Robert Derlet's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
Key
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Robert Derlet has provided voters with clear stances on key issues by responding to the 2016 Political Courage Test.
California Congressional Election 2016 Political Courage Test
| Pro-choice | Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| This issue was debated and extensively discussed in the past and a ruling finalized in 1973 with the Roe v Wade decision. The Government has no business to overrule decisions made by a woman in confidence with her doctor and family. | |||
| No | In order to balance the budget, do you support reducing defense spending? | ||
| No | In order to balance the budget, do you support an income tax increase on any tax bracket? | ||
| We need to close Wall Street Tax loopholes. Many large multinational corporations pay no taxes, and hide money overseas. Mega-millionaires and billionaires take advantage and pay lower tax rates than middle class families, and some pay no taxes at all. This needs to change. Closing loopholes will balance the budget, and provide funds to help pay down the deficit. We need to keep our military strong in a changing and challenging world. | |||
| Yes | Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions? | ||
| Citizens United has given disproportionate power to large corporations and billionaires. I believe we the people each have a voice in the election process, and democracy is endangered if a select few each have "a billion" voices. Campaigns should be financed by small individual donations. | |||
| No | Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| Yes | Do you support alternatives to incarceration for certain non-violent offenders such as mandatory counseling or substance abuse treatment? | ||
| No | Do you support mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent drug offenders? | ||
| Research has shown that rehabilitation for non-violent drug offenders is more effective than jail time in preventing future infractions of the law. Furthermore it helps offenders contribute to mainstream society, and costs far less money than jail. | |||
| Yes | Do you support federal spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | Do you support lowering taxes as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | Do you support providing tax incentives to businesses for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| Lowering taxes on the middle class will help stimulate spending and promote the economy. In contrast, lowering taxes on the super rich results in money transfers to Panama, Cayman Islands, and other overseas institutions. Tax incentives to small business will also help create jobs. Equally important is to re-negociate unfair trade treaties that have resulted in our factories being shipped overseas. We need to bring back 21st century manufacturing to the USA. | |||
| Yes | Do you generally support requiring states to adopt federal education standards? | ||
| Minimum educational standards are important to insure that our children are the best educated in the world. However, standards must be broadly defined and emphasize critical thinking. I am against national standardized testing, our kids must be taught how to think, not how to score high on an artificial test. | |||
| No | Do you support building the Keystone XL pipeline? | ||
| Yes | Do you support government funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, thermal)? | ||
| Yes | Do you support increased regulations on the hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") industry? | ||
| As a medial doctor, clean water and air are essential for good health and longevity. It is wrong that fracking is exempt from EPA clean air and water standards, and toxic chemicals are not disclosed. Fracking must be tightly regulated to prevent groundwater pollution. Research has shown that low dose exposure to toxins not only affects brain development in children, but increases the risk of many medical problems from cancer to early onset dementia. We need to move to more effective use of energy, speed production of the 400 mile electric vehicle, and become less reliant on fossil fuels. | |||
| Yes | Do you believe that human activity is contributing to climate change? | ||
| Yes | Do you support the federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| Climate change is a major threat to the health, well being, and survival of our children, grandchildren and future generations. We must work with other large countries in the world, such as China, India, and Indonesia to reduce C02 emissions. The Paris accords, recently signed by a majority of nations are a major step forward. In California, protection of our Sierra Nevada watershed is critical to the well being or our population and our agriculture community. Forests must be scientifically managed to reduce fire danger by removing brush and many of the millions of dead pine trees. | |||
| Yes | Do you generally support gun-control legislation? | ||
| I strongly support the second amendment and right to own a firearm to protect ones home and for sports activities such as hunting. However, we need to be safe from being shot by terrorists, criminals, and other dangerous people. I support measures designed to prevent guns from getting in the wrong hands. Let's have the Center for Disease control (CDC) do the research that will tell us what legislation will balance our second amendment rights with the right to safely walk in our communities. | |||
| No | Do you support repealing the 2010 Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare")? | ||
