Bob Shipley Auerbach's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Bob Shipley Auerbach has demonstrated Political Courage by telling citizens where he stands on the issues he may face if elected.
Maryland Congressional Election 2012 Political Courage Test
| Pro-choice | Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| Under Roe v. Wade, laws that invade privacy or undermine freedom of choice are unconstitutional. Our society should promote respect for life by moving away from violence, militarism, and war. Choice should be genuine: a woman's opportunity to choose to bear a child should also be protected and not destroyed by unfair economic hardship. ABOUT THIS QUESTIONNAIRE: Some of the questions in this Project Vote Smart questionnaire embody complex questionable assumptions (or even cliche) relating to issues that are not susceptible of glib answers in yes-or-no format or arbitrary quantitative rankings. Voters deserve thoughtful discussion of public policy. | |||
| No | Do you support United States' combat operations in Afghanistan? | ||
| Yes | Do you support a timetable for withdrawal from Afghanistan? | ||
| Withdraw all troops as soon as possible. Violence is a self-defeating policy. It is unlawful to invade or attack (or to threaten to attack) other countries. [See U.N.Charter Art. 2(4).] The two big political parties receive huge sums of money from the so-called "defense" industry and thus are eager to support military spending and the use of unlawful force around the world, whereas NONVIOLENCE is a key principle of the Green Party. Empire and domination are inconsistent with democracy, yet the U.S. has troops in over 150 countries. Attacking and occupying other countries can not make Americans safer. | |||
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 have answered questions about health care "spending" as if the questions were asking about government support for access to health care, which I believe should be preserved and increased. But health care costs (and thus spending) can certainly be reduced, especially if we reduce the role of insurance companies and other for-profit corporations from the system. Although it is a priority to move toward a balanced federal budget (especially by cutting military spending), a sober evaluation of the federal budget requires more careful analysis, such as distinguishing the annual "operating" budget from long-term investments or resources, etc. | |||
| Yes | Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions? | ||
| Citizens United v. FEC should be overturned. But the insidious money-driven campaign finance system goes much deeper than special "indirect" contributions through Section 527 organizations ("SuperPACs"). Electoral outcomes (and thus public policy) have long been controlled by corporations and financial institutions giving huge "contributions" to government officials, who then ignore the public interest and instead subsidize those wealthy donors, at public expense. This is a conflict of interest. Instead of genuine representative democracy, the big money system reduces to plutocracy. Unlike congressional campaigns that raise Millions of Dollars from corporate interests, this Green Party campaign practices clean campaign finance principles. | |||
| No | Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| Killing in the name of "justice" only increases violence in society and does not make people safer. International human rights law calls for abolition of the death penalty. Our penal system has discriminatory effects (making it an instrument of injustice) and needs to be redirected toward transformative justice. Invest in schools, not in prisons. Politicians posture as "tough on crime" while their campaign-contributors in the for-profit prison industry are enriched by the world's highest incarceration rates. | |||
| 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? | ||
| Whether to support federal spending to promote growth depends on what type of growth, and on other details. New Deal era public works projects helped end the Depression, but not all growth is good. Thus, we should oppose environmentally destructive unnecessary highway projects that mostly reward political cronies. Nor should we blindly support corporate welfare giveaways under the pretext of "incentives" for job creation. Decrease military. At bottom, the current economic system is not sustainable. See Green New Deal [http://www.jillstein.org/green_new_deal]. HR4853 tax extension was politically complicated. ABOUT THIS QUESTIONNAIRE: Some of these questions are not susceptible of glib yes-or-no answer. | |||
| No | Do you support requiring states to implement education reforms in order to be eligible for competitive federal grants? | ||
| The answer really depends on which education reforms are at issue. To the extent that this question is asking about making federal support for schools contingent on state and local compliance with mandates for pedagogically harmful high-stakes testing, the answer is No. | |||
| No | Do you support reducing restrictions on offshore energy production? | ||
| The federal government must focus on bringing about a sustainable energy future. End federal subsidies for oil companies (which currently manage to control public policy by donating money to politicians who favor them). Instead, support initiatives to develop and implement alternative and sustainable energy sources, such as solar power. One good example is the federal incentives program enacted to promote successful small solar energy pilot projects, which should not be allowed to sunset or expire before community groups have had a full opportunity to pursue this important direction toward a sustainable energy future. | |||
| Yes | Do you believe that human activity is contributing to climate change? | ||
| Yes | Do you support the federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| We need a sustainable energy future. Human health depends on clean air and clean water. We must also respect biodiversity. Environmental Wisdom is one of the key principles of the Green Party (together with Nonviolence, Social Justice, and Grassroots Democracy). Short-sighted profits-driven exploitation of the environment is not sustainable. Unfortunately, the campaign finance system (which resembles bribery and undermines democracy) pushes public policy in a direction that is seriously degrading the habitability of our planet. We are stewards of the earth. We must not let greed or foolish policies deprive future generations of a healthy and beautiful world. | |||
