Shaun O'Rourke's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Shaun O'Rourke has demonstrated Political Courage by telling citizens where he/she stands on the issues he/ she may face if elected.
New Jersey State Legislative Election 2011 Political Courage Test
| Pro-choice | a) Do you support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| No | b) Should abortion be legal after 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 parental notification be required before an abortion is performed on a minor? | ||
| Yes | f) Should parental consent be required before an abortion is performed on a minor? | ||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| While your questions are black and white, the answers are not. Just as most religions abhor killing, they allow it, for "reason". I personally find abortion reprehensible but cannot, as an american, force my religious opinion on another. Until the ant-abortionists are willing to take, care for, and support every fetus saved through private financing, there are times when I must allow a woman to decide her own fate and the fate of the fetus she carries. | |||
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 can use a number more than once.3) Budget StabilizationIndicate which proposals you support (if any) for balancing New Jersey's budget.
| Greatly Increase | a) Education (higher) | ||
| Greatly Increase | b) Education (K-12) | ||
| Greatly Increase | c) Environment | ||
| Greatly Increase | d) Health care | ||
| Slightly Decrease | e) Law enforcement | ||
| Slightly Increase | f) Transportation and highway infrastructure | ||
| Maintain Status | g) Welfare | ||
| Greatly Decrease | h) Other or expanded categories | ||
| Greatly Increase | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Greatly Increase | b) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | c) Corporate taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | d) Gasoline taxes | ||
| Greatly Decrease | e) Property taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Sales taxes | ||
| Eliminate | g) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Greatly Decrease | h) Income taxes (middle-income families) | ||
| Greatly Increase | i) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| Greatly Increase | j) Other or expanded categories | ||
| No | a) Tapping into New Jersey's "rainy day" fund | ||
| Yes | 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 | ||
| No | e) Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients | ||
| Yes | f) Privatizing certain government services | ||
| No | g) Reducing public pension benefits | ||
| military | |||
| taxes or fees which are specifically dedicated to providing benefit to limited populations | |||
| We should be cutting the opportunity politicians have to stuff government with their suppoters while protecting the jobs of honest government workers. If we cut out these jobs and their ancillary costs, we can keep offenders behind bars, avoid layoffs, and preserve services only government can provide. | |||
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 New Jersey governors? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support limits on the number of terms for New Jersey state legislators? | ||
| Yes | 1) Individual | ||
| Yes | 2) Political Action Committee | ||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| How about cutting to unicameral state legislatures? | |||
| 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) Do you support decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana? | ||
| Yes | 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 the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police? | ||
| g) Other or expanded principles | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support 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 tax incentives to businesses for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support spending on infrastructure projects for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| No | f) Do you support providing direct financial assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure? | ||
| No | g) Do you support comprehensive public pension reform that incorporates a defined contribution plan, similar to a 401(k)? | ||
| Public pension systems need to be placed off limits to political manipulatiuon. Politicians should have no access to pension surpliuses or funds. Businesses should have no access to pension surpluses or funds. Once money goes into a pension or retirement account, the business or political entity involved should have no ability to remove the funds. They have proven themselves untrustworthy as custodians of these accounts. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support the national Common Core State Standards intiative? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support requiring public schools to administer high school exit exams? | ||
| No | 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 Jersey high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| We cannot afford the kind of honest supervision required to create a merit pay system devoid of political manipulation. A merit pay system would end up a "Tammany Hall" fiasco. My kind of charter school is run and controlled by a local distric for a defined purpose.....not some hokey pockey privitization of education. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state regulation of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you believe that human activity is contributing to climate change? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support state funding for the development of alternative energy? | ||
| No | d) Do you support state funding for the development of traditional domestic energy sources (e.g. coal, natural gas, oil)? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support providing financial incentives to farms that produce biofuel crops? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support state funding for improvements to New Jersey's energy infrastructure? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support state funding for open space preservation? | ||
| Oil/gas/coal should be considered a strategic resource and conserved until the "foreign" supplies run out. Localized solar and wind generation will save consumers transmission costs. Every open space acre set aside from residential development is $20,000 back in the taxpayers pocket every year. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support requiring background checks on all firearms sales at gun shows, including sales by unlicensed dealers? | ||
| No | c) Do you support allowing individuals to carry concealed guns? | ||
| No | d) Do you support requiring a license for gun possession? | ||
| An honest, law abiding citizen should have the right to buy any weapon for legal hunting. These weapons would be more than adequate weapons for home defense. Anything else should be extremely discouraged. | |||
| Yes | 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) Do you support requiring individuals to purchase health care insurance? | ||
| No | e) Do you support monetary limits on damages that can be collected in malpractice lawsuits? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support legalizing physician-assisted suicide in New Jersey? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes? | ||
| I support a system where minimum health care benefits come with every job. This would provide a level competitive field for our private businesses. No business would see a savings through the use of temporary employees while other, more socially honest emploers struggle to compete. We need to end this rush to force all our employees to accept third world standards. This is America, not some petty backwater full of millionares and peasants. | |||
| No | a) Do you support same-sex marriage? | ||
| Yes | b) Should New Jersey continue to grant civil unions to same-sex couples? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support state funding for stem cell research? | ||
| No | d) Do you support state funding for embryonic stem cell research? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support affirmative action? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in New Jersey's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in New Jerseys anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| h) Other or expanded principles | |||
| I would like to see government shrunken by eliminating all patronage and redundancy. I would alter our tax system to encourage the regeneration of our middle class by eliminating taxation of income used for essential needs. I would tax and regulate the hell out of any unamerican businesses or companies sending our infrastructure, technology, and our jobs overseas. I would give incentives to any private entity creating environmentally sound, socially responsible, and economically viable businesses and subsequent employment. |
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