Paul McKain's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Florida Congressional Election 2010 Political Courage Test
| Pro-life | 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) Should federal subsidies be prohibited from being used for abortion procedures? | ||
| f) Other or expanded principles | |||
1) SpendingIndicate what federal funding levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one number per category- you can use a number more than once.2) 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.
| Maintain Status | a) Agriculture | ||
| Greatly Decrease | b) Arts | ||
| c) Defense | |||
| Greatly Increase | 1) Intelligence operations | ||
| Maintain Status | 2) Military hardware | ||
| Maintain Status | 3) National missile defense | ||
| Slightly Increase | 4) Salary and benefits for active duty personnel | ||
| Slightly Increase | 5) Programs to improve troop retention rates | ||
| Maintain Status | 6) Research and development of new weapons | ||
| Eliminate | d) Education | ||
| Eliminate | e) Environment | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Homeland security | ||
| Greatly Decrease | g) International aid | ||
| Maintain Status | h) Medical research | ||
| Maintain Status | i) Scientific research | ||
| Maintain Status | j) Space exploration | ||
| Eliminate | k) United Nations | ||
| Greatly Decrease | l) Welfare | ||
| Slightly Decrease | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Greatly Decrease | b) Capital gains taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | c) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Greatly Decrease | d) Corporate taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | e) Gasoline taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | f) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Maintain Status | g) Income taxes (middle-income families) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | h) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| Yes | 3) Do you support the elimination of the federal estate tax? | ||
| Yes | 4) Do you support requiring the federal budget to be balanced each year? | ||
| No | 5) Do you support using government funds in an effort to stimulate and improve the economy? | ||
| The U.S. Constitution is clear under Article 1 Section 8 as to what the federal government should be involved with. Any departments or agencies that are outside of these powers and any that perform a duplicate function to an existing state agency must be sunset (eliminated over time). Prime examples are the Departments of Education and Energy, and the Environmental Protection Agency. Each have counterparts at the state level that perform the same tasks. | |||
| The FairTax does away with income-based tax, which punishes achievement and has been used to force citizens to conform to a certain lifestyle via a complex and confusing tax code. Also, under the current system approximately half of the citizens pay no taxes whatsoever, and there are many that pay no taxes yet still receive a tax refund. The FairTax will tax uniformly while not punishing those below the poverty level. It will draw business back to the U.S. It will provide the current level of funding for government operation, which is what a tax... | |||
| The FairTax addresses most of these areas. History has proven we cannot tax ourselves into prosperity, and that tx cuts will generate more revenue due to increased business activity. A tax cut alone is of little value if rampant spending is kept in place. The only way to control spending and taxes is to have citizen-legislators with good sense and the ability to be immune from lobbyists and special interests as well as traditional party political arm-twisting. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support privatizing elements of Social Security? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector? | ||
| No | c) Do you support increasing the federal minimum wage? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support the ability of workers to unionize? | ||
| No | e) Do you support federal funding for job-training programs that retrain displaced workers? | ||
| While retirement planning is not prominent in our nation, it whould be addressed in the educational system so as to allow people people to be self-reliant in their later years. Some cities in Texas opted out of the Social Security system years ago and instead set up a private retirement system. This system has vastly outperformed the Social Securuty system and is an example of how this concept can work. Governmental regulations as well as excessive union demands have caused the cost of a new domestic car to increase tenfold in a period of 40 years. The government cannot protect.... | |||
| No | a) Do you support increasing the amount individuals are permitted to contribute to federal campaigns? | ||
| No | b) Should Congress regulate indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions? | ||
| No | c) Do you support removing all contribution limits on federal campaigns? | ||
| No | d) Should candidates for federal office be encouraged to meet voluntary spending limits? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support giving the President the power of the line item veto for items concerning appropriations? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support limiting the President's ability to define how legislation is applied through the use of signing statements? | ||
| The campaign system in the U.S. with very few exceptions gives the voters a choice of a wealthy person that can self-finance, or a career politician with name recognition. This tends to become a downward spiral, as the politician is more concerned with the next election than the legislation (or lack thereof) they should be focused upon. While I am opposed to excessive government regulation and interference, in the matter since it deals with the selection of the governors for and by the governed, a public campaign finance system would help to level the playing field and allow ordinary people... | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support programs that provide prison inmates with vocational and job-related training and job-placement assistance when released? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support programs that provide prison inmates with substance abuse treatment? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support reduced prison sentences for non-violent offenders? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support mandatory prison sentences for selling illegal drugs? | ||
| Some crimes are so heinous that they require a severe penalty, such as capital punishment. Our prisons should not be a home for career criminals, yet there are some that have proven they cannot live in our free society and intentionally commit crimes to be returned to prison. We should adopt a graduated step program that counsels/gives probation for non-violent first felony offenses. Repeat offenders would face more severe sentences. Our prison overcrowding is due in no small part to housing illegal immigrants that have committed crimes. This is another example of why a stringent immigration enforcement policy is needed. | |||
| No | a) Do you support federal education standards and testing requirements for K-12 students? | ||
| No | b) Do you support federal funding for universal pre-K programs? | ||
| No | c) Do you support federal funding for charter schools? | ||
| No | d) Do you support federal funding for K-12 school vouchers? | ||
| No | e) Do you support the federal government providing college students with financial aid? | ||
