Fern Shubert's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Fern Shubert has provided voters with clear stances on key issues by responding to the 2019 Political Courage Test.
North Carolina Congressional Special Election, District 9, 2019 Political Courage Test
| Pro-life | Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| The very idea that some politicians are now discussing abortion in the context of what to do if a baby is "accidentally" born alive is unbelievable but it is happening. I co-sponsored HB662, the Born-Alive Infant Protection Act, in 2001 because some of us saw then where "pro-choice" was heading. Sadly, I expect we will soon move from infanticide to the idea of encouraging euthanasia because people willing to murder the young because they're inconvenient can be expected to harbor the same feelings towards the old, the infirm, the handicapped and anyone else they find inconvenient. | |||
| No | In order to balance the budget, do you support an income tax increase on any tax bracket? | ||
| No | In order to balance the budget, do you support reducing defense spending? | ||
| Letting our debt continue to expand until interest squeezes out all other spending is foolish. Cutting the military that defends us instead of cutting non-essential programs is also foolish. We must control spending, but we must also support the military that protects our freedom. As an accountant, I do want to be sure the military gets the value that taxpayers are paying for, instead of the defense budget being used as a place to hide vote-buying projects or as a bargaining chip socialists use to expand non-essential programs. A strong military is essential. Not all budget items are essential. | |||
| Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions? | |||
| Question too vague.The record of campaign finance reform to date is one of putting more and more barriers in the way of honest people who might be great representatives while crooks ignore the rules. In NC, enforcement is a partisan joke. NC claims that candidates and elected officials have to submit a Statement of Economic Interest so you know who gives them money. I discovered last year that instead of listing the actual source, some are told just to set up a company and run everything through it. Why hire a lobbyist when you can just hire a lawyer-legislator? | |||
| No | Do you support federal spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | Do you support lowering corporate taxes as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| The federal government picking winners and losers with subsidies is simply socialism lite. Raising taxes to increase government spending is foolish and counterproductive. Leave the money in private hands where it will be spent or invested far more wisely. I do support wise use of federal funds, as more efficient spending on essential needs will as a byproduct help grow the economy. Taxing corporations is actually a means to tax the poor and middle class at the same rate as the wealthy without the poor and middle class realizing what is happening. Reducing corporate taxes means more jobs for workers. | |||
| No | Do you support requiring states to adopt federal education standards? | ||
| Not just no, but that is insane. When it comes to education, bigger is not better. Parents have a right to know and have a say in what their children are being taught. As is obvious from the current civic unrest, the more the federal government has intruded into education, the worse our schools have become. Education is too important to entrust to the unelected bureaucrats who have presided in a decline in standards which leaves many recent college graduates less informed than the eighth graders educated in one room school houses in the 1800s. | |||
| No | Do you support government funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, thermal)? | ||
| Do you support the federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions? | |||
| Reasonable regulation is one thing; the insanity that has accompanied the establishment of a carbon trading exchange is not reasonable. If you want to solve global warming, close the exchange and end the government subsidy for propaganda designed to grow government at the expense of the public. I wrote an article years ago about the fact the ice caps were melting. Nope, not buying into the man-caused global warming lie, just observing that the ice caps were melting on Mars because of the solar cycle. Unless there's a cars to Mars program, don't think people caused it. | |||
| No | Do you generally support gun-control legislation? | ||
| Limiting the ability of honest people to have guns to defend themselves simply gives more power to dishonest people. Why help the criminals by disarming those willing to defend us from criminals? In 1995 I was pleased to be a co-sponsor of HB90, the Concealed Carry Permit bill that let NC citizens get a permit from their local sheriff to carry a concealed weapon. I've had a permit myself for several years. School shootings are a warning that gun free zones are dangerous. The shooters may be insane but they're not stupid. They choose gun-free zones for their crimes. | |||
| Yes | Do you support repealing the 2010 Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare")? | ||
| Obamacare was designed to fail as part of the plan to herd the public into a single payer system. When people say things like you have to pass the bill to read it, you know it is bad news. And Medicare for All really means Medicare for None. It will destroy Medicare. Competition is good for the customer. Monopolies are so bad for the public that the NC Constitution even warns against them. Market based reforms are needed to lower costs and improve quality of care. Also tort reform is needed to reduce the ridiculous cost of frivolous lawsuits. | |||
| Yes | Do you support the construction of a wall along the Mexican border? | ||
| Yes | Do you support requiring immigrants who are unlawfully present to return to their country of origin before they are eligible for citizenship? | ||
| If someone robs a bank, their children don't get to keep the loot. If squatters take over a residence, their children don't get to stay when the police remove the parents If crime is rewarded, you'll get more crime. If our laws reward those who break our laws, expect more lawbreakers. Most Americans are generous people, but they realize that there is only so much room in the lifeboat. We're a wealthy country, but the living standards of American citizens and legal immigrants are being not just eroded but destroyed by the rising tide of illegal immigrants. | |||
| Should the United States use military force in order to prevent governments hostile to the U.S. from possessing a nuclear weapon? | |||
| Do you support increased American intervention in Middle Eastern conflicts beyond air support? | |||
| Both too vague. I'm pretty sure Russia and Red China already possess nuclear weapons and I don't think you mean to suggest we should go to war with them. (Yes, the "pretty sure" was meant to be funny.) Similarly, I'm pretty sure we already intervene and will continue to intervene by sharing intelligence, imposing sanctions, providing support as in moving our Embassy in Israel. Presumably you are referring to increasing boots on the ground intervention and hopefully that will never become necessary. | |||
| 1- Stopping illegal immigration before we lose our Republic. The immigration fight in DC has nothing to do with the left hating Trump. They didn't hate him until he ran for President. It has everything to do with the socialists attempting to take permanent control of our government. 2- Stopping the growth of the national debt before spending on interest squeezes out everything else. 3- Helping President Trump reverse the elitist schemes that use government to transfer wealth and power from the people of America to those who are conspiring against the public and the Constitution. |
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