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David Schansberg's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)

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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.

  • "Pro-Life: We should decide this issue by "following the science." Biology tells us when life begins; we should rely on science and basic ethics to make decisions about this issue morally and in terms of public policy. For those who are ignorant about the science—or unwilling to rely on the science—we should still choose a conservative approach: If you’re not sure when life begins, then you should err on the side of life. And of course, we should never take money from taxpayers to give to those who "perform" abortions." (ericschansbergforcongress.org)
  • "I will argue for a spending freeze (or actual cuts) until we balance the budget or reach the % spending levels we had during the Clinton administration." (ericschansbergforcongress.org)
  • "One of President Trump’s top policy accomplishments was to simplify the federal income tax code. Ideally, the income tax code would be even simpler. And even better, we should have a flat income tax rate over an exempted amount of income." (ericschansbergforcongress.org)
  • 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.
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  • "I will work to extend this policy principle, reducing regulation to promote competition, increase business activity, and lower prices for consumers." (ericschansbergforcongress.org)
  • 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.
  • "Legal immigration is generally a beautiful thing. If people come to America to work, live as citizens, and participate in society, they will contribute much to our nation. One implication of this is that we should make legal immigration a less burdensome and arbitrary process. When we make it unnecessarily difficult, we tempt people to cross illegally. The federal government should also continue to do more to prevent illegal immigration—through a combination of physical walls and the use of technology along our borders, as appropriate." (ericschansbergforcongress.org)
  • 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.
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.
c) Abortions should be legal only within the first trimester.
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) Dilation and extraction or "partial-birth" abortion procedures should be legal.
X g) Medicare, Medicaid, and federal subsidies should be prohibited from being used on abortion procedures.
Interestingly, the wording on g has been changed since 2006. . . Given 21st century science and my religious views, I am unabashedly pro-life. That said, our first approach to abortion should be cultural, persuading more and more people. Until then, legislators should seek modest legal restrictions on the practice of abortion. Finally, pro-life advocates should continue to promote and increasingly practice adoption. Too often, pro-lifers have not backed up their talk with enough walk.

Indicate what federal funding levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one number per category, you can use a number more than once.1) Budget Priorities2) Defense Spending3) TaxesIndicate what federal tax levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one number per category, you can use a number more than once.Family Income TaxesOther TaxesDeductions/Credits

Eliminate a) Agriculture
Eliminate b) Arts
Slightly Decrease c) Defense
Greatly Decrease d) Education
Maintain Status e) Environment
Slightly Decrease f) FEMA
Slightly Decrease g) Homeland security
Eliminate h) International aid
Maintain Status i) Law enforcement (Federal)
Slightly Decrease j) Law enforcement (State)
Eliminate k) Medical research
Slightly Decrease l) National parks
Slightly Decrease m) Public health services
Eliminate n) Scientific research
Slightly Decrease o) Space exploration programs
Maintain Status p) Transportation and highway infrastructure
Eliminate q) United Nations
Eliminate r) Welfare
Maintain Status a) Armed forces personnel training
Slightly Increase b) Intelligence operations
Maintain Status c) Military hardware
Maintain Status d) Modernization of weaponry and equipment
Slightly Increase e) National missile defense
Maintain Status f) Pay for active duty personnel
Slightly Decrease g) Programs to improve troop retention rates
Maintain Status h) Research and development of new weapons
Maintain Status i) Troop and equipment readiness
Eliminate a) Less than $12,000
Greatly Decrease b) $12,001-$40,000
Greatly Decrease c) $40,001-$100,000
Greatly Decrease d) $100,001-$180,000
Greatly Decrease e) $180,001-$350,000
Greatly Decrease f) $350,001 and above
Maintain Status a) Alcohol taxes
Eliminate b) Capital gains taxes
Maintain Status c) Cigarette taxes
Eliminate d) Corporate taxes
Maintain Status e) Gasoline taxes
Eliminate f) Inheritance taxes
Maintain Status a) Charitable contribution deduction
Maintain Status b) Child tax credit
c) Earned income tax credit
Eliminate d) Medical expense deduction
Eliminate e) Mortgage deduction
Eliminate f) Student loan credit
Yes 4) Do you support the permanent repeal of the federal estate tax?
Yes 5) Do you support requiring the federal budget to be balanced each year?
on d, 6 unless financing voucher experiments on m & r, transition from 3 to 6 as possible
on g and in general, greatly reduce troop levels overseas
-is this a trick question? people who earn little don't pay much (if any) in "income taxes" -why is there nothing here about payroll taxes; 80% of wage earners are hit harder by that -in any case, transition to far lower taxes for all, especially the working poor
-on e, gas taxes should match the social cost of driving (roads, pollution, etc.) -on a and c, we should transition away from federal taxes as we transition away from federal spending on health care -on f, if the estate tax is eliminated, care must be taken that transferred assets receive a new basis
-on a, etc., prefer fair or flat tax, eliminating all deductions except perhaps charity -on c, prefer elimination of payroll taxes; if not, then expand EITC to compensate
-on 4, again, with repeal, there must be a mechanism to re-establish basis on transferred assets -on 5, that's better than the status quo, but the real problem is the overall size of govt

