Jonathan Sternberg's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Jonathan Sternberg has demonstrated Political Courage by telling citizens where he stands on the issues he may face if elected.
Missouri 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 wish this survey had not asked "yes" or "no" questions on abortion, because this issue is too difficult for black-and-white answers. While Roe v. Wade has, for the time being, made "abortion on demand" the law of the land, it fundamentally misinterprets the Constitution. If and when Roe is overruled and control of abortion is returned to the states, I would oppose abortion on demand. At the same time, I would oppose overt prohibition, as I am too cognizant of the terrible black market that would follow. I favor a medical certification system, as in the UK, though stricter. | |||
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.3) Budget Stabilization:Indicate which proposals you support (if any) for balancing Missouri's budget.
| Maintain Status | a) Education (higher) | ||
| Greatly Increase | b) Education (K-12) | ||
| Greatly Decrease | c) Environment | ||
| Maintain Status | d) Health care | ||
| Greatly Decrease | e) Law enforcement/corrections | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Transportation/infrastructure | ||
| Maintain Status | g) Welfare | ||
| Eliminate | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Eliminate | b) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | c) Corporate taxes | ||
| Eliminate | d) Gas/Oil taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | e) Property taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Sales taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | g) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Maintain Status | h) Income taxes (mid-income families) | ||
| Maintain Status | i) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| No | j) Should municipalities be allowed to collect taxes on out-of-state vehicle purchases? | ||
| No | a) Tapping into Missouri's "rainy day" fund | ||
| No | b) Increasing tuition rates at public universities | ||
| No | c) Reducing or eliminating public worker collective bargaining | ||
| No | d) Reducing state employee salaries AND/OR pensions | ||
| No | e) Instituting mandatory furloughs AND/OR layoffs for state employees | ||
| No | f) Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients | ||
| Higher education is well-funded and should remain so. K-12 education is woefully underfunded. Environmental concerns are overregulated, and the burdensome regulation should be lifted, freeing tax dollars. Existing levels of Medicare/Medicaid funding should be maintained. All criminal laws creating sumptuary prohibitions should be repealed, freeing up law enforcement/corrections tax dollars and allowing our police and prisons to prevent and respond to real crimes. | |||
| As a firm supporter of the free market, I oppose government "crony capitalism" intervention in the market, be it through handouts, tax credits, "sin taxes," item-specific taxes, prohibitionism, or otherwise. It is not the role of government to pick winners and losers in the market. All "sin taxes" and item-specific sales taxes should be repealed. The existing (low) levels of state sales taxes, property taxes, and state income taxes should be maintained, as they foster small government and keep Missouri the freest state in America. The existing elimination of state corporate taxes should be maintained, as double-taxation is fundamentally unfair. | |||
| The Constitution of Missouri requires a balanced budget, and the General Assembly has balanced the budget every year in recent memory. This can be maintained without resorting to such drastic measures as those in this survey. A long-overdue overhaul of overly burdensome regulations and programs, as well as repeal of criminal laws creating sumptuary prohibitions, can free up Missourians' tax dollars to be spent on areas (such as secondary education, courts, police) that truly befit the role of government, and possibly lower taxes. | |||
a) Do you support limits on the following types of contributions for state candidates?
| No | 1) Individual | ||
| No | 2) Political Action Committee | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| While I support disclosure requirements for political funding, government has no business limiting or restricting anyone's free speech as to which candidates/issues they support or oppose. I support bipartisan redistricting. As mundane everyday activities routinely require photo ID, I believe the comparatively sacrosanct act of voting should require the same in order to reduce voter fraud and ensure the accuracy of public votes. | |||
| 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? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| I oppose capital punishment and sentences of life without parole, and would vote to repeal both regimens. Our correctional system, an intellectual product of the early 19th century, should be reexamined and reformed after study. I support the repeal of all sumptuary prohibitions, including the terribly failed prohibition on drugs. I believe consensual sexual activity is no business of the government's. If the federal government is unwilling to enforce our immigration laws, I support the ability of state and local officers to do so, as long as the state enforcement does not conflict with the federal laws. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| No | d) Do you support providing financial incentives to the private sector for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| As a firm supporter of the free market, I support freeing businesses and individuals from overly burdensome government regulation. At the same time, I oppose "crony capitalism." | |||
| 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? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| No | f) Do you support the state government providing college students with financial aid? | ||
| No | g) Should illegal immigrants who graduate from Missouri's high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| I believe education is a state concern, not federal. I support states acting as 50 "laboratories of innovation," in which best practices ultimately are copied and bad practices rejected. As such, I cannot support a nationwide curriculum, especially in a nation as large and diverse as ours. I support the ability of good teachers to be paid more, but by objective observation rather than bureaucratic standardized tests. I support a robust, locally-controlled, state K-12 education system in which educators are paid more and schools better funded. Vouchers would be an undue burden both on that system and on private schools. | |||
| No | a) Do you support state funding for the development of alternative energy? | ||
| No | b) Do you support state funding for the development of traditional domestic energy sources (e.g. coal, natural gas, oil)? | ||
| No | c) Do you support state funding for improvements to Missouri's energy infrastructure? | ||
| No | d) Do you support state funding for open space preservation? | ||
| No | e) Do you support enacting environmental regulations aimed at reducing the effects of climate change? | ||
| Development and production of energy is and should be a function of the free market. I oppose government restriction and intervention in the free market. If the market dictates that "alternative energy" sources or "traditional domestic energy" sources should be developed, they will be developed. The free market keeps prices down and allows for competition. | |||
| No | 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? | ||
| I support the Second Amendment and Missouri's even broader constitutional right to keep and bear arms. Gun prohibition, like all sumptuary prohibitions (e.g. drug prohibition and alcohol prohibition), only would foster a black market and create both criminals and crime. | |||
| 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? | ||
| No | e) Do you support expanding Medicaid eligibility in Missouri with federal funds as provided through the Affordable Care Act? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support allowing employers and insurers to decide not to provide coverage for abortion, contraception and sterilization if they have religious objections? | ||
| No | g) Do you support monetary limits on damages that can be collected in malpractice lawsuits? | ||
| Yes | h) Do you support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes? | ||
| Health care is and should be a function of the free market, not government. As it is overly burdensome government regulation that has drastically increased the cost of health care for everyday Americans, I support government deregulation of health care. I believe that health care decisions should be left to individuals, their insurers, and doctors. | |||
| Yes | a) Should marriage only be between one man and one woman? | ||
| No | b) Should same-sex couples be allowed to form civil unions? | ||
| No | c) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Missouri's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| No | d) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Missouri's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| I support the freedom of consenting adults to engage in homosexual activity, and I would never vote for any law that would in any way take away that freedom. Actually endorsing this activity, however, is an entirely different proposition, which the voters of Missouri overwhelmingly rejected in 2004. | |||
| My top three legislative priorities are these: (1) Keep Missouri the freest state in America by safeguarding our many liberties and restoring those that have been taken away; (2) Comb through the Missouri Revised Statutes and Code of State Regulations to simplify, modernize, and limit the regulatory burden of government; and (3) Foster job creation and economic growth by protecting and liberating the free market. |
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