Jason Levesque's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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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.
Jason Levesque refused to tell citizens where he stands on any of the issues addressed in the 2012 Political Courage Test, despite repeated requests from Vote Smart, national media, and prominent political leaders.
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 2010.
- Anne Mostue. 2010. Maine Public Broadcasting Network: Jason Levesque Profile -- Your Vote 2010. 25 June 2010. "Levesque is opposed to gay marriage and is pro-life." (www.mpbn.net)
- Jason J. Levesque. Death Tax Repeal Pledge Signers Breach 160. 3 May, 2010. "We are happy to report that our current list of candidates pledging to support the 'permanent elimination of the federal estate and gift taxes' has topped 160. The list of the current signers is below...Jason Levesque 2 ME" (www.nodeathtax.org)
- Jason J. Levesque. Why Sometimes It's OK to be the one who says NO. 13 April 2010. "After all, if those in Washington had said 'no' to the failed stimulus package, they wouldn't be throwing money around and trying to take over one woman's private property in our good state...Trillion dollar stimulus bill that creates no jobs: NO...The response we've received from those elected officials we are speaking to is simply, 'Stop saying no.' Well, a message to those we elected: If you stop doing the things we don't want you to do, then we'll stop saying no. Start reducing our spending, cutting our taxes and stimulating the economy without writing a check and we'll just as loudly shout YES, YES, YES!" (levesqueforcongress.com)
- Alicia Preston. 2010. Magic City Morning Star: Jason Levesque comments on President Obama's Proposed 2011 Budget. 12 July 2010. "Today President Obama announced his plans for the 2011 federal budget. One thing is clear, the voices of Maine and those around the country, have not been heard by those in Washington. The budget includes tax hikes, massive spending hikes and despite the resolute failure of Stimulus 1, a proposed 100 billion dollar Stimulus 2. The 3.8 billion dollar budget actually plans on a $1.4 Trillion dollar deficit. This is completely unacceptable. The people have demanded fiscal responsibility and we get the largest proposed deficit spending in history put forward to us." (www.magic-city-news.com)
- Alicia Preston. 2010. Magic City Morning Star: President Obama Announces Deficit Reduction Commission. 20 February 2010. "People want to know where the jobs are. The spending out of Washington is only worsening an already ill economy and until the spending stops, businesses will not feel financially secure enough to expand, grow and hire. We all know this spending will have to be paid for and tradition says this Congress will attempt to do so with increased taxes on families and businesses and that is something no one can afford....In addition to spending reduction, Levesque has long asserted that increasing revenue into the federal coffers can also be achieved by loosening taxes and regulations on businesses strangled by government intervention." (www.magic-city-news.com)
- Jason J. Levesque. Washington, Get out of the Way. 12 July 2010. "Sometimes I wonder if government recognizes the unintended consequences of regulation. Sometimes I wonder if they even care. We have all read the stories of the effects the economy, the bailouts, and the stimulus is having on business. We hear of the massive layoffs at major financial institutions and car companies. We see government react to fix the problems (it created) to try restore these individuals companies and businesses." (levesqueforcongress.com)
- Jason J. Levesque. Issue Position: Spending/Jobs/Debt. "'We don't need more big government programs, we need jobs.' Generate secure, good-paying jobs for Maine workers. Create an environment favorable to job creation and economic growth. Modernize and remove unnecessary restrictions so that our workers can compete in the modern global economy. Create incentives for businesses to locate and stay in Maine." (votesmart.org)
- Despite exhaustive research, Vote Smart was unable to find information about this candidate's position.
- Despite exhaustive research, Vote Smart was unable to find information about this candidate's position.
- Despite exhaustive research, Vote Smart was unable to find information about this candidate's position.
