Ken Leonczyk's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Ken Leonczyk has demonstrated Political Courage by telling citizens where he stands on the issues he may face if elected.
North Carolina Congressional Election 2012 Political Courage Test
| Pro-life | Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| I am a pro-woman pro-life candidate. I stand with the women who have been harmed by abortionists and for-profit abortion mills. I also stand with the unborn children who have no voice in this debate. My position is based on my fundamental belief in the dignity of every human being. Moreover, I believe that unborn children are human beings, and each "human being must be recognized as having the rights of a person - among which is the inviolable right of every innocent being to life." | |||
| Yes | Do you support United States' combat operations in Afghanistan? | ||
| No | Do you support a timetable for withdrawal from Afghanistan? | ||
| As I stated in the Charlotte Observer, "A 'mission accomplished' in Afghanistan is a society where we've moved from a warlord culture to an actual functioning political system where people can disagree, where there is safety on the ground, where there is religious liberty and where there are women's rights. What I believe in is not democracy-building but liberty-building." We have a responsibility to finish what we started. An arbitrary timetable for withdrawal would only embolden the Taliban. The Commander-in-Chief as the civilian leader of our military should seek advice from our most senior generals before determining when to leave. | |||
Indicate which proposals you support (if any) for balancing the federal budget.In order to balance the budget,
| Yes | do you support reducing defense spending? | ||
| No | do you support an income tax increase on any tax bracket? | ||
| Yes | do you support reducing Medicaid spending? | ||
| Yes | do you support reducing Medicare spending? | ||
| Yes | Is balancing the budget a legislative priority? | ||
| I have pledged to cut government spending drastically by minimizing bureaucracy. Nothing is off limits; all bureaucratic excess must be eliminated. Waste in defense spending is still waste, and we must eliminate needless bureaucracy. Increasing income taxes would be counter-productive since we must grow our way out of our budget woes. Moreover, I have a specific policy that will help decrease the size of the federal government. I support a "Yellow Pages Test:" If a private company can do it, then the government should not. The government should not be competing with the private sector | |||
| No | Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions? | ||
| This is not an issue of whether I support or do not support the proposition. This is an issue about the 1st Amendment under constitutional law. This became settled law when the Supreme Court provided its decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. | |||
| 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 temporary extension of unemployment benefits? | ||
| Yes | Do you support the 2010 temporary extension of tax relief? | ||
| No | Do you support requiring states to implement education reforms in order to be eligible for competitive federal grants? | ||
| I believe that Education is an issue for the Fifty States. It is not a federal issue. | |||
| Yes | Do you believe that human activity is contributing to climate change? | ||
| Yes | Do you support the federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| I believe that human activity may be contributing to climate change but evidence is not conclusive and the issue needs to be investigated much further before Executive Branch Agencies promulgate rules that harm US industry and US ompetitiveness. While I do support federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions, I do not support the current piecemeal and arbitrary approach taken by EPA. I would support a market-based rational approach to regulation of greenhouse gas emissions if Congress concluded after much research that human activity did contribute to climate change. | |||
| No | Do you support restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns? | ||
| Generally, No. I am a firm believer in the Second Amendment. Of course, there are some circumstances where a restriction on the possession of a gun is perfectly allowable. For example, a law forbidding private citizens from carrying firearms in the White House is a reasonable and Constitutional restriction. | |||
| 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? | ||
| Obamacare is unconstitutional. I believe that free-market principles should apply to healthcare. I support a patient-centered approach to healthcare reform, and believe that the billions spent on defensive medicine must be brought where it belongs-- patient care and research. Federal money that goes to pay for defensive medicine rather than true patient care is wasteful and thus, a solution for medical malpractice tort reform is necessary. I believe that patients and doctors should control their health care decisions, not insurance companies and federal bureaucrats, and I will ensure that any healthcare reform legislation does not increase government spending. | |||
| Yes | Do you support requiring illegal immigrants to return to their country of origin before they are eligible for citizenship? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| We must enforce the laws that are on the books. We must know exactly who comes into our country and when they leave. After we achieve those two prerequisites, we can consider immigration legislation. | |||
| No | Do you support same-sex marriage? | ||
| Since the founding of our nation, the definition of the word "marriage" has been one man joined in this sacred union with one woman. | |||
| Yes | Do you support targeting suspected terrorists outside of official theaters of conflict? | ||
| Yes | Should the U.S use military force in order to prevent Iran from possessing a nuclear weapon? | ||
| The second question requires an explanation. The current administration has a bizarre definition of "force" as was seen by the definition of force provided by Mr. Obama in defense of his military action in Libya. Thus, I'm unsure what definition of "force" is assumed by this question. I believe that the U.S. must ensure that Iran does not possess a nuclear weapon and that the proper use of force must be an option available for us to achieve our objective. | |||
| Yes | Do you support allowing individuals to divert a portion of their Social Security taxes into personal retirement accounts? | ||
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.
| Greatly Decrease | a) Agriculture | ||
| Greatly Decrease | b) Arts | ||
| Slightly Decrease | c) Defense | ||
| Eliminate | d) Education | ||
| Greatly Decrease | e) Environment | ||
| Slightly Decrease | f) Homeland Security | ||
| Slightly Decrease | g) International aid | ||
| Slightly Decrease | h) Medical Research | ||
| Slightly Decrease | i) Scientific Research | ||
| Slightly Decrease | j) Space exploration | ||
| Greatly Decrease | k) United Nations | ||
| Greatly Decrease | l) Welfare | ||
| Maintain Status | a) Capital gains taxes | ||
| Greatly Decrease | b) Corporate taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | c) Excise taxes (alcohol) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | d) Excise taxes (cigarettes) | ||
| Greatly Decrease | e) Excise taxes (transportation fuel) | ||
| Greatly Decrease | f) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Greatly Decrease | g) Income taxes (middle-income families) | ||
| Greatly Decrease | h) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| Eliminate | i) Inheritance taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | j) Payroll taxes | ||
| Since there is no definition of what "greatly" or "slightly" means, my specific answers should be interpreted to only mean: (1) We should eliminate the Department of Education and (2) We must make cuts across the board. The specific sizes of those cuts will be determined in a much more exact way than this question allows. Chairman Paul Ryan's budget committee has excellent suggestions about how to do this. The bottom line is that the Federal government is spending money that it does not have. Therefore, cuts must occur within every agency and department in the federal government. | |||
| My answers to the questions above are less helpful than the following stances" (1) I will NOT vote to raise taxes. (2)I will propose legislation to greatly reduce the corporate income tax so American companies will be more competitive. (3) I support changes to allow the repatriation of foreign earned income. (4) I will work to eliminate the death taxes. (5) Most importantly, I support a complete overhaul of the tax code, and I support a flat tax. | |||
| Jobs; Return Government to Solvency. This election must be about the American Dream, and I have a pro-growth agenda to get America back on track. This plan includes: Making the pie bigger with tax cuts; Reducing barriers to entrepreneurship and risk taking; Removing the red tape strangling businesses so they can create jobs; and Restoring the link between effort and reward. Through our core social values and our principles of limited government, we can return to the America where we truly are a shining light, a land of economic opportunity, religious freedom, and liberty. |
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