Mike Philips' Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Maryland 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? | ||
| 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) Should federal subsidies be prohibited from being used for abortion procedures? | ||
| b) No abortion should be allowed in any trimester except in cases of rape, incest or the life of the mother. I believe the Hyde Amendment should be applied to all Federal Appropriation Legislation. Life is Life and it should be protected. We are the only people who can protect the life of an unborn child. There are alternatives to abortion starting with adoption. There are options to Planned Parenthood like the Rockville Pregnancy Center where women can get appropriate support that often leads to a different outcome than abortion and I support organizations like these fully. Go to www.OurPublicPlan.com. | |||
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.
| Greatly Decrease | a) Agriculture | ||
| Eliminate | b) Arts | ||
| Slightly Decrease | c) Defense | ||
| Slightly Decrease | 1) Intelligence operations | ||
| Slightly Decrease | 2) Military hardware | ||
| Slightly Decrease | 3) National missile defense | ||
| Slightly Increase | 4) Salary and benefits for active duty personnel | ||
| Slightly Increase | 5) Programs to improve troop retention rates | ||
| Greatly Decrease | 6) Research and development of new weapons | ||
| Greatly Decrease | d) Education | ||
| Slightly Decrease | e) Environment | ||
| Slightly Decrease | f) Homeland security | ||
| Greatly Decrease | g) International aid | ||
| Greatly Decrease | h) Medical research | ||
| Greatly Decrease | i) Scientific research | ||
| Maintain Status | j) Space exploration | ||
| Greatly Decrease | k) United Nations | ||
| Greatly Decrease | l) Welfare | ||
| Eliminate | m) Other or expanded categories | ||
| Greatly Decrease | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | b) Capital gains taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | c) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Greatly Decrease | d) Corporate taxes | ||
| Greatly Decrease | e) Gasoline taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | g) Income taxes (middle-income families) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | h) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| Slightly Increase | 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? | ||
| Eliminate federal funding (ie, our tax dollars) for Unions, Abortion and Planned Parenthood. Reduce greatly the funding for the Department of Transportation, Department of Commerce and the Department of Health and Human Services. We do not have the luxury to pay for a massive bureaucracy or the retirement benefits of a massive bureaucracy. These organizations have grown over the years with each new idea that comes up. Most of these ideas were good at one time, but they will not always be that way. We need to clean house and start over with a lean and highly productive federal workforce. | |||
| Every American should pay some taxes. I propose that the roughly 50M American wage earners who do not pay any federal income taxes be required to pay two dollars per week in income taxes. That would raise $5.2B. These dollars would be set aside to pay for Earmarks by the US Congress. On April 15 each year, and only on April 15, Congress will vote to spend these dollars as earmarks starting with the lowest cost bill. This way low income taxpayers would know how their taxes are spent. Please go to our website, OurPublicPlan.com for other ways to save. | |||
| Every corporation / business should pay a flat tax of 5% of total revenue and have no deductions or subsidies. Make it so simple that they can use their SEC Filing and add one line that says: "Total Review times 5% equals total corporate tax". That would be all. No more loopholes, no more tax code, no more guessing. Everyone pays and pays the same percent. I propose that we cut spending by 4% each year for five years. For every 4% cut in federal spending there would be an automatic cut in the marginal income tax rates by 1%. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support privatizing elements of Social Security? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector? | ||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| a) I believe in personal responsibility. I have worked hard and saved since I was 12 years old. Americans have access to personal savings, IRA's, 401k's, pension plans, retirement plans, Health Savings Accounts and other forms of retirement savings and preparations. Social security should only be a safety net, not the principle source of retirement income. e) Job training and retraining should be done at the local level. If that is not possible, then it should be a state's issue. This is certainly not a federal issue. The Federal Government should not be engaged in job retraining. Go to "MikePhilipsforCongress.com". | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support increasing the amount individuals are permitted to contribute to federal campaigns? | ||
| No | b) Should Congress regulate indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions? | ||
| No | c) Do you support removing all contribution limits on federal campaigns? | ||
| No | d) Should candidates for federal office be encouraged to meet voluntary spending limits? | ||
| No | e) Do you support giving the President the power of the line item veto for items concerning appropriations? | ||
| No | f) Do you support limiting the President's ability to define how legislation is applied through the use of signing statements? | ||
| b) It is my belief that neither Corporations or Unions should be financially engaged more than an individual. This would limit both to $2,400 for a primary election and $2,400 for a general election per candidate. Corporations can have a Political Action Committee that can give a little more, but still the amount is not excessive. I would like to see a level playing field for all candidates. I do not want any group that is financially more powerful than another to control an election through the power of the purse, just because they can. Please go to "www.MikePhilipsForCongress.com". | |||
| No | 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? | ||
| No | e) Do you support mandatory prison sentences for selling illegal drugs? | ||
| a) I am pro life. Usually that distinction makes someone think of unborn children, but it also applies to euthanasia, the death penalty and other situations. Life is Life and all life should be protected. Too many mistakes have been made and too many innocent people have died by capital punishment to allow this to continue. Just give them life without parole. b) Inmate programs for job training and substance abuse should be dealt with at the state and local level. Judges have a job and they should be the one's to decide on a sentence, not a federal legislator. | |||
