Brad Kirsch's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Pennsylvania State Legislative Election 2008 Political Courage Test
The Political Courage Test asks candidates which items they will support if elected. It does not ask them to indicate which items they will oppose. Through extensive research of public polling data, we discovered that voters are more concerned with what candidates would support when elected to office, not what they oppose. If a candidate does not select a response to any part or all of any question, it does not necessarily indicate that the candidate is opposed to that particular item.
Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding abortion.
| a) Abortions should always be illegal. | |||
| b) Abortions should always be legal. | |||
| X | c) Abortions should be legal only within the first trimester of pregnancy. | ||
| d) Abortions should be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape. | |||
| X | e) Abortions should be legal when the life of the woman is endangered. | ||
| f) Abortions should be subject to a mandatory waiting period. | |||
| g) Require clinics to give parental notification before performing abortions on minors. | |||
| In place of parental notification there should be a court review for minors seeking abortions. It is sometimes physically dangerous for children to speak to a parent who may be involved in incest or other parental problems. | |||
State Budget: Indicate 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.State Taxes: Indicate 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.
| Maintain Status | a) Education (Higher) | ||
| Slightly Increase | b) Education (K-12) | ||
| Maintain Status | c) Emergency preparedness | ||
| Slightly Increase | d) Environment | ||
| Slightly Increase | e) Health care | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Law enforcement | ||
| Slightly Increase | g) Transportation and highway infrastructure | ||
| Maintain Status | h) Welfare | ||
| i) Other or expanded categories | |||
| Slightly Increase | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Greatly Increase | b) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | c) Corporate taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | d) Gasoline taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | e) Income taxes (incomes below $75,000) | ||
| Slightly Increase | f) Income taxes (incomes above $75,000) | ||
| Maintain Status | g) Property taxes (general) | ||
| Greatly Decrease | h) Property taxes (seniors) | ||
| Slightly Increase | i) Sales taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | j) Vehicle taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | k) Other or expanded categories | ||
| Yes | 1) Should state sales taxes be extended to Internet sales? | ||
| Yes | 2) Should accounts such as a "rainy day" fund be used to balance the state budget? | ||
| Yes | 3) Should fee increases be used to balance the state budget? | ||
| Increase sales and income taxes over a 12 year period and shift all new students entering educationally mandated programs from Local to State financial obligation. Those students presently in the system will phase out over 12 years and the state will pick up the slack or eliminate these unfunded mandates. This way the tax increases necessary to increase state funding will be gradually implemented. | |||
| Tax waste coming into PA at the landfill over a protracted time with little increases. Set categories of fines for those companies who do not meet updated standards for polution controls and use those funds to develop clean energy resources such a liqified coal, solar and other alternate energy plans. | |||
Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding campaign finance and government reform.d) Do you support limiting the following types of contributions to state legislative candidates?
| Yes | a) Do you support the current limit of terms for Pennsylvania governors? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support limiting the number of terms for Pennsylvania state senators and representatives? | ||
| Yes | c) Should the size of the state legislature be reduced? | ||
| Yes | 1) Individual | ||
| Undecided | 2) PAC | ||
| Yes | 3) Corporate | ||
| Yes | 4) Political Parties | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support requiring full and timely disclosure of campaign finance information? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support imposing spending limits on state-level political campaigns? | ||
| No | g) Should Pennsylvania participate in the federal REAL ID program? | ||
| The real ID program must be thouroghly explained to the people and put to a referendum. | |||
Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding crime.
| a) Increase state funds for construction of state prisons and hiring of additional prison staff. | |||
| b) Support the death penalty in Pennsylvania. | |||
| X | c) Support programs to provide prison inmates with vocational and job-related skills and job-placement assistance when released. | ||
| X | d) Implement penalties other than incarceration for certain non-violent offenders. | ||
| X | e) Decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana. | ||
| X | f) Minors accused of a violent crime should be prosecuted as adults. | ||
| X | g) Support state and local law enforcement officials enforcing federal immigration laws. | ||
| X | h) Support hate crime legislation. | ||
| Implement educational standards for parole eligibility. This would increase the probability that those paroled could find and hold a job because they have skills. | |||
Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding education.
| X | a) Support state funding of universal pre-K programs. | ||
| b) Support federal education standards and testing requirements for K-12 students (No Child Left Behind). | |||
| X | c) Support state education standards and testing requirements for K-12 students. | ||
| d) Support requiring public schools to administer high school exit exams. | |||
| e) Allow parents to use vouchers to send their children to any public school. | |||
| f) Allow parents to use vouchers to send their children to any private or religious school. | |||
| g) Provide state funding to increase teacher salaries. | |||
| X | h) Support using a merit pay system for teachers. | ||
| X | i) Provide state funding for tax incentives and financial aid to help make college more affordable. | ||
| j) Support allowing illegal immigrant high school graduates of Pennsylvania to pay in-state tuition at public universities. | |||
| k) Other or expanded principles | |||
Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding employment.
