John Ritter's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
On The Ballot: Running, Republican for State House (PA) - District 25
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John Ritter is currently being tested through the 2024 Political Courage Test.
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.
Pennsylvania State Legislative Election 2014 Political Courage Test
| Pro-life | a) Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| Yes | b) Should abortions be illegal after the first trimester of pregnancy? | ||
| No | c) Should abortion be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape? | ||
| 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) Do you support the prohibition of public funds for abortion procedures? | ||
| Yes | h) Do you support the prohibition of public funds for organizations that perform abortions? | ||
| Aborting a baby, hurts the baby. It is wrong to hurt a person. There can be no ?right? to do wrong. Roe-v-Wade and Doe-v-Bolton are currently the prevailing opinions of the courts and of many citizens. Why? | |||
1) State Spending:Using the key, indicate what state funding levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one level per category; you may use a number more than once.2) State Taxes:Using the key, indicate what state tax levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one level per category; you may use a number more than once.3) Budget Stabilization:Indicate which proposals you support (if any) for balancing Pennsylvania's budget.
| Slightly Decrease | a) Education (higher) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | b) Education (K-12) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | c) Environment | ||
| Greatly Decrease | d) Health care | ||
| Slightly Decrease | e) Law enforcement/corrections | ||
| Slightly Decrease | f) Transportation/infrastructure | ||
| Slightly Decrease | g) Welfare | ||
| Slightly Decrease | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | b) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | c) Corporate taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | d) Gas/Oil taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | e) Property taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | f) Sales taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | g) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | h) Income taxes (mid-income families) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | i) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| No | a) Tapping into Pennsylvania's "rainy day" fund | ||
| No | b) Increasing tuition rates at public universities | ||
| Yes | c) Reducing or eliminating public worker collective bargaining | ||
| Yes | d) Reducing state employee salaries AND/OR pensions | ||
| e) Instituting mandatory furloughs AND/OR layoffs for state employees | |||
| f) Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients | |||
| g) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| All categories of federal and state spending need to be decreased over time and in a cogent manner. The rates and timing of the decreases need to be balanced and governed so that people and institutions can adjust. Trimming fat in a steady fashion, promotes better health. | |||
| All categories of federal and state taxes need to be decreased over time. The rates and timing of the decreases need to be balanced and governed so that people and institutions can adjust. Reducing taxes empowers the citizenry and requires governmental institutions to become more fiscally accountable, responsible, and adept. | |||
a) Do you support limits on the following types of contributions for state candidates?
| Yes | 1) Individual | ||
| Yes | 2) Political Action Committee | ||
| Yes | 3) Corporate | ||
| Yes | 4) Political Party | ||
| Yes | b) Should candidates for state office be encouraged to meet voluntary spending limits? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support requiring full and timely disclosure of campaign finance information? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support the use of an independent AND/OR bipartisan commission for redistricting? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support requiring a government-issued photo identification in order to vote at the polls? | ||
| Capping contributions (by various entity types) reduces the artificial advantage created by monetary wealth, but may simultaneously promote the production of other types of weath (for example, social, geopolitical, economic, industrial, or military wealth that may accrue from underfunded, yet brilliant/wise, potential public servants). | |||
| 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) Do you support legalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana? | ||
| No | d) Should a minor accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult? | ||
| Yes | e) Should a minor who sends sexually-explicit or nude photos by cell phone face criminal charges? | ||
| f) Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police? | |||
| Minors who commit crimes must be held accountable (in keeping with the law and according to judical best-practices). | |||
| 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? | ||
| d) Do you support providing financial incentives to the private sector for the purpose of job creation? | |||
| No | e) Do you support government spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| No | f) Do you support providing direct financial assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure? | ||
| No | g) Do you support an increase of the minimum wage? | ||
| Yes | h) Do you support the privatization of liquor sales? | ||
| Some of these questions contain hidden assumptions. A re-statement of those questions would reveal their inherently (though inadvertently) troublesome consequenses. | |||
| No | a) Do you support the national Common Core State Standards initiative? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support a merit pay system for teachers? | ||
| No | c) Is the tenure process for public school teachers producing effective teachers? | ||
| Yes | d) Should parents be allowed to use vouchers to send their children to any school? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | ||
| f) Do you support the state government providing college students with financial aid? | |||
| g) Should illegal immigrants who graduate from Pennsylvania high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | |||
| Collegiate studies should be affordable to college students (so that the need for financial aid is reduced or eliminated). It is a parent?s responsibility to feed and clothe a child?s body, educate a child?s mind, and train a child?s heart. Certified, professional teachers help parents fulfill their duty to educate their children?s minds. Thus, teaching is a noble profession. Education is also a business. A business must be financially sound | |||
| a) Do you support state funding for the development of alternative energy? | |||
| b) Do you support state funding for the development of traditional domestic energy sources (e.g. coal, natural gas, oil)? | |||
| Yes | c) Do you support the regulation of natural gas drilling in Pennsylvania? | ||
| d) Do you support state funding for improvements to Pennsylvania's energy infrastructure? | |||
| e) Do you support state funding for open space preservation? | |||
| f) Do you support government regulations of greenhouse gas emissions? | |||
| Government's role is to provide minimal regulation; this empowers the private sector. The private sector's role is to create goods and services (which results in the creation of wealth). Minerals, energy, soil, water, plants, animals, sunlight, and time are natural resources that are good, but that can be misused. One of government?s roles is to establish ways for people to manage natural resources well. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns? | ||
| b) Should background checks be required on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows? | |||
| Yes | c) Should citizens be allowed to carry concealed guns? | ||
| d) Should a license be required for gun possession? | |||
| The right of the citizens to keep and bear arms in defense of themselves and the State shall not be questioned. One who hurts an innocent person should be held accountable. | |||
| No | a) Do you support a universally-accessible, publicly-administered health insurance option? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support expanding access to health care through commercial health insurance reform? | ||
| c) Do you support interstate health insurance compacts? | |||
| No | d) Do you support Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act? | ||
| No | e) Do you support requiring individuals to purchase health care insurance? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support monetary limits on damages that can be collected in malpractice lawsuits? | ||
| g) Do you support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes? | |||
| The health insurance industry -- and the healthcare industry -- needs some attention. Extracts from certain plants have proven to be beneficial for certain healthcare conditions; those extracts need to be regulated (in accordance with medical best practices). | |||
| No | a) Do you support same-sex marriage? | ||
| No | b) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Pennsylvania's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| No | c) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Pennsylvania's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Marriage is good -- as are many such institutions; but they can be misused. Why redefine that which is good? | |||
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