Kathy Polhemus' Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Kathy Polhemus has demonstrated Political Courage by telling citizens where she stands on the issues she may face if elected.
Colorado Congressional Election 2012 Political Courage Test
| No | Do you support United States' combat operations in Afghanistan? | ||
| Yes | Do you support a timetable for withdrawal from Afghanistan? | ||
| I understood our initial attack on Madrases in Afghanistan after 9/11. I have no idea why we are there in 2012. | |||
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? | ||
| Yes | do you support reducing Medicaid spending? | ||
| Yes | do you support reducing Medicare spending? | ||
| Yes | Is balancing the budget a legislative priority? | ||
| We need to lower healthcare costs overall. | |||
| Yes | Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions? | ||
| Yes | Do you support federal spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| No | Do you support the 2010 temporary extension of tax relief? | ||
| I support all of the above when we can afford them. Otherwise, I feel that we should follow the guidance of the Bowles-Simpson National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform recommendations regarding these issues. | |||
| Yes | Do you support requiring states to implement education reforms in order to be eligible for competitive federal grants? | ||
| Yes | Do you believe that human activity is contributing to climate change? | ||
| Yes | Do you support the federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| Yes | Do you support restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns? | ||
| Everyone has the right to own a gun for personal protection and/or hunting, but to the right to own an arsenal. | |||
| No | 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? | ||
| The bottom line is that we need to reduce healthcare costs in the United States and make affordable healthcare available to everyone. The 2010 Affordable Health Care Act is a first step, but an incomplete one. Forcing people to purchase health care insurance is not my preference, but until we agree to some other way of covering all of our citizens with health insurance, it is the best current option. | |||
| 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? | ||
| No | Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration law by state and local police? | ||
| Yes | Do you support targeting suspected terrorists outside of official theaters of conflict? | ||
| No | Should the U.S use military force in order to prevent Iran from possessing a nuclear weapon? | ||
| While the option to use direct military force must remain available, covert operations and diplomacy must be considered as better options in order to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons. If the situation progressed to the point where the use of direct military action would be considered as the last possible option, then we would have failed at many other points along the way | |||
| No | 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 | ||
| Slightly Decrease | b) Arts | ||
| Greatly Decrease | c) Defense | ||
| Slightly Increase | d) Education | ||
| Slightly Decrease | e) Environment | ||
| Greatly Decrease | f) Homeland Security | ||
| Greatly Decrease | g) International aid | ||
| Slightly Decrease | h) Medical Research | ||
| Slightly Decrease | i) Scientific Research | ||
| Greatly Decrease | j) Space exploration | ||
| Greatly Decrease | k) United Nations | ||
| Slightly Decrease | l) Welfare | ||
| m) Other or expanded categories | |||
| Slightly Increase | a) Capital gains taxes | ||
| Greatly Increase | b) Corporate taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | c) Excise taxes (alcohol) | ||
| Slightly Increase | d) Excise taxes (cigarettes) | ||
| Slightly Increase | e) Excise taxes (transportation fuel) | ||
| Slightly Increase | f) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Slightly Increase | g) Income taxes (middle-income families) | ||
| Slightly Increase | h) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| Greatly Increase | i) Inheritance taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | j) Payroll taxes | ||
| In order to extricate ourselves from the current fiscal mess, there must be shared sacrifice, which means that there need to be tax increases for everyone to bear. To that end I would look to raise income through various tax reform proposals, such as introducing an increased gasoline tax, eliminating or restricting a variety of tax deductions. | |||
| 1. Economy/Balanced Budget: The Simpson-Bowles recommendations must be the basis for balancing the budget. Within those limits the government must take the lead in creating good paying jobs that cannot be outsourced. Banks need to be separated from risk-taking operations. 2. Education: We must invest the future and the education of our young children while returning the cost of higher education to an affordable level. 3. Healthcare: Regardless of the healthcare system employed, the cost of healthcare must be reduced across the board. If this can only be done with a single payer system, then that option should be pursued. |
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