| No | a) Do you support federal education standards and testing requirements for K-12 students? | ||
| No | b) Do you support federal funding for universal pre-K programs? | ||
| No | c) Do you support federal funding for charter schools? | ||
| No | d) Do you support federal funding for K-12 school vouchers? | ||
| No | e) Do you support the federal government providing college students with financial aid? | ||
| a) The federal government has failed in all aspects of education for decades. The US is so far back in the pack of developed nations that we look like a joke to the rest of the world. The federal government should get out of the education business and return all taxes and power back to the states as it relates to education. The Federal Government should give a tax deduction of $10K per year to any parent with a child in college and $20K per year for two children in undergraduate programs, and limit this to four years each. | |||
| 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? | ||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| a) We should reduce pollution because of health concerns. That is the immediate concern. My son had childhood asthma and I know what Code Red Days did to him. I rushed him to the hospital once because he could barely breath. b) We should never accept international mandates. I have lived, worked or traveled to 22 countries. Our air and water are cleaner than almost any of them. We are the leader, not the follower. Let the rest of the world catch up to us. And then there won't be a need for international emissions targets. Please go to "www.MikePhilipsForCongress.com". | |||
| 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? | ||
| I support the second amendment. I grew up in a home with guns. I started gun safety training as a child. I was hunting before I turned 12. I hunted deer, quail, dove, rabbits, squirrels and ducks. We ate everything I shot. I went into the Marines where I was an expert with the rifle and pistol. I won a bronze medal in international competition and shot with the Marine's Rifle and Pistol team for a few months. I enjoy guns, hunting and fishing. And I want the ability to defend my family if that occasion ever presents itself. "www.MikePhilipsForCongress.com." | |||
| No | 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? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support relaxing regulations on the importation of prescription drugs? | ||
| a) Go to "OurPublicPlan.com" and download the proposed legislation found there. Go to section 400 and read the 83 provisions that will increase access and reduce the cost of health care. Download the document called "19 Things we can do now" to find a list of ideas that will increase access and reduce cost of health care that do not cost a dime and will save the average US citizen thousands of dollars. Republicans do have a Health Care Reform Proposal, but the liberal media does not want anyone to know about it. I wrote these documents with 87 supporters. | |||
| No | a) Do you support a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants? | ||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| a) "Attrition Through Enforcement" and closing the borders are the two most important things we can do immediately to make an impact on illegal immigration. b) The historic number of aliens entering the US legally has been around 250K per year. I think that would be a better number for the US right now. c) Many immigrants have come to the US and learned the language. It is a requirement to speak English to gain citizenship. So of course I support the laws of the US and every citizen should speak the language of our nation. Go to "MikePhilipsForCongress.com". | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support United States military action in Afghanistan? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support increasing military assistance for Afghanistan? | ||
| No | c) Do you support increasing economic development assistance for Afghanistan? | ||
| Yes | d) Should the United States continue to strike suspected terrorist targets in Pakistan? | ||
| No | e) Do you support granting aid to countries when it is in the security interests of the United States? | ||
| No | f) Should the United States support the creation of a Palestinian state? | ||
| No | g) Do you support increasing sanctions on Iran if it continues to defy United Nations mandates? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| a) We are in a war. We should not tie the hands of our military leaders. f) Israel is a sovereign nation and should be allowed to take care of its own internal issues without interference from us. There are regional powers who can work with Israel who are better able to support the peace process than the US. e) The US should stop tinkering with foreign, sovereign states. Let each nation decide their own issues. Look at what the lack of transparency in Afghanistan has done after thousands of classified documents were released showing how such action has failed. | |||
| Yes | a) Should marriage only be between one man and one woman? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support allowing openly-gay men and women to serve in the United States military? | ||
| No | c) Do you support federal funding for embryonic stem cell research? | ||
| Yes | d) Should the federal government end affirmative action programs? | ||
| I am a pro life, pro second amendment, fiscal conservative, tree hugging environmentalist. I believe in individual responsibility and the need for social security to serve as a last ditch safety net and not a lifetime retirement account. The US should stop picking corporate winners and losers. We should protect our national sovereignty and achieve energy independence. We should stop punishing American Taxpayers. Working hard is not a reason for the US Government to TAX us more. Socialist will always beat down hard workers because they make the socialist look lazy. I will fight to keep America and Americans FREE. | |||
| 1. Economy. 2. Jobs. 3. Fiscal Responsibility. 4. Security. 5. Health Care. 6. Environment. We must cut spending so that we can cut taxes to put more dollars in the hands of people to get the economy moving. Revenue increases as the economy grows. We must become Fiscally Responsible and stop funding every good idea. "We have to find a hundred good ways to say no to a thousand good ideas we cannot afford." In order to fund new initiatives, we must grow the economy to grow revenue first, or we must cut spending to offset the new costs. "www.MikePhilipsForCongress.com" |
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