Michael Folk's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
On The Ballot: Running, Republican for State Senate (WV) - District 15
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This candidate has responded to a Political Courage Test in a previous election. As a continued effort to provide the American public with factual information on candidates running for public office, these archived responses are made available here.
West Virginia State Legislative Election 2012 Political Courage Test
| Pro-life | a) Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| Yes | b) Should abortions be illegal after the first trimester of pregnancy? | ||
| c) Should abortion be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape? | |||
| 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 the prohibition of public funds for abortion procedures? | ||
| Yes | h) Do you support the prohibition of public funds for organizations that perform abortions? | ||
| All life is precious, the unanswered questions are clearly not simple questions to be answered by a yes or no answer. Taking a life, no matter how inconvenient the circumstances, is not a simple answer. Reference of e) & f) Exemptions to parental requirements only for incest by parent. | |||
1) State Spending:Using the key, indicate 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 Taxes:Using the key,indicate 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 Stabilization:Indicate which proposals you support (if any) for balancing West Virginia's budget.
| Maintain Status | a) Education (higher) | ||
| Maintain Status | b) Education (K-12) | ||
| Maintain Status | c) Environment | ||
| Maintain Status | d) Health care | ||
| Maintain Status | e) Law enforcement/corrections | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Transportation/infrastructure | ||
| Maintain Status | g) Welfare | ||
| Maintain Status | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | b) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | c) Corporate taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | d) Gas/Oil taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | e) Property taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Sales taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | g) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Maintain Status | h) Income taxes (mid-income families) | ||
| Maintain Status | i) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| j) Other or expanded categories: | |||
| No | a) Tapping into West Virginia's "rainy day" fund | ||
| No | b) Increasing tuition rates at public universities | ||
| Yes | c) Reducing or eliminating public worker collective bargaining | ||
| No | d) Reducing state employee salaries AND/OR pensions | ||
| No | e) Instituting mandatory furloughs AND/OR layoffs for state employees | ||
| No | f) Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients | ||
| g) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| Not a simple increase, decrease, or maintain status question... waste needs to be eliminated. | |||
a) Do you support limits on the following types of contributions for state candidates?
| Yes | 1) Individual | ||
| Yes | 2) Political Action Committee | ||
| Yes | 3) Corporate | ||
| Yes | 4) Political Party | ||
| No | b) Should candidates for state office be encouraged to meet voluntary spending limits? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support requiring full and timely disclosure of campaign finance information? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support the use of an independent AND/OR bipartisan commission for redistricting? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support requiring a government-issued photo identification in order to vote at the polls? | ||
| Voter ID should be at no cost to the voter: if an individual needs an ID- the costs must be covered by the state. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support reducing prison sentences for those who commit non-violent crimes? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support alternatives to incarceration for certain non-violent offenders, such as mandatory counseling or substance abuse treatment? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana? | ||
| Yes | e) Should a minor accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult? | ||
| f) Should a minor who sends sexually-explicit or nude photos by cell phone face criminal charges? | |||
| Yes | g) Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police? | ||
| Question f) Depends on whose photos were sent? If they are photos of someone else, they should be prosecuted criminally. However, if they sent personal photos of themself, no reason to prosecute stupidity! | |||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| No | d) Do you support providing financial incentives to the private sector for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| I do not support picking winners and losers in either industry or personal situations... it corrupts the market. e)infrastructure spending solely to create jobs leads to "bridge to nowhere" type projects... I believe infrastructure spending should be warranted based on need and first we must maintain current infrastructure, i.e. roads and bridges! | |||
| No | a) Do you support the national Common Core State Standards initiative? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support a merit pay system for teachers? | ||
| c) Is the tenure process for public school teachers producing effective teachers? | |||
| Yes | d) Should parents be allowed to use vouchers to send their children to any school? | ||
| No | e) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | ||
| f) Do you support the state government providing college students with financial aid? | |||
| No | g) Should illegal immigrants who graduate from West Virginia high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| Tenure has little to do with effective teaching. f) Promise scholarship is already available... any more than status quo... NO a) federal government needs to get out of our state educational systems... i.e. unfunded mandates | |||
| No | 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)? | ||
| No | c) Do you support increased regulations on mountaintop removal mining and disposal? | ||
| No | d) Do you support increased regulations on hydraulic fracturing or "fracking" in the Marcellus Shale? | ||
| No | e) Do you support state funding for improvements to West Virginia's energy infrastructure? | ||
| No | f) Do you support state funding for open space preservation? | ||
| No | g) Do you support enacting environmental regulations aimed at reducing the effects of climate change? | ||
| Simply enforce current regulations! | |||
| No | a) Do you support restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns? | ||
| No | b) Should background checks be required on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows? | ||
| Yes | c) Should citizens be allowed to carry concealed guns? | ||
| No | d) Should a license be required for gun possession? | ||
| e) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| 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? | ||
| c) Do you support interstate health insurance compacts? | |||
| No | d) Do you support requiring individuals to purchase health care insurance? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support monetary limits on damages that can be collected in malpractice lawsuits? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes? | ||
| c) I support of allowing consumers to buy health insurance across state lines... I do not support increased government bureaucracy which results in higher costs to all citizens | |||
| Yes | a) Should marriage only be between one man and one woman? | ||
| b) Should same-sex couples be allowed to form civil unions? | |||
| No | c) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in West Virginia's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| No | d) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in West Virginia's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| b) if two individuals of the same sex want to enter into a "contract" for whatever purpose, then they should be able to "contract" for hospital visitation, etc... Not marriage. | |||
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