Howard Swint's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Howard Swint submitted the 2012 Political Courage Test after the official deadline and release of results to the media. The candidate's late responses are provided here as a public service.
West Virginia Congressional Election 2012 Political Courage Test
| Pro-choice | Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| As an adoptee I would always counsel adoption over abortion; but also favor education first followed by birth control. Would not vote in favor of the repeal of Roe v Wade as turning back the clock to just having 5 states with legal abortion would be a tragic mistake resulting not in less demand for abortions but fewer safe, legal abortions and correspondingly more unsafe, illegal abortions. Also favor in vitro and stem cell research, too. | |||
| Yes | Do you support United States' combat operations in Afghanistan? | ||
| Yes | Do you support a timetable for withdrawal from Afghanistan? | ||
| Let's bring our troop home now. I would not vote in favor of keeping my own daughters there in harm's way and, accordingly, would not votre to keep yours there, either. | |||
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? | ||
| Yes | do you support an income tax increase on any tax bracket? | ||
| No | do you support reducing Medicaid spending? | ||
| No | do you support reducing Medicare spending? | ||
| Is balancing the budget a legislative priority? | |||
| The single-most important public policy issue facing our nation in 2012 is Campaign Finance and Lobby Reform as all other issues that come before our lawmakers are driven by the corrupting influence of special interests on Capitol Hill. The Financial Crisis of 2008 is a perfect example. Millions of Americans lost their jobs, homes and savings yet those responsible, the too-big-to-fail Wall Street banks, are today even bigger, more profitable and lobbying still for more deregulation. [...] I will represent West Virginia and our common interests as I will be unowned. | |||
| Yes | Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions? | ||
| We need to regulate campaign contributions from corporations and special interest groups as their corrupting influence on the democratic process is undermining our democratic system; I favor a constitutional amendment overturning the United States Supreme Court decision "Citizens United." | |||
| Yes | Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| In a very limited scope narrowly defined as heinous crimes against children and threats against the President, Supreme Court justices and federal judges. | |||
| Yes | Do you support federal spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| No | Do you support providing tax incentives to businesses for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| Yes | Do you support spending on infrastructure projects for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| Yes | Do you support the temporary extension of unemployment benefits? | ||
| No | Do you support the 2010 temporary extension of tax relief? | ||
| Allow the Bush Tax Cuts of 2001 & 2003 to expire; would vote for the Simpson Bowles "Zero Duduction" Plan which would ensure that the wealthy pay their fair share of taxes; support the lifting of the cap on eligible income for paying into the Social Security System from $110,000 to $250,000 to return the system to actuarial soundness. | |||
| 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? | ||
| Yes | Do you support the federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| Yes | Do you support restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns? | ||
| Restriction limits on convicted felons and mentally challenged; restrictions on full-auto weapons and cop-killer bullets. | |||
| No | Do you support repealing the 2010 Affordable Care Act? | ||
| Yes | Should individuals be required to purchase health insurance, as mandated in the 2010 Affordable Care Act? | ||
| 50 million uninsured Americans have their health care services provided for by other Americans who pay higher taxes and higher fees for their own services but the provision of health care for the uninsured is typically provided in the Emergency Room leading to great diseconomies and inefficiencies - that we all pay for now. Better to have preventive care with screenings and checkups for better wellness for our society as a whole. It will save us all money every day and make for a healthier America. | |||
| 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? | ||
| Yes | Do you support same-sex marriage? | ||
| I support equal rights for all; special rights for none. Government can provide for civil unions; faith-based services for marriage are driven by the precepts of the specific faith and their followers' beliefs. | |||
| 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? | ||
| I would not vote to send my child to fight another war in Iran; correspondingly, would not vote to send yours. | |||
| No | Do you support allowing individuals to divert a portion of their Social Security taxes into personal retirement accounts? | ||
| Just think what would have happened if the privatization of Social Security was enacted before the Financial Crisis followed by the Great Recession followed by the Wall Street banks' collapse and government bailout. I support Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) proposal to increase the cap on eligible incomes subject to SS Taxes from $110,000 to $250,000 to ensure the actuarial soundness of the system. | |||
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.
| Greatly Decrease | a) Agriculture | ||
| Maintain Status | b) Arts | ||
| Greatly Decrease | c) Defense | ||
| Maintain Status | d) Education | ||
| Slightly Increase | e) Environment | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Homeland Security | ||
| Slightly Decrease | g) International aid | ||
| Slightly Increase | h) Medical Research | ||
| Slightly Increase | i) Scientific Research | ||
| Slightly Increase | j) Space exploration | ||
| Maintain Status | k) United Nations | ||
| Maintain Status | l) Welfare | ||
| m) Other or expanded categories | |||
| Maintain Status | a) Capital gains taxes | ||
| Greatly Increase | b) Corporate taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | c) Excise taxes (alcohol) | ||
| Greatly Increase | d) Excise taxes (cigarettes) | ||
| Slightly Increase | e) Excise taxes (transportation fuel) | ||
| Greatly Decrease | f) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | g) Income taxes (middle-income families) | ||
| Greatly Increase | h) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| Slightly Increase | i) Inheritance taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | j) Payroll taxes | ||
| k) Other or expanded categories | |||
| The $16 trillion national debt represents a grave violation of the public finance principle of Intergenerational Equity that holds that one generation of lawmakers has a fiduciary responsibility to budget and expend revenue in a manner that does not burden future generations with debt from which they do not benefit. Intergenerational Equity also applies to the unfunded long-term debt of the Social Security Trust Fund, Medicare Trust Fund, and various underfunded federal pensions that together represent the nation's true indebtedness. Our lawmakers must stop spending our children and granchildren's money literally before they have even earned it. It is wrong. |
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