Alex Bar-Sela's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Alex Bar-Sela has provided voters with clear stances on key issues by responding to the 2024 Political Courage Test.
Texas State Legislative Election 2024 Political Courage Test
| Pro-choice | a) Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support legalizing abortion when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape? | ||
| No | c) Do you support the prohibition of public funds (e.g. Medicaid) for organizations that perform abortions? | ||
| If gorvernment support is available for healthcare, then the government has no place in deciding what is or is not appropriate. Such decisions should be left to patients and their respective medical care providers. | |||
| No | a) In order to balance the budget, do you support limiting state government spending on social programs (e.g. SNAP, TANF)? | ||
| No | b) Do you support a decrease in income taxes in order to promote economic growth? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support a wealth tax in order to pay for public programs in your state? | ||
| No one in Texas or this nation benefits without passive support from the government. Infrastructure, education, federal interventions allows corporate entities to benefit from the advantages that they draw upon. It is only fair that those individuals and corporate entities pay their fair share in order to benefit all. | |||
| No | a) Do you support capital punishment for violent crimes? | ||
| Yes | b) Should an individual under 18 accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police? | ||
| No | d) Do you support the use of private prisons? | ||
| No | e) Do you support mandatory minimum sentences for nonviolent drug offenders? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support the legalization of marijuana for recreational use? | ||
| People are going to seek to narcotize themselves whether it is legal or not, Hell, just look at the fiasco that was the Prohibition Age. I say legalize it so we can regulate it and tax it. Plus, that will help remove the criminal element from such transactions. It may help reduce transnational crime and the bigger issue that is the influx of fentanyl into our country. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state government spending as a means of promoting economic growth (e.g. grants, tax incentives)? | ||
| No | b) Do you support reducing state government regulations on the private sector (e.g. for business or the environment)? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support an increase of the minimum wage in Texas? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support government spending on affordable housing projects in Texas? | ||
| Texas has seen an incredible influx of people looking for a better life. We have that to offer. However, if we allow private equity, venture capitalist firms and speculative investors to drive our housing market, then everyone loses except the big money corporate entities that drove the housing bubble that blew up not so long ago. Regulation, as ugly as the term may be to some, is essential to responsible economic growth. | |||
| No | a) Do you support adopting federal education standards (e.g. Common Core) in Texas? | ||
| No | b) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support increasing teacher salaries AND/OR benefits in Texas? | ||
| Yes | d) Should immigrants in the United States who graduate from Texas high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities, regardless of immigration status? | ||
| No | e) Do you support removing diversity, equity and inclusion offices on public college and university campuses? | ||
| Just because a particular field of study makes people uncomfortable does not mean it should be removed from the curriculum. Likewise, to pretend that we would not be better off appreciating the history of our nation is naive. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, geo-thermal)? | ||
| No | b) Do you support state governments allowing permits for drilling on public lands? | ||
| No | c) Do you support increasing state funding for clean drinking water initiatives? | ||
| I say no only because this smacks of Orwellianism. In 1984, the Ministry of Truth was dedicated itself to rewriting history (i.e. lying). There was the Ministry of Peace whose sole job was to wage war. Ergo, the idea that we need a clean water initiative makes me skeptical of the true motivation behind such a move. | |||
| Yes | a)Do you support limiting campaign contributions from corporations, unions, and individuals? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support the use of an independent or bipartisan commission for redistricting? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support requiring a government-issued photo identification in order to vote at the polls? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support automatic voter registration? | ||
| No | e) Do you support the implementation of ranked choice voting in Texas? | ||
| As long as people in Texas vote by party and not by policy, the idea of ranked voting, however logical it may seem, is not a sustainable way to promote true democratic ideals in our state. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you generally support gun-control legislation (e.g. red flag laws, closing the boyfriend loophole)? | ||
| Yes | b) Should background checks be required on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support the right to concealed carry in Texas? | ||
| I support conceal and carry as long as there is mandatory training involved. | |||
| No | a) Should the state government increase funding for treatment facilities to combat opioid abuse? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support a government-run (e.g. single-payer) healthcare program such as Medicare-for-All? | ||
| Yes | c) Should an individual have the right to choose to die (e.g. those with a terminal illness) through euthanasia? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support mandating vaccinations (e.g. for school or employment)? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support expanding paid family AND/OR medical leave benefits (e.g. maternity leave)? | ||
| Yes | f) Should the government be able to regulate the cost of prescription drugs? | ||
| Big Pharma has our society by the short hairs. It is absurd that they can set a price that is unattainable by the average citizen for life saving drugs. This creates a system where only the wealthy survive and the poor are left to fend for themselves. This is not representative of a truly inclusive and loving society. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support inclusion of sexual orientation in Texas' anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| No | b) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Texas' anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support greater efforts by Texas' state government in closing gender, racial, and other wage gaps? | ||
| All Texans should earn their deserved pay irregardless of their gender or racial identity. | |||
| I would have 2 major priorities should I be honored to represent my district. First of all, we need to fix our educational system. If there is a single issue that exists that can be addressed and would have a long lasting impact on the future of our state it would be Public Education. School vouchers are a scam, a cynical attempt to funnel tax payer dollars into the coffers of private home-school corporations. School vouchers have nothing to do with parental choice and everything to do with allowing outsiders to get their hands on the millions of dollars of hard earned money Texans pay to educate the next generation. Pay teachers better, build more classrooms, and hold district administrators accountable. That is how we better our educational system. The other priority I have is to make voter referendums a reality. Texans should be able to decide what is best for them and not have a minority of elected officials make decisions on their behalf. For example, the citizens should decide whether Texas women can make decisions concerning their own bodies. Trump and his ilk have been pushing this idea that states should decide the issue of abortion. And every "red" state that put this issue up to popular vote lost. People do NOT want the government to make such personal decisions. Yet in Texas, a state that prides itself on individuality and the pursuit of individual freedom, a small handful of elected official who hold office thanks to blatant partisan gerrymandering, women have been stripped of their freedoms, forced to let self-serving elected officials decide what is best for them and their families. Enough is enough, It is time to change our laws so that voters can easily introduce ballot referendums so that our laws are truly reflective of the will of the people. |
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