Keith Deschler's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
Key
Official Position: Candidate addressed this issue directly by taking the Political Courage Test.
Inferred Position: Candidate refused to address this issue, but Vote Smart inferred this issue based on the candidate's public record, including statements, voting record, and special interest group endorsements.
Unknown Position: Candidate refused to address this issue, or we could not infer an answer for this candidate despite exhaustive research of their public record.
Additional Information: Click on this icon to reveal more information about this candidate's position, from their answers or Vote Smart's research.
Other or Expanded Principles & Legislative Priorities are entered exactly as candidates submit them. Vote Smart does not edit for misspelled words, punctuation or grammar.
Keith Deschler has demonstrated Political Courage by telling citizens where he stands on the issues he may face if elected.
Wisconsin Congressional Election 2012 Political Courage Test
| Pro-life | Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| oppose government funding of abortion or related services. return control on the issue to state and local government-not a federal issue. prefer minimal regulation even at lower levels. Faith and family are the best friends of life that we have-not a meddling government that may lead more women to "go underground" to seek abortions. Persuasion, prevention, and personal responsibility need much more emphasis, and make this issue less of a political football. | |||
| No | Do you support United States' combat operations in Afghanistan? | ||
| Yes | Do you support a timetable for withdrawal from Afghanistan? | ||
| Get out of Afghanistan and the Middle Eastern wars as soon as possible. The cost to us in both financial and military terms is too much, and these nations need to learn how to deal with their own problems, and not look to us to try and straighten things out. The intervention more often than not is counter-productive, and further provokes terrorist and anti-American activities in these countries. | |||
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? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| Balancing the budget via meaningful spending cuts is job #1 for myself, and I believe for any responsible candidate for Congress or President. We have a spending problem that has really gotten bad since 2000, and both major parties have "kicked the can" down the road, as the US drives closer to the bankruptcy cliff. Tax increases are not the answer, we have plenty of revenue. We must begin to reduce the size, cost, and scope of the federal government, and pay off our national debt. | |||
| No | Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions? | ||
| I don't want a constitutional amendment restricting such activities by unions and corporations, but I do want these entities to only employ voluntary contributions, and not force their members to contribute via dues for any party or candidates. Any contributions or expenditures by these groups should be publicly reported, but no dollar amount limits. If government is much smaller, there would not be the need to lobby for all kinds of government programs and favors. | |||
| No | Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| Am leery of capital punishment as a deterrent to crime. Prefer life imprisonment without parole. Am especially concerned about taking someone's life, and they didn't even commit a serious crime like murder. | |||
| No | 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? | ||
| No | Do you support spending on infrastructure projects for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| No | Do you support the temporary extension of unemployment benefits? | ||
| Yes | Do you support the 2010 temporary extension of tax relief? | ||
| We have tried the stimulus programs all too often over the years, and they mainly stimulate debt, inflation, government intrusion into the free market, and political winners that are economic losers. Same with the infrastructure items, leave those to local jurisdictions and the private sector. Replace the tax credits and income tax system with a national sales tax. Replace the current jobless benefits with block grants to states to set up short-tern jobless vouchers. No tax increases, tax cuts short-term, sales tax with prebate(rebate of sales tax up to poverty level) a long-term reform. | |||
| No | Do you support requiring states to implement education reforms in order to be eligible for competitive federal grants? | ||
| want to eliminate the Department of Education, a duplicative bureaucracy that has only led to more debt, federal meddling into local school systems, more emphasis on test scores at the expense of real learning, and promotion of political correctness. Block grant lower-income college grant and loan programs, encourage states to implement vouchers for basic tuition. Phase these out over time, and replace with state programs (like the EdVest scholarships in Wisconsin), private endowments, personal savings accounts for education, and loans from financial institutions. | |||
| Yes | Do you support reducing restrictions on offshore energy production? | ||
| Need to develop the considerable resources that we have in this country, whether off-shore, across the plains (Keystone pipeline), in our national parks (ANWR, f.e.), and also the massive amounts of natural gas that we have. Environmental safety must be maintained, and this is best done via corporate responsibility(if they have an oil spill, it is the duty of the company drilling the oil to clean it up, and to pay for it). Abolish the Department of Energy, and the one main function it does well (nuclear power) place in the Interior Department. | |||
| No | Do you believe that human activity is contributing to climate change? | ||
| No | Do you support the federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| We don't know what is exactly causing climate change, or how serious such change is. Must make sure that science is not influenced by political agendas on either side of the debate. Encourage free market solutions that are environmentally friendly, cost effective, and promote a vibrant free market economy. | |||
| No | Do you support restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns? | ||
