Gerald York's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Tennessee Congressional 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? | ||
| Yes | d) Should abortion be legal when the life of the woman is endangered? | ||
| Yes | e) Should federal subsidies be prohibited from being used for abortion procedures? | ||
| The medical decision about whether or not a fetus should be aborted to save the mother is very difficult, and should NOT be legislated. This is a medical decision that should be left to the mother, family, and physician. My most significant concern about abortion is its use as a method of birth control. This should be illegal. The right of the fetus/baby is the one that is being taken. | |||
1) SpendingIndicate what federal funding levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one number per category- you can use a number more than once.2) 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 Increase | a) Agriculture | ||
| Maintain Status | b) Arts | ||
| Slightly Decrease | c) Defense | ||
| Maintain Status | 1) Intelligence operations | ||
| Maintain Status | 2) Military hardware | ||
| Slightly Increase | 3) National missile defense | ||
| Slightly Increase | 4) Salary and benefits for active duty personnel | ||
| Slightly Increase | 5) Programs to improve troop retention rates | ||
| Maintain Status | 6) Research and development of new weapons | ||
| Greatly Increase | d) Education | ||
| Maintain Status | e) Environment | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Homeland security | ||
| Slightly Increase | g) International aid | ||
| Slightly Decrease | h) Medical research | ||
| Maintain Status | i) Scientific research | ||
| Slightly Increase | j) Space exploration | ||
| Greatly Decrease | k) United Nations | ||
| Slightly Decrease | l) Welfare | ||
| m) Other or expanded categories | |||
| Maintain Status | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | b) Capital gains taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | c) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | d) Corporate taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | e) Gasoline taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | g) Income taxes (middle-income families) | ||
| Maintain Status | h) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| i) Other or expanded categories | |||
| Yes | 3) Do you support the elimination of the federal estate tax? | ||
| Yes | 4) Do you support requiring the federal budget to be balanced each year? | ||
| No | 5) Do you support using government funds in an effort to stimulate and improve the economy? | ||
| Government stimulus programs, a.k.a., bailouts and similar programs, do little to stimulate the economy. Tax relief, help with unions for large corporations, and improving education/training of our workforce will bring about a true recovery in our economy that is long-term and sustainable. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support privatizing elements of Social Security? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector? | ||
| No | c) Do you support increasing the federal minimum wage? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support the ability of workers to unionize? | ||
| No | e) Do you support federal funding for job-training programs that retrain displaced workers? | ||
| I would rather see tax benefits or other incentives for corporations that supply workers with transition training to obtain other employment. | |||
| No | a) Do you support increasing the amount individuals are permitted to contribute to federal campaigns? | ||
| Yes | b) Should Congress regulate indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions? | ||
| No | c) Do you support removing all contribution limits on federal campaigns? | ||
| Yes | d) Should candidates for federal office be encouraged to meet voluntary spending limits? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support giving the President the power of the line item veto for items concerning appropriations? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support limiting the President's ability to define how legislation is applied through the use of signing statements? | ||
| g) Other or expanded principles | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support programs that provide prison inmates with vocational and job-related training and job-placement assistance when released? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support programs that provide prison inmates with substance abuse treatment? | ||
| No | d) Do you support reduced prison sentences for non-violent offenders? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support mandatory prison sentences for selling illegal drugs? | ||
| I think prisoners are a potential resource for civic work projects and would like to see more use of their time helping the community that they have wronged. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support federal education standards and testing requirements for K-12 students? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support federal funding for universal pre-K programs? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support federal funding for charter schools? | ||
| No | d) Do you support federal funding for K-12 school vouchers? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support the federal government providing college students with financial aid? | ||
| f) Other or expanded principles | |||
| No | a) Do you support enacting environmental regulations aimed at reducing the effects of climate change? | ||
| No | b) Do you support international emissions targets aimed at reducing the effects of climate change? | ||
| No | c) Do you support allowing energy producers to trade carbon credits under a "cap and trade" system? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support strengthening fuel efficiency standards on all gasoline and diesel-powered engines, including cars, trucks, and sport utility vehicles? | ||
| No | e) Do you support domestic oil exploration in federally-protected areas? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support federal funding for the development of alternative energy? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support the development of nuclear reactors? | ||
| Our focus must be on increasing efficiency as well as developing new resources. We are a smart, ingenious group of people. A large problem now is the lack of direction and leadership in the tough choices of what should be done, and which avenues to explore next. We should ernestly look at different sources (solar, hydrogen, biodiesel, etc.) and decide what needs to be done to move us forward with a strong partnership between government and industry. | |||
| No | a) Do you support restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you believe that the Second Amendment guarantees the right of individual citizens to own guns? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support allowing individuals to carry concealed guns? | ||
| No | d) Do you support a ban on assault rifles? | ||
| e) Other or expanded principles | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support a publicly-administered health insurance option? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support expanding access to health care through commercial health insurance reform? | ||
| Yes | c) Should the federal government expand eligibility for tax-free medical savings accounts? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support monetary limits on damages that can be collected in malpractice lawsuits? | ||
| No | e) Do you support relaxing regulations on the importation of prescription drugs? | ||
| While our current healthcare law has many flaws, much of the intent was sound. It is not unreasonable to have a catastrophic national health insurance plan for which everyone would pay a very small portion. However, elective procedures and treatments should not be covered in this plan. | |||
| No | a) Do you support a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants? | ||
| No | b) Do you support decreasing the number of legal immigrants allowed into the country? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support establishing English as the official national language? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police? | ||
| Illegal immigrants are breaking the law and should not be given a free pass to be in our country. The process of obtaining permission to live and work in our country should be streamlined to allow immigrants to be here legitimately. We have laws that govern this...they should be enforced. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support United States military action in Afghanistan? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support increasing military assistance for Afghanistan? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support increasing economic development assistance for Afghanistan? | ||
| Yes | d) Should the United States continue to strike suspected terrorist targets in Pakistan? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support granting aid to countries when it is in the security interests of the United States? | ||
| Yes | f) Should the United States support the creation of a Palestinian state? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support increasing sanctions on Iran if it continues to defy United Nations mandates? | ||
| Yes | h) Do you support the withdrawal of United States troops from Iraq? | ||
| Yes | i) Do you support the United States' involvement in free trade agreements? | ||
| American troops should come home when the commanders on the ground decide they have accomplished the mission given to them by the Commander-in-Chief, and not before. The forced withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan or Iraq is dangerous for our troops, the local population, and for us here at home. | |||
| Yes | a) Should marriage only be between one man and one woman? | ||
| No | b) Do you support allowing openly-gay men and women to serve in the United States military? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support federal funding for embryonic stem cell research? | ||
| Yes | d) Should the federal government end affirmative action programs? | ||
| Stem cells provide a potential for significant biological and medical breakthroughs. While the willful killing of a fetus through abortion is wrong, the use of cells that are not to be used for implantation is akin to organ donation. | |||
| 1. Balance the budget. Stop earmarks for pet projects of congressman and their corporate sponsors and allow line-item veto power to the office of the president. We must make tough choices in the next few years if we are to salvage our economy and limit the debt we are passing to our children and grandchildren. This may mean lower benefits temporarily, and possibly higher taxes on certain goods or services. Stop the bailouts. 2. Repeal the current healthcare legislation. We need a plan that incorporates the needs of all Americans, not just the insurance industry. |
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