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William Mohr's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)

On The Ballot: Running, Taxpayers for State Board of Education (MI)

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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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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.

Michigan 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.

X a) Abortions should always be illegal.
b) Abortions should always be legal.
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.
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.
The unborn have an identity separate from their mother. The fact that they are dependant upon their mother for their nurture in the womb does not make them a mere extension of the mother's body. They have their own physical identity. When babies are born they are also dependant on someone to care for and nurture them. Just because they are unborn prior to being born does not make them a non person. We need to pass legislation to define the unborn as being an individual person with all the same rights as the rest of us.

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)
Maintain Status b) Education (K-12)
Maintain Status c) Emergency preparedness
Greatly Decrease d) Environment
Slightly Decrease e) Health care
Maintain Status f) Law enforcement
Slightly Decrease g) Transportation and highway infrastructure
Slightly Decrease h) Welfare
Slightly Decrease a) Alcohol taxes
Slightly Decrease b) Cigarette taxes
Slightly Decrease c) Corporate taxes
Maintain Status d) Gasoline taxes
Slightly Decrease e) Income taxes (incomes below $75,000)
Slightly Decrease f) Income taxes (incomes above $75,000)
Slightly Decrease g) Property taxes
Maintain Status h) Sales taxes
Slightly Decrease i) Vehicle taxes
No 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?
No 3) Should fee increases be used to balance the state budget?
The State of Michigan needs to begin cutting spending. We will not recover from our economic difficulties if we continue to over tax and spend as we are. For example, the MDOT will be spending 8 million dollars on rumple strips on Michigan highways in the next 3 years. Rumple strips are a great idea, and they are effective for some safety concerns, but when the state has money trouble, we need to consider not eliminating, but postponing such non essential projects until we can afford them.
Over taxation is hard on families and business. It's time to cut taxes, not raise taxes, reconfigure the tax structure, or add new items to the list of taxable things. Cut, cut, cut. If the improved economy that results in tax cuts does not increase the dollars coming in, then it's time to cut spending. Cut, cut, cut.
Fees are a form of taxation. They should not be increased.

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding campaign finance and government reform.c) Do you support limiting the following types of contributions to state legislative candidates?

No a) Do you support the current limit of terms for Michigan governors?
No b) Do you support the current limit of terms for Michigan state senators and representatives?
No 1) Individual
No 2) PAC
No 3) Corporate
No 4) Political Parties
Yes d) Do you support requiring full and timely disclosure of campaign finance information?
No e) Do you support imposing spending limits on state-level political campaigns?
No f) Should Michigan participate in the federal REAL ID program?
I am opposed to term limits. Removal of bad legislators is the reason we have elections. The state has gotten in the habit of limiting free speech by limiting donations to campaigns. The rich seem to get around these limits through deceit anyway. Why make liars out of them? Let's just require full and timely disclosure of campaign finance information and the public can decide whether or not to support those who support the wrong candidates. There is a lot of untapped consumer power.

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

a) Increase state funds for construction of state prisons and hiring of additional prison staff.
X b) Establish the death penalty in Michigan.
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.
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.
h) Support hate crime legislation.
The Biblical principle of an eye for an eye is often used for justification of revenge. It was, in fact, a principle employed by our country for use as it was intended; a judicial tool to maintain a safe and decent society. As we have moved away from that principle, we have increased crime rates and decreased safety. We need to return to this principle as well as judicially require criminals to make restitution for all damage and expenses caused by their actions.

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

a) Support state funding of universal pre-K programs.
b) Mandate full day kindergarten.
c) Support federal education standards and testing requirements for K-12 students (No Child Left Behind).
X d) Support state education standards and testing requirements for K-12 students.
X e) Support requiring public schools to administer high school exit exams.
X f) Allow parents to use vouchers to send their children to any public school.
g) Allow parents to use vouchers to send their children to any private or religious school.
h) Provide state funding to increase teacher salaries.
X i) Support using a merit pay system for teachers.
j) Provide state funding for tax incentives and financial aid to help make college more affordable.
k) Support allowing illegal immigrant high school graduates of Michigan to pay in-state tuition at public universities.
The federal government is constitutionally forbidden to involve itself in the state's education system. It needs to get out of the education business. The State of Michigan should resist all federal mandates regarding education in Michigan. Teachers should be among the highest paid professionals we have working for the state. Because they work with our children, they should also be held to the highest standards. The money being tight currently in Michigan, we do not have money for raises at this time. Once the economy recovers however, we need to take a serious look at increasing teacher's salaries.