| I take the second amendment seriously, and quite literally. We the citizens of the US (law abiding armed adults) are the militia spoken of here. If the right of that militia to exist and be properly armed is compromised, our liberties will not be secure, whether from outside governments, or from our own. Oppose all efforts to restrict or regulate the sale or ownership of guns by law abiding US citizens. | |||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| support a total repeal of ObamaCare, not just bits and pieces. The idea of mandating any service or benefit by any government agency or program is repulsive to me as a freedom loving, limited government supporting American. Block granting the federal health programs to the states, and converting those programs into vouchers, will expand affordability and choice in health care, and help lower the bureaucratic overhead that amounts for 50% of the current high costs of health care and insurance. Remove tax deductability of insurance by employers, make insurance portable and not based upon employers offering coverage. | |||
| No | Do you support requiring illegal immigrants to return to their country of origin before they are eligible for citizenship? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| Immigration is not as big a problem with the depressed economy. The best way to deal with illegals is to encourage them to take some classes on the language, history, culture, and government of the US, and make citizenship contingent on passing those courses, and forbidding any non-citizen from receiving any government program benefits (emergency medical care exempted). Do not build massive walls or fences, but utilize troops at the borders to deal with criminal and violent illegals. | |||
| Yes | Do you support same-sex marriage? | ||
| personally define marriage as one man-one woman (for religious reasons). However, do not believe that government at any level should be in the business of defining, licensing, or prohibiting any voluntary relationship that is peaceful, and not criminal or violent. Support returning the issue to states. Oppose DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act). Also oppose Federal Marriage Equity Act ( disagree with Libertarian Presidential candidate Gary Johnson on this). Couples should be able to make their own arrangements on benefits, wills, conduct of relationships, termination of relationships, etc. | |||
| 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? | ||
| Use "marque and reprisal" to allow US citizens to pursue and apprehend (or kill if necessary) legitimate terrorist threats to the US. Iran is not economically advanced enough to be able to build a nuclear weapon, much less an arsenal of weapons. We provoke them more by our threats and meddling into their affairs (such as our replacement of their democratically elected government in 1953 with the ruthless shah, and this led to the theocracy of the Ayatollahs and the current anti-Western dictatorship). Maintain a strong defense of our borders, and allow Israel to defend herself. | |||
| Yes | Do you support allowing individuals to divert a portion of their Social Security taxes into personal retirement accounts? | ||
| As part of replacing the IRS and tax code with the national sales tax is a prebate of sales taxes paid up to the poverty line. Allow all over 18 who receive prebates to use them as the basis for an interest bearing savings account, that individuals and employers can add to as they choose. These amounts will be used to provide investment income for retirement, financial emergencies, major purchases (such as a home or car), etc. The Social Security fund would provide whatever retirement income that is needed to reach the full benefit amount promised BY SS. | |||
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.
| Eliminate | a) Agriculture | ||
| Eliminate | b) Arts | ||
| Greatly Decrease | c) Defense | ||
| Greatly Decrease | d) Education | ||
| Greatly Decrease | e) Environment | ||
| Eliminate | f) Homeland Security | ||
| Eliminate | g) International aid | ||
| Eliminate | h) Medical Research | ||
| Eliminate | i) Scientific Research | ||
| Eliminate | j) Space exploration | ||
| Eliminate | k) United Nations | ||
| Greatly Decrease | l) Welfare | ||
| Greatly Decrease | m) Other or expanded categories | ||
| Eliminate | a) Capital gains taxes | ||
| Eliminate | b) Corporate taxes | ||
| Eliminate | c) Excise taxes (alcohol) | ||
| Eliminate | d) Excise taxes (cigarettes) | ||
| Eliminate | e) Excise taxes (transportation fuel) | ||
| Eliminate | f) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Eliminate | g) Income taxes (middle-income families) | ||
| Eliminate | h) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| Eliminate | i) Inheritance taxes | ||
| Eliminate | j) Payroll taxes | ||
| only federal education funds would be for block grants to college aids. Homeland security primary part of defense Dept, no need for separate cabinet post. Privatize arts, humanities, PBS, research, NASA. Eliminate all corporate welfare, whether agri-business, car companies partly owned by the feds, stimulus funds to failed energy projects(Solyndra), etc. Trade, not aid to foreign governments. Get UN out of US, and vice versa. Block grant jobless benefits, food stamps, school lunch aids. Sales tax prebates to replace all other cash welfare programs (TANF, EITC). Eliminate Commerce, HUD, and USDA, along with hundreds of smaller agencies (SBA, f.e.). | |||
| short-term, eliminate first the corporate tax and inheritance (death) taxes. Very punitive toward job creation and individual savings, respectively. Long-term, prefer to replace all the above as soon as possible with a national sales tax, similar to the FairTax, with a prebate of taxes paid up to the poverty level of income. Prefer a slightly lower tax rate (20%) than FairTax's 23%. Also apply tax to used items sold in stores(cars, resale shops, etc), to sales online, and to professional fees (lawyers, accountants, etc). Eliminate IRS, encourage states to set up similar sales tax systems. | |||
| Job one, balance the federal budget, and do so with serious budget cuts across the board, and NO tax increases. Two, repeal Obama Care, and reform the programs that add so much to costs,and decrease choice and quality of health care. Third, replace complex and burdensome tax code with national sales tax, with a prebate as the key for reforming Social Security, by encouraging personal savings for retirement. A fourth is to restore respect for civil liberties, our Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. |
Vote Smart does not permit the use of its name or programs in any campaign activity, including advertising, debates, and speeches.