Dave Strohmaier's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
Office:
- Commissioner (Missoula County, MT) - At-Large
Key
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Dave Strohmaier has refused to provide voters with positions on key issues covered by the 2014 Political Courage Test, despite repeated requests.
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.
Montana Congressional Election 2012 Political Courage Test
| Pro-choice | Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| I am pro-choice. Women's reproductive rights have no place being legislated by government. We must have a government that encourages freedom, choice and health. | |||
| No | Do you support United States' combat operations in Afghanistan? | ||
| Yes | Do you support a timetable for withdrawal from Afghanistan? | ||
| I favor a timetable that expedites withdrawal of combat troops while supporting the increase of USAID and other government and NGO activity that promotes peace through education and economic support. | |||
Indicate which proposals you support (if any) for balancing the federal budget.In order to balance the budget,
| Yes | do you support reducing defense spending? | ||
| Yes | do you support an income tax increase on any tax bracket? | ||
| No | do you support reducing Medicaid spending? | ||
| No | do you support reducing Medicare spending? | ||
| Yes | Is balancing the budget a legislative priority? | ||
| I say balancing the budget is a priority because we all know the importance of balancing our checkbooks and paying our bills. We can do this on the federal level through making certain everyone pays a fair share, and this includes millionaires. Policy such as the Buffett Rule and not extending the Bush millionaire tax breaks will go a long way toward fairly balancing the books. We also should take a hard look at Defense Department spending, particularly oversees bases and the military adventurism that has drained the treasury over the past decade. | |||
| Yes | Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions? | ||
| To be clear, I support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations. As a member of the Missoula City Council I've stood up for public policy stating that corporations simply aren't people and shouldn't be treat as such. Million and billion dollar corporations have plenty of influence. Our democracy must be about creating a level playing field at the ballot box. We must stop, completely, super PACS and control unfair power in our elections. | |||
| No | Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| In a civilized society, there is simply no place for capital punishment, no matter how heinous the crime. Not only have mistakes been made where innocent individuals have been put to death, which is completely reprehensible, but the death penalty simply is not a deterant and is merely tantamount to state-sanctioned vengeance. | |||
| Yes | Do you support federal spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | Do you support providing tax incentives to businesses for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| Yes | Do you support spending on infrastructure projects for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| Yes | Do you support the temporary extension of unemployment benefits? | ||
| No | Do you support the 2010 temporary extension of tax relief? | ||
| I do not support the extension or tax relief only for the wealthy. I don't believe in trickle down economic incentives. We saw how Wall Street squandered stimulus money. Working people and small businesses on Main Street would have been much better stewards of the stimulus money. Our federal government has partnered with the American people throughout our history to build and rebuild our powerful economic engine. There is much to be done to strengthen our infrastructure today. We can create jobs by doing so. One example of investing in infrastructure is restoring passenger rail to southern Montana. | |||
| Yes | Do you support requiring states to implement education reforms in order to be eligible for competitive federal grants? | ||
| While I believe that individual states and school districts need freedom to create programs and systems tailored to local needs, from the standpoint of social justice, there needs to be a certain amount of uniformity across the nation. Whenever federal funds are invested in education--or any other program for that matter--accountability for the wise stewardship of those funds is critical. The key is building into any reforms adequate flexibility for local circumstances, which is why I believe educators should be involved in helping craft educational reforms and standards. | |||
| Yes | Do you support reducing restrictions on offshore energy production? | ||
| I believe it is time our nation became serious about taking control of our energy and creating a sustainable, safe and secure power supply for America that is green, creating jobs, sparking research and development, incubating new businesses in places like Montana and assuring our children have a bold new American century in which to live. This is the work I will be about in Washington. We absolutely must avoid future Deep Water Horizon events. | |||
| Yes | Do you believe that human activity is contributing to climate change? | ||
| Yes | Do you support the federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| There is no greater moral challenge facing our times than climate change, which without a doubt is largely the result of human activity. It is incumbant upon us to do everything in our power to limit greenhouse gasses that contribute to global warming. And to that end, America must show leadership on this issue and the federal government must act--both within our borders and by truly engaging the international community rather than retrenching disregarding the rest of the world. | |||
