Roger Thoney's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Kentucky State Legislative Election 2010 Political Courage Test
| Pro-life | a) Do you consider yourself pro-choice or pro-life? | ||
| No | b) Should abortion be legal only within the first trimester of pregnancy? | ||
| No | c) Should abortion be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape? | ||
| Yes | d) Should abortion be legal when the life of the woman is endangered? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support requiring parental notification before an abortion is performed on a minor? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support requiring parental consent before an abortion is performed on a minor? | ||
| Yes | g) Should an ultrasound be required prior to an abortion? | ||
| Yes | h) Do you support sexual education programs that include information on abstinence, contraceptives, and HIV/STD prevention methods? | ||
| Yes | i) Do you support abstinence-only sexual education programs? | ||
| h) I will support such programs if abstinence is included. h, i) These programs also should include a discussion of parents' responsibilities in rearing a child and the cost of rearing a child in today's and tomorrow's economy. | |||
1) State SpendingIndicate what state funding levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one level per category- you can use a number more than once.2) State TaxesIndicate what state tax levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one level per category- you can use a number more than once.3) Budget StabilizationIndicate which proposals you support (if any) for balancing Kentucky's budget.
| Slightly Decrease | a) Education (higher) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | b) Education (K-12) | ||
| Greatly Decrease | c) Environment | ||
| Greatly Decrease | d) Health care | ||
| Maintain Status | e) Law enforcement | ||
| Slightly Decrease | f) Transportation and highway infrastructure | ||
| Greatly Decrease | g) Welfare | ||
| Greatly Decrease | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Greatly Decrease | b) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Eliminate | c) Corporate taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | d) Gasoline taxes | ||
| Greatly Decrease | e) Property taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Sales taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | g) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Maintain Status | h) Income taxes (middle-income families) | ||
| Maintain Status | i) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| Yes | a) Tapping into Kentucky's "rainy day" fund | ||
| Yes | b) Issuing the early release of certain non-violent offenders | ||
| Yes | c) Increasing tuition rates at public universities | ||
| Yes | d) Instituting mandatory furloughs and layoffs for state employees | ||
| No | e) Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients | ||
| Yes | f) Privatizing certain government services | ||
| a, b) How we spend our money is the issue, not how much we spend. I will work for education reform that stresses effectiveness and efficiency -- better results, lower cost. c) Excessive environmental regulation costs jobs. People are more important than fish and wildlife. d) Banks will finance health care rather than taxpayers if we implement The Freedom Plan for Health Care Finance Reform (see www.rogerthoney.com). f) I will support deferring road and other construction projects to balance the budget and reduce borrowing. g) Welfare spending will greatly decrease if we change to a loan-based system (see www.rogerthoney.com). | |||
| a,b) Greatly decreasing alcohol and cigarette taxes will stimulate job creation, increasing revenue and reducing spending on social programs. c) Eliminating corporate taxes will reduce the cost of doing business, stimulating job creation and making U.S.-based businesses more competitive in the global economy. e) High property taxes hurt those in low-income households whether they own or rent. I also will support eliminating taxes on utility, insurance, and other bills to reduce the cost of living. Job-growth-effects which increase revenue and reduce social spending and other spending reductions discussed above will offset the tax cuts to balance the budget. | |||
| b) I prefer in-home incarceration over early release. c) I will support making more funds available for student loans. d) Everyone must sacrifice in this economy. e) Medicaid recipients can pay more into the program rather than reducing benefits. f) I also will support increasing user fees consistent with the philosophy that "those who receive the benefit should pay more." Note: If we were to make Kentucky the most business-friendly state; stress improved effectiveness and efficiency in education and government; and reform welfare and Medicaid as discussed above; then these steps to balance the budget would not be necessary. | |||
c) Do you support limits on the following types of contributions to candidates for state government?
