Pam Merchant's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Pam Merchant refused to tell citizens where she stands on any of the issues addressed in the 2012 Political Courage Test, despite repeated requests from Vote Smart, national media, and prominent political leaders.
This candidate has responded to a Political Courage Test in a previous election. As a continued effort to provide the American public with factual information on candidates running for public office, these archived responses are made available here.
South Dakota State Legislative Election 2008 Political Courage Test
The Political Courage Test asks candidates which items they will support if elected. It does not ask them to indicate which items they will oppose. Through extensive research of public polling data, we discovered that voters are more concerned with what candidates would support when elected to office, not what they oppose. If a candidate does not select a response to any part or all of any question, it does not necessarily indicate that the candidate is opposed to that particular item.
Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding abortion.
| a) Abortions should always be illegal. | |||
| X | b) Abortions should always be legal. | ||
| c) Abortions should be legal only within the first trimester of pregnancy. | |||
| X | d) Abortions should be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape. | ||
| X | e) Abortions should be legal when the life of the woman is endangered. | ||
| f) Abortions should be subject to a mandatory waiting period. | |||
| X | g) Require clinics to give parental notification before performing abortions on minors. | ||
| There should be a strong educational component as we raise our children in order for them to understand the implications of unwanted pregnancies. Unwanted pregnancies are the reason behind abortions, as we know, and we must minimize them. I also support ongoing education and counseling of women as they make this very personal decision, and I want to promote adoption, especially open situations, so we can also decrease abortions as much as possible. It will take bi-partisan work to create an atmosphere where we can prepare people to make better choices throiugh education and support. | |||
State Budget: Indicate what state funding levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one level per category, you can use a number more than once.State Taxes: Indicate what state tax levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one level per category, you can use a number more than once.
| Greatly Increase | a) Education (Higher) | ||
| Greatly Increase | b) Education (K-12) | ||
| Maintain Status | c) Emergency preparedness | ||
| Maintain Status | d) Environment | ||
| Slightly Increase | e) Health care | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Highway patrol | ||
| Maintain Status | g) Law enforcement | ||
| Slightly Increase | h) Transportation and highway infrastructure | ||
| Maintain Status | i) Welfare | ||
| Maintain Status | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | b) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | c) Corporate taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | d) Gasoline taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | e) Sales taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | f) Vehicle taxes | ||
| Yes | 1) Should state sales taxes be extended to Internet sales? | ||
| Yes | 2) Should accounts such as a "rainy day" fund be used to balance the state budget? | ||
| Undecided | 3) Should fee increases be used to balance the state budget? | ||
| Our state has run on minimal state support in many areas, including K-12 and post secondary education, for too long. If our state invests in public education at a higher level and value educators more, we will better prepare people for futures in higher education or industry, resulting in a return on our investment. There are many studies that indicate that for every $1 spent on education, there is a nearly $17 return. Increased funding alone cannot prepare our students, though. We must rework our schools as needed in an ever-changing and technologically-charged world. | |||
| I'd like us to continue to look for and close tax loopholes, expecially in the area of gross receipts on such services as energy and data transfers. | |||
| There's a lot of controversy concerning the Trust Funds that our state government has set up, including how much is in these funds, and how much we really need to keep for those "rainy days". Savings accounts in which we utilize the interest can be a great way to protect a state's budget, but we also must be diligent in smartly re-investing our constituent's taxes in order to grow our economy and prepare for the future. | |||
Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding campaign finance and government reform.c) Do you support limiting the following types of contributions to state legislative candidates?
| Yes | a) Do you support the current limit of terms for South Dakota governors? | ||
| No | b) Do you support the current limit of terms for South Dakota state senators and representatives? | ||
| Yes | 1) Individual | ||
| Yes | 2) PAC | ||
| Yes | 3) Corporate | ||
| No | 4) Political Parties | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support requiring full and timely disclosure of campaign finance information? | ||
| No | e) Do you support imposing spending limits on state-level political campaigns? | ||
| No | f) Should South Dakota participate in the federal REAL ID program? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support compiling state budgetary information on a single publicly available website? | ||
| Our citizens should have access to state budgetary information, as well as expect strong communication from their leadership. Government should be transparent and an"open book" as it belongs to all of us. | |||
Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding crime.
| a) Increase state funds for construction of state prisons and hiring of additional prison staff. | |||
| b) Support the death penalty in South Dakota. | |||
| X | c) Support programs to provide prison inmates with vocational and job-related skills and job-placement assistance when released. | ||
| X | d) Implement penalties other than incarceration for certain non-violent offenders. | ||
| X | e) Decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana. | ||
| f) Minors accused of a violent crime should be prosecuted as adults. | |||
| X | g) Support state and local law enforcement officials enforcing federal immigration laws. | ||
| X | h) Support hate crime legislation. | ||
| There are alarming trends in how much our state increased spending for prisons since 1980 (170%) as opposed to education (5%). Comparitavely, Minnesota has increased their spending on prisons 128% and education 131% during the same time. Since much of our prisoner increase has been because of drug use, we must counteract this trend by directing our young people into successful adult lives via strong education, career counseling, and alternative school methods. With mandatory 18 year old attendance next year at our high schools, students will need more support to build skill sets for jobs and more counseling opportunities. | |||
Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding education.
