Paul Varkuza's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Paul Varkuza has demonstrated Political Courage by telling citizens where he stands on the issues he may face if elected.
Montana State Legislative Election 2012 Political Courage Test
| Pro-life | a) Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| Yes | b) Should abortions be illegal 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) Do you support requiring parental notification before an abortion is performed on a minor? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support requiring parental consent before an abortion is performed on a minor? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support the prohibition of public funds for abortion procedures? | ||
| Yes | h) Do you support the prohibition of public funds for organizations that perform abortions? | ||
| I think the right to life, womens' health, and womens' freedom are all very important. The toxicity of the abortion debate is a real problem. Regardless of viewpoint, I would like to see more support going towards women with unwanted pregnancies to help them make informed unpaniced decisions when they have to choose. | |||
1) State Spending:Using the key, indicate 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 Taxes:Using the key,indicate what state tax levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one level per category; you may use a number more than once.
| Slightly Increase | a) Education (higher) | ||
| Slightly Increase | b) Education (K-12) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | c) Environment | ||
| Maintain Status | d) Health care | ||
| Maintain Status | e) Law enforcement/corrections | ||
| Slightly Increase | f) Transportation/infrastructure | ||
| Maintain Status | g) Welfare | ||
| Maintain Status | h) Other or expanded categories: | ||
| Maintain Status | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | b) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | c) Corporate taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | d) Gas/Oil taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | e) Property taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Maintain Status | g) Income taxes (mid-income families) | ||
| Maintain Status | h) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| Maintain Status | i) Other or expanded categories: | ||
| In general, spending should be adjusted to expected revenue not the other way around. | |||
| When it comes to extraction taxes, I want to make sure the people of Montana get a fair slice of the pie to invest in the future. A future that will have less natural resources to extract. If we can increase the amount of extraction in our state, then we can expect greatly increased revenue as a result. This money can be spent on education, infrastructure, and anything else necessary to build a better future for Montana. The only caveat is we don't want to be too heavy handed with extraction taxes or we will just drive business away. | |||
a) Do you support limits on the following types of contributions for state candidates?
| No | 1) Individual | ||
| Yes | 2) Political Action Committee | ||
| Yes | 3) Corporate | ||
| No | 4) Political Party | ||
| No | b) Should candidates for state office be encouraged to meet voluntary spending limits? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support requiring full and timely disclosure of campaign finance information? | ||
| No | d) Do you support the use of an independent AND/OR bipartisan commission for redistricting? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support requiring a government-issued photo identification in order to vote at the polls? | ||
| Unfortinately you can't take the money out of politics. However, you can require full and immediate disclosure, and you can eliminate unaccountable middlemen such as PACs, corporations, unions, organizations, and other groups. Letting only individuals and political parties donate with no limits and full disclosure is the best way to maintain honesty and freedom at the same time. | |||
| No | 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? | ||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| Inmates should have to work during their incarceration to pay for their incarceration. I am strongly opposed to the way prisoners are not prevented from being raped by other prisoners. Prisons need to be a place of law and order, not a place dehumanizing revenge and savagery. The unofficial policy of rape toleration in some prisons is clearly in violation of the Eighth Amendment. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support increased state funding for job-training programs that re-train displaced workers? | ||
| No | c) Do you support expanding access to unemployment benefits? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support providing financial incentives to the private sector for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support increased spending on infrastructure projects for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| No | f) Do you support providing direct financial assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure? | ||
| Lowering the cost of doing business is the best way to get our economy moving again including eliminating the business equipment tax, lowering energy costs, removing job-killing regulations, and tort reform. Government spending may be okay in certain very specific instances, but in general, what is needed is to get the government out of the way so that the job creators can go out there and create the jobs. | |||
| No | a) Do you support the national Common Core State Standards initiative? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support a merit pay system for teachers? | ||
| Yes | c) Is the tenure process for public school teachers producing effective teachers? | ||
| Yes | d) Should parents be allowed to use vouchers to send their children to any school? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support the state government providing college students with financial aid? | ||
| Yes | g) Should illegal immigrants who graduate from Montana high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| Our teachers are under paid. The teacher-student relationship is the fundamental building block to good education. If we attract quality teachers, we'll get quality education. We spend far too much money on administration, and we micromanage our teachers too much. Infusing some competition and financial incentives can be very effective. However, we must make sure not to punish teachers in a merit system for things that aren't their fault. Performance must be measured against how other teachers' did with the same students. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state funding for the development of alternative energy? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support state funding for the development of traditional domestic energy sources (e.g. coal, natural gas, oil)? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support state funding for improvements to Montana's energy infrastructure? | ||
| No | d) Do you support state funding for open space preservation? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support increasing the means by which hunters may take wolves in order to promote greater management? | ||
| Yes | f) Should Montana reintroduce bison on public lands? | ||
| No | g) Do you support enacting environmental regulations aimed at reducing the effects of climate change? | ||
| I support smart environmental management geared towards sustainability and an all-of-the-above energy strategy. I am willing to support spending on energy development provided it has a very measurable return on investment e.g. helping to build a refinery that in turn lowers energy costs for all Montanas would be a good idea. Otherwise, it is through regulatory reform that the greatest impact can be made, and I would rather the state go out and recruit a business to come into our state and build an energy business rather than having the state do it directly itself. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns? | ||
| No | b) Should background checks be required on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows? | ||
| Yes | c) Should citizens be allowed to carry concealed guns? | ||
| No | d) Should a license be required for gun possession? | ||
| The restrictions I support on the purchase and possession of guns are requiring businesses and dealers who sell guns to conduct background checks and a ban on fully automatic weapons. | |||
| No | 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? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support monetary limits on damages that can be collected in malpractice lawsuits? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes? | ||
| No | g) Do you support increased restrictions on the production of medical marijuana in Montana? | ||
| I believe in a free medicial safety net. Beyond that, we need to lower medical costs, improve medical freedom, and get back to a doctor-patient centric medical system. Tort reform and allowing insurance to be sold across state lines are very important pieces in cost control. The biggest problem I have with the Affordable Care Act is not that it is a "government takeover" of medicine, but that it takes power away from doctors and individuals and gives it to the insurance interests, the pharmeceutical interests, and unaccountable government bureaucrats. That's not who should control our health care. | |||
| No | a) Should marriage only be between one man and one woman? | ||
| Yes | b) Should same-sex couples be allowed to form civil unions? | ||
| No | c) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Montana's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| No | d) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Montana's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| I support equal rights not special rights. As marriage is a public institution not a private institution, it must be equal and non-discriminatory. In general, I think people should have the right to do whatever they want so long as it doesn't hurt or infringe upon the freedom of others. | |||
| Beyond the economic issues with which we are all very focused, I intend to specialize in protecting the freedoms of the people of Montana. This includes when government gives preferential treatment to large corporations to the detriment of the people. To that end, I support GMO labeling. I support increased privacy protections and greater innumerated protections for property owners. I support requiring federal agents wishing to detain Montanas to clear it with the local Sheriff first. The State of Montana must protect its people against the overreach of the federal government. I am very against all corruption and waste. |
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