Joseph Benning's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Other or Expanded Principles & Legislative Priorities are entered exactly as candidates submit them. Vote Smart does not edit for misspelled words, punctuation or grammar.
Joseph Benning has failed to provide voters with positions on key issues covered by the 2020 Political Courage Test, despite repeated requests from Vote Smart and voters like you.
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.
Vermont State Legislative Election 2012 Political Courage Test
| Pro-choice | a) Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| Yes | b) Should abortions be illegal after 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) Do you support requiring parental notification before an abortion is performed on a minor? | ||
| No | f) Do you support requiring parental consent before an abortion is performed on a minor? | ||
| No | g) Do you support the prohibition of public funds for abortion procedures? | ||
| No | h) Do you support the prohibition of public funds for organizations that perform abortions? | ||
| i) Other or expanded principles: | |||
1) State Spending:Using the key, indicate what state funding levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one level per category; you may use a number more than once.2) State Taxes:Using the key,indicate what state tax levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one level per category; you may use a number more than once.3) Budget Stabilization:Indicate which proposals you support (if any) for balancing Vermont's budget.
| Slightly Increase | a) Education (higher) | ||
| Slightly Increase | b) Education (K-12) | ||
| Maintain Status | c) Environment | ||
| Slightly Decrease | d) Health care | ||
| Maintain Status | e) Law enforcement/corrections | ||
| Greatly Increase | f) Transportation/infrastructure | ||
| Maintain Status | g) Welfare | ||
| h) Other or expanded categories: | |||
| Maintain Status | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | b) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | c) Corporate taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | d) Gas/Oil taxes | ||
| Greatly Increase | e) Property taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | f) Sales taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | g) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | h) Income taxes (mid-income families) | ||
| Slightly Increase | i) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| j) Other or expanded categories: | |||
| No | a) Tapping into Vermont's "rainy day" fund | ||
| No | b) Increasing tuition rates at public universities | ||
| No | c) Reducing or eliminating public worker collective bargaining | ||
| No | d) Reducing state employee salaries AND/OR pensions | ||
| Yes | e) Instituting mandatory furloughs AND/OR layoffs for state employees | ||
| No | f) Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients | ||
| g) Other or expanded principles: | |||
a) Do you support limits on the following types of contributions for state candidates?
| No | 1) Individual | ||
| No | 2) Political Action Committee | ||
| No | 3) Corporate | ||
| No | 4) Political Party | ||
| No | b) Should candidates for state office be encouraged to meet voluntary spending limits? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support requiring full and timely disclosure of campaign finance information? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support the use of an independent AND/OR bipartisan commission for redistricting? | ||
| No | e) Do you support requiring a government-issued photo identification in order to vote at the polls? | ||
| f) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| No | a) Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support alternatives to incarceration for certain non-violent offenders, such as mandatory counseling or substance abuse treatment? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana? | ||
| Yes | d) Should a minor accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult? | ||
| No | e) Should a minor who sends sexually-explicit or nude photos by cell phone face criminal charges? | ||
| No | f) Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police? | ||
| With respect to issue "d," my answer is overbroad given the inability to explain. I believe decisions on whether to prosecute a minor as an adult should be dealt with on a case-by-case basis. With respect to issue "f," I believe immigration is the role of the federal government, not state or local police. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support increased state funding for job-training programs that re-train displaced workers? | ||
| No | c) Do you support expanding access to unemployment benefits? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support providing financial incentives to the private sector for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support increased spending on infrastructure projects for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| No | f) Do you support providing direct financial assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure? | ||
| g) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support the national Common Core State Standards initiative? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support a merit pay system for teachers? | ||
| Yes | c) Is the tenure process for public school teachers producing effective teachers? | ||
| Yes | d) Should parents be allowed to use vouchers to send their children to any school? | ||
| No | e) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support the state government providing college students with financial aid? | ||
| Yes | g) Should illegal immigrants who graduate from Vermont high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| With respect to issue "a," I support some form of being able to compare school/student progress, but it doesn't necessarily have to be limited to the Common Core State Standards. With respect to issue "c," although generally a tenure process can produce effective teachers, I recognize this system needs some tweaking to eliminate and/or rehabilitate those who have become incompetent or ineffective. With respect to issue "e," I believe the money should follow the student, so I'd be reluctant to provide direct support to the institution. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state funding for the development of alternative energy? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support state funding for the development of traditional domestic energy sources (e.g. coal, natural gas, oil)? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support state funding for improvements to Vermont's energy infrastructure? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support state funding for open space preservation? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support enacting environmental regulations aimed at reducing the effects of climate change? | ||
| No | f) Do you support the construction of mountaintop wind turbines? | ||
| g) Do you support closing the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant? | |||
| For issues "a" through "e," I believe there is a limit to what the state is able to afford, but in general I support these concepts. For issue "g," I believe that issue is now in the hands of the courts, so what I believe is irrelevant. | |||
| a) Do you support restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns? | |||
| No | b) Should background checks be required on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows? | ||
| Yes | c) Should citizens be allowed to carry concealed guns? | ||
| No | d) Should a license be required for gun possession? | ||
| For issue "a," I'm generally against restrictions, but I recognize there must be prohibitions against ownership for those convicted of violent felonies and those who are mentally unstable. | |||
| a) Do you support a universally-accessible, publicly-administered health insurance option? | |||
| Yes | b) Do you support expanding access to health care through commercial health insurance reform? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support interstate health insurance compacts? | ||
| d) Do you support requiring individuals to purchase health care insurance? | |||
| Yes | e) Do you support monetary limits on damages that can be collected in malpractice lawsuits? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes? | ||
| g) Do you support the legalization of physician-assisted suicide for those with a terminal diagnosis and less than six months to live? | |||
| For issue "a," Vermont is headed in this direction over my previous objection. As a fiscal conservative, I now believe my job is to make sure the path we now are embarking on can be sustained. For issue "d," I don't believe the government should mandate purchase by individuals. If government is going to run it, then we can all pay for it through taxes. For issue "g," I personally have no quarrel with those who seek this remedy, but I promised my mother just before she died that I would vote against it and I will honor that promise. | |||
| No | a) Should marriage only be between one man and one woman? | ||
| Yes | b) Should Vermont continue to grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Vermont's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Vermont's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| e) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| My top concern right now is the path Vermont is headed with renewable energy. At a time when we have all the energy we need, we shouldn't be destroying pristine mountain environments in exchange for intermittent wind power that has to be subsidized by both the taxpayer and the ratepayer. With health care, I believe we have an obligation to make sure whatever state program is developed can be financially sustained and can reach the stated objectives. |
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