Richard Olson, Jr.'s Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Richard Olson, Jr. has refused to provide voters with positions on key issues covered by the 2014 Political Courage Test, despite repeated requests.
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.
New Hampshire State Legislative Election 2010 Political Courage Test
| Pro-choice | a) Do you consider yourself pro-choice or pro-life? | ||
| Yes | b) Should abortion be legal only within the first trimester of pregnancy? | ||
| Yes | c) Should abortion be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape? | ||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| The government should not involve itself in the personal and private medical choices between physicians and their patients. | |||
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 New Hampshire's budget.
| Greatly Decrease | a) Education (higher) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | b) Education (K-12) | ||
| Greatly Decrease | c) Environment | ||
| Slightly Decrease | d) Health care | ||
| Slightly Increase | e) Law enforcement | ||
| Greatly Increase | f) Transportation and highway infrastructure | ||
| Greatly Decrease | g) Welfare | ||
| Greatly Decrease | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Greatly Decrease | b) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | c) Corporate taxes | ||
| Greatly Decrease | d) Gasoline taxes | ||
| Greatly Decrease | e) Property taxes | ||
| No | a) Tapping into New Hampshire's "rainy day" fund | ||
| No | b) Issuing the early release of certain non-violent offenders | ||
| No | c) Increasing tuition rates at public universities | ||
| Yes | d) Instituting mandatory furloughs and layoffs for state employees | ||
| Yes | e) Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients | ||
| Yes | f) Privatizing certain government services | ||
| A compassionate society should have modest safety nets to give a helping hand to those who fall on hard times. But this level of social spending at some point will not be maintainable. | |||
| We as a society love to throw stones at alcohol and tobacco taxes as the bastions of evil, yet when revenues decrease because of a rate increase, there are few who are honest enough to admit the revenue shortfalls can be directly attributed to the increases. | |||
| Again, financial problems harken back to looking to government as a first step to solving all of society's problems. The way governments spend revenues is unsustainable. | |||
c) Do you support limits on the following types of contributions to candidates for state government?
| No | a) Do you support limits on the number of terms for New Hampshire governors? | ||
| No | b) Do you support limits on the number of terms for New Hampshire state legislators? | ||
| No | 1) Individual | ||
| No | 2) Political Action Committee | ||
| No | 3) Corporate | ||
| No | 4) Political Party | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| The more restrictions and regulations has resulted in more politicians and special interests simply "gaming the system" to find ways around the the FEC. The process could be simplified by removing the restrictions and requiring full public disclosure. | |||
| 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? | ||
| Yes | c) Should the possession of small amounts of marijuana be decriminalized? | ||
| Yes | d) Should a minor accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult? | ||
| No | e) Should a minor who sends sexually-explicit or nude photos by cell phone face criminal charges? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police? | ||
| g) Other or expanded principles | |||
| No | a) Do you support establishing a state income tax? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector? | ||
| No | c) Do you support the expansion of state-regulated gaming? | ||
| No | d) Do you support increased state funding for job-training programs that re-train displaced workers? | ||
| No | e) Do you support expanding access to unemployment benefits? | ||
| No | f) Do you support providing financial incentives to the private sector for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| No | g) Do you support increased spending on infrastructure projects for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| No | h) Do you support providing direct financial assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure? | ||
| i) Other or expanded principles | |||
| No | a) Do you support national education standards? | ||
| Yes | 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 New Hampshire high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| First, The federal government should leave education funding to the states. Financial Aid in the form of affordable loans, I support. I do not believe that providing funding for people who are in the country illegally should be tolerated. There are other immigrant groups of people who com tot he U.S. and do so by following the rules and not gaming the system. | |||
| No | a) Do you support state funding for the development of alternative energy? | ||
| No | b) Do you support state funding for the development of traditional domestic energy sources (e.g. coal, natural gas, oil)? | ||
| No | c) Do you support providing financial incentives to farms that produce biofuel crops? | ||
| No | d) Do you support state funding for improvements to New Hampshire's energy infrastructure? | ||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| Reducing emissions and waste should be done because it simply is the right thing to do. We should practice good stewardship of our environment and resources. Climate Change, also referred to as "Global Warming" has manifested evidence lately that it is nothing more than a sham and means for a few marxist liberals to grab power. | |||
| 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? | ||
| Licensure and gun registration is nothing more than a pretext to confiscation, as seen in Austrialian and Great Britain. | |||
| 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 legalizing physician-assisted suicide in New Hampshire? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes? | ||
| h) Other or expanded principles | |||
| Yes | a) Should marriage only be between one man and one woman? | ||
| No | b) Should New Hampshire continue to grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples? | ||
| No | c) Do you support state funding for stem cell research? | ||
| No | d) Do you support state funding for embryonic stem cell research? | ||
| No | e) Do you support the state's use of affirmative action? | ||
| No | f) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in New Hampshire's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| No | g) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in New Hampshire's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Marriage is a function of the church and a religious rite. It is hypocritical for a state to sanction same-sex-"marriage" while insisting on a separation of church and state. All people under the law should have equal rights to contract with one another for purposes of affairs relating to ones personal relationship. | |||
| If elected, I will join with like-minded legislators to roll back these excessive fees and taxes which has hampered jobs in New Hampshire. I would like to see families have more alternatives and choices in education I would like to roll back a number of nanny-state laws that have been passed. |
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