John Flerlage'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.
Colorado Congressional Election 2010 Political Courage Test
| Pro-choice | a) Do you consider yourself pro-choice or pro-life? | ||
| 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? | ||
| No | e) Should federal subsidies be prohibited from being used for abortion procedures? | ||
| (1) We all have a responsibility to reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies. (2) A woman should have the right to make decisions about her own health care with her doctor and family without government intrusion. | |||
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.
| Slightly Decrease | a) Agriculture | ||
| Maintain Status | b) Arts | ||
| Maintain Status | c) Defense | ||
| Maintain Status | 1) Intelligence operations | ||
| Slightly Decrease | 2) Military hardware | ||
| Slightly Decrease | 3) National missile defense | ||
| Slightly Increase | 4) Salary and benefits for active duty personnel | ||
| Slightly Increase | 5) Programs to improve troop retention rates | ||
| Maintain Status | 6) Research and development of new weapons | ||
| Maintain Status | d) Education | ||
| Slightly Increase | e) Environment | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Homeland security | ||
| Maintain Status | g) International aid | ||
| Maintain Status | h) Medical research | ||
| Slightly Increase | i) Scientific research | ||
| Maintain Status | j) Space exploration | ||
| Maintain Status | k) United Nations | ||
| l) Welfare | |||
| Slightly Increase | m) Other or expanded categories | ||
| Maintain Status | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | b) Capital gains taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | c) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | d) Corporate taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | e) Gasoline taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Maintain Status | g) Income taxes (middle-income families) | ||
| Slightly Increase | h) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | i) Other or expanded categories | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| Yes | 5) Do you support using government funds in an effort to stimulate and improve the economy? | ||
| 2 - slightly increase - Troop strength and military reorganization; 4 - slightly decrease - Military acquisitions process and supply; 4 - slightly decrease - Military base closures | |||
| Municipal Bond Investment Plan. See expanded description of BRIC Investment Plan set forth in response to Legislative Priorities. | |||
| Stimulus should be through targeted tax incentives, housing stabilization and my BRICs proposal. | |||
| No | a) Do you support privatizing elements of Social Security? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector? | ||
| Yes | 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 | |||
| No | a) Do you support increasing the amount individuals are permitted to contribute to federal campaigns? | ||
| Yes | b) Should Congress regulate indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions? | ||
| No | c) Do you support removing all contribution limits on federal campaigns? | ||
| Yes | d) Should candidates for federal office be encouraged to meet voluntary spending limits? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| e) a balanced budget should be sent to the President. | |||
| 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? | ||
| No | e) Do you support mandatory prison sentences for selling illegal drugs? | ||
| e) I support mandatory prison when a defined drug and quantity threshold is exceeded or combined with weapons charges. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support federal education standards and testing requirements for K-12 students? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support federal funding for universal pre-K programs? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support federal funding for charter schools? | ||
| No | d) Do you support federal funding for K-12 school vouchers? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support the federal government providing college students with financial aid? | ||
| f) Other or expanded principles | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support enacting environmental regulations aimed at reducing the effects of climate change? | ||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| 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? | ||
| a, b, c, d) I support: Proper environmental review for expansion of drilling; A carbon trust where the cost of carbon emissions will be assessed on major producers and deposited into a trust. Those paying into the trust may draw upon the trust to fund research and efficiency improvements to reduce carbon emissions. g) Must be 1) locally acceptable 2) the cost of govt subsidies and gaurantees are included 3) the cost of waste is included and weighed when comparing with alternatives. | |||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support a ban on assault rifles? | ||
| e) Other or expanded principles | |||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| a) for those who want it. c) for independent doctors operating as a small business. See health care proposal on my web site. | |||
| No | b) Do you support decreasing the number of legal immigrants allowed into the country? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| Unknown Position | a) Do you support a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants? | ||
|
|||
| a) I support comprehensive immigration reform. As a part of such reform, I support a path to legal status for those who are here without it, have been working and have no criminal record. I do not support separation of families. I support border control and a system for employers to accurately check legal status. Citizenship should be handled separately. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support United States military action in Afghanistan? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| a) I support stabilization and then withdrawal from the security mission in Afghanistan. I support continuation of the war against extremists who are planning attacks on America and Americans in this region and elsewhere. | |||
| No | a) Should marriage only be between one man and one woman? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support allowing openly-gay men and women to serve in the United States military? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support federal funding for embryonic stem cell research? | ||
| d) Should the federal government end affirmative action programs? | |||
| d) Affirmative action should end when there ceases to be overwhelming evidence of the effects of discrimination in the education, economic and criminal justice systems of our country. | |||
| Congressional Incentive Pay. I will propose legislation to cut congressional pay for every congressional session in which there is a deficit, starting with 5% cut in 2013-2014, as incentive to balance the budget. BRICs (Bonds that Rebuild and Invest in Communities). I will propose legislation to promote investment in our communities by allowing individuals to purchase qualified municipal bonds with pre-tax dollars, which will significantly cut taxes for those who choose to invest in their communities. |
Vote Smart does not permit the use of its name or programs in any campaign activity, including advertising, debates, and speeches.