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding campaign finance and government reform.

X a) Support increasing the amount individuals are permitted to contribute to federal campaigns.
b) Prohibit Political Action Committee (PAC) contributions to candidates for federal office.
c) Allow unregulated soft money campaign contributions to political parties or committees.
X d) Remove all contribution limits on federal campaigns and parties.
e) Support prohibiting ads containing candidates' name that are paid for by third parties from airing 60 days before a primary and 30 days before a general federal election.
X f) Support instant run-off voting (IRV).
g) Support designating Election Day as a national holiday.
X h) Support giving the President the power of the line item veto for items concerning appropriations.
i) Support limiting the President's use of signing statements in order to prevent an alternative interpretation of the bill.
j) Support a federal shield law to protect reporter-source privilege.
-on a and d, campaign expenditures are protected under the Constitution as "free speech". But there should be transparency so people can easily see what people have given. -F is huge!

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding crime.

a) Support the use of the death penalty for federal crimes.
b) Eliminate the use of the death penalty for federal crimes.
c) Support programs to provide prison inmates with vocational and job-related skills and job-placement assistance when released.
d) Support programs to provide prison inmates with drug and alcohol addiction treatment.
X e) Reduce prison sentences for those who commit non-violent crimes.
f) Support mandatory jail sentences for selling illegal drugs.
g) Support strict penalties for internet crime (e.g. hacking, identity theft, worms/viruses).
h) Require that crimes based on sexual orientation be prosecuted as federal hate crimes.
This is largely a state and local issue.

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding education.

a) Support the federal government funding universal pre-K programs.
X b) Allow parents to use vouchers to send their children to any public school.
X c) Allow parents to use vouchers to send their children to any private or religious school.
d) Allow teachers and professionals to receive federal funding to establish charter or magnet schools.
e) Increase funding for the Pell Grant program.
f) Decrease interest rates of Stafford Loans.
g) Support federal tax incentives to help families save for college.
X h) Ban university financial aid officers from owning stock in or accepting gifts from student loan lenders.
i) Require universities to disclose financial relationships with lenders.
j) Support federal education standards and testing requirements for K-12 students (No Child Left Behind).
X k) Eliminate all federal education standards and testing requirements for K-12 students (No Child Left Behind).
-d, I love this but it's a state/local issue. -The big problem: govt has tremendous monopoly power in its provision of education, especially over the poor and the middle class. The results are not surprising: problems with quality, costs (>$10,000/student), and flexibility (e.g., school prayer, how to teach E/evolution). The Democrats are captive to unions who want to preserve their monopoly power. The Republicans don't have the stomach to fight. Who will speak for the poor and middle class? We must inject competition into the market for education. Govt monies should follow parents/students, rather than going to a government monopoly.

