Dutch Van Raam's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
Key
Official Position: Candidate addressed this issue directly by taking the Political Courage Test.
Inferred Position: Candidate refused to address this issue, but Vote Smart inferred this issue based on the candidate's public record, including statements, voting record, and special interest group endorsements.
Unknown Position: Candidate refused to address this issue, or we could not infer an answer for this candidate despite exhaustive research of their public record.
Additional Information: Click on this icon to reveal more information about this candidate's position, from their answers or Vote Smart's research.
Other or Expanded Principles & Legislative Priorities are entered exactly as candidates submit them. Vote Smart does not edit for misspelled words, punctuation or grammar.
Vote Smart did not send the Political Courage Test to this office, or election status. Please call our Voter's Research Hotline at 1-888-VOTE SMART (1-888-868-3762) for more information.
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 2012.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
| Pro-choice | Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| Abortion must be kept safe and legal. My personal belief is pro-life but I am also against totalitarian enactments. Options and counseling should be made available to those considering abortion. Government should not have a hand in making personal decisions especially when there can be so many variables involved in the reasons the pregnancy happened in the first place. I am also pro-death. Adult people should have end of life options as well. | |||
BudgetIndicate which proposals you support (if any) for balancing the federal budget.In order to balance the budget,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.
| Yes | do you support reducing defense spending? | ||
| Yes | do you support an income tax increase on any tax bracket? | ||
| Yes | do you support reducing Medicaid spending? | ||
| Yes | do you support reducing Medicare spending? | ||
| Yes | Is balancing the budget an administrative priority? | ||
| Slightly Decrease | a) Agriculture | ||
| Maintain Status | b) Arts | ||
| Greatly Decrease | c) Defense | ||
| Greatly Increase | d) Education | ||
| Greatly Increase | e) Environment | ||
| Greatly Decrease | f) Homeland Security | ||
| Greatly Decrease | g) International aid | ||
| Greatly Decrease | h) Medical Research | ||
| Slightly Decrease | i) Scientific Research | ||
| Greatly Increase | j) Space exploration | ||
| Slightly Decrease | k) United Nations | ||
| Maintain Status | l) Welfare | ||
| Eliminate | m) Other or expanded categories | ||
| Greatly Increase | a) Capital gains taxes | ||
| Greatly Increase | b) Corporate taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | c) Excise taxes (alcohol) | ||
| Maintain Status | d) Excise taxes (cigarettes) | ||
| Maintain Status | e) Excise taxes (transportation fuel) | ||
| Greatly Decrease | f) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | g) Income taxes (middle-income families) | ||
| Slightly Increase | h) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | i) Inheritance taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | j) Payroll taxes | ||
| Greatly Increase | k) Other or expanded categories | ||
| The U.S.A. should be the lenders and not the borrowers. We need to pay off our debts then continually lower the debt ceiling as we go. Once we have paid our debts in full we need to stop financing wars that the military industrial complex fools the masses into believing are necessary. The American people have been sold out by leaders with intrest of personal gain and profit and we need to take the power back! Who has the power to surrender the war on terror or drugs and sign a treaty to stop the non-sense? Nobody! | |||
| War. | |||
| Hemp taxes. We need to start making money on all the wonderful uses of the different varieties of the Cannabis plant. Hemp for food, fiber and fuel should be bringing in tax dollars. Marijuana needs to be legal and taxed here even if we do devastate the economies of Mexico and Canada by full scale legalization of a plant proven to be harmless other than by law enforcement. It' is the insane drug laws that ruin the lives of many Americans who use Cannabis, not the plant itself. Once upon a time we could pay our taxes with hemp. | |||
| Yes | Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions? | ||
| We now have 5% of the people controlling 99% of the money. That is not freedom, liberty or democracy when you can buy votes. Politicians for any public office should only be allowed to collect $5 from individuals with zero corporate donations. That would level the playing field! I might actually be able to have a chance at this Presidency thing! Before the crash it was 10% of the people controlling 90% of the money. Who do you think bailed them out with your money???? The ones who get the huge contributions from those corps that should be bankrupt now. | |||
| Yes | Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| Why should honest Americans pay to incarcerate murders with multiple life sentances. Sell their organs to science to pay for legal expenses and be done with them. But the organs should not be used for transplants, otherwise the evil lives on and is capable of reproducing. What if it was your child? Could you seriously offer love and compassion and a free pass to the person who raped and killed your daughter and maybe many others? Then use your tax dollars to keep them alive and well? I'm not Jesus, I couldn't love that much. | |||
| No | Do you support federal spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| No | Do you support the 2010 temporary extension of unemployment benefits? | ||
