities. Various regulations and research arms may indirectly support our economic engine, but it does not add to our GDP.
No Do you support the forgiveness of federal student loan debt?
For every action the federal government takes that involves money, there are winners and losers. We should always ask with every government spending initiative: who are the winners? Why did our politicians reward them with our tax dollars? Who are the losers?
Yes Do you support requiring a government-issued identification in order to vote at the polls?
To function in our society people need IDs for all sort of daily or monthly activities that are satisfactory for voting. I'm open to hearing of one-off situations where someone does not have an id and should be allowed to vote, but I'm not aware of any personally.
Unknown Position Do you support government funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, geo-thermal)?
Unknown Position Do you support the federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions?
It's not an easy yes/no question. Anyone who is serous about addressing the climate change issue should look seriously into nuclear energy, which is by far the most promising, the most clean and the most productive way to transition away from fossil fuels. Anyone not willing to investigate nuclear power has other priorities than effectively addressing climate change.
Yes Do you generally support gun-control legislation?
congress has little jurisdiction here, but because a male�s brain does not fully develop until ~age 24, I think States should legislate anyone <24 may only purchase a firearm under the auspices of a parent/invested adult who co-owns and takes legal responsibility for it.
Unknown Position Do you support a government-run (single-payer) healthcare program, such as Medicare-for-All?
Unknown Position Do you support expanding paid family AND/OR medical leave opportunities?
Unknown Position Do you support lowering the cost of prescription drugs?
It's immaterial what various politicians support at this point. If we get term limits on Congress first, once citizen legislators replace career politicians, they might do what is unthinkable now: announce to the county their priorities for the next session! One they could designate �The healthcare Congress.' Experts from all areas of healthcare would consider sacrificing their careers to be public servants for the majority of a two-year period. They would bring an energetic, urgent attitude to Congress of �We gotta get this done during these two years.� They would bring in other experts. It would get done.
Yes Do you support increasing security along the southern US 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 need a wholistic approach to the immigration mess we are in. Undocumented immigrants are being used almost as slave labor--that's not right. We can't kick them all out b/c we need their labor (besides that being grossly unfair since we don't enforce our southerner boarder.) Yet any self-respecting society needs to maintain border security. So we need to address all facets by 1) securing the boarder, 2) granting a path to citizenship to anyone we allowed to enter illegally (i.e. all illegals, unless they deserve to be deported due to criminal activity) then they need fair labor situations.
Yes Do you support economic intervention as a means of resolving international conflicts?
Yes Do you support the U.S. providing increased offensive military aid to Ukraine?
No Do you support raising taxes, on any income or on any entity, to promote economic growth?
Yes Do you generally support removing barriers to international trade (for example: tariffs, quotas, etc.)?
But higher priority right now is recognizing that China has positioned itself as a cold war enemy of the USA. So addressing that dynamic comes first.
As mentioned earlier, my #1 issue is getting term limits on members of Congress. Did you know this is truly a bi-partisan issue? A recent national poll on Oct 16, 2021 shows 82% of both Democrat, Republican and Independent voters poll in favor of term limits on Congress. In 2018 a similar poll showed the same results. For details on these polls, search on �Oct 16 scott Rasmussen term limits� and also �M&A poll voters overwhelmingly support term limits for Congress'' Also Members of the Agriculture Committees subsidize dysfunctional food practices that kill via mitochondrial dysfunction, diabetes, and heart disease.

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