Gordon Ball's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
Key
Official Position: Candidate addressed this issue directly by taking the Political Courage Test.
Inferred Position: Candidate refused to address this issue, but Vote Smart inferred this issue based on the candidate's public record, including statements, voting record, and special interest group endorsements.
Unknown Position: Candidate refused to address this issue, or we could not infer an answer for this candidate despite exhaustive research of their public record.
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Other or Expanded Principles & Legislative Priorities are entered exactly as candidates submit them. Vote Smart does not edit for misspelled words, punctuation or grammar.
Gordon Ball has refused to provide voters with positions on key issues covered by the 2014 Political Courage Test, despite repeated requests.
Issue Positions
For Presidential and Congressional candidates who refuse to provide voters with their positions, Vote Smart has researched their public records to determine their likely responses. These issue positions are from 2014.
- "I do not want the government peeking into our bedrooms. Roe v. Wade is the law of the land. So long as the termination of the pregnancy is safe and legal, women should be able to make this very difficult personal decision in concert with their doctors and their family." (www.knoxviews.com)
- "We need serious tax reform to make the tax code fairer and simpler. The most profitable corporations should have to pay their fair share." (votesmart.org)
- "Investing in our infrastructure creates jobs and ensures safer roads, railways, and bridges; and upgrades to water, sewer, and broadband systems" (votesmart.org)
- "We need to return to viewing education as an investment in our future. We need to support early childhood education and give kids a fair shot at success from their earliest days. We need to continue support for school lunch programs. No child needs to worry more about being hungry than about an education. We need to impress upon our state legislatures the importance of incorporating financial literacy into curriculums for grades 6-12. We need to work collaboratively with teachers, not against them, to improve the performance of students, teachers, and schools." (votesmart.org)
- "I favor opening the Keystone Pipeline immediately." (votesmart.org)
- "No one has the right to pollute America's air and water. Not business, not industry, and not even TVA. When a manufacturer or factory uses the land, we must demand that they put the land they used back into the same condition it was when they found it" (votesmart.org)
- "Not only is responsible gun ownership a part of the fabric of Tennessee, but it is also a fundamental constitutional right. The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution gives Americans the right to keep and bear arms." (votesmart.org)
- "The Affordable Healthcare Act has a number of good provisions:* Ending the practice of insurance companies denying people with preexisting conditions* Allowing young people to stay on their parents' insurance until age 26* Providing tax breaks for small businesses who provide health care* Preventing insurance discrimination against womenWe cannot roll back these and other necessary provisions, because they are too important for American families. However, any legislation that is over 2,200 pages long and is administered by the IRS is, from its inception, way over-the-top. We must fix this, retaining provisions that benefit citizens and throwing out the bad ones." (votesmart.org)
- "We must have a fair and just path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, one that would require them to pay taxes and be registered before their path to citizenship begins." (votesmart.org)
- "KnoxViews: What is your position on marriage equality for same sex couples?Mr. Ball: I do not believe the government has a legal right to tell anyone who he or she can or cannot marry. I do not want the government peeking into our bedrooms." (www.knoxviews.com)
- "It's been a while since the death of Osama bin Laden, and America's operations have eliminated many of Al Qaeda's senior chain-of-command, and have also weakened its affiliates. However, the threat of attack still exists, and America must remain vigilant and continue all of our efforts--political, military, economic, and diplomatic--against Al Qaeda and its affiliates." (votesmart.org)
- "Social Security is a promise made to our seniors, and it would be a breach of trust not to mention poor economic policy to jeopardize this program with unnecessary cuts or risky privatization schemes." (votesmart.org)
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