Brian Jacobs' Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Indiana State Legislative Election 2010 Political Courage Test
| Pro-life | a) Do you consider yourself pro-choice or pro-life? | ||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| No | g) Do you support sexual education programs that include information on abstinence, contraceptives, and HIV/STD prevention methods? | ||
| Yes | h) Do you support abstinence-only sexual education programs? | ||
| 1. It is a state, not-federal issue. 2. If we are to reduce abortions, we must change minds, not laws. 3. I believe expanded use of 3-D ultrasound will present people with images that will be clear evidence that we are talking about babies, not just tissue. This will push the societally acceptable window for abortion earlier and earlier in pregnancy. | |||
1) State SpendingIndicate what state funding levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one level per category; you may 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 may use a number more than once.3) Budget StabilizationIndicate which proposals you support (if any) for balancing Indiana's budget.
| Greatly Decrease | a) Education (higher) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | b) Education (K-12) | ||
| Greatly Decrease | c) Environment | ||
| Slightly Decrease | d) Health care | ||
| Maintain Status | e) Law enforcement | ||
| Slightly Decrease | f) Transportation and highway infrastructure | ||
| Greatly Decrease | g) Welfare | ||
| Maintain Status | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | b) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | c) Corporate taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | d) Gasoline taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | e) Property taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | f) Sales taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | g) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Maintain Status | h) Income taxes (middle-income families) | ||
| Maintain Status | i) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| No | a) Tapping into Indiana'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 | ||
| Yes | e) Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients | ||
| Yes | f) Privatizing certain government services | ||
| Our kids are overburdened with our debt. To add to this burden would be immoral and an outrage. We must rely on ourselves more, and on government less. With regard to higher education, let the market find the price without so much govt support. Prices are artificially inflated due to state largesse. | |||
| k) We should re-examine the wisdom of providing tax exemptions to hospitals and other organizations when their average wage-base is far in excess of the communities they supposedly serve. | |||
| With regard to b), perhaps instead of simple release, perhaps they could "buy out" the remainder of their terms. We could even make arrangements with employers for release to work deals. And we must be careful that we not release those dangerous to the public or the violent. Medicaid should increase pilot programs for HSA type benefits. Medicaid should also eliminate "optional" types of benefits like chiropractic care. Finally, Medicaid should introduce co-pays which could be tracked electronically and applied against other forms of govt assistance to guard against the over utilization inherent with moral hazard. | |||
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 Indiana governors? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support limits on the number of terms for Indiana state legislators? | ||
| No | 1) Individual | ||
| No | 2) Political Action Committee | ||
| No | 3) Corporate | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| The first amendment says that the right to free speech shall not be abridged. I take it seriously, and I believe that political speech is exactly the sort of speech the founders intended to protect. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| No | b) Do you support alternatives to incarceration for certain non-violent offenders, such as mandatory counseling or substance abuse treatment? | ||
| Yes | c) Should the possession of small amounts of marijuana be decriminalized? | ||
| Yes | d) Should a minor accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult? | ||
| No | e) Should a minor who sends 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? | ||
| No | g) Do you support a statewide ban on smoking in public places? | ||
| b) Not counseling, but fines vs. incarceration perhaps. f) Somebody had better start enforcing the border. I prefer the federal govt do it, but it is clear they have no intent to do so. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector? | ||
| No | b) Do you support increased state funding for job-training programs that re-train displaced workers? | ||
| No | c) Do you support expanding access to unemployment benefits? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support providing financial incentives to the private sector for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| No | e) Do you support increased spending on infrastructure projects for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| No | f) Do you support providing direct financial assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure? | ||
| Private enterprise is the best engine of job creation, and more importantly, of wealth creation. The right too for the right job, as they say. | |||
| No | a) Do you support national education standards? | ||
| No | b) Do you support requiring public schools to administer high school exit exams? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support using a merit pay system for teachers? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support the state government providing college students with financial aid? | ||
| No | f) Should illegal immigrants who graduate from Indiana high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| a) education is a state or local matter c) merit pay is a great idea in theory...tough to implement d) better yet, vouchers so that parents can decide e) for a combination of merit and poverty, yes f) illegal immigrants shouldn't be in American schools, they should be deported...what part of ILLEGAL is confusing? | |||
| No | 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 Indiana's energy infrastructure? | ||
| No | 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 market can decide these matters. | |||
| 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? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support requiring a license for gun possession? | ||
| d) perhaps for only certain types of guns The second Amendment is an individual right. It exists to safeguard the republic against an overbearing and tyrannical government. | |||
| 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? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support monetary limits on damages that can be collected in malpractice lawsuits? | ||
| No | f) Do you support legalizing physician-assisted suicide in Indiana? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes? | ||
| b) Reform should let the market do its magic. Allow creativity by eliminating costly mandates and restriction. e) Not the best solution, but better than nothing. A "loser pays" option would work well. | |||
| Yes | a) Should marriage only be between one man and one woman? | ||
| Yes | b) Should Indiana allow same-sex couples to form civil unions? | ||
| No | 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 Indiana's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| g) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Indiana's anti-discrimination laws? | |||
| h) Other or expanded principles | |||
| Get Hoosiers back to work by making Indiana the most business friendly state in the nation with low taxes, fewer regulations, and cutting away the red tape. Make education more efficient through competition, aligning incentives, and concentrating on the fundamentals. Oppose Obamacare by every legal means until it can be replaced with common sense market based reforms. |
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