Thomas Dobbins' Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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South Carolina State Legislative Election 2010 Political Courage Test
| a) Do you consider yourself pro-choice or pro-life? | |||
| Yes | b) Should abortion be legal only within the first trimester of pregnancy? | ||
| Yes | c) Should abortion be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape? | ||
| Yes | d) Should abortion be legal when the life of the woman is endangered? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support requiring parental notification before an abortion is performed on a minor? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support requiring parental consent before an abortion is performed on a minor? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support sexual education programs that include information on abstinence, contraceptives, and HIV/STD prevention methods? | ||
| h) Do you support abstinence-only sexual education programs? | |||
| I do not support abortion; however, in the instance of rape, incest, or the mother's life, the decision should rest with the family based on medical and spiritual beliefs. | |||
1) State SpendingIndicate what state funding levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one level per category; you may use a number more than once.2) State TaxesIndicate what state tax levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one level per category; you may use a number more than once.3) Budget StabilizationIndicate which proposals you support (if any) for balancing South Carolina's budget.
| Slightly Increase | a) Education (higher) | ||
| Slightly Increase | b) Education (K-12) | ||
| Slightly Increase | c) Environment | ||
| Maintain Status | d) Health care | ||
| Slightly Increase | e) Law enforcement | ||
| Slightly Increase | f) Transportation and highway infrastructure | ||
| Maintain Status | g) Welfare | ||
| Slightly Increase | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | b) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | c) Corporate taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | d) Gasoline taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | e) Property taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Sales taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | g) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Maintain Status | h) Income taxes (middle-income families) | ||
| Maintain Status | i) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| No | a) Tapping into South Carolina's "rainy day" fund | ||
| No | b) Issuing the early release of certain non-violent offenders | ||
| No | c) Increasing tuition rates at public universities | ||
| No | d) Instituting mandatory furloughs and layoffs for state employees | ||
| No | e) Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients | ||
| Yes | f) Privatizing certain government services | ||
| We need to eliminate fraud in Welfare and Medicare and make sure that those in need receive an adequate amount. | |||
| The tax code in South Carolina should be scrapped and we need to start from scratch on comprehensive reform. Working families and small businesses share too much of the burden under our existing tax code. | |||
| In today's economic situation, we must have the courage to eliminate programs that are non-essential for a functioning state government. Furloughs are a temporary solution to a chronic problem. | |||
c) Do you support limits on the following types of contributions to candidates for state government?
| Yes | a) Do you support limits on the number of terms for South Carolina governors? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support limits on the number of terms for South Carolina state legislators? | ||
| Yes | 1) Individual | ||
| Yes | 2) Political Action Committee | ||
| Yes | 3) Corporate | ||
| Yes | 4) Political Party | ||
| Yes | d) Should candidates for state office be encouraged to meet voluntary spending limits? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support requiring full and timely disclosure of campaign finance information? | ||
| Until we are serious about campaign reform, we will always have corruption in the elections process. We must close the loophole that allows donations from dummy corporations that were incorporated solely for the purpose of giving more money from one individual such as Howard Rich and his many LLCs donations to pro-voucher candidates. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support alternatives to incarceration for certain non-violent offenders, such as mandatory counseling or substance abuse treatment? | ||
| No | c) Should the possession of small amounts of marijuana be decriminalized? | ||
| Yes | d) Should a minor accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult? | ||
| Yes | e) Should a minor who sends sexually-explicit or nude photos by cell phone face criminal charges? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police? | ||
| If we are serious about illegal immigration, we must address the problem--the person who employees these illegals. We need to make sure that people who want to come into this country legally can become citizens. | |||
| a) Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector? | |||
| Yes | b) Do you support increased state funding for job-training programs that re-train displaced workers? | ||
| No | c) Do you support expanding access to unemployment benefits? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support providing financial incentives to the private sector for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support increased spending on infrastructure projects for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| No | f) Do you support providing direct financial assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure? | ||
| The government can not provide for our every need. We as a society must be willing to contribute to our communities and our state in such a way that we promote a nurturing environment for education and job security without the influence of a government policy. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support national education standards? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support requiring public schools to administer high school exit exams? | ||
| No | c) Do you support using a merit pay system for teachers? | ||
| No | d) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support the state government providing college students with financial aid? | ||
| No | f) Should illegal immigrants who graduate from South Carolina high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| Merit pay by definition is a great idea; however, it would be impossible to develop an evaluation instrument that would fairly judge each teacher based on their merit. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state funding for the development of alternative energy? | ||
| No | b) Do you support state funding for the development of traditional domestic energy sources (e.g. coal, natural gas, oil)? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support providing financial incentives to farms that produce biofuel crops? | ||
| No | d) Do you support state funding for improvements to South Carolina's energy infrastructure? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support state funding for open space preservation? | ||
| No | f) Do you support enacting environmental regulations aimed at reducing the effects of climate change? | ||
| We should not use taxpayer money to support the energy infrastructure unless it is passed by referendum by the voters. I support research into crops that have biofuel potential. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support requiring background checks on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support allowing individuals to carry concealed guns? | ||
| No | d) Do you support requiring a license for gun possession? | ||
| I believe in the Second Amendment--one has a right to bear arms; however, I do not support any laws that make it easy for convicted felons to obtain guns. I believe we should enforce the current laws that are on the books which would reduce crimes committed with guns. | |||
| No | a) Do you support a universally-accessible, publicly-administered health insurance option? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support expanding access to health care through commercial health insurance reform? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support interstate health insurance compacts? | ||
| No | d) Should individuals be required to purchase health care insurance? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support monetary limits on damages that can be collected in malpractice lawsuits? | ||
| No | f) Do you support legalizing physician-assisted suicide in South Carolina? | ||
| No | g) Do you support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes? | ||
| The cost of health care has become a major problem in our economy. It is the number one reason for bankruptcy among working families. We must eliminate fraud in insurance and Medicare claims and prosecute those who abuse the system. | |||
| Yes | a) Should marriage only be between one man and one woman? | ||
| No | b) Should South Carolina allow same-sex couples to form civil unions? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support the establishment of an official State Day of Prayer? | ||
| No | d) Do you support state funding for stem cell research? | ||
| No | e) Do you support state funding for embryonic stem cell research? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support the state's use of affirmative action? | ||
| g) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in South Carolina's anti-discrimination laws? | |||
| h) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in South Carolina's anti-discrimination laws? | |||
| In the area of affirmative action and any type of identity factions are already covered by federal laws. I support state compliance with those laws. | |||
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