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding employment.

a) Increase funding for national job-training programs that retrain displaced workers or teach skills needed in today’s job market.
X b) Reduce government regulation of the private sector.
c) Encourage employers to offer child care services, flex-time scheduling, comp-time, and unpaid leave for family emergencies.
d) Increase the federal minimum wage.
e) Support the right of workers to unionize.
X f) Eliminate all federal programs designed to reduce unemployment.
g) Include sexual orientation in federal anti-discrimination laws.
h) Include gender identity in federal anti-discrimination laws.
-on c, if "encourage" means subsidy, then no thanks! -on f, it's a state/local issue

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding the environment and energy.

a) Strengthen the regulation and enforcement of the Clean Water Act.
b) Strengthen the regulation and enforcement of the Clean Air Act.
X c) Support increased development of traditional energy resources (e.g. coal, natural gas, oil).
d) Strengthen emission controls on all gasoline and diesel-powered engines, including cars, trucks, and sport utility vehicles.
e) Strengthen fuel efficiency standards on all gasoline and diesel-powered engines, including cars, trucks, and sport utility vehicles.
X f) Support domestic oil exploration in areas that are currently restricted.
g) Encourage further development and use of alternative fuels.
h) Support the use of ethanol as an alternative fuel.
X i) Support research and development of nuclear reactors as an alternative energy source.
j) Allow energy producers to trade pollution credits under "cap and trade" laws.
k) Support international mandatory emission targets to limit global warming.
l) Support international voluntary emission targets to limit global warming.
-on c and i, lessen regulation? yes; subsidize? no -on g, subsidize? no -on j, better than strict regulation/quotas, but still problematic

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding guns.On (c) and (d), indicate what levels (#1-6) you support for the following categories.

X a) Allow individuals to carry concealed guns.
b) Ban the sale, ownership or possession of handguns except by law enforcement and other government officials.
Greatly Decrease c) Enforcement of existing restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns.
Greatly Decrease d) Restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns.
e) Other or expanded principles

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding health.

a) Implement a universal healthcare program to guarantee coverage to all Americans, regardless of income.
X b) Expand eligibility for tax-free medical savings accounts.
X c) Allow the importation of prescription drugs into the United States.
d) Support expanding prescription drug coverage under Medicare.
e) Offer tax credits to individuals and small businesses to offset the cost of insurance coverage.
f) Support expanding child healthcare programs.
X g) Providing healthcare is not a responsibility of the federal government.
h) Other or expanded principles

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding immigration.

a) Decrease the number of legal immigrants allowed into the country.
X b) Establish English as the official national language.
c) Support a temporary worker program.
X d) Support harsher financial punishments for those who knowingly employ illegal immigrants.
e) Support amnesty for illegal immigrants already working in the United States.
f) Illegal immigrants should have to return to their countries of origin before being considered for citizenship.
g) Illegal immigrants should be given a pathway to citizenship.
h) Support merit-based visas over family-based visas.
-on b, that's ok although I'm not sure what it would actually do -secure the borders and punish businesses who hire illegals. . . then, we can deal with those who have immigrated illegally Immigration should be attractive to Americans-- if immigrants work and become true citizens. Fortunately, both of those are overwhelmingly the norm. Why is illegal immigration attractive? We allow relatively few people to immigrate and INS procedures can be so unwieldy. We should tighten our enforcement of illegal immigration but allow much more legal immigration-- a higher fence and a bigger gate.

International AidIndicate which principles you support (if any) regarding international aid.International PolicyIndicate which principles you support (if any) regarding international policy.International TradeIndicate which principles you support (if any) regarding international trade.

