Sellus Wilder'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.
Additional Information: Click on this icon to reveal more information about this candidate's position, from their answers or Vote Smart's research.
Other or Expanded Principles & Legislative Priorities are entered exactly as candidates submit them. Vote Smart does not edit for misspelled words, punctuation or grammar.
Sellus Wilder has provided voters with clear stances on key issues by responding to the 2016 Political Courage Test.
Kentucky Congressional Election 2016 Political Courage Test
| Pro-choice | Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| I'm pro-choice to the extent that I support upholding Roe V. Wade and maintaining the current status quo on abortion (although that doesn't preclude reasonable restrictions to post-viability abortions), and I believe that women have the right to make their own health and reproductive decisons. I'm committed to reducing late term abortions, although I believe the humane way to do that is by ensuring ready and affordable access to early-term reproductive services, realistic sex education, and improving social and educational opportunities for women, rather than criminalizing women who face such a difficult choice. | |||
| Yes | In order to balance the budget, do you support reducing defense spending? | ||
| Yes | In order to balance the budget, do you support an income tax increase on any tax bracket? | ||
| There's plenty of waste and abuse in the military budget that be cut without compromising national security. The billions that we funnel to private defense contractors for vehicles and supplies that we don't need (that end up getting scrapped or stored away) do nothing to keep us safer, and the lack of accountability in our military spending needs to be addressed. I support ending corporate tax loopholes that allow 15 of the Fortune to avoid paying any income taxes, and support raising taxes on the wealthiest among us. | |||
| Yes | Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions? | ||
| No | Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| Yes | Do you support alternatives to incarceration for certain non-violent offenders such as mandatory counseling or substance abuse treatment? | ||
| No | Do you support mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent drug offenders? | ||
| Yes | Do you support federal spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | Do you support lowering taxes as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | Do you support providing tax incentives to businesses for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| None of these efforts automatically promote sustainable economic growth, but they can each be helpful tools when judiciously and properly applied. | |||
| Yes | Do you support requiring states to implement education reforms in order to be eligible for competitive federal grants? | ||
| No | Do you support building the Keystone XL pipeline? | ||
| Yes | Do you support funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, thermal)? | ||
| Yes | Do you support increased regulations on the hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") industry? | ||
| Yes | Do you believe that human activity is contributing to climate change? | ||
| Yes | Do you support the federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| Emissions have health impacts beyond climate change. Kentucky has some of the unhealthiest air in the nation, with the highest rate of lung cancer and the ninth highest death rate from cardiovascular disease. We can charge power generators fees for emissions and apply the revenues raised as rebates on consumer's utility bills, providing an incentive to reduce emissions without negatively affecting ratepayers. | |||
| Yes | Do you generally support gun-control legislation? | ||
| I support our entire bill of rights, but I don't believe the second amendment precludes reasonable efforts to regulate firearm ownership and use, such as universal background checks to prevent anyone who has committed a violent crime from purchasing a firearm, and reasonable limits on particular firearms (such as assault weapons) in urban areas, schools, etc. | |||
| Yes | Do you support repealing the 2010 Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare")? | ||
| I would only support repealing the ACA in service of achieving truly universal health care. I support achieving universal healthcare by expanding Medicare to cover all Americans. | |||
| No | Do you support requiring illegal immigrants to return to their country of origin before they are eligible for citizenship? | ||
| Yes | Do you support targeting suspected terrorists outside of official theaters of conflict? | ||
| Yes | Should the U.S use military force in order to prevent governments hostile to the United States from possessing a nuclear weapon? | ||
| We should only use military force in extreme and rare circumstances, but our diplomatic options are limited if that leverage isn't even on the table. | |||
| 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.
| a) Agriculture | |||
| b) Arts | |||
| c) Defense | |||
| d) Education | |||
| e) Environment | |||
| f) Homeland Security | |||
| g) International aid | |||
| h) Medical Research | |||
| i) Scientific Research | |||
| j) Space exploration | |||
| k) United Nations | |||
| l) Welfare | |||
| a) Capital gains taxes | |||
| b) Corporate taxes | |||
| c) Small business taxes | |||
| d) Excise taxes (alcohol) | |||
| e) Excise taxes (cigarettes) | |||
| f) Excise taxes (transportation fuel) | |||
| g) Income taxes (low-income families) | |||
| h) Income taxes (middle-income families) | |||
| i) Income taxes (high-income families) | |||
| j) Inheritance taxes | |||
| k) Payroll taxes | |||
| I want to answer this question, but I don't understand what the numbers 1-6 even represent. Is 1 the highest spending level, or is 6? Are these official designations that I'm not aware of? | |||
| I want to answer this question, but I don't understand what the numbers 1-6 even represent. Is 1 the highest tax level, or is 6? Are these official designations that I'm not aware of? | |||
| Reducing the deficit should inform every decision we make. We can reduce defense spending without compromising national security by tightening accountability and carving out the purchase of vehicles and supplies that we either scrap or stack up in storage. We can reduce incarceration rates and the funds wasted incarcerating more citizens than any other nation on earth. We can eliminate corporate tax loopholes, and raise taxes on the wealthy to levels that are still low by historical and global standards. We can shore up entitlements by adding millions of new taxpayers to the books via comprehensive immigration reform. |
Vote Smart does not permit the use of its name or programs in any campaign activity, including advertising, debates, and speeches.