- Jason Levesque signed the No Climate Tax Pledge. "I, Jason Levesque, pledge to the taxpayers of the state of Maine and to the American people that I will oppose any legislation relating to climate change that includes a net increase in government revenue." (www.noclimatetax.com)
- Jason Levesque. Your Vote 2010. Maine Public Broadcasting Network. 1 July 2010. "Levesque is questioned by a passerby about his views on energy policy. "We have energy policy, which basically means we need to increase production in a cost-effective manner. We can't be pushing out alternative forms of energy that's going to cost 21-cents a kilowatt hour, that's not sustainable," he responds. "We need to look at the regulations which hamper job growth. We need to look at taxes. You know the cost of doing business can't be hampered by an 18-month approval process on site development."" (www.mpbn.net)
- Jason J. Levesque. Losing Jobs Means Losing Mainers-and Maybe Even a Congressman. "Take the current health care bill and the cap and trade legislation-the direct implications of these disastrous bills are bad enough, but the amount of money it would cost individuals and businesses compound the problems. It simply needs to stop. We need to reform health care and we need to protect our environment, but we don't need to destroy the fabric of Maine while doing it." (levesqueforcongress.com)
- Jason J. Levesque. Washington, Get out of the Way. 12 July 2010. "Yes, I do believe there has to be some role of government in regulating. We need to protect consumers and we need to protect the environment. I don't want giant unfiltered smoke stacks on every corner....But, when the regulations intended to protect ends up hurting our own citizens, then isn't it time to change the regulations? When possibly good intentioned regulations instead hamstring an entire industry and put people out of work, shouldn't that regulation be nixed? This Administration and Congress has spent the last year searching for new ways to regulate us and almost every single one would do us more harm than good. Cap and Trade: job killer and largest tax increase on individuals and businesses this nation has ever seen." (levesqueforcongress.com)
- Jason J. Levesque. Issue Position: Energy. "'Government will never be the solution. A long-term energy is the key to our economic development.' Lower energy costs by investing in research and development of sustainable, alternative energy that responsibly uses Maine's natural resources." (votesmart.org)
- Jason J. Levesque. Blog: Explaining Congress's Primary Job to Children. 22 October 2010. "If elected, I will work to: Address energy independence and not with the cap and trade bill, which is a massive tax increase that will cost the average Maine family $1,800 per year. What should be implemented are tax incentives for renewable energy sources to increase output and-or construct new plants. Nuclear is a clean, efficient and affordable form. Let's also allow drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska to help reduce our dependence on foreign oil, which is an economic and security drain on our nation." (votesmart.org)
- Anne Mostue. 2010. Maine Public Broadcasting Network: Jason Levesque Profile -- Your Vote 2010. 25 June 2010. "He believes the government is spending too much money and time opposing the Second Amendment, and supports concealed carry permits." (www.mpbn.net)
- Jason J. Levesque. Issue Position: 2nd Amendment Rights. 12 July 2010. "Government is spending too much time and money trying to find ways to invade our personal liberties. I will fight to maintain the rights granted in the constitution and steeped on our nations tradition, including the Right to Bear Arms." (votesmart.org)
- Jason J. Levesque. Levesque: Health Care Challenge Day 2, No Word from Michaud. 17 August, 2009. "It has been more than 24 hours since Jason J. Levesque, Republican candidate in Maine's 2nd Congressional District, challenged Rep. Mike Michaud to hold a joint town hall on health care before the congressional August recess ends. So far, there has been no word from Rep. Michaud. 'This is the biggest issue Congress will be facing when they return from August recess and Mike Michaud continues to hide from the voters,' Levesque said. 'Mainers have strong feelings about the bill before the House of Representatives and they deserve an opportunity to be heard.' Michaud did a live interview Tuesday morning with a Bangor radio station but set ground rules as a precondition that he would not discuss health care nor take any question on air about it. 'Why does Mike Michaud refuse to talk about health care?' asked Levesque. 'With all the conversation about public option, Mainers deserve to know how Michaud plans to vote.'" (www.asmainegoes.com)
- Anne Mostue. 2010. Maine Public Broadcasting Network: Jason Levesque Profile -- Your Vote 2010. 25 June 2010. "He's also opposed to the recent passage of the healthcare reform package, which he call a government takeover of health insurance. He believes people should be able to cross state lines to purchase health insurance." (www.mpbn.net)
- Jason J. Levesque. HEALTH CARE REFORM OR POLITICAL OPPORTUNISM? 12 July 2010. "When the public is telling you they do not want this massive spending bill, that is will raise their costs, that it will create mandates they dont want and spending they dont need, why would you vote for it? The only answer is, because partisanship has taken over the interests of the public, said Jason Levesque, 2ndDistrict Congressional Candidate." (levesqueforcongress.com)
