James Rogers' Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Michigan Congressional 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? | ||
| No | c) Should abortion be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| No federal involvement in abortion. These decisions should be addressed at the state level. Regarding question d) Government should not interfere in the doctor/ patient relationship and these decisions are a matter of conscience between the doctor and the patient. | |||
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.
| Greatly Decrease | a) Agriculture | ||
| Greatly Decrease | b) Arts | ||
| Greatly Decrease | c) Defense | ||
| Maintain Status | 1) Intelligence operations | ||
| Slightly Decrease | 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 | ||
| Slightly Decrease | 6) Research and development of new weapons | ||
| Eliminate | d) Education | ||
| Eliminate | e) Environment | ||
| Slightly Decrease | f) Homeland security | ||
| Slightly Decrease | g) International aid | ||
| Eliminate | h) Medical research | ||
| Eliminate | i) Scientific research | ||
| Eliminate | j) Space exploration | ||
| Eliminate | k) United Nations | ||
| Eliminate | l) Welfare | ||
| Eliminate | m) Other or expanded categories | ||
| Eliminate | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Eliminate | b) Capital gains taxes | ||
| Eliminate | c) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Eliminate | d) Corporate taxes | ||
| Eliminate | e) Gasoline taxes | ||
| Eliminate | f) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Eliminate | g) Income taxes (middle-income families) | ||
| Eliminate | h) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| Eliminate | 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 | |||
| Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Education, Department of Energy, Food and Drug administration, Department of Labor. Recommend program to phase these types of programs out over a period of time and lower taxes and shift responsibilities to the individual states. Eliminate military bases in prosperous countries like, Germany, Japan, Korea and others and have them fund their own defensive programs. Medical research, welfare, scientific research, space exploration should be shifted to the private sector. United Nations involvement should be limited to international disaster relief and food distribution. | |||
| All taxes should be abolished in favor of user fees and consumption taxes. Rates should be calculated on a limited government model and rates permanently fixed. Government should operate on a budget. Social programs should be shifted to private sector and non-profit funding sources. Government must be down sized before any new tax proposal is adopted. | |||
| 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? | ||
| No | e) Do you support federal funding for job-training programs that retrain displaced workers? | ||
| Government should be limited to the enumerated powers in the Constitution. Government assets should be sold off to make social security solvent and fund for the future. Funding should be shifted to a user fee system. Politician should not have access to the money and funds should be managed by an actuary. | |||
| 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? | ||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| No | e) Do you support giving the President the power of the line item veto for items concerning appropriations? | ||
| No | 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 | |||
| No | 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? | ||
| The war on drugs is another government failure and program should be eliminated. The government cannot keep drugs out of prison system, how can they every expect to prevent the use of these substances by free people. New programs are needed to address the social aspects of the problem using private sector solutions. | |||
| 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? | ||
| Government should not be involved in education. Private sector programs like the Kalamazoo Promise are more effective and elevate the poor and increase economic activities. | |||
| 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? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| No | f) Do you support federal funding for the development of alternative energy? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support the development of nuclear reactors? | ||
| These activites should part of the private sector and a free market economy. | |||
| 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? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| Medical professionals and patient advocates should determine a minumum standard of care. Medical professionals should have oversight over their collegues. Doctors should have the right to counter sue and collect damages for frivelous claims and lost cases. Medical professional should cooperate to create a program and fund a system to protect patients and doctors. I would consider a public funded system / privately managed for those who cannot support themselves through no fault of their own. A minimum level of care should be provided and care beyond the minimum standard created should be supplemented by private and non-profit organizations. | |||
| 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? | ||
| All current laws should be enforced. Immigrants who are here should declare themselves, obtain a work permit and their employers should bear the cost of their care while they are hear. Those who would like to be citizens should apply for citizenship. Borders must be secured. The United States should require Mexico to open markets, allow property ownership. U.S. Citizens should be allowed to operate businesses and allow free markets to develop. If Mexico refuses to negotiate then close the borders permanently. Fair trade policies must exist between the two countries. | |||
| No | a) Do you support United States military action in Afghanistan? | ||
| No | b) Do you support increasing military assistance for Afghanistan? | ||
| No | c) Do you support increasing economic development assistance for Afghanistan? | ||
| No | d) Should the United States continue to strike suspected terrorist targets in Pakistan? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| Government should not have entangling alliances. The Constitution has provisions for Congress to deal with these types of issues by declaring war, granting Letters of Marque and Reprisal and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water. Nations that freely trade and have open markets with each other seldom go to war. | |||
| 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? | ||
| a) The marriage issue involves multiple issues and requires further debate. The issue involves issues of religion, children's rights and entitlements. Citizens supportive of a change should work through the legislative process and convince a majority of Americans to make changes in current laws. I am not supportive of special interest groups forcing change through the judicial system. | |||
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