| Yes | Do you support restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns? | ||
| I am from Montana. And, I hunt and fish and enjoy the bounty of our state. I do believe in the 2nd Amendment. However, I also believe in supporting our police and protecting our families. When cop killer bullets are protected instead of our police, when convicted felons can easily acquire assault weapons, then something is wrong. The 2nd Amendment protects my gun rights, not murderers. We can do both. Let's start by making sure existing laws are enforced and working. If new legislation can enhance public safety while at the same time protecting constitutional rights, I'm for it. | |||
| No | Do you support repealing the 2010 Affordable Care Act? | ||
| Yes | Should individuals be required to purchase health insurance, as mandated in the 2010 Affordable Care Act? | ||
| The Affordable Care Act is not perfect. But, it is profoundly important and good start. We must build upon it. Ultimately, a fully equal and fair single payer system will be best for America. I am willing to take up that battle. | |||
| No | Do you support requiring illegal immigrants to return to their country of origin before they are eligible for citizenship? | ||
| Yes | Do you support allowing illegal immigrants, who were brought to the United States as minors, to pursue citizenship without returning to their country of origin? | ||
| Yes | Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration law by state and local police? | ||
| Bottom line--it is fully time for complete, comprehensive immigration reform. We are a nation of immigrants, but we are also a nation of laws. We are strengthened by immigrants. We must create a legal pathway to citizenship for all who value and love our nation and want to be fully participating citizens. I am absolutely opposed to mass deporatation schemes that will cost billions of dollars to implement and hurt our economy in the process. | |||
| Yes | Do you support same-sex marriage? | ||
| As a member of the Missoula City Council I authored and championed passage of Montana's only law that protects the rights of the LGBT community. My first TV ad, at my website, is of me marrying a lesbian couple as I tell the government to stay our of our personal choices. Yes, I fully support marriage equality. | |||
| Yes | Do you support targeting suspected terrorists outside of official theaters of conflict? | ||
| No | Should the U.S use military force in order to prevent Iran from possessing a nuclear weapon? | ||
| We should only use military force against Iran if all diplomatic channels fail AND Iran is clearly planning on harming the U.S. or its allies. We did a very poor job of detecting weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, so unless there is extremely compelling reasons to the contrary, I am not in favor of preemptively attacking Iran. | |||
| No | Do you support allowing individuals to divert a portion of their Social Security taxes into personal retirement accounts? | ||
| Social Security implies that the hard earned wages paid into the program will be there when you retire. Redirecting these funds into the stock market is hardly a secure proposition and will likely hurt many retirees. | |||
SpendingIndicate what federal spending levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one number per category; you can use a number more than once.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.
| Greatly Increase | a) Agriculture | ||
| Greatly Increase | b) Arts | ||
| Slightly Decrease | c) Defense | ||
| Greatly Increase | d) Education | ||
| Greatly Increase | e) Environment | ||
| Slightly Decrease | f) Homeland Security | ||
| Maintain Status | g) International aid | ||
| Greatly Increase | h) Medical Research | ||
| Greatly Increase | i) Scientific Research | ||
| Slightly Increase | j) Space exploration | ||
| Maintain Status | k) United Nations | ||
| Greatly Increase | l) Welfare | ||
| Maintain Status | a) Capital gains taxes | ||
| Greatly Increase | b) Corporate taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | c) Excise taxes (alcohol) | ||
| Greatly Increase | d) Excise taxes (cigarettes) | ||
| Maintain Status | e) Excise taxes (transportation fuel) | ||
| Greatly Decrease | f) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Greatly Decrease | g) Income taxes (middle-income families) | ||
| Greatly Increase | h) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| Maintain Status | i) Inheritance taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | j) Payroll taxes | ||
| k) Other or expanded categories | |||
| We need to invest in the common good in this nation. | |||
| 1. Restore fairness to our political system by rooting out the money and power that corporations weild in politics. 2. Restore fairness to tax code by eliminating tax breaks for millionaires that costs us billions and close corporate tax breaks and eliminate off shore tax havens. 3. Create plentiful, dignified work by nation building at home rather than dumping billions of dollars into military adventurism. Put workers and labor first with a bottom up approach including public investments in education and infrastructure. 4. Be good stewards of the land--embrace a strong conservation ethic. |
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