| Yes | Do you support restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns? | ||
| Guns do not make a society safer. Violence does not solve problems. Government-sponsored violence contributes to a violent culture. Our government should lead through example by obeying its legally binding commitment to adopt peaceful means for international dispute resolution and to renounce recourse to the use of force as an instrument of national policy. Weapons manufacturers should be held accountable for the carnage caused by their products. | |||
| 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? | ||
| Greens support universal access to health care, which should not be a for-profit industry (health does not obey classical market principles of supply and demand). AHCAA reflects a conflict of interest due to huge sums of $$$ given to legislators (so-called campaign contributions) by for-profit insurance companies, pharmaceutical corporations & for-profit health care industry. The Supreme Court held the individual mandate constitutional under the taxing power, but imposing this type of requirement might not be wise. The overall structure of AHCAA makes it a boon for for-profit insurance companies. It remains unknown whether AHCAA will actually improve access to care. | |||
| 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? | ||
| U.S. should respect international human rights spelled out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (which Eleanor Roosevelt helped create in 1948). U.S. should not target immigrant young people for military recruitment. Provide educational opportunities for all, including undocumented people. The best way to reduce the pressures for immigration to the U.S. would be to stop funding destructive wars around the world and to stop unfair corporate exploitation in other countries. Recent state crackdowns on immigrants have tried to take politcal advantage of fear and have overstepped constitutional bounds. | |||
| No | 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? | ||
| Violence is an inherently self-defeating policy. Nonviolent action aligns peaceful means with peaceful ends. The two big political parties receive enormous amounts of money from the so-called defense industry and blindly support military buildups and military force around the world, whereas Nonviolence is a main principle of the Green Party. The U.S. should re-establish diplomatic relations with Iran and negotiate in good faith, instead of threatening military force. Under UN Charter Art. 2(4), it is unlawful to attack (or to threaten to attack) another country. It is illegal and anti-democratic for government to misinform in order to propagandize for war. | |||
| No | Do you support allowing individuals to divert a portion of their Social Security taxes into personal retirement accounts? | ||
| We should carefully protect the public social security system from profit-seeking corporate raiders. The answer must be NO, to the extent that "privatizing" the system would serve only to enrich certain financial institutions at great risk to the public interest. | |||
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.
| a) Agriculture | |||
| Slightly Increase | b) Arts | ||
| Greatly Decrease | c) Defense | ||
| Maintain Status | d) Education | ||
| Greatly Increase | e) Environment | ||
| Greatly Decrease | f) Homeland Security | ||
| g) International aid | |||
| h) Medical Research | |||
| i) Scientific Research | |||
| j) Space exploration | |||
| Maintain Status | k) United Nations | ||
| l) Welfare | |||
| Maintain Status | m) Other or expanded categories | ||
| Greatly Increase | a) Capital gains taxes | ||
| Greatly Increase | b) Corporate taxes | ||
| Greatly Increase | c) Excise taxes (alcohol) | ||
| Greatly Increase | d) Excise taxes (cigarettes) | ||
| Greatly Increase | e) Excise taxes (transportation fuel) | ||
| Eliminate | f) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | g) Income taxes (middle-income families) | ||
| Greatly Increase | h) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| Greatly Increase | i) Inheritance taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | j) Payroll taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | k) Other or expanded categories | ||
| The scale of 1 to 6 is misleading because this question lists broad categories but fails to make important qualitative distinctions. To take the first example, does "federal spending on Agriculture" refer to support for nutrition improvement programs, or to corporate welfare handouts for the unsustainable mega-farm industry? Does "foreign aid" refer to helping people in other lands who are in need of food and medicine, or does it refer to military spending that causes death, suffering, and destruction? Which kinds of medical and scientific research are contemplated? Which space exploration programs? | |||
| Assigning numbers from 1 to 6 ("Greatly increase" to "Eliminate") is much less exact than it might seem. For example, a tax on fossil fuels for transportation should be accompanied by improved clean-energy public transit. Qualitative details of any given tax proposal must be considered in light of basic principles of fairness and consequences for sustainability. One of the basic principles is that taxation should be progressive and should not operate to concentrate capital. We could learn much from the single-tax approach developed by Henry George (author of Progress and Poverty). | |||
| End U.S. wars. The U.S. is not above the law: attacks (or threats to attack) another country are not a lawful option. See U.N. Charter, Art. 2(4). Promote nonviolence internationally and at home. Respect civil liberties: end fearmongering and repeal the so-called PATRIOT Act. End discrimination and support a fair economy, with adequate housing and food for all. Huge reduction in military spending will greatly increase resources to meet human needs. Promote sustainable energy policy with renewable sources (e.g., solar); protect the environment. Reform the election system to create fair & open ballot access, choice voting, and proportional representation. |
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