| Education is best handled on the local (state and below) level. This would bee up billions of dollars annually for state education funding. Our federal department of Education has a budget of over $40 billion annually. This money comes to it from the taxpayers, and it acts as a conduit to return a portion of this money to the states via grants. If this department were phased out, we could cut out the middleman and not send the money to Washington in the first place. The federal government has no business in the educational system. It is best handled at... | |||
| No | a) Do you support enacting environmental regulations aimed at reducing the effects of climate change? | ||
| No | b) Do you support international emissions targets aimed at reducing the effects of climate change? | ||
| No | c) Do you support allowing energy producers to trade carbon credits under a "cap and trade" system? | ||
| No | d) Do you support strengthening fuel efficiency standards on all gasoline and diesel-powered engines, including cars, trucks, and sport utility vehicles? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support domestic oil exploration in federally-protected areas? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support federal funding for the development of alternative energy? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support the development of nuclear reactors? | ||
| Climate change is an unproven science. As an example, some of our hottest years here in Florida were prior to the massive implementation of automobiles and industrialization. This year we had record cold temperatures here. As with the education and energy departments, the administration of environmental regulation should be performed at the state level. It can be done, as for years auto makers made "49 state" and "California" emission vehicles. There is nothing to prevent the several states from entering into an agreement for issues such as these. Article I Section 8 of the Constitution gives the Congress the power... | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you believe that the Second Amendment guarantees the right of individual citizens to own guns? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support allowing individuals to carry concealed guns? | ||
| No | d) Do you support a ban on assault rifles? | ||
| I support restrictions on the possession of guns where a state has determined there is a good cause to do so. As an example, a convicted felon that has lost their civil rights should not have a firearm. The 2nd Amendment is very clear in that we a s citizens possess a right to keep and bear arms. The language of the militia in this amendment is secondary to this existing right, as the right existed before there was a militia. Laws should not punish or restrict those that have not committed a crime from owning or possessing a firearm... | |||
| No | a) Do you support a publicly-administered health insurance option? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support expanding access to health care through commercial health insurance reform? | ||
| Yes | c) Should the federal government expand eligibility for tax-free medical savings accounts? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support monetary limits on damages that can be collected in malpractice lawsuits? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support relaxing regulations on the importation of prescription drugs? | ||
| Health care is not a right as identified under our Constitution. Our government has a poor track record even with the tasks they are authorized for, such as the postal service. Health care, as with any other private sector business benefits when competition is allowed to take place. As an example, restricting providers to insuring citizens in one state at a time will have the natural effect of higher rates. Allowing these citizens to shop for providers will have the effect of lowering costs. Our civil litigation has gotten out of control. We have people receiving awards that far exceed..... | |||
| No | a) Do you support a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants? | ||
| No | b) Do you support decreasing the number of legal immigrants allowed into the country? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support establishing English as the official national language? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police? | ||
| Any pathway to citizenship must be for LEGAL immigrants. I have spoken to those that have gone through this process and it takes many years. We would be better served to streamline this process to benefit those that are willing to play by the rules. We should never reward illegal behavior, such as in this case putting those that have broken the law in front of those that have not. Many of our problems stem from illegal immigration, as those that are here legally must bear the cost of those that are not. As far as increasing the annual number... | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support United States military action in Afghanistan? | ||
| No | b) Do you support increasing military assistance for Afghanistan? | ||
| No | c) Do you support increasing economic development assistance for Afghanistan? | ||
| Yes | d) Should the United States continue to strike suspected terrorist targets in Pakistan? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support granting aid to countries when it is in the security interests of the United States? | ||
| No | f) Should the United States support the creation of a Palestinian state? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support increasing sanctions on Iran if it continues to defy United Nations mandates? | ||
| Yes | h) Do you support the withdrawal of United States troops from Iraq? | ||
| No | i) Do you support the United States' involvement in free trade agreements? | ||
| We have fought and won wars in both Afghanistan and Iraq. Our continued involvement there places our valuable troops at risk for little reward. We have helped the people in each country to have the opportunity to decide their own fate and governance. If they succeed or fail it is their opportunity to do so. We should be concentrating on maximizing our intelligence services and capabilities to prevent future attacks on our soil. Our military must be used to protect our nation, to include situations where there i clear and convincing evidence of a forthcoming attack. We no longer fight... | |||
| Yes | a) Should marriage only be between one man and one woman? | ||
| No | b) Do you support allowing openly-gay men and women to serve in the United States military? | ||
| No | c) Do you support federal funding for embryonic stem cell research? | ||
| Yes | d) Should the federal government end affirmative action programs? | ||
| Notwithstanding any religious doctrine, we were created male and female, and this is a natural process for continuation of our species. The concept of marriage has traditionally been of one man and one woman. The federal government should have limited involvement in people's lives. What they do on their own property in private is not a matter for government involvement. We should generally not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation, but in cases such as our military where people are intimately living (i.e. in a barracks), it is not unreasonable to restrict people from the organization on the basis... | |||
| My first priority is to get the federal spending under control. This means working with legislators across party lines to utilize our Constitution as a rule book for how we are to operate our nation... My next priority is to work to reduce the size and scope of the federal government to constitutional levels. Each department that is not constitutionally authorized would be sunset over a period of years... My third priority is to pass the FairTax and eliminate the current income-based tax system that is impossible to understand, penalizes achievement, and is being used for things other than funding... |
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