Eli Olson'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.
Eli Olson has demonstrated Political Courage by telling citizens where he stands on the issues he may face if elected.
Washington Congressional Election 2012 Political Courage Test
| Pro-life | Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| This is the hardest question I have ever had to come to terms with. Its hard for me as a man to decide when a womans rights end and a childs begins. Because I agree with Thomas Jefferson that it is "sinful and tyrannical" to "compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves and abhors," I will also protect the American people's freedom of conscience by working to prohibit taxpayer funds from being used for abortions, | |||
| No | Do you support United States' combat operations in Afghanistan? | ||
| Yes | Do you support a timetable for withdrawal from Afghanistan? | ||
| Acting as the world's policeman and nation-building weakens our country, puts our troops in harm's way, and sends precious resources to other nations in the midst of an historic economic crisis. | |||
Indicate which proposals you support (if any) for balancing the federal budget.In order to balance the budget,
| Yes | do you support reducing defense spending? | ||
| No | do you support an income tax increase on any tax bracket? | ||
| Yes | do you support reducing Medicaid spending? | ||
| Yes | do you support reducing Medicare spending? | ||
| Yes | Is balancing the budget a legislative priority? | ||
| While a Flat Tax or a Fair Tax would each be a better alternative to the income tax system, I would believe we would have to guarantee the 16th Amendment is repealed to avoid having both the income tax and one of these systems as an additional tax. But there is a better way. Restraining federal spending by enforcing the Constitution's strict limits on the federal government's power would help result in a 0% income tax rate for Americans. The answer to spending and debt is to return to a constitutionally limited government that protects liberty. | |||
| No | Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions? | ||
| Congress has no authority under Article I of the Constitution to regulate campaigns at all. Article II authorizes only the regulation of elections, not campaigns, because our Founders knew Congress might pass campaign laws that protect incumbency. I reject the notion that corporations are people, with collective rights. He says that only individuals have rights; people are individuals, not groups or companies | |||
| Yes | Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| But the federal government should not use it as a penalty. | |||
| No | Do you support federal spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | Do you support providing tax incentives to businesses for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| No | Do you support spending on infrastructure projects for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| No | Do you support the temporary extension of unemployment benefits? | ||
| Yes | Do you support the 2010 temporary extension of tax relief? | ||
| The Power to tax is the power to destroy. | |||
| Yes | Do you support requiring states to implement education reforms in order to be eligible for competitive federal grants? | ||
| Yes | Do you believe that human activity is contributing to climate change? | ||
| No | Do you support the federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| Although I do not think human activity is contributing as much as they would have you believe. I do think we as people should be environmentally conscious. But allowing the federal government to manage our "carbon" emissions is just bad legislation, and will have too much bureaucracy. | |||
| Yes | Do you support repealing the 2010 Affordable Care Act? | ||
| No | Should individuals be required to purchase health insurance, as mandated in the 2010 Affordable Care Act? | ||
| Yes | Do you support requiring illegal immigrants to return to their country of origin before they are eligible for citizenship? | ||
| Yes | Do you support allowing illegal immigrants, who were brought to the United States as minors, to pursue citizenship without returning to their country of origin? | ||
| Yes | Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration law by state and local police? | ||
| The time it takes to become a citizen is absurd. avg. 7-10 years. This must be reformed. And most important issue is our preconception of illegals, if the american people knew that all of our immagrants came here with the intent of the american dream and is willing to work hard, and obey the constitution and no one came here for a free ride, our respect for them will grow, and the american people will love to show them the way and why America is greater than they thought. | |||
| Yes | Do you support same-sex marriage? | ||
| Marriage should be something that you do in a church, but a voluntary association shouldn't be interfered with by the state, so I would just assume that the state not issue licenses or define marriage. | |||
| Yes | Do you support targeting suspected terrorists outside of official theaters of conflict? | ||
| No | Should the U.S use military force in order to prevent Iran from possessing a nuclear weapon? | ||
| Yes | Do you support allowing individuals to divert a portion of their Social Security taxes into personal retirement accounts? | ||
SpendingIndicate what federal spending levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one number per category; you can use a number more than once.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 | ||
| Greatly Decrease | b) Arts | ||
| Slightly Decrease | c) Defense | ||
| Eliminate | d) Education | ||
| Greatly Decrease | e) Environment | ||
| Eliminate | f) Homeland Security | ||
| Eliminate | g) International aid | ||
| Slightly Decrease | h) Medical Research | ||
| Slightly Increase | i) Scientific Research | ||
| Slightly Increase | j) Space exploration | ||
| Eliminate | k) United Nations | ||
| Greatly Decrease | l) Welfare | ||
| Greatly Increase | m) Other or expanded categories | ||
| Eliminate | a) Capital gains taxes | ||
| Greatly Decrease | b) Corporate taxes | ||
| Greatly Decrease | c) Excise taxes (alcohol) | ||
| Greatly Decrease | d) Excise taxes (cigarettes) | ||
| Maintain Status | e) Excise taxes (transportation fuel) | ||
| Greatly Decrease | f) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Greatly Decrease | g) Income taxes (middle-income families) | ||
| Greatly Decrease | h) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| Greatly Decrease | i) Inheritance taxes | ||
| Greatly Decrease | j) Payroll taxes | ||
| k) Other or expanded categories | |||
| Liberty 10th Amendment | |||
Vote Smart does not permit the use of its name or programs in any campaign activity, including advertising, debates, and speeches.