Rocky Anderson's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Rocky Anderson has demonstrated Political Courage by telling citizens where he stands on the issues he may face if elected.
Presidential Election 2012 Political Courage Test
| Pro-choice | Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| I favor expanded sex education and family planning information and services as the best means of preventing abortion. | |||
BudgetIndicate which proposals you support (if any) for balancing the federal budget.In order to balance the budget,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.
| 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? | ||
| Yes | do you support reducing Medicare spending? | ||
| Yes | Is balancing the budget an administrative priority? | ||
| Greatly Decrease | a) Agriculture | ||
| Maintain Status | b) Arts | ||
| Greatly Decrease | c) Defense | ||
| Greatly Increase | d) Education | ||
| Greatly Increase | e) Environment | ||
| Slightly Decrease | f) Homeland Security | ||
| Greatly Decrease | g) International aid | ||
| Slightly Increase | h) Medical Research | ||
| Slightly Increase | i) Scientific Research | ||
| Maintain Status | j) Space exploration | ||
| Maintain Status | k) United Nations | ||
| Maintain Status | l) Welfare | ||
| m) Other or expanded categories | |||
| Greatly Increase | a) Capital gains taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | b) Corporate taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | c) Excise taxes (alcohol) | ||
| Slightly Increase | d) Excise taxes (cigarettes) | ||
| Slightly Increase | e) Excise taxes (transportation fuel) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | f) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Maintain Status | g) Income taxes (middle-income families) | ||
| Greatly Increase | h) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| Maintain Status | i) Inheritance taxes | ||
| j) Payroll taxes | |||
| Medicare spending should be significantly reduced by amending the law and negotiating lower drug prices. | |||
| Corporate taxes: Most corporations pay around 15% (1/2 the 30% corporate tax rate) and some, like G.E., pay nothing. We should reduce the tax to around 15% and eliminate the loopholes that allow some corporations to avoid their responsibility to pay the same as other corporations. Payroll taxes: I can't answer with any of the choices offered for payroll taxes. I would decrease the rate for everyone (reducing payroll taxes for the middle class), but increase the total Social Security revenues by removing the income cap. | |||
| Yes | Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions? | ||
| I support the overruling of the Citizens United case, by constitutional amendment if necessary. Congress should be able to -- and it should -- strictly limit or prohibit campaign contributions, particularly from corporations. The notion of "corporate personhood" should be abolished. Campaigns should be publicly financed. | |||
| No | Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| Capital punishment promotes greater violence and communicates the message that killing is acceptable. Capital punishment is capriciously applied, it is meted out mostly to the poor and those who do not have experienced and capable legal assistance, and it is extremely expensive -- far more costly than life in prison without possibility of parole. I understand the instinct many of us have (including me) to eliminate some people who commit horrific crimes, but I believe we are better as a people and as a culture if we try to rise above those instincts and choose not to kill. | |||
| 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 2010 temporary extension of unemployment benefits? | ||
| Yes | Do you support the 2010 temporary extension of tax relief? | ||
| I would have preferred that middle class income tax breaks would have been provided rather than the 2010 temporary extension of reduced payroll taxes, which further reduces the stability of Social Security, while benefiting even the wealthy who pay payroll taxes. The wealthy have already enjoyed far too many budget-busting tax breaks. | |||
| Yes | Do you support requiring states to implement education reforms in order to be eligible for competitive federal grants? | ||
| I believe the states should have a lot of latitude to innovate and explore education reforms. They should not be solely dictated by the federal government. I feel strongly that enriched preschool opportunities should be made available, particularly for economically disadvantaged children. Those opportunities can make all the difference in breaking the cycle of poverty and equipping children to compete against others in the U.S. and throughout the world. | |||
| Yes | Do you believe that human activity is contributing to climate change? | ||
| Yes | Do you support the federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| No | Do you support reducing restrictions on offshore energy production? | ||
| Whether climate change is occurring, and whether human activities (particularly the burning of fossil fuels and destroying forests) are causing it, are not matters of "belief". They are established facts. Climate chaos is, in the long run, the most crucial issue facing our planet (along with the need to eliminate nuclear weapons, about which Project Vote Smart has not even inquired). We must take urgent, effective actions to prevent catastrophic consequences for our children and later generations. | |||
| No | Do you support United States' combat operations in Afghanistan? | ||
| Yes | Do you support a timetable for withdrawal from Afghanistan? | ||
| Do you support targeting suspected terrorists outside of official theaters of conflict? | |||
| I cannot answer the question about targeting suspected terrorists with a "yes" or "no" because of the way in which the question is asked. By "targeting," does Project Vote Smart mean "killing"? I agree with arresting suspected terrorists outside of official theaters of conflict, to be dealt with according to international and domestic law (including the Geneva Convention, the Convention Against Torture, the War Powers Act of 1996 and the federal anti-torture statute), but I do not agree with assassinations of suspected terrorists (and the consequent killings of innocent people in the process) outside of official theaters of conflict. | |||
| Yes | Do you support restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns? | ||
| I oppose widespread sale of automatic weapons and "cop-killer bullets". I also oppose the sale of guns without a background check. Those convicted of violent offenses should not be able to purchase or possess guns. | |||
| Do you support repealing the 2010 Affordable Care Act? | |||
| Should individuals be required to purchase health insurance, as mandated in the 2010 Affordable Care Act? | |||
| I cannot answer the questions here the way they are asked. I support replacing the Affordable Care Act (which is a very misleading title) with a single-payer Medicare-for-all system that will save billions of dollars each year, provide better medical outcomes, and cover everyone. Even if the Affordable Care Act is fully implemented, 23 million people will be without health care coverage and premiums will skyrocket, with for-profit insurance companies and the pharmaceutical industry benefiting. Under the ACA, we would still be the only nation in the industrialized world to depend on for-profit insurance companies for basic health care coverage. | |||
| 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 same-sex marriage? | ||
| I have supported marriage equality since I ran for Congress in 1996. | |||
| No | Do you support allowing individuals to divert a portion of their Social Security taxes into personal retirement accounts? | ||
| The diversion of Social Security to personal accounts is likely to be disastrous for many people, setting them up for tremendous insecurity during their later years -- undermining the very reason for Social Security. The economic melt-downs of the past 20 years should make it clear to anyone that personal accounts, particularly if invested in the stock market, are incredibly insecure. | |||
| Upon being elected, I will (1) end the wars, saving over a trillion dollars; (2) initiate aggressive climate protection measures, which will save trillions of dollars through (a) mitigating the most catastrophic consequences of climate change; (b) becoming energy independent; and (c) reducing energy requirements; and (3) restoring and providing jobs through (a) fair trade agreements; and (b) a WPA-type initiative providing millions of jobs while restoring our nation's rapidly deteriorating infrastructure, to be financed through savings in the military budget and increased tax revenues from greater employment. |
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