Kevin Patrick, Jr.'s Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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West Virginia State Legislative Election 2010 Political Courage Test
| Pro-life | a) Do you consider yourself pro-choice or pro-life? | ||
| No | b) Should abortion be legal only within the first trimester of pregnancy? | ||
| Yes | c) Should abortion be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape? | ||
| Yes | 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 sexual education programs that include information on abstinence, contraceptives, and HIV/STD prevention methods? | ||
| No | h) Do you support abstinence-only sexual education programs? | ||
| I believe the rights of an individual, to life, liberty, and property should be protect, if that individual is unable to protect those rights for him- or herself. Abstinence-only education programs have not been proven to be successful, and I believe in giving people all the available information. A private, religious, or homeschool may make different decisions, however. | |||
1) State SpendingIndicate what state funding levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one level per category- you can use a number more than once.2) State TaxesIndicate what state tax levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one level per category- you can use a number more than once.3) Budget StabilizationIndicate which proposals you support (if any) for balancing West Virginia's budget.
| Slightly Decrease | a) Education (higher) | ||
| Maintain Status | b) Education (K-12) | ||
| Maintain Status | c) Environment | ||
| Slightly Decrease | d) Health care | ||
| Maintain Status | e) Law enforcement | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Transportation and highway infrastructure | ||
| Eliminate | g) Welfare | ||
| Slightly Decrease | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | b) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | c) Corporate taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | d) Gasoline taxes | ||
| Greatly Decrease | e) Property taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | f) Sales taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | g) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | h) Income taxes (middle-income families) | ||
| Greatly Decrease | i) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| No | a) Tapping into West Virginia's "rainy day" fund | ||
| Yes | b) Issuing the early release of certain non-violent offenders | ||
| Yes | c) Increasing tuition rates at public universities | ||
| Yes | d) Instituting mandatory furloughs and layoffs for state employees | ||
| No | e) Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients | ||
| Yes | f) Privatizing certain government services | ||
| The State will have to reduce services during this crisis. As West Virginians have had to tighten their belt, so should their government. Reducing spending and returning to the principles of our Founders, and thereby reducing taxes, are the only way to make it out of this crisis. | |||
| I will always work to decrease the tax burdens of West Virginians. I have signed the Americans for Tax Reform pledge to vote against any and all new taxes. | |||
| West Virginia is required to have a balanced budget, and we should seek to do that. However, this will not be possible unless we cut spending drastically. That means we need to prioritize, and decided what is most important, and cut things at the bottom of that list. | |||
c) Do you support limits on the following types of contributions to candidates for state government?
| Yes | a) Do you support limits on the number of terms for West Virginia governors? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support limits on the number of terms for West Virginia state legislators? | ||
| No | 1) Individual | ||
| Yes | 2) Political Action Committee | ||
| Yes | 3) Corporate | ||
| Yes | 4) Political Party | ||
| No | d) Should candidates for state office be encouraged to meet voluntary spending limits? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support requiring full and timely disclosure of campaign finance information? | ||
| I would seek to abolish the doctrine of corporate personhood in West Virginia. This would mean that individuals would be liable for the decisions they make as a part of a corporation, and a corporation would have no legal rights, but only the privileges which it is given. This would have other secondary benefits in instances where corporations are unable to be punished for violating our laws, such as water standards, and they simply pay the fine and go about their business as usual. | |||
| No | a) Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support alternatives to incarceration for certain non-violent offenders, such as mandatory counseling or drug/alcohol treatment? | ||
| Yes | c) Should the possession of small amounts of marijuana be decriminalized? | ||
| Yes | d) Should minors accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as adults? | ||
| No | e) Should minors who send sexually-explicit or nude photos by cell phone face criminal charges? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police? | ||
| Question b) Drug/alcohol related offenses should be treated as a medical problem, and not a criminal one. Question f) The several States have carried the Federal government's water for far too long. If a State passes its own immigration laws, a la Arizona, and enforces those laws, that is preferable. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector? | ||
| No | b) Do you support stricter safety regulations for the mining industry? | ||
| No | c) Do you support increased state funding for job-training programs that re-train displaced workers? | ||
| No | d) Do you support expanding access to unemployment benefits? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support providing financial incentives to the private sector for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| No | f) Do you support increased spending on infrastructure projects for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| No | g) Do you support providing direct financial assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure? | ||
| B) We need to enforce our current laws before we make new ones. Two laws which the corporations disregard does nothing but foster contempt for the law. E) Only tax cuts, no other "incentives" | |||
| No | a) Do you support national education standards? | ||
| No | b) Do you support requiring public schools to administer high school exit exams? | ||
| No | c) Do you support using a merit pay system for teachers? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | ||
| No | e) Do you support the state government providing college students with financial aid? | ||
| No | f) Should illegal immigrants who graduate from West Virginia high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| B) I would leave this decision up to locally elected School Boards. C) I would need to see very explicit definitions for this sort of idea, before I could sign on to it. D) I believe people should be able to select where their tax dollars go. E) When the state gets involved in education, it devalues that achievement, as I think recent history has proven. | |||
| Yes | 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 providing financial incentives to farms that produce biofuel crops? | ||
| No | d) Do you support state funding for improvements to West Virginia's energy infrastructure? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support state funding for open space preservation? | ||
| No | f) Do you support enacting environmental regulations aimed at reducing the effects of climate change? | ||
| The jobs of the last century have left this State, and are never coming back. We don't need nor want those jobs. We must foster an environment, preferably through tax reform, which brings the jobs of the 21st century here, to WV. | |||
| No | a) Do you support restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns? | ||
| No | b) Do you support requiring background checks on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support allowing individuals to carry concealed guns? | ||
| No | d) Do you support requiring a license for gun possession? | ||
| I am a strong 2nd Amendment advocate. I support Vermont-style concealed carry laws, I applaud WV's open carry policy. I would never seek to curtail a Citizen's right to protect self, home, and state. "Shall not be infringed" is very clear to me. | |||
| 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? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support interstate health insurance compacts? | ||
| No | d) Should individuals be required to purchase health care insurance? | ||
| No | e) Do you support monetary limits on damages that can be collected in malpractice lawsuits? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support legalizing physician-assisted suicide in West Virginia? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes? | ||
| No | h) Do you support increasing West Virginia's tax on beer to expand substance abuse programs? | ||
| I would refer anyone interested my position on this section to my website, www.kevinpatrick.info Go to the Issues page, and select Health Care. | |||
| Yes | a) Should marriage only be between one man and one woman? | ||
| Yes | b) Should West Virginia allow same-sex couples to form civil unions? | ||
| c) Do you support state funding for stem cell research? | |||
| No | d) Do you support state funding for embryonic stem cell research? | ||
| No | e) Do you support the state's use of affirmative action? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in West Virginia's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in West Virginia's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| The only rights one has are individual rights. Rights gained by one's existence as a human being, not by being part of a group. Until our society and law structure recognizes this basic fact, I would seek to include those above into our anti-discrimination laws. I would eventually seek to repeal the anti-discrimination and affirmative action laws, as all individuals should have their rights protected, not just a select few. | |||
| I would seek to repeal laws and statutes which infringe on the rights of the individual to life, liberty, and property. I would seek to re-assert States' Rights and individual rights, while lessening the tax burden on West Virginians. I would stand up for the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. |
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