- Jason J. Levesque. Washington, Get out of the Way. 12 July 2010. "This Administration and Congress has spent the last year searching for new ways to regulate us and almost every single one would do us more harm than good....The Public Health Care proposal: increase costs for most people, massive tax and cost implications for businesses already struggling, government intervention between doctor and patient." (levesqueforcongress.com)
- Jason J. Levesque. Issue Position: Health Care. 'Government takeover and/or spending will never be a solution to our health insurance problems.' (votesmart.org)
- Jason J. Levesque. 2010. Maine Refounders: 2010 Maine Primary Election Candidate Survey. Responded "No." to the question "Should the US grant Amnesty to the estimated 12 Million Illegal Immigrants?" (paintmainered.ning.com)
- Tom Porter. 2010. Maine Public Broadcasting Network: Maine Congressional Candidates at Odds over War Funding Bill. 1 July 2010. "An eight-year army veteran, Levesque says he would oppose the bill, but not for the same reason Democrats like Pingree are opposing it. He objects, he says, to a number of so-called 'add-ons.' 'We need to focus on funding the war effort,' he says. 'Whether you agree or disagree with the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan is irrelevant at this point. It's about getting the troops on the ground the equipment and the funding needed to execute their mission. This is not a place to have additional spending bills added into.'" (www.mpbn.net)
- Jason J. Levesque. Sun Journal - On the Offensive: Levesque Shows He's a Quick Study. 24 October 2010. "Levesque is critical of the Obama administration's Afghanistan war strategy, particularly the troop withdrawal timeline. "We have to execute the mission," he said. "The mission is to build a stable government that is an ally to freedom and the United States. We've seen the surge work in Iraq. We need to have that happen in Afghanistan." (votesmart.org)
- Anne Mostue. 2010. Maine Public Broadcasting Network: Jason Levesque Profile -- Your Vote 2010. 25 June 2010. "Levesque is opposed to gay marriage and is pro-life." (www.mpbn.net)
This candidate has responded to a Political Courage Test in a previous election. As a continued effort to provide the American public with factual information on candidates running for public office, these archived responses are made available here.
| 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) Should federal subsidies be prohibited from being used for abortion procedures? | ||
| Parental notification for minors to have an abortion | |||
1) SpendingIndicate what federal funding levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one number per category- you can use a number more than once.2) 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.
| Maintain Status | a) Agriculture | ||
| Greatly Decrease | b) Arts | ||
| Slightly Increase | c) Defense | ||
| Slightly Increase | 1) Intelligence operations | ||
| Slightly Increase | 2) Military hardware | ||
| Slightly Increase | 3) National missile defense | ||
| Maintain Status | 4) Salary and benefits for active duty personnel | ||
| Maintain Status | 5) Programs to improve troop retention rates | ||
| Maintain Status | 6) Research and development of new weapons | ||
| Slightly Decrease | d) Education | ||
| Slightly Decrease | e) Environment | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Homeland security | ||
| Slightly Decrease | g) International aid | ||
| Maintain Status | h) Medical research | ||
| Maintain Status | i) Scientific research | ||
| Slightly Increase | j) Space exploration | ||
| Greatly Decrease | k) United Nations | ||
| Slightly Decrease | l) Welfare | ||
| m) Other or expanded categories | |||
| Maintain Status | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Greatly Decrease | b) Capital gains taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | c) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Greatly Decrease | d) Corporate taxes | ||
| Greatly Decrease | e) Gasoline taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Greatly Decrease | g) Income taxes (middle-income families) | ||
| Greatly Decrease | h) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| i) Other or expanded categories | |||
| Yes | 3) Do you support the elimination of the federal estate tax? | ||
| Yes | 4) Do you support requiring the federal budget to be balanced each year? | ||
| No | 5) Do you support using government funds in an effort to stimulate and improve the economy? | ||
| 6) Other or expanded principles | |||
| No | a) Do you support privatizing elements of Social Security? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector? | ||
| No | c) Do you support increasing the federal minimum wage? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support the ability of workers to unionize? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support federal funding for job-training programs that retrain displaced workers? | ||
| f) Other or expanded principles | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support increasing the amount individuals are permitted to contribute to federal campaigns? | ||