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

a) Increase funding for state job-training programs that re-train displaced workers and teach skills needed in today's job market.
X b) Reduce state government regulations on the private sector.
c) Provide low interest loans and tax credits for starting, expanding, or relocating businesses.
d) Provide tax credits for businesses that provide child care for children in low-income working families.
e) Increase state funds to provide child care for children in low-income working families.
f) Include sexual orientation in Michigan's anti-discrimination laws.
g) Include gender identity in Michigan'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.
l) Increase funding for employment and job training programs for welfare recipients.
Let's simply work at getting the government out of the private sector as much as possible. Reasonable personal responsibility laws could replace most of the laws on the books.

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.
d) Use state funds to clean up former industrial and commercial sites that are contaminated, unused, or abandoned.
e) Support funding for improvements to Michigan's power generating and transmission facilities.
f) Support funding for open space preservation.
g) Limit carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases linked to global warming.
h) Enact environmental regulations even if they are stricter than federal law.
X i) Enact laws that prevent Great Lakes water diversion outside of the Great Lakes basin.
The sky is not falling. Global warming is not a threat to us or future generations. Any honest study of this subject will conclude that it is a power and money grab. Not too many years ago we were being told that there is another ice age coming. Make up your mind. It's a shame and reproach to our nation when we allow well educated fools to play on the fear of the people. Ozone, carbon dioxide, water vapor, and almost all other so called threats are natural substances, developed and destroyed by God's nature, completely uninteruptible by man.

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

No 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?
No d) Do you support current levels of enforcement of existing state restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns?
No e) Do you support current state restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns?
Our fore fathers were no fools. They designed the system that built the greatest nation in world history. The infringement free right to keep and bear arms is a crucial point to the maintenance of our free state and nation. Any restriction on that right is infringement on that right. State and federal governments should back off when it comes to guns, and severely punish criminal misuse of firearms rather than restrict the proper use, being the defense of self and state. If the second amendment is the first to go, the first amendment will be the second to go.

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

a) Ensure that citizens have access to basic health care through managed care, insurance reforms, or state-funded care where necessary.
X 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 Michigan.
X g) Support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes.
If marijuana has medicinal benefits, why are we not using it? We use numerous man made narcotics currently that are much more dangerous than marijuana, some of which should be replaced with more natural treatments. The federal government is constitutionally forbidden to involve itself in intra state affairs. This includes medicine. If we are going to fix our broken health care system, the state needs to resist all intra state oppressive federal health care regulations and govern over our own affairs. Natural medicine has merit also. Let's allow it with a disclaimer saying, "Not authorized by the FDA".

['Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding social issues.', 'Legislative Priorities']

No a) Should Michigan recognize civil unions between same-sex couples?
No b) Should same-sex couples be allowed to marry?
No c) Should Michigan provide state-level spousal rights to same-sex couples?
No d) Do you support a moment of silence in public schools?
Yes e) Do you support voluntary prayer in public schools?
No f) Do you support sexual education programs that include information on abstinence, contraceptives, and HIV/STD prevention methods?
No g) Do you support abstinence-only sexual education programs?
No h) Should the state government consider race and gender in state government contracting and hiring decisions?
No i) Do you support affirmative action in public college admissions?
No j) Should Michigan continue affirmative action programs?
No k) Do you support state funding of stem cell research?
No l) Do you support state funding of embryonic stem cell research?
Yes m) Do you support allowing pharmacists who conscientiously object to emergency contraception to refuse to dispense it?
The traditional family is the foundation for any free society. As family values are minimized, so is our security as a nation of liberties. The breakdown of the family is extremely expensive socially, and is much of the reason we are seeing dangerous economic conditions, not only in Michigan, but nationwide. Regarding schools, our state constitution mandates that we teach religion and morality side by side with knowledge. We have carelessly discarded religion and morality leaving knowledge in a weakened state. Affirmative Action? We are all one people. Why do we divide? We should not recognize one over another.
Family, abortion, and education are my highest priorities. Our state and nation cannot survive if these things are not corrected. They will not be, however, corrected overnight. As we begin to correct these issues, we have other urgent matters that need to be addressed. The poor economic conditions in Michigan need no introduction. We must immediately address them with tax cuts. Not only tax cuts, but we need to lighten the expensive mandates we have placed on business through law. OSHA and the Workman's Comp. programs are two that need attention immediately. Liability law and tort reform are a must.

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