| No | Do you support the 2010 temporary extension of tax relief? | ||
| We shouldn't spend money we don't have. Period. There is no growth in borrowing from Peter to pay Paul. The money we have spent in Iraq and Afghanistan could have rebuilt all of our crumbling infrastructure. But killing Muslims out of fear is more important I guess. Damn hypocristians. | |||
| No | Do you support requiring states to implement education reforms in order to be eligible for competitive federal grants? | ||
| I'm not sure I understand this question correctly. I think we need better education in this country. But then again I am all for states rights and I hate it when the Federal government trys to manipulate the states. I am comparing this to helmet laws. The Fed should not hold back highway money if the state doesn't have a helmet law. Better highways bring safer riding. If the roads don't have potholes there would be less accidents and less need for helmets. Let's take the potholes out of education if we can. | |||
| Yes | Do you believe that human activity is contributing to climate change? | ||
| Yes | Do you support the federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| Yes | Do you support reducing restrictions on offshore energy production? | ||
| Grow hemp for biomass fuels. The next crop cleans the air from the combustion of the previous crop. Why is that so hard to get through your thick skulls? Petroleum companies have us by the balls with their control on our transportation. | |||
| No | Do you support United States' combat operations in Afghanistan? | ||
| Yes | Do you support a timetable for withdrawal from Afghanistan? | ||
| No | Do you support targeting suspected terrorists outside of official theaters of conflict? | ||
| Suspected terrorists? What happened to habeas corpus? Should you arrest me now because you suspect I might smoke some pot tomorrow? Do you have enough evidence for a warrant? The twin towers was a controlled demolition to anybody who actually looked at the evidence outside of the evening news. The Pentagon was hit by a missle, not a plane! We have been lied to repeatedly. I fear my government more than any suspected terrorist. That's why I am the only one I trust for any real "change". Google the movie Loose Change and see for yourself. | |||
| No | Do you support restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns? | ||
| Not for honest people anyway. Why can't I have an automatic rifle? Good guys should get guns too! All the criminals, gangs, terrorists, and governments have them. I need to protect myself from all y'all too! Guns are protected by the first ammendment. That is more than you can say on behalf of deregulating the banking industry. Thank you Bill Clinton for screwing us all, not just Monica Lewenski. | |||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| I am pro-choice here too. Why should I have to choose from a small list provoded to me by an insurance company? Here is an example; I chose my dentist because she is the best in town but she doesn't even accept insurance. If I get dental insurance I do not get to choose the best dentist in town. See how that works? Your bad health is probably from your bad habits to begin. Why should I have to be in the same insurance group as you? Remove malpractice law suits from the equation and health care would be affordable. | |||
| 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? | ||
| No | Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration law by state and local police? | ||
| The states cannot afford to enforce federal law. I support making immigrants subject to public or military service for four years if they want citizenship. Join the service and become an American if you get an honorable discharge. Send them over seas to fight our wars. I don't want a fence built out of fear that humans are coming here trying to better their lives. I am affraid that fence might be used to keep me in if our government continues to sell us out to the new world order. | |||
| Yes | Do you support same-sex marriage? | ||
| All of my married friends say homosexuals have every right to be as miserable in marriage as heterosexuals are. Gay people are physiologically different. God made them that way so to speak. So any ancient text that tries to dispute that fact is hypochristian. Otherwise, I oppose marriage all together. My parents were not married when I was born so I was granted such wonderful titles as "Illegitmate" and "bastard". You are no more legitimate on this earth than I am whether your parents were married or not. If you think you are then fucget you! | |||
| No | Do you support allowing individuals to divert a portion of their Social Security taxes into personal retirement accounts? | ||
| No. If your want a separate account make one but you need to pay the same as the rest of us into the program. That is, if we keep the program I say we get rid of Social Security all together. I keep hearing it won't be there for me when I'm ready to retire. So why am I paying now? We should all be able to choose our own retirement program. That is free market capitalism. | |||
| 1) Remove the cannabis plant from the list of schedule 1 narcotics. No funding is required and it will generate a ton of money and make for healthier lives and a healthier planet. Hemp for food, fiber, fuel and medicine. Hemp for victory! 2) Reform the Federal Reserve Bank and private for profit prisons. Both of those institutions need to be publicly owned and accountable to goverment. Both are making slaves out of the American people. What ever happened to "crime doesn't pay"? I guess it does now. High finance and law enforcement are raping us repeatedly. |
Vote Smart does not permit the use of its name or programs in any campaign activity, including advertising, debates, and speeches.