Matthew Snyder'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.
Matthew Snyder has demonstrated Political Courage by telling citizens where he/she stands on the issues he/she may face if elected.
Presidential Election 2012 Political Courage Test
| Pro-life | Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| You cannot force nobility into people, therefore, pregnancies resulting from rape and those that present an abnormally life-threatening danger should remain subject to the will of the mother. Other than these two rare circumstances, I can think of no reason to empower a citizen with the right to take the life of an unborn child. | |||
BudgetIndicate which proposals you support (if any) for balancing the federal budget.In order to balance the budget,SpendingIndicate what federal spending levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one number per category; you can use a number more than once.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.
| No | do you support reducing defense spending? | ||
| No | do you support an income tax increase on any tax bracket? | ||
| No | do you support reducing Medicaid spending? | ||
| No | do you support reducing Medicare spending? | ||
| Yes | Is balancing the budget an administrative priority? | ||
| Slightly Decrease | a) Agriculture | ||
| Greatly Decrease | b) Arts | ||
| Slightly Increase | c) Defense | ||
| Maintain Status | d) Education | ||
| Slightly Decrease | e) Environment | ||
| Greatly Decrease | f) Homeland Security | ||
| Greatly Decrease | g) International aid | ||
| Slightly Decrease | h) Medical Research | ||
| Greatly Decrease | i) Scientific Research | ||
| Greatly Decrease | j) Space exploration | ||
| Greatly Decrease | k) United Nations | ||
| Greatly Decrease | l) Welfare | ||
| Greatly Increase | m) Other or expanded categories | ||
| Eliminate | a) Capital gains taxes | ||
| Eliminate | b) Corporate taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | c) Excise taxes (alcohol) | ||
| Maintain Status | d) Excise taxes (cigarettes) | ||
| Maintain Status | e) Excise taxes (transportation fuel) | ||
| Eliminate | f) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Eliminate | g) Income taxes (middle-income families) | ||
| Eliminate | h) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| Eliminate | i) Inheritance taxes | ||
| Eliminate | j) Payroll taxes | ||
| I support increasing taxes on imports, cutting corporate tax rates to get businesses around the world looking at the U.S. for setting up camp, eliminating government waste, initiating tort, tax, welfare, education, and immigration reform, decreasing foreign energy dependency and foreign aid, and establishing term limits for Congressmen so they can focus on something other than getting re-elected. | |||
| Border security | |||
| Implementation of the Fair Tax or something very similar to it. | |||
| No | Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions? | ||
| We're coming into a new age where money will soon be a much lesser force in the election process. It will always be a factor, but in the near future, I believe it will be much less of a factor. There is no need to implement regulations in order to tell Americans how they can and cannot spend their money when it comes to patriotic ventures. | |||
| No | Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| In matters of self defense, I can reasonably justify the taking of life. Punishment and vengeance are not matters of self defense. | |||
| No | Do you support federal spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | Do you support providing tax incentives to businesses for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| No | Do you support spending on infrastructure projects for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| No | Do you support the 2010 temporary extension of unemployment benefits? | ||
| No | Do you support the 2010 temporary extension of tax relief? | ||
| Outside of clergy, it's hard to find someone who has a job that isn't tied to some form of business. Also, it's unlikely you'll find a government entity that operates at a profit. This means that in order to create jobs and bolster the economy, we need to create an environment that is friendly to businesses. America is a capitalist democracy. If we hurt American businesses, we hurt America. To close the gap on financial inequality, we should concentrate on making poor people wealthier, not making wealthy people poorer. | |||
| No | Do you support requiring states to implement education reforms in order to be eligible for competitive federal grants? | ||
| The concept of states' rights is mocked when the federal government dangles the big green carrot in front of them in order to get national conformity. If any state is ineligible to receive federal funds, the federal government should be ineligible to receive federal taxes from that state. | |||
| Yes | Do you believe that human activity is contributing to climate change? | ||
| No | Do you support the federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| Yes | Do you support reducing restrictions on offshore energy production? | ||
| If every human being on Earth were given one square yard of land, the entire human population would fit onto Hawaii's Big Island-- and there would plenty of room for more. It is unreasonable to think that our pollution has had no effect on the Earth's atmosphere (and thus climate) whatsoever. However, it's ridiculous to presume that humans have so much power that we can create more global havoc within the environment than even one of the Earth's hundreds of volcanoes. Mankind's contribution to climate change is like standing on a beach during a hurricane and blowing really hard. | |||
| No | Do you support United States' combat operations in Afghanistan? | ||
| Yes | Do you support a timetable for withdrawal from Afghanistan? | ||
| No | Do you support targeting suspected terrorists outside of official theaters of conflict? | ||
| Though there is a chance something bad will happen if we leave Afghanistan, there is no chance something good will happen if we stay. At some point, we have to let these people live their own lives. We can issue a stern warning to all nations and factions that the Middle East is now a non-war zone. We can come back and keep laying waste to the organizations that exist within these countries, all we need is the green light. I do not support targeting suspected terrorists. I support targeting known terrorists. | |||
| Yes | Do you support restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns? | ||
| Of course we should have restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns-- we currently have such restrictions-- we should be done creating restrictions. | |||
| Yes | Do you support repealing the 2010 Affordable Care Act? | ||
| No | Should individuals be required to purchase health insurance, as mandated in the 2010 Affordable Care Act? | ||
| Interstate commerce and tort reform are the ingredients for reduced health care costs. There's more to it than that, but they are instrumental in lowering prices. What's absurd is having a federal government that creates laws and regulations that drive up prices, then having the same federal government create programs to help pay for health care. It's like praising the government when you get your money back from income tax overpayments. | |||
| No | Do you support requiring illegal immigrants to return to their country of origin before they are eligible for citizenship? | ||
| Yes | Do you support allowing illegal immigrants, who were brought to the United States as minors, to pursue citizenship without returning to their country of origin? | ||
| Yes | Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration law by state and local police? | ||
| Control the border, create a six month registration period for illegals to come forward to make themselves known, 3 choices: initiate the current path to citizenship, leave within one year, or face immediate deportation after the registration period is gone. During the naturalization process, keep clean. No federal aid except primary and secondary school, emergency medical care, workman's comp, and a defense lawyer should they be taken to a federal court. Those who don't come forward and can't abide by our laws will face deportation. | |||
| No | Do you support same-sex marriage? | ||
| It's a religious thing. I'm not judging, but I'm not condoning. That's just the way it is. | |||
| Yes | Do you support allowing individuals to divert a portion of their Social Security taxes into personal retirement accounts? | ||
| Social Security would be just fine today if Congress had kept its greedy mitts off of the people's money. We don't need Social Security reform, we need Congressional spending reform. One simple law changes everything-- the hands off law. | |||
| My first priority is to stop thinking in terms of priorities. We're facing dozens of major issues and choosing 2 or 3 is an excuse waiting to happen. If you have four flat tires, you don't ask the technician which tire he's going to fix first. I perceive the over-extended powers of the Executive office to be the greatest threat to our nation. International treaties, unelected "czars," executive orders, and departmental monstrosities like the Dept of Homeland Security give the president way too much power. These entities offer the greatest threat to our Constitution, our freedom, and indeed, our nation. |
Vote Smart does not permit the use of its name or programs in any campaign activity, including advertising, debates, and speeches.