| Yes | a) Do you support limits on the number of terms for Kentucky governors? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support limits on the number of terms for Kentucky state legislators? | ||
| No | 1) Individual | ||
| Yes | 2) Political Action Committee | ||
| Yes | 3) Corporate | ||
| No | 4) Political Party | ||
| No | d) Should candidates for state office be encouraged to meet voluntary spending limits? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support requiring full and timely disclosure of campaign finance information? | ||
| f) Other or expanded principles | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support alternatives to incarceration for certain non-violent offenders, such as mandatory counseling or substance abuse treatment? | ||
| No | c) Should the possession of small amounts of marijuana be decriminalized? | ||
| Yes | d) Should minors accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as adults? | ||
| Yes | e) Should minors who send sexually-explicit or nude photos by cell phone face criminal charges? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police? | ||
| b) I also will support in-home incarceration and higher fines. c) I will support higher fines but no jail time for such minor offenses. e) Such activity is the unlicensed, unregulated distribution of pornography; however, I will support more lenient penalties for minors. f) The Constitution does not prohibit the states from doing this; and states must act to protect their citizens if the federal government is negligent in its responsibility to protect us from "invasion" (Article IV, Section 4). | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector? | ||
| No | b) Do you support increased state funding for job-training programs that re-train displaced workers? | ||
| No | c) Do you support expanding access to unemployment benefits? | ||
| No | d) Do you support providing financial incentives to the private sector for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| No | e) Do you support increased spending on infrastructure projects for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support providing direct financial assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure? | ||
| No | g) Do you support capping interest rates and fees on payday loans? | ||
| Yes | h) Do you support permitting video lottery terminals at horse racing tracks? | ||
| b) I support job-training tax credits for individuals instead. c) We should replace unemployment with a loan-based program instead. d) Financial incentives will not be needed if we eliminate all taxes on business activity. e) We should reduce the cost of taxation, regulation, and litigation instead. f) Providing loans for mortgage payments will prevent foreclosures and stabilize the housing market. Bank losses also will be reduced enabling them to lend more. g) Caps will restrict credit. Rates and fees should be controlled by free-market forces of competition and consumer sensitivity to price. h) Only if approved by the people. | |||
| No | a) Do you support national education standards? | ||
| No | b) Do you support requiring public schools to administer high school exit exams? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support using a merit pay system for teachers? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support the state government providing college students with financial aid? | ||
| No | f) Should illegal immigrants who graduate from Kentucky high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| a) The federal government should not intervene in education. We should eliminate the Department of Education. b) I support reading and math proficiency tests for elementary-school students before entering the next grade instead. c) I support merit pay at the system level not at the individual level. d) I support competition in education. If taxpayers fund charter schools, then those in private schools should get tuition tax credits. e) Raising tuition and providing loans to students will lessen the burden on taxpayers. Why should Kentuckians subsidize the education of students who ultimately work and pay taxes in other states? | |||
| No | a) Do you support state funding for the development of alternative energy? | ||
| No | b) Do you support state funding for the development of traditional domestic energy sources (e.g. coal, natural gas, oil)? | ||
| No | c) Do you support providing financial incentives to farms that produce biofuel crops? | ||
| No | d) Do you support state funding for improvements to Kentucky's energy infrastructure? | ||
| No | e) Do you support state funding for open space preservation? | ||
| No | f) Do you support enacting environmental regulations aimed at reducing the effects of climate change? | ||
| a, b) Such development work should be funded by private-sector interests. c) I will support reducing their costs by eliminating taxes and reducing the cost of complying with regulations and litigation instead. d) This should be funded by private-sector interests. e) This should be accomplished by regulation and financed by private-sector interests. f) Claims of global warming, or climate change, have absolutely no basis in science whatsoever because the underlying research is inconsistent with several basic principles of science (see www.rogerthoney.com). This inconsistency renders such claims inapplicable to the world in which we live. | |||
| No | a) Do you support restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns? | ||
| No | b) Do you support requiring background checks on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support allowing individuals to carry concealed guns? | ||
| No | d) Do you support requiring a license for gun possession? | ||
| a) Gun control laws and regulations control only law-abiding citizens. The threat from possessing guns is posed by those who do not abide by laws. | |||
| No | a) Do you support a universally-accessible, publicly-administered health insurance option? | ||
| No | b) Do you support expanding access to health care through commercial health insurance reform? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support interstate health insurance compacts? | ||
| No | d) Should individuals be required to purchase health care insurance? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support monetary limits on damages that can be collected in malpractice lawsuits? | ||
| No | f) Do you support legalizing physician-assisted suicide in Kentucky? | ||
| No | g) Do you support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes? | ||
| No | h) Do you support Medicaid coverage for smoking cessation programs? | ||
| a) I support The Freedom Plan for Health Care Finance Reform, which is administered in the private sector and is open to all who want health insurance, instead (see www.rogerthoney.com). b) Forcing insurance companies to expand coverage will increase premiums. We can expand coverage and reduce premiums by implementing The Freedom Plan for Health Care Finance Reform (see www.rogerthoney.com) e) I support limits on punitive damages and pain and suffering. h) Taxpayers should not have to pay for this. | |||
| Yes | a) Should marriage only be between one man and one woman? | ||
| No | b) Should Kentucky allow same-sex couples to form civil unions? | ||
| No | c) Do you support state funding for stem cell research? | ||
| No | d) Do you support state funding for embryonic stem cell research? | ||
| No | e) Do you support the state's use of affirmative action? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Kentucky's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Kentucky's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| c, d) I support non-embryonic stem cell research, but not state funding of it. Private-sector interests should fund this research. I do not support embryonic stem cell research. e) Affirmative action is state-sanctioned discrimination and is unconstitutional. f, g) All U.S. citizens have equal rights to non-discrimination in housing, jobs, etc. This is integral to economic freedom. | |||
| Create more jobs; reduce the cost of living; and reduce taxes, borrowing, and spending. Creating jobs will increase tax revenue. We can create more jobs by reducing the cost of living and cost of doing business and providing a lower-cost source of investment capital for small businesses. We can reduce the cost of living by reducing taxes, the cost of doing business, and the cost of health insurance. We can reduce spending by creating more jobs, implementing The Freedom Plan for Health Care Finance Reform, changing welfare to a loan-based program, and reducing the cost of living. See www.rogerthoney.com. |
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