| X | a) Support state funding of universal pre-K programs. | ||
| b) Support federal education standards and testing requirements for K-12 students (No Child Left Behind). | |||
| X | c) Support state education standards and testing requirements for K-12 students. | ||
| d) Support requiring public schools to administer high school exit exams. | |||
| e) Allow parents to use vouchers to send their children to any public school. | |||
| f) Allow parents to use vouchers to send their children to any private or religious school. | |||
| X | g) Provide state funding to increase teacher salaries. | ||
| h) Support using a merit pay system for teachers. | |||
| X | i) Provide state funding for tax incentives and financial aid to help make college more affordable. | ||
| j) Support allowing illegal immigrant high school graduates of South Dakota to pay in-state tuition at public universities. | |||
| Universal pre-k programs: many families view preschool as necessary and pay out of pocket for their children. This is not the case for many underprivileged children, and we should equalize opportunities. NCLB: I think the problems with it far outweigh the gains. I support being accountable, but this needs a lot of work, and has placed enormous bureauractic burden on school districts. Increase teacher salaries: YES, in order to not only value them but to also retain and entice them to teach in SD. Tax incentives: making college more accessible means more well-educated people and a stronger work force. | |||
Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding employment.
| X | a) Increase funding for state job-training programs that re-train displaced workers and teach skills needed in todays job market. | ||
| b) Reduce state government regulations on the private sector. | |||
| X | c) Provide low interest loans and tax credits for starting, expanding, or relocating businesses. | ||
| X | d) Provide tax credits for businesses that provide child care for children in low-income working families. | ||
| X | e) Increase state funds to provide child care for children in low-income working families. | ||
| X | f) Include sexual orientation in South Dakota's anti-discrimination laws. | ||
| X | g) Include gender identity in South Dakota's anti-discrimination laws. | ||
| h) Increase the state minimum wage. | |||
| i) Support laws that prevent employers from dismissing employees at will. | |||
| j) Support financial punishments for those who knowingly employ illegal immigrants. | |||
| X | k) Support increased work requirements for able-bodied welfare recipients. | ||
| X | l) Increase funding for employment and job training programs for welfare recipients. | ||
| The better cared-for our working families are, the more productive they will be. Daycare is a huge concern and an overwhelming cost for many families and they need support. We can also springboard growing industries by providing them with necessary low interest loans and some tax credits or incentives, depending on the economic impact these companies bring. | |||
Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding the environment and energy.
| X | a) Promote increased use of alternative fuel technology. | ||
| X | b) Support increased production of traditional domestic energy sources (e.g. coal, natural gas, oil, etc). | ||
| X | c) Support providing financial incentives to farms that produce biofuel crops. | ||
| X | d) Use state funds to clean up former industrial and commercial sites that are contaminated, unused, or abandoned. | ||
| X | e) Support funding for improvements to South Dakota's power generating and transmission facilities. | ||
| X | f) Support funding for open space preservation. | ||
| X | g) Limit carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases linked to global warming. | ||
| X | h) Enact environmental regulations even if they are stricter than federal law. | ||
| This is an area that I feel strongly about, as South Dakota can and should be a leader in all areas of alternative energy. With sound research and industry implementation, we can not only play our part in creating a more healthy world, but establish economic security for generations to come. | |||
Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding guns.
| Yes | a) Should background checks be required on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows? | ||
| Yes | b) Should citizens be allowed to carry concealed guns? | ||
| No | c) Should a license be required for gun possession? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support current levels of enforcement of existing state restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support current state restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns? | ||
| I think that the laws that are currently in place are sufficient, with the exception of handgun sales at gun shows. These transactions should also be checked via the FBI-National Instant Check System (NICS), the same as other handgun sales. Many people hunt in SD, and we have a right to bear arms, and I'd like to see continued effort to educate our gun owners with hunter's and shooing safety classes. | |||
Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding health.
| X | a) Ensure that citizens have access to basic health care through managed care, insurance reforms, or state-funded care where necessary. | ||
| b) Guaranteed medical care to all citizens is not a responsibility of state government. | |||
| c) Limit the amount of damages that can be awarded in medical malpractice lawsuits. | |||
| X | d) Allow patients to sue their HMOs. | ||
| X | e) Require hospitals and labs to release reports on infections that are a risk to public health, while not compromising patient confidentiality. | ||
| f) Legalize physician assisted suicide in South Dakota. | |||
| g) Support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes. | |||
| A healthy person is a productive person, and keeping SD healthy should be a priority. Many people do not have adequate health insurance and there are accessibility problems with our system. Government should be concerned and provide educational programs, cost-reduction measures, and preventative healthcare opportunities for its citizens. | |||
['Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding social issues.', 'Legislative Priorities']
| Undecided | a) Should South Dakota recognize civil unions between same-sex couples? | ||
| Undecided | b) Should same-sex couples be allowed to marry? | ||
| Undecided | c) Should South Dakota provide state-level spousal rights to same-sex couples? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support a moment of silence in public schools? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support voluntary prayer in public schools? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support sexual education programs that include information on abstinence, contraceptives, and HIV/STD prevention methods? | ||
| No | g) Do you support abstinence-only sexual education programs? | ||
| Yes | h) Should the state government consider race and gender in state government contracting and hiring decisions? | ||
| Yes | i) Do you support affirmative action in public college admissions? | ||
| Yes | j) Should South Dakota continue affirmative action programs? | ||
| Yes | k) Do you support state funding of stem cell research? | ||
| Yes | l) Do you support state funding of embryonic stem cell research? | ||
| Undecided | m) Do you support allowing pharmacists who conscientiously object to emergency contraception to refuse to dispense it? | ||
| n) Other or expanded principles | |||
| My top three priorities are to increase our investment in education, strenthen and develop renewable industry, and strive for transparent governmental practices. By incrementally increasing our investment in education, making our curriculum more relevant to industry and higher education, people will become more successful and build our tax base. By supporting existing industries such as ethanol and emerging bio-fuel production, we will create more higher-paying jobs. As our state does have an undisclosed amount of reserves because of closed-government policies imposed by the current leadership, we need to assess how much we could utilize safely from these accounts. | |||
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