Mark Bourget's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Mark Bourget has provided voters with clear stances on key issues by responding to the 2018 Political Courage Test.
Rhode Island State Legislative Election 2018 Political Courage Test
| Pro-life | a) Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| No | b) Should abortion be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support the prohibition of public funds for organizations that perform abortions? | ||
| As a general statement for b I say no but each case should be looked at individually. Blanket laws/policies usually have the few cases where it hurts more than helps. | |||
1) Budget Stabilization:Indicate which proposals you support (if any) for balancing Rhode Island's budget.
| No | a) Reducing state employee salaries AND/OR pensions? | ||
| No | b) Instituting mandatory furloughs AND/OR layoffs for state employees? | ||
| No | c) Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients? | ||
| No | d) An income tax increase on any tax bracket? | ||
| The state has enough money coming in it just needs to be spent wisely. The workers should not be punished for the wasteful spending of the current leaders. If there are jobs that are unnecessary then they should be eliminated. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support any limits on campaign contributions to state candidates? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support the use of an independent AND/OR bipartisan commission for redistricting? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support requiring a government-issued photo identification in order to vote at the polls? | ||
| e) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| No | b) Do you support the legalization of marijuana for recreational purposes? | ||
| Yes | c) Should a minor accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support a criminal penalty of up to life in prison for drug dealers in cases of fatal overdoses? | ||
| f) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state government spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support lowering state taxes as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support reducing state government regulations on the private sector? | ||
| No | d) Do you support expanding access to unemployment benefits? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support requiring welfare applicants to pass a drug test in order to receive benefits? | ||
| No | f) Do you support an increase of the minimum wage of Rhode Island? | ||
| Yes | g)Do you support offering state tax incentives to attract businesses to Rhode Island? | ||
| For a and g. There is an old saying, you have to spend money to make money. I agree with that but the spending should not be wasteful and should not be political. If the State uses taxpayer money to promote the state and/or attract business to RI without political ties or waste I am for it. | |||
| No | a) Do you support adopting federal education standards in Rhode Island? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | ||
| No | c) Should immigrants unlawfully present in the United States who graduate from Rhode Island high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| d) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, thermal)? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support state government regulations of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support increasing state funding for clean drinking water initiatives? | ||
| I am by no means an environmentalist but I do believe in taking care of our planet. The problem is when we go to extremes either way. The extreme regulations hurt businesses which eventually hurts people. The other extreme creates pollution which hurts people. We have to find the balance where we can breathe easy but support businesses at the same time. | |||
| a) Do you generally support gun-control legislation? | |||
| Yes | b) Should background checks be required on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows? | ||
| Yes | c) Should teachers be allowed to bring guns into the classroom? | ||
| No | d) Should a license be required for gun ownership? | ||
| Question a is too vague to answer. If the question means create more gun control legislation then the answer is no. If we look at Chicago, a city with the strictest gun laws in the country, and their gun crime rate, we see that new regulations don't stop criminals. Criminals, by definition, don't care about laws. If the question means do I support fully enforcing current laws, then my answer is yes. The courts should be harsher on people who commit firearm crimes. | |||
| Yes | a) Should the state government increase funding for treatment facilities to combat opioid abuse? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support Medicaid expansion through Rhode Island's health care programs? | ||
| No | c) Do you support requiring individuals to purchase health care insurance? | ||
| No | d) Do you support legislation that grants citizens the right to choose to die through euthanasia? | ||
| No | e) Do you support eliminating religious exemptions for vaccinations? | ||
| Question a; The opioid problem is a serious problem that needs to be addressed and we have to look at the root of why it exists and is growing. A treatment facility helps after the addiction, we have to fix the underlying problem to stop people from turning to opioids to begin with. Question b; There is too much waste in our health care system and it needs to be addressed. | |||
| a) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Rhode Island's anti-discrimination laws? | |||
| b) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Rhode Island's anti-discrimination laws? | |||
| c) Do you support greater efforts by Rhode Island state government in closing the pay gap between men and women? | |||
| These questions are too broad to answer with a yes or a no. | |||
| If I am elected I would try and push for a Constitutional Convention. A Constitutional Convention could look at giving the governor a line item veto, change the structure of our government, and make it so any state office has to be won with over 50% of the votes so if there are more than two candidates and one does not reach 51% then there would be a run off election. I would also look at real oversight of our governing officials and the way tax dollars are spent. |
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