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Ruth McClung's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)

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Official Position: Candidate addressed this issue directly by taking the Political Courage Test.
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What is the Political Courage Test?

Arizona 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?
Yes c) Should abortion be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape?
Yes 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?
I believe women deserve to have all the information when they are determining when to have an abortion or not. This includes cases of rape and incest. Many women have more trauma in the future from the abortion then they did from the rape. We also need to utilize tools such as a sonogram so that women can make and informed decision.

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.

a) Agriculture
b) Arts
c) Defense
1) Intelligence operations
2) Military hardware
3) National missile defense
4) Salary and benefits for active duty personnel
5) Programs to improve troop retention rates
6) Research and development of new weapons
d) Education
e) Environment
f) Homeland security
g) International aid
h) Medical research
i) Scientific research
j) Space exploration
k) United Nations
l) Welfare
a) Alcohol taxes
Eliminate b) Capital gains taxes
c) Cigarette taxes
Greatly Decrease d) Corporate taxes
e) Gasoline taxes
Slightly Decrease f) Income taxes (low-income families)
Slightly Decrease g) Income taxes (middle-income families)
Slightly Decrease h) Income taxes (high-income families)
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?
We need to balance the budget. I would propose using the method of Zero-Based Budgeting. We need to prioritize our spending and not spend more than we make! I would personally put things such as ?Boosting the Economy? and ?National Security? (Military, Home-Land-Security, and Missile Defense) at the top and issues like ?art? at the bottom.
We need a simplified tax system. I would support a flat tax or a simplified step function flat tax system. An example would be 10% tax on the first $100,000 and 25% for any money made after that as an example. I do not have a problem with taxes on a product (gasoline, cigarettes, alcohol) as long as the funds are ONLY used for matters that pertain to the product. An example would be; Gasoline taxes should be used for road maintenance etc.
If those government funds are tax cuts I would support them to help stimulate and improve the economy. I don't believe that government spending improves the economy.
Yes 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?
I do support "Right to Work" states. I do not support card check.
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?
c) Do you support removing all contribution limits on federal campaigns?
Yes 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?
Yes f) Do you support limiting the President's ability to define how legislation is applied through the use of signing statements?
I am disgusted with how much money plays a role in political campaigns, but what I find is honest people work hard to follow the rules and dishonest people find loop holes. When I brought this up the FEC, I needed to hire a lawyer (which I could not afford) if I wanted my competitors to follow the same rules I am following. Everyone needs to follow the rules or we need to get rid on them. Our current method hurts the honest people.
Yes 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?
No d) Do you support reduced prison sentences for non-violent offenders?
Yes e) Do you support mandatory prison sentences for selling illegal drugs?
f) Other or expanded principles
No b) Do you support federal funding for universal pre-K programs?
Yes c) Do you support federal funding for charter schools?
Yes d) Do you support federal funding for K-12 school vouchers?
e) Do you support the federal government providing college students with financial aid?
No a) Do you support federal education standards and testing requirements for K-12 students?
I believe the federal government needs to get out of much of state education. We need to give more flexibility to those who are local (such as parents, teachers, and school boards). Schools and students are different across the country. I to believe there should be standards for when children graduate, such as the ability to read and write in English and basic math, science, history, and economics. When students graduate from High School they should be on a level that can get them into a basic college if they so desire.
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?
Yes f) Do you support federal funding for the development of alternative energy?
Yes g) Do you support the development of nuclear reactors?
I am a big fan of nuclear energy. It is clean, cheap, safe, and efficient.
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?
No a) Do you support restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns?
I do not support most restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns. An example of a restriction I would support is preventing people who have been charged with a violent crime from owning guns.
No a) Do you support a publicly-administered health insurance option?
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?
d) Do you support monetary limits on damages that can be collected in malpractice lawsuits?
e) Do you support relaxing regulations on the importation of prescription drugs?
I support some form of tort reform.
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?
e) Other or expanded principles
Yes a) Do you support United States military action in Afghanistan?
Yes b) Do you support increasing military assistance for Afghanistan?
Yes c) Do you support increasing economic development assistance for Afghanistan?
Yes d) Should the United States continue to strike suspected terrorist targets in Pakistan?
Yes e) Do you support granting aid to countries when it is in the security interests of the United States?
f) Should the United States support the creation of a Palestinian state?
Yes g) Do you support increasing sanctions on Iran if it continues to defy United Nations mandates?
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?
j) Other or expanded principles
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?
e) Other or expanded principles
My top priorities would be to balance the budget and improve the economy. I would suggest using the zero-based-budgeting to balance the budget. I would suggest tax cuts and using free market economics to improve the economy. This would also include removing and defending government legislation that is hurting our economy, such as the government take over of healthcare, and the Dodd-Frank financial regulation bill. We also need to protect our countries security. This will include securing our border and fighting terrorists.

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