| X | a) Increase funding for state job-training programs that re-train displaced workers and teach skills needed in todays job market. | ||
| X | b) Reduce state government regulations on the private sector. | ||
| X | c) Provide low interest loans and tax credits for starting, expanding, or relocating businesses. | ||
| X | d) Provide tax credits for businesses that provide child care for children in low-income working families. | ||
| X | e) Increase state funds to provide child care for children in low-income working families. | ||
| X | f) Include sexual orientation in Pennsylvania's anti-discrimination laws. | ||
| X | g) Include gender identity in Pennsylvania's anti-discrimination laws. | ||
| h) Increase the state minimum wage. | |||
| i) Support laws that prevent employers from dismissing employees at will. | |||
| X | j) Support financial punishments for those who knowingly employ illegal immigrants. | ||
| X | k) Support increased work requirements for able-bodied welfare recipients. | ||
| X | l) Increase funding for employment and job training programs for welfare recipients. | ||
| m) Other or expanded principles | |||
Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding the environment and energy.
| X | a) Promote increased use of alternative fuel technology. | ||
| X | b) Support increased production of traditional domestic energy sources (e.g. coal, natural gas, oil, etc). | ||
| c) Support providing financial incentives to farms that produce biofuel crops. | |||
| X | d) Use state funds to clean up former industrial and commercial sites that are contaminated, unused, or abandoned. | ||
| e) Support funding for improvements to Pennsylvania's power generating and transmission facilities. | |||
| f) Support funding for open space preservation. | |||
| X | g) Limit carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases linked to global warming. | ||
| X | h) Enact environmental regulations even if they are stricter than federal law. | ||
| X | i) Finance energy independence programs with a utilities surcharge. | ||
| B. We must properly fund research and development of our natural resources/ F. Open space should be funded by bonds at the local level. | |||
Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding guns.
| Yes | a) Should background checks be required on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows? | ||
| Yes | b) Should citizens be allowed to carry concealed guns? | ||
| No | c) Should a license be required for gun possession? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support current levels of enforcement of existing state restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support current state restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns? | ||
| People who purchase guns as surrogates for others must be punished with long prison terms. People committing felonies who use guns must receive maximum sentences without any parole. | |||
Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding health.
| X | a) Ensure that citizens have access to basic health care through managed care, insurance reforms, or state-funded care where necessary. | ||
| b) Guaranteed medical care to all citizens is not a responsibility of state government. | |||
| X | c) Limit the amount of damages that can be awarded in medical malpractice lawsuits. | ||
| X | d) Allow patients to sue their HMOs. | ||
| X | e) Require hospitals and labs to release reports on infections that are a risk to public health, while not compromising patient confidentiality. | ||
| f) Legalize physician assisted suicide in Pennsylvania. | |||
| X | g) Support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes. | ||
| X | h) Support using the Mcare surplus to extend coverage to the uninsured. | ||
| X | i) Increase tobacco taxes to fund programs that extend coverage to the uninsured. | ||
| We shoudl encourage a mix of insurance and state aid to lower income people to purchase insurance of their choice. We should monitor all care givers for efficency and set standards so that we can scientifically get control of spiraling costs. | |||
['Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding social issues.', 'Legislative Priorities']
| Yes | a) Should Pennsylvania recognize civil unions between same-sex couples? | ||
| No | b) Should same-sex couples be allowed to marry? | ||
| Yes | c) Should Pennsylvania provide state-level spousal rights to same-sex couples? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support a moment of silence in public schools? | ||
| No | e) Do you support voluntary prayer in public schools? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support sexual education programs that include information on abstinence, contraceptives, and HIV/STD prevention methods? | ||
| g) Do you support abstinence-only sexual education programs? | |||
| Undecided | h) Should the state government consider race and gender in state government contracting and hiring decisions? | ||
| Undecided | i) Do you support affirmative action in public college admissions? | ||
| Undecided | j) Should Pennsylvania continue affirmative action programs? | ||
| Yes | k) Do you support state funding of stem cell research? | ||
| Yes | l) Do you support state funding of embryonic stem cell research? | ||
| Undecided | m) Do you support allowing pharmacists who conscientiously object to emergency contraception to refuse to dispense it? | ||
| Hospitals that have religious affiliations should be allowed to refuse contraception and post their position with service providers - police, etc. so that rape victimes are not brought there. Pharmasists who will not dispence contraceptive devises should be required to post their premises with this information in a bold fashion so that people who may need such services will not be going to them. They shoud post this information on the outside of their stores in a prominent location. | |||
| We must change our educational funding back to the state. The present system of local funding does not build the excellent educational system we need to encourage job growth. Building PA Businesses such as energy, bio and high tech is needed to balance out our ever increasing need for health and senior care, etc. We must create incentives to bring business into PA. We must give incentives for research and let our educational systems recieve grants for providing qualified programs we need to bring jobs into PA. | |||
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