Rick Hellberg'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.
Rick Hellberg 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.
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 2010.
- Rick Hellberg. Issue Position: Abortion. "I believe the universe was created by an entity whose goodness and intelligence are so vast that I, as a human, have no ability to understand or comprehend. I call that entity God. I believe God endowed each human being with the unalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. I also believe that God endowed us all with the God-like quality of conscience. And, although some of us may exhibit more than others, I believe we all have that piece of God within us. I also believe that when a human sperm fertilizes a human egg, the life that is created is a human life. I don't see how it can be any other. I also believe that God terminates between 20 and 50% of all pregnancies through a process called miscarriage. In doing so, I believe God brings into being the concept of viable life. And, I believe that God-like part of us has some ability to understand what can be a viable life and balance the right to life of that unborn child with the right of the mother to pursue happiness. I pray that our collective conscience would choose life far more often than the selfish choice of supposed happiness. We need to have a conversation, a rational and educated debate among the citizens of each of the states to come up with 50 different answers to this question. Unfortunately, the Supreme Court's decision in Rowe v. Wade eliminates that discussion. For many reasons I think Rowe was a misguided decision that needs to be overturned to allow those 50 conversations to begin." (votesmart.org)
- Rick Hellberg signed American Family Business Institute: Death Tax Repeal Pledge. (www.nodeathtax.org)
- Rick Hellberg. 2010 Candidate Interview: Rick Hellberg (R-PA). 5 October 2010. "I would co-sponsor a bill that would terminate further spending on the stimulus and/or to defund and repeal Obamacare. I would work towards developing a more competitive health care bill that would actually help reduce premiums and insure more Americans. I would co-sponsor a bill that would replace our tax code with a flatter income tax and a national sales tax, and sponsor a bill that would encourage businesses to create jobs; both would stimulate the economy, providing for rapid growth over decades." (www.redstate.com)
- Rick Hellberg. Issue Position: Government Spending. "Our economy can not sustain the current levels of government spending without either collapsing the economy or repudiating the resulting levels of debt. Adding a healthcare bill using smoke and mirrors to hide its cost will only make the horrendous results of the last two years even worse. This economy can only survive by cutting our spending dramatically, privatizing entitlements and implementing a production oriented tax system." (votesmart.org)
- Rick Hellberg. Issue Position: Jobs. "Government has never and will never create productive, sustainable jobs. The private sector is where jobs are created and American business will only start creating jobs when it believes the national economy is on the right track to recovery. Unfortunately, everything this administration and Congress have chosen to do sends business the message that government will continue to make creating a profit more difficult through higher taxes, more mandates and excessive regulation. There is a far, far better way." (votesmart.org)
- 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.
- Rick Hellberg. 2010 Candidate Interview: Rick Hellberg (R-PA). 5 October 2010. "I believe we should develop every form of available energy in an environmentally sensitive manner. This could be done without the reams of environmental regulations currently on the books and replacing them with the requirement that any program of development show the financial resources necessary to clean up any mishaps. From the beginning, the private sector needs to know they are totally responsible for the environment and the limits of that responsibility. Between company assets and insurance they must have the ability to cover even the worst disaster. Then government needs to get out of their way and allow them to create the energy and clean up after themselves. If this mindset was in place this past year, the Gulf of Mexico spill would have been cleaned up within days not months." (www.redstate.com)
- Rick Hellberg. Issue Position: Energy. "For our national security; for our economy; for the sake of our least advantaged citizens; we must become energy independent. We can no longer allow ourselves to be at the mercy of foreign interests that control the world's supply of oil. We must also acknowledge that our economy will continue to be dependent on carbon based energy for many years. Other forms of energy are not even close to replacing oil. We must open every possible area of the United states to the environmentally safe production of oil, gas and coal." (votesmart.org)
- Rick Hellberg. Issue Position: Second Amendment. "The Second Amendment was put in place not to protect the rights of hunters, but for the same reason the entire Constitution was written; to protect the rights of all citizens against a power seeking federal government. And yes, there are limits to this right just as there are limits to the right of free speech, free press and free assembly. But wrapping yourself in the mantle of reducing gun violence does not constitute a just reason for restricting the ability of your fellow, law-abiding citizens from protecting their life, liberty and property." (votesmart.org)
- Rick Hellberg signed The Club for Growth: Repeal It! (www.repealit.org)
- Rick Hellberg. 2010 Candidate Interview: Rick Hellberg (R-PA). 5 October 2010. "I would co-sponsor a bill that would terminate further spending on the stimulus and/or to defund and repeal Obamacare. I would work towards developing a more competitive health care bill that would actually help reduce premiums and insure more Americans." (www.redstate.com)
- Rick Hellberg. Issue Position: Healthcare. "The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act passed by Congress in March was an absolute disaster that will accomplish none of its title and create far ranging problems for years to come. The sad part is that an intelligent bill addressing the needs of all our citizens and our healthcare delivery system could have been passed easily with bipartisan cooperation. Every effort should be made to repeal this monstrosity and eliminate the demagoguery that is rampant in our political environment." (votesmart.org)
- Rick Hellberg. 2010. NumbersUSA: 2010 Congressional Candidate Survey. Responded "Yes" to the question: "1. Do you OPPOSE offering the officially estimated 11 million people illegally in the U.S. long-term work permits and/or a path to citizenship (whether through a blanket amnesty or an "earned legalization" or other form)?" (www.numbersusa.com)
- Rick Hellberg. Issue Position: Immigration. "I, like everyone else in this country, am the product of immigrants. I have wonderful memories of my grandfather telling the story of his arrival in the United States following his dreams of freedom to have his own business and live without fear of the government. Our country is the fabled "melting pot" of peoples and cultures that combined to create the American Experience. Without those "masses yearning to breathe free" this country would never have achieved its richness. We must continue to welcome those hard working immigrants who want to create a better life for themselves and their families. What we can't allow are small minority of immigrants who come to our shores to do us harm, break our laws or live off our system." (votesmart.org)
- Rick Hellberg. Issue Position: National Security. "I believe our goal must be to keep the persons and property of all American citizens as safe as possible. I believe our safety is greatest when we are the strongest military power in the world. I believe we are not meant to be and have no right to be the world's policemen. I believe our security is diminished by having our troops overseas for long periods of time. I believe we need to bring our troops home from ALL foreign lands as quickly as possible without upsetting the balances of power or creating power vacuums. I believe that we then need to communicate in no uncertain terms that any attack against Americans or the allies of Americans will be met with swift and total retribution of a kind no human will ever want to suffer. We can then mind our own business and be the powerful sleeping tiger." (votesmart.org)
- Eagle Forum. 2010. Project Vote Smart: Interest Group Endorsements. 14 September 2010. Eagle Forum endorsed Rick Hellberg in the 2010 general election. (votesmart.org)
- Rick Hellberg. Issue Position: Gay Marriage. "I believe that the best way to raise children is in a marriage between a man and a woman where each loves, honors and respects each other and their child. I also know that there are many marriages between a man and a woman, mine included, where children are not planned or considered. I also believe that a child raised in a marriage of two people, no matter their gender, who love , honor and respect each other and the child is far better than one raised by a father and mother where one parent is uncaring or abusive. For the sake of children, I think it is far more important to remove them from abusive families than it is to worry about the gender of their parents. For the sake of the individuals, I believe a marriage can bring about stability and better physical and mental health to the participants no matter what their combination of gender. And, for the life of me, I can't see how heterosexuals are diminished in any way by allowing homosexual marriages." (votesmart.org)
Vote Smart does not permit the use of its name or programs in any campaign activity, including advertising, debates, and speeches.