VoteforEddie .com's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Florida Congressional Election 2012 Political Courage Test
| Pro-choice | Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| My Wife and I have always been Pro-Life, however, I do not believe the government should tell a woman what to do with her own body, so I respect the stance of those who choose to be Pro-Choice. | |||
| Yes | Do you support United States' combat operations in Afghanistan? | ||
| Yes | Do you support a timetable for withdrawal from Afghanistan? | ||
| It was a justifiable war at the beginning when it was anti-Al-Qaeda in the post 9/11 era, but now it has morphed into a nation building quagmire. We have spent enough time and resources and need to execute our exit strategy ASAP. We should increase the burden on the Afghanistan security forces and continue the draw down process. | |||
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? | ||
| Yes | 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 a legislative priority? | ||
| I support Simpson-Bowles type legislation that would lower all tax brackets while also eliminating some deductions and loopholes while implementing other revenue generating policies. This would go hand-in-hand with entitlement reform and defense spending reductions. All options must be on the table to put the fiscal house back in order and both parties must work in a bipartisan manner if it is to be successful. | |||
| Yes | Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions? | ||
| Citizens United was a SCOTUS atrocity. How do you think the founding fathers would have liked King George influencing the race for White House or Congress? I will offer a constitutional amendment to fix this. | |||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| Yes | Do you support spending on infrastructure projects for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| Yes | Do you support the temporary extension of unemployment benefits? | ||
| Yes | Do you support the 2010 temporary extension of tax relief? | ||
| Most economists would agree that stimulus spending is more economically beneficial than austerity. These are all temporary attempts to help a weak economy but at some point should be rolled back (slowly and over time) to regular levels to raise revenue and lower deficit spending. | |||
| Yes | Do you support requiring states to implement education reforms in order to be eligible for competitive federal grants? | ||
| No | Do you support reducing restrictions on offshore energy production? | ||
| I believe we should develop our natural resources in an environmentally responsible way; for the time being I would not want to hinder the economic benefits derived from energy exploration and production. I believe that continued reliance on fossil fuels indefinitely is both an economically and environmentally unwise policy; I will push my National Energy Security Act (NESA). NESA is a renewable-energy-only initiative with the main goal of being completely dependent from fossil fuels. | |||
| Yes | Do you believe that human activity is contributing to climate change? | ||
| Yes | Do you support the federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| Climate change is a clear and present danger to the citizens of this country and it is unacceptable policy to question its legitimacy. My National Energy Security Act will positively shape the government's priority regarding research to solve our fossil fuel burning ways. | |||
| Yes | Do you support restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns? | ||
| I support the Second Amendment, but some gun loopholes exist that need to be looked at. However, Congresswoman Giffords was shot in the head (It was a miracle she survived) but not one piece of legislation came through the House of Representatives to foster gun control, so I foster little hope for any meaningful gun legislation. | |||
| No | Do you support repealing the 2010 Affordable Care Act? | ||
| Yes | Should individuals be required to purchase health insurance, as mandated in the 2010 Affordable Care Act? | ||
| The government requires that I buy car insurance if I want to drive a car or to get a loan for my house, so I can see the logic here. SCOTUS has ruled it constitutional and we need to move on and focus efforts on other important pressing issues. | |||
| 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? | ||
| We need to secure the border first. From there I feel illegal immigrants should have a "declaration" window of 18-24 months to register with the government. There should be a fair evaluation process based on many important factors that will allow the majority to stay, but they would need to make some concessions because of their illegal actions. The GOP does not want immigration reform because Hispanics tend to skew Democrat or Independent and that can change some battleground states in the Electoral College. It's purely them trying to keep as much power as possible for as long as possible. | |||
| Yes | Do you support same-sex marriage? | ||
| Gays marrying has nothing to do with the sanctity of marriage. The sanctity of marriage is ruined by adulterous partners and sham weddings for green cards. | |||
| 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? | ||
| How the Iraq war was sold to us based on a WMD threat has me very concerned with the loose talk of preemptive strikes to prevent nuclear capabilities. I would build a nuclear shield to protect our interests in the region. Also, the specter of nuclear war & MAD worked to prevent nukes being from being used during the cold war so why not now? A military strike would be an option of absolute last resort based on a strong military coalition after all efforts to negotiate have failed. America will not bare the most burden in casualties or treasure. | |||
| Yes | Do you support allowing individuals to divert a portion of their Social Security taxes into personal retirement accounts? | ||
| A small percentage of the Social Security taxes for younger workers should be invested in a few predetermined risk-appropriate index funds. This will allow for higher returns and ease the burden on the Social Security system for future retirees. | |||
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.
| Maintain Status | a) Agriculture | ||
| Maintain Status | b) Arts | ||
| Slightly Decrease | c) Defense | ||
| Greatly Increase | d) Education | ||
| Maintain Status | e) Environment | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Homeland Security | ||
| Slightly Decrease | g) International aid | ||
| Greatly Increase | h) Medical Research | ||
| Greatly Increase | i) Scientific Research | ||
| Maintain Status | j) Space exploration | ||
| Slightly Decrease | k) United Nations | ||
| Maintain Status | l) Welfare | ||
| m) Other or expanded categories | |||
| Slightly Increase | a) Capital gains taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | b) Corporate taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | c) Excise taxes (alcohol) | ||
| Maintain Status | d) Excise taxes (cigarettes) | ||
| Maintain Status | e) Excise taxes (transportation fuel) | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Maintain Status | g) Income taxes (middle-income families) | ||
| Slightly Increase | h) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| Slightly Increase | i) Inheritance taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | j) Payroll taxes | ||
| I support a Simpson-Bowles type plan that will lower & simplify tax rates while increasing revenue along with spending reductions & entitlement reform. | |||
| 1. My National Energy Security Act will seek energy independence through renewable energy, thus saving the average American thousands of dollars per year. 2. Tax Relief for the Police, Fire, Armed forces and Teachers. State governments are always cutting the benefits and pay for the most important jobs in the community. 3. Enacting a Simpson-Bowles type fiscal plan to get our finances in order before we become Greece. 4. Overturning the Citizens United ruling through a constitutional amendment. 5. Immigration reform. 6. Marijuana reform; it should be removed from DEA Schedule 1 and allow states to decide without federal interference. |
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