| No | b) Should Congress regulate indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions? | ||
| No | c) Do you support removing all contribution limits on federal campaigns? | ||
| No | d) Should candidates for federal office be encouraged to meet voluntary spending limits? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support giving the President the power of the line item veto for items concerning appropriations? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support limiting the President's ability to define how legislation is applied through the use of signing statements? | ||
| g) Other or expanded principles | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support programs that provide prison inmates with vocational and job-related training and job-placement assistance when released? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support programs that provide prison inmates with substance abuse treatment? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support reduced prison sentences for non-violent offenders? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support mandatory prison sentences for selling illegal drugs? | ||
| f) Other or expanded principles | |||
| No | a) Do you support federal education standards and testing requirements for K-12 students? | ||
| No | b) Do you support federal funding for universal pre-K programs? | ||
| No | c) Do you support federal funding for charter schools? | ||
| No | d) Do you support federal funding for K-12 school vouchers? | ||
| No | e) Do you support the federal government providing college students with financial aid? | ||
| f) Other or expanded principles | |||
| No | a) Do you support enacting environmental regulations aimed at reducing the effects of climate change? | ||
| No | b) Do you support international emissions targets aimed at reducing the effects of climate change? | ||
| No | c) Do you support allowing energy producers to trade carbon credits under a "cap and trade" system? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support strengthening fuel efficiency standards on all gasoline and diesel-powered engines, including cars, trucks, and sport utility vehicles? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support domestic oil exploration in federally-protected areas? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support federal funding for the development of alternative energy? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support the development of nuclear reactors? | ||
| h) Other or expanded principles | |||
| No | a) Do you support restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you believe that the Second Amendment guarantees the right of individual citizens to own guns? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support allowing individuals to carry concealed guns? | ||
| No | d) Do you support a ban on assault rifles? | ||
| e) Other or expanded principles | |||
| No | a) Do you support a publicly-administered health insurance option? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support expanding access to health care through commercial health insurance reform? | ||
| Yes | c) Should the federal government expand eligibility for tax-free medical savings accounts? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support monetary limits on damages that can be collected in malpractice lawsuits? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support relaxing regulations on the importation of prescription drugs? | ||
| Health care reform, open state lines to buy health insurance, allow businesses to pool together | |||
| No | a) Do you support a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants? | ||
| No | b) Do you support decreasing the number of legal immigrants allowed into the country? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support establishing English as the official national language? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police? | ||
| e) Other or expanded principles | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support United States military action in Afghanistan? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support increasing military assistance for Afghanistan? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support increasing economic development assistance for Afghanistan? | ||
| Yes | d) Should the United States continue to strike suspected terrorist targets in Pakistan? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support granting aid to countries when it is in the security interests of the United States? | ||
| No | f) Should the United States support the creation of a Palestinian state? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support increasing sanctions on Iran if it continues to defy United Nations mandates? | ||
| Yes | h) Do you support the withdrawal of United States troops from Iraq? | ||
| Yes | i) Do you support the United States' involvement in free trade agreements? | ||
| j) Other or expanded principles | |||
| Yes | a) Should marriage only be between one man and one woman? | ||
| No | b) Do you support allowing openly-gay men and women to serve in the United States military? | ||
| No | c) Do you support federal funding for embryonic stem cell research? | ||
| Yes | d) Should the federal government end affirmative action programs? | ||
| e) Other or expanded principles | |||
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