X a) Support the United States granting aid to countries when extraordinary circumstances cause disaster and threaten civilian lives.
b) Support the United States granting aid to countries when it is in the security interests of the United States.
X c) Eliminate United States aid for any nation with documented human rights abuses.
X d) Aid granted by the United States should be scaled back and eventually eliminated.
Yes a) Should the United States continue to provide leadership in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process?
b) Should the United States support the creation of a Palestinian state?
Yes c) Should the United States impose greater international sanctions on Iran if it continues to defy United Nations mandates?
No d) Should the United States support the Lebanese government against insurgent forces?
No e) Should the United States maintain its troop levels in Iraq?
Yes f) Should the United States withdraw its troops from Iraq?
Yes h) Should the United States apply greater economic and diplomatic sanctions against North Korea if it fails to abide by its agreement to suspend its nuclear program?
No i) Should the United States increase financial support for Afghanistan?
No j) Should the United States increase military support for Afghanistan?
Undecided k) Should the United States trade nuclear fuel to India for civilian purposes?
Yes l) Should the United States decrease financial support for Pakistan?
Yes m) Should the United States decrease military support for Pakistan?
Undecided n) Should the United States be involved in bringing an end to the violence in Darfur, Sudan?
Undecided o) Should the United States be involved in bringing an end to the violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo?
No p) Should the United States provide economic and military support to the Transitional Government of Somalia?
Yes q) Should the United States use sanctions to encourage the government of Zimbabwe to end its human rights abuses?
r) Should the United States support the creation of an independent nation of Kosovo?
No a) Do you support the United States imposing economic sanctions on China?
Undecided b) Do you support the United States imposing trade sanctions on Venezuela?
Yes c) Do you support the United States involvement in free trade agreements?
Yes d) Do you support the United States involvement in intergovernmental organizations dedicated to trade?
-b, possible but rare applications where it would be ethical and practical As the wealthiest nation on Earth, we bear some responsibility for helping people outside our borders. But these responsibilities should not be accomplished through coercive taxation. Moreover, our efforts here often prop up bad governments and cause problems within foreign affairs. Although we spend less than one percent of our total budget on foreign aid, that is still far too much. The other irony is that we restrict trade with many of the same countries' willing to send them aid but unwilling to engage with them in trade!
. . . I mean get the troops home ASAP. Although a firm timeline is impossible to calculate, we can certainly get out (well) within 8-12 months: immediate plans, imminent reduction, and impending withdrawal. We've accomplished what we can; it's time to get out.
on n and o, what does "involved" mean?
on c & d, free trade? yes! free trade agreements? not so much...

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding national security.

Undecided a) Do you support using military tribunals to try suspected terrorists when ordinary civilian courts are deemed inappropriate or impractical?
No b) Should law enforcement agencies have greater discretion to monitor domestic communications, to prevent future terrorist attacks?
Yes c) Should the United States hold foreign states accountable for terrorists who operate in their country?
No d) Should the federal government increase funding to states and cities for homeland security?
Undecided e) Do you support pre-emptive military strikes against countries deemed to be a threat to United States national security?
No f) Do you support the creation of a federal identification card system?
No g) Do you support long-term use of National Guard troops to supplement the armed forces in assignments overseas?
Yes h) Should the United States expand its missile defense shield?
e-- yes, but this could be easily abused

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding social issues.

No a) Should same-sex couples be allowed to marry?
Undecided b) Do you support a federal constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman?
No c) Do you support federal funding for research on existing embryonic stem cell lines?
No d) Do you support federal funding to create lines of stem cells from new embryos?
No e) Should the federal government consider race and gender in government contracting decisions?
No f) Should the federal government continue affirmative action programs?
No g) Should the federal government regulate internet gambling?
-on a, this is an oxymoron; that said, "civil unions" should be left to the states -on b, only if the courts do not allow each state to choose for itself (and not be bound by the decision of other states) -on c & d, unethical research with unethical funding

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding Social Security.

X a) Allow workers to invest a portion of their payroll tax in private accounts that they manage themselves.
b) Ensure the viability of Social Security by increasing the payroll tax.
c) Decrease benefits paid to retirees.
X d) Support proportional increases of Social Security benefits based on the cost of living index.
X e) Raise the retirement age for individual eligibility to receive full Social Security benefits.
Social Security is funded by taking money from current workers and giving it to current retirees. Given the impending retirement of the "baby boom" generation, it is a fatally flawed program. Aside from that, it provides a pathetic rate of return on "investments" into the system. For the poor and middle class, it is unjust to insist that their largest "nest egg" would grow at, on average, a 1.2% rate of return. We must maintain the "social contract" we have established with the elderly and those near retirement. But for others, we need to reform Social Security's spending and taxing.

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding welfare and poverty.

a) Require welfare recipients to spend at least 40 hours a week in a combination of work and training programs.
b) Continue to give states and local governments flexibility in and responsibility for welfare programs through federal block grants.
c) Support housing assistance for welfare recipients.
X d) Abolish all federal welfare programs.
-on a, all recipients? a state/local decision -on b, why federal? again, state/local -on d, transition to this at the federal level
-Expand domestic drilling for oil -Strengthen the dollar through a re-birth of fiscal conservatism -Bring our troops home from Iraq (and elsewhere)-- a foreign policy of non-interventionism -Reduce or eliminate payroll taxes; reform Social Security

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