Roger Gerber's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Roger Gerber refused to tell citizens where he stands on any of the issues addressed in the 2010 Political Courage Test, despite repeated requests from Vote Smart, national media, and prominent political leaders.
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.
North Carolina 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. | |||
| 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. | |||
| Do the majority of people who support the abolition of the death penalty for criminals that are convicted of murder beyond a reasonable doubt by a jury of their peers also support the abolition of abortions? Do people who oppose the killing of animals for human consumption oppose abortions? If a pre-maturely-born baby is suffocated in the intensive care unit of a hospital, it is murder, but aborting a baby in the womb is a constitutionally-protected right. Decision on abortion and abortion limits should be decided by 50 state legislatures, not by judges legislating from the bench. | |||
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.
| Slightly Decrease | a) Education (Higher) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | b) Education (K-12) | ||
| Maintain Status | c) Emergency preparedness | ||
| Slightly Decrease | d) Environment | ||
| Slightly Decrease | e) Health care | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Law enforcement | ||
| Maintain Status | g) Transportation and highway infrastructure | ||
| Slightly Decrease | h) Welfare | ||
| Slightly Decrease | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | b) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Eliminate | c) Corporate taxes | ||
| Greatly Decrease | d) Gasoline taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | e) Income taxes (incomes below $75,000) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | f) Income taxes (incomes above $75,000) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | g) Sales taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | h) Vehicle taxes | ||
| Yes | 1) Should state sales taxes be extended to Internet sales? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| Yes | 4) Do you support the construction of toll roads? | ||
| 5) Other or expanded principles | |||
| Spending less will allow citizens to keep more of their own money. | |||
| Corporate taxes are merely passed on to customers, thereby hiding the true cost of government. | |||
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?
| Yes | a) Do you support the current limit of terms for North Carolina governors? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support limiting the number of terms for North Carolina state senators and representatives? | ||
| No | 1) Individual | ||
| No | 2) PAC | ||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| Undecided | f) Should North Carolina participate in the federal REAL ID program? | ||
| No restrictions on freedom of speech - even paid speech. Timely internet-based reporting of campaign contributions is a must. | |||
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) Support the death penalty in North Carolina. | ||
| 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. | ||
| 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. | |||
| Better education choices for all, regardless of income, will help reduce the drop-out rate. Providing more children with opportunities to achieve academic success will reduce crime in the long run. | |||
Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding education.
| a) Support state funding of universal pre-K programs. | |||
| X | 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. | ||
| X | d) Support requiring public schools to administer high school exit exams. | ||
| X | e) Allow parents to use vouchers to send their children to any public school. | ||
| X | 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. | ||
| 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 North Carolina to pay in-state tuition at public universities. | |||
| Trust parents to know when their children are not succeeding in school. Give parents- regardless of income- the power to choose a school that educates their children. Break up the education monopoly that operates on a one-size-fits-all education philosophy. More charter schools, tuition tax credits, and education vouchers. Public education means state funded education not state run education. | |||
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 todays 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 North Carolina's anti-discrimination laws. | |||
| g) Include gender identity in North Carolina'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. | |||
| Must have an educated workforce. Industrial revolution era low-skilled repetitive jobs have disappeared. To keep up with the global economy, we must provide our future citizens with the skills to be productive. Changing the Soviet-style state-run command education monopoly into a state-funded but free-market-based delivery system will help. | |||
Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding the environment and energy.
| 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. | |||
| X | e) Support funding for improvements to North Carolina'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. | |||
| We must develop our own energy resources to achieve energy independence. | |||
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? | ||
| Undecided | d) Do you support current levels of enforcement of existing state restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns? | ||
| Undecided | e) Do you support current state restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns? | ||
| People who oppose an individual?s right to own a firearm should be willing to place a yard-sign in front of their home indicating that the house is a gun free zone. | |||
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 North Carolina. | |||
| g) Support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes. | |||
| h) Other or expanded principles | |||
['Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding social issues.', 'Legislative Priorities']
| a) Should North Carolina recognize civil unions between same-sex couples? | |||
| No | b) Should same-sex couples be allowed to marry? | ||
| c) Should North Carolina provide state-level spousal rights to same-sex couples? | |||
| Yes | d) Do you support a moment of silence in public schools? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support voluntary prayer in public schools? | ||
| 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? | |||
| 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 North Carolina 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? | ||
| n) Other or expanded principles | |||
| Use taxpayers? money wisely. Stop buying votes with tax dollars. No corporate welfare. Elimination of programs that are not achieving their original purpose and now exist only as state jobs programs. The biggest culprit is the education monopoly. The 30 % drop-out rate in high school is unacceptable. State-run education is educational malpractice. No one would accept a 30% failure rate from doctors or other professionals. Citizens must get over the notion that public education means state-run education ? it means taxpayer-paid education. Fixing the education mess eventually solves many other problems. | |||
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