Aubrey Immelman's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Aubrey Immelman has demonstrated Political Courage by telling citizens where he stands on the issues he may face if elected.
Minnesota Congressional Election 2012 Political Courage Test
| Yes | Do you support United States' combat operations in Afghanistan? | ||
| Yes | Do you support a timetable for withdrawal from Afghanistan? | ||
| I'm concerned about "mission creep" in Afghanistan. With the killing of Osama bin Laden, our mission in Afghanistan has essentially been achieved. | |||
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? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| As we wind down our missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, defense spending can be trimmed by a few percentage points without compromising U.S. national security. | |||
| Yes | Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions? | ||
| I do not like the lack of transparency resulting from the Supreme Court's "Citizens United" ruling. | |||
| Yes | Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| I'm in favor of having the death penalty on the books as a tool for prosecutors in cases of serial sexual homicide, to allow them to plea bargain a lesser sentence in return for information leading to the resolution of multiple unsolved cases (e.g., the case of "Green River Killer" Gary Ridgway). | |||
| No | 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? | ||
| Yes | Do you support the 2010 temporary extension of tax relief? | ||
| In principle, I do not favor federal spending to promote economic growth; however, I recognize that there may be rare circumstances where the federal government may have to intervene to prevent economic collapse. | |||
| No | Do you support requiring states to implement education reforms in order to be eligible for competitive federal grants? | ||
| Yes | Do you support reducing restrictions on offshore energy production? | ||
| I would not support the reduction of restrictions that are in reckless disregard of legitimate environmental concerns. | |||
| Yes | Do you believe that human activity is contributing to climate change? | ||
| No | Do you support the federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| On balance, the scientific consensus is that climate change is real; however, the extent to which human activity contributes to climate change is not as clear. Regarding cap-and-trade policies, I am not convinced they offer the best solution. | |||
| No | Do you support restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns? | ||
| For me to support any restrictions on the purchase and possession of firearms, I would have to see a very compelling case that such restrictions on gun rights do not violate the Second Amendment | |||
| No | Do you support repealing the 2010 Affordable Care Act? | ||
| No | Should individuals be required to purchase health insurance, as mandated in the 2010 Affordable Care Act? | ||
| There are some things I like in "Obamacare," for example, the law's ban on insurers turning away sick patients, its provision for allowing young adults to remain on a parent's policy until age 26, and the closing of the Medicare "doughnut hole." The focus should be on improving the law, not repealing it in toto and starting over from scratch. | |||
| Yes | Do you support requiring illegal immigrants to return to their country of origin before they are eligible for citizenship? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| I believe that so-called "Dream Act" legislation is bad public policy, because it encourages the very behaviors that led to illegal influx in the first place. Until we have verifiable border security, so-called "comprehensive immigration reform" will be an exercise in futility. | |||
| No | Do you support same-sex marriage? | ||
| I support essential rights and protections for same-sex couples, for example, hospital visitation and health and death benefits. | |||
| 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? | ||
| I would support the use of military force against Iran if a nuclear threat became imminent, but the case for war would have to be stronger than the cherry-picked intelligence that led to the fiasco in Iraq. | |||
| No | Do you support allowing individuals to divert a portion of their Social Security taxes into personal retirement accounts? | ||
| Personal retirement accounts should be the responsibility of each individual, not part of a federal government program. | |||
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.
| Slightly Decrease | a) Agriculture | ||
| Slightly Decrease | b) Arts | ||
| Slightly Decrease | c) Defense | ||
| Maintain Status | d) Education | ||
| Maintain Status | e) Environment | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Homeland Security | ||
| Greatly Decrease | g) International aid | ||
| Maintain Status | h) Medical Research | ||
| Maintain Status | i) Scientific Research | ||
| Greatly Decrease | j) Space exploration | ||
| Greatly Decrease | k) United Nations | ||
| Greatly Decrease | l) Welfare | ||
| m) Other or expanded categories | |||
| Slightly Decrease | a) Capital gains taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | b) Corporate taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | c) Excise taxes (alcohol) | ||
| Maintain Status | d) Excise taxes (cigarettes) | ||
| Maintain Status | e) Excise taxes (transportation fuel) | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | g) Income taxes (middle-income families) | ||
| Maintain Status | h) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| Greatly Decrease | i) Inheritance taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | j) Payroll taxes | ||
| k) Other or expanded categories | |||
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