| The cost of healthcare is outrageous. As a physician I have seen the ACA (Obama Care) from the front line. It has helped millions, e.g. insurance cannot be canceled because of an expensive illness, such as cancer or a heart attack. But much needs to be fixed. Insurance and Drug companies are out of control. They make huge profits charging high premiums, refusing to pay for needed drugs, and specialists, and raising deductibles, as high as $6,000. The $600 EpiPen should cost $40. Hospital and Physician prices should be posted, and Congress must stop insurance/drug/hospital corporations from cheating us. | |||
| No | Do you support requiring immigrants who are unlawfully present to return to their country of origin before they are eligible for citizenship? | ||
| The vast majority of immigrants have entered the US legally, some 40 million since Ronald Reagan signed the reform bill in 1986. I support the bipartisan Senate Bill (S.744) that provides a number of measures to tackle the problem of illegal entry into the US. Nearly half of illegal immigrants enter through US airports, and over stay their visas. They need to be returned to their country of origin. But millions who are well established tax paying workers cannot all be deported. The Senate Bill provides the solutions, and defines who would be eligible for a pathway to citizenship. | |||
| Yes | Do you support same-sex marriage? | ||
| It is a civil rights, privacy, and freedom issue and none of the governments business. | |||
| No | Do you support increased American intervention in Iraq and Syria beyond air support? | ||
| Yes | Should the U.S use military force in order to prevent governments hostile to the United States from possessing a nuclear weapon? | ||
| Regarding Iraq and Syria, no US boots on the ground. Neighboring countries need to step up to stabilize the problems of the Middle East with US support. Regarding hostile governments and nuclear weapons, Diplomacy and economic sanctions are the first steps. Intervention is totally dependent on the situation and the country and region of the world. No US boots on the ground but use of high technology tactical strategy may become necessary if countries like North Korea pose a threat to the US Mainland. | |||
| No | Do you support allowing individuals to divert a portion of their Social Security taxes into personal retirement accounts? | ||
| Our workers have money taken from each paycheck and placed into the Social Security system. This provides a guaranteed source of fixed income when one is too old to work. Risking this money on Wall Street will give hedge fund managers a portion of this money each year, and may lead to losses of contributions during economic downturns. This has happened in other countries that have privatized their social security. | |||
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.
| Maintain Status | a) Agriculture | ||
| Maintain Status | b) Arts | ||
| Maintain Status | c) Defense | ||
| Greatly Increase | d) Education | ||
| Slightly Increase | e) Environment | ||
| Greatly Increase | f) Homeland Security | ||
| Maintain Status | g) International aid | ||
| Maintain Status | h) Medical Research | ||
| Maintain Status | i) Scientific Research | ||
| Maintain Status | j) Space exploration | ||
| Maintain Status | k) United Nations | ||
| Maintain Status | l) Welfare | ||
| Slightly Increase | a) Capital gains taxes | ||
| Greatly Increase | b) Corporate taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | c) Small business taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | d) Excise taxes (alcohol) | ||
| Maintain Status | e) Excise taxes (cigarettes) | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Excise taxes (transportation fuel) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | g) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | h) Income taxes (middle-income families) | ||
| Slightly Increase | i) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| Slightly Increase | j) Inheritance taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | k) Payroll taxes | ||
| The bottom line of this election is: Who will write the rules that we live by? Too many in Congress are middlemen for special interests like big banks, big pharma, big multinational corporations. We must work to overturn the Citizens United decision that takes power from us, the people, and gives it to billionaires. Do we really want to allow special interests to write the rules that must live by? I say no. We the people should write the rules. I will listen to the people an families in my district and not the Wall Street special interests lobbyists. | |||
| Capital gains taxes; Increase only for those making greater than $500,000/year. Corporate Taxes--Close loopholes, and prevent overseas hiding of money. Small Business; Support and provide tax breaks. Inheritance taxes--Increase for estates valued over $10,000,000, this impact less than 0.1% of families. Reduce the national debt by closing tax loopholes and returning 21st century manufacturing to the USA | |||
| Top priority: More money in the pocket of the average American family. One of the biggest expenses is the outrageous costs of healthcare. No one should have a $6,000 out of their pocket deductible. Consumer protection must be enhanced to prevent more "Wells Fargo" type of fraud and cheating. College can be made debt free through work-study programs. In the Sierra Nevada, we must address the risk wildfires, and rural homes burning. Federal funds are needed to help both private property owners and the US Forest Service to reduce the fuel loads from millions of dead trees. |
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