Lois Snowe-Mello's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Lois Snowe-Mello refused to tell citizens where she stands on any of the issues addressed in the 2012 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.
Maine State Legislative Election 2010 Political Courage Test
| Pro-life | a) Do you consider yourself pro-choice or pro-life? | ||
| No | b) Should abortion be legal only within the first trimester of pregnancy? | ||
| No | c) Should abortion be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| No | g) Do you support sexual education programs that include information on abstinence, contraceptives, and HIV/STD prevention methods? | ||
| Yes | h) Do you support abstinence-only sexual education programs? | ||
| I am pro life, but as long as this is in Federal law this remains mute I absolutely do not believe in the partial birth abortion | |||
1) State SpendingIndicate 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 TaxesIndicate 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 StabilizationIndicate which proposals you support (if any) for balancing Maine's budget.
| Maintain Status | a) Education (higher) | ||
| Maintain Status | b) Education (K-12) | ||
| Maintain Status | c) Environment | ||
| d) Health care | |||
| Slightly Increase | e) Law enforcement | ||
| Slightly Increase | f) Transportation and highway infrastructure | ||
| Slightly Decrease | g) Welfare | ||
| Maintain Status | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | b) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | c) Corporate taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | d) Gasoline taxes | ||
| Greatly Decrease | e) Property taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Sales taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | g) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | h) Income taxes (middle-income families) | ||
| Maintain Status | i) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| Yes | a) Tapping into Maine's "rainy day" fund | ||
| Yes | b) Issuing the early release of certain non-violent offenders | ||
| No | c) Increasing tuition rates at public universities | ||
| No | d) Instituting mandatory furloughs and layoffs for state employees | ||
| Yes | e) Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients | ||
| Yes | f) Privatizing certain government services | ||
| d) Change the way we deliver it. g) reform it eliminate Dirigo & put into place free market solutions to Health Insurance Maine must pay it's bills & reimburse physicians, hospitals & medical providers for money owed to them for Mainecare/Medicaid expenditures. We must replace Dirigo with Free Market solutions & get rid of regulations that prevent Health (affordable) Insurance policies with low deductibles to be sold in our state. Allow Health Insurance to be bought out of state. Maine's people deserve to have a choice in Health Insurance packages & costs. If we get rid of Dirigo we can(...) | |||
| prioritize spending | |||
| d) already do e) / welfare reform regards to welfare need to reform it - keep it for folks who truly need it. Residency requirements. Cut size of government Governor's staff- & Commissioners | |||
c) Do you support limits on the following types of contributions to candidates for state government?
| Yes | a) Do you support limits on the number of terms for Maine governors? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support limits on the number of terms for Maine state legislators? | ||
| No | 1) Individual | ||
| Yes | 2) Political Action Committee | ||
| Yes | 3) Corporate | ||
| Yes | 4) Political Party | ||
| Yes | d) Should candidates for state office be encouraged to meet voluntary spending limits? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support requiring full and timely disclosure of campaign finance information? | ||
| f) Other or expanded principles | |||
| 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) Should the possession of small amounts of marijuana be decriminalized? | ||
| 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? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support allowing sex offenders to petition for removal from the sex offender registry? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police? | ||
| h) Other or expanded principles | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support increased state funding for job-training programs that re-train displaced workers? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support expanding access to unemployment benefits? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support providing financial incentives to the private sector for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support increased spending on infrastructure projects for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support providing direct financial assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure? | ||
| g) Other or expanded principles | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support national education standards? | ||
| No | b) Do you support requiring public schools to administer high school exit exams? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support using a merit pay system for teachers? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support the state government providing college students with financial aid? | ||
| No | f) Should illegal immigrants who graduate from Maine high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| Public universities are paid by our tax dollars. Illegals if they want help must become citizens. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state funding for the development of alternative energy? | ||
| Yes | 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 providing financial incentives to farms that produce biofuel crops? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support state funding for improvements to Maine's energy infrastructure? | ||
| No | e) Do you support state funding for open space preservation? | ||
| No | f) Do you support enacting environmental regulations aimed at reducing the effects of climate change? | ||
| e) Already have done enough | |||
| No | a) Do you support restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns? | ||
| No | b) Do you support requiring background checks on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support allowing individuals to carry concealed guns? | ||
| No | d) Do you support requiring a license for gun possession? | ||
| e) Other or expanded principles | |||
| 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? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support interstate health insurance compacts? | ||
| No | d) Should individuals be required to purchase health care insurance? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support monetary limits on damages that can be collected in malpractice lawsuits? | ||
| No | f) Do you support placing health warnings on cellular phones? | ||
| No | g) Do you support legalizing physician-assisted suicide in Maine? | ||
| Yes | h) Do you support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes? | ||
| i) Other or expanded principles | |||
| Yes | a) Should marriage only be between one man and one woman? | ||
| b) Should Maine allow same-sex couples to form domestic partnerships? | |||
| No | c) Do you support state funding for stem cell research? | ||
| No | d) Do you support state funding for embryonic stem cell research? | ||
| e) Do you support the state's use of affirmative action? | |||
| Yes | f) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Maine's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| No | g) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Maine's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| h) Other or expanded principles | |||
| I have always advocated for spending within our means, rather than spending more than we are taking in. We cannot keep adding debt and expecting to deal with it in some distant future. I'm sure we can find a number of ways to cut spending which don't harm our most vulnerable citizens, or impact vital programs. The number of state employees who make more than $100,000 is scandalous for a state the size of Maine. The salaries of higher management must be looked at, and possibly lowered. Certainly no salary increases can be justified until we get our financial house(...) |
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