John Hartman's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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John Hartman has demonstrated Political Courage by telling citizens where he stands on the issues he may face if elected.
Illinois Congressional Election 2012 Political Courage Test
| Pro-choice | Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| To the extent possible, the government should be small and we should have confidence in the American people to use their conscience to do what is best. | |||
| No | Do you support United States' combat operations in Afghanistan? | ||
| Yes | Do you support a timetable for withdrawal from Afghanistan? | ||
| Our goal in Afghanistan should be to exit in a way that gives the Afghan people the most solid opportunity for stable institutions of government that will reflect the will of the people for years to come. Our efforts should be supportive of those elements in Afghan society that seek to deal with disagreements through a civil, non-violent process, principally through respected legislative councils and through a system of justice that is supported by as much of the population as possible. Ultimately, how they get along with each other is going to be up to them. | |||
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? | ||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| I support Simpson-Bowles and Domenici-Rivlin, but should they not be adopted, we should allow the fiscal cliff policies to take effect, as long as we create additional legislation that lessened the shock of the changes and prevented the anticipated return to recession. However, the additional legislation should adhere to the pay-as-you-go philosophy, so that built into the legislation are provisions that would pay for it. | |||
| Yes | Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions? | ||
| We would be wise to adopt the basic outlines of the Citizens Election Program, a voluntary public financing system that has proven effective in returning the trust of the people in the electoral process in Connecticut. | |||
| No | Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| An eye for an eye, and the whole world goes blind. | |||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| Yes | Do you support the temporary extension of unemployment benefits? | ||
| No | Do you support the 2010 temporary extension of tax relief? | ||
| We should not accept that there is something deficient in us that makes us unable to pay our own way, and that we therefore need assistance from future taxpayers on the assumption that they will not only be able to pay their own way but, on top of that, make up for our shortcomings by paying for our deficits with interest. | |||
| No | Do you support requiring states to implement education reforms in order to be eligible for competitive federal grants? | ||
| To the extent possible, we should let the states and local school boards make decisions about education. | |||
| Yes | Do you believe that human activity is contributing to climate change? | ||
| Yes | Do you support the federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| Ethics is thoughtfulness of how our actions affect others. There are billions of people coming in the future who will likely be affected negatively by our actions. I support a cap and trade system or direct taxes on emissions. We need to dramatically change our behavior. | |||
| Yes | Do you support restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns? | ||
| A bar owner should be able to keep guns out of his bar, even in conceal and carry states. | |||
| No | Do you support repealing the 2010 Affordable Care Act? | ||
| Yes | Should individuals be required to purchase health insurance, as mandated in the 2010 Affordable Care Act? | ||
| The facts show that people without health insurance are sicker and die younger than those with health insurance. The ACA needs to be improved to control costs, but we cannot go backward on the 30 million people who will gain coverage. | |||
| No | Do you support requiring illegal immigrants to return to their country of origin before they are eligible for citizenship? | ||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| No | Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration law by state and local police? | ||
| We need to give an objective group of economists the task of determining the employment needs of our economy, from the high tech employees powering our software giants to the agricultural employees helping to provide our fruits and vegetables. We should then base the number of immigrants on economic needs with respect for our nation�s welcoming heritage. Once our immigration targets are set, we need to enforce the rule of law on both employers and employees. It behooves us all to be a nation that respects the law, and we have had inexcusably lax enforcement of our existing immigration laws. | |||
| Yes | Do you support same-sex marriage? | ||
| The government should be as small as possible, and we should trust the people to use their conscience to do what they think is best. If there is a biological basis to homosexuality, you could no more take the gayness out of a gay person than you could take the tallness out of a tall person. Basic fairness in a free society should allow people to be themselves. I am not aware of any reason to think that fairness to others harms traditional marriages. | |||
| 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? | ||
| We should have confidence in the Iranian people to improve their government, which will in turn improve their international relations. The inexorable influence of technology, especially information technology, will continue to transform and modernize Iranian society in much the same way as it has other societies. The Green Revolution is an indication of broad changes taking place that will work their way on the process of government. We should resist any temptation to see the Iranian people as �other� than us, and instead see them as increasingly being woven into the same fabric of the world�s people as ourselves. | |||
| No | Do you support allowing individuals to divert a portion of their Social Security taxes into personal retirement accounts? | ||
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.
| Slightly Decrease | a) Agriculture | ||
| Slightly Decrease | b) Arts | ||
| Slightly Decrease | c) Defense | ||
| Slightly Decrease | d) Education | ||
| Slightly Decrease | e) Environment | ||
| Slightly Decrease | f) Homeland Security | ||
| Slightly Decrease | g) International aid | ||
| Slightly Decrease | h) Medical Research | ||
| Slightly Decrease | i) Scientific Research | ||
| Slightly Decrease | j) Space exploration | ||
| Slightly Decrease | k) United Nations | ||
| Slightly Decrease | l) Welfare | ||
| m) Other or expanded categories | |||
| Slightly Increase | a) Capital gains taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | b) Corporate taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | c) Excise taxes (alcohol) | ||
| Maintain Status | d) Excise taxes (cigarettes) | ||
| Slightly Increase | e) Excise taxes (transportation fuel) | ||
| Slightly Increase | f) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Slightly Increase | g) Income taxes (middle-income families) | ||
| Slightly Increase | h) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| Slightly Increase | i) Inheritance taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | j) Payroll taxes | ||
| k) Other or expanded categories | |||
| We need public financing of campaigns so that our leaders are not beholden to special interests and the people's confidence is restored. We must shake ourselves awake to the damage we are doing to our planet and all those that follow us. Other comparable countries cover all their citizens with health insurance. live longer, and pay much less. We need to learn from them. It is inexcusable to expect future taxpayers to pay for our shortcomings. We all need to have an oar in the water to reduce the deficit. Support of non-violence and justice should be foreign policy priorities. |
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