Michael Hope's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Michael Hope refused to tell citizens where he stands on any of the issues addressed in the 2010 Political Courage Test, despite repeated requests from Vote Smart, national media, and prominent political leaders.
Issue Positions
For Presidential and Congressional candidates who refuse to provide voters with their positions, Vote Smart has researched their public records to determine their likely responses. These issue positions are from 2010.
- Michael Hope. Issue Position: Life and Liberty Issues. "Much can be understood about the civility of a society in observing its regard for the dignity of human life. There cannot be liberty in a society unless the rights of all innocents are protected. The right of an innocent, unborn child to life is at the heart of the American ideals of liberty. I am strongly pro life, but strongly opposed to the Federal government unconstitutionally meddling in this very important matter. The federal government was never granted this authority by the people and their respective states in the US Constitution. Therefore the matter falls to the states and the local governments. Just as other matters such as life, murder, violence and other crimes are undertaken by state and local authorities. I would work to negate the effect of Roe v Wade by introducing legislation to remove the ability of the federal courts to interfere with state legislation to protect life. This is a practical, direct approach to ending federal court tyranny which threatens our constitutional republic and has caused the deaths of 45 million of the unborn and possibly millions more in the future." (votesmart.org)
- Despite exhaustive research, Vote Smart was unable to find information about this candidate's position.
- Michael Hope. 2010. Liberty Central: Questionnaire For 2010 Congressional Candidates. Responded NO to the question: "Are there any circumstances under which you would vote for a program similar to TARP or other federal bailouts?" (libertycentral.s3.amazonaws.com)
- Michael Hope. Issue Position: Social Security. "Our nation's promise to its seniors, once considered a sacred trust, has become little more than a tool for politicians to scare retirees while robbing them of their promised benefits. Today, the Social Security system is broke. Those in the system are seeing their benefits dwindle due to higher taxes, increasing inflation, and irresponsible public spending. The proposed solutions, ranging from lower benefits to higher taxes to increasing the age of eligibility, are NOT solutions; they are betrayals. I will work to repeal ALL taxes on Social Security benefits, to eliminate political theft of our seniors' income and raise their standard of living. Solvency is the key to keeping our promise to our seniors. We have to protect the Social security Trust fund from unscrupulous Bureaucrats. It is fundamentally unfair to give benefits to anyone who has not paid into the system. Therefore I am against giving illegal aliens the fruits of your labor. This is tantamount to wealth distribution and Welfare to illegal aliens. I'm for the eventual phasing out of this unconstitutional system of down right theft and fraud, for those in future who will be entering the workforce. It should be left up to the States and the individual to decide what kind of retirement plan that he or she wants and needs. Only the individual knows his or her future personal financial plans for retirement, Not out of touch Washington Bureaucrats. Those who have paid into this Unconstitutional Government scam all these years should benefit from what they have paid into it. Their benefits need protection." (votesmart.org)
- Despite exhaustive research, Vote Smart was unable to find information about this candidate's position.
- Michael Hope. Issue Position: Education. "The federal government does not own our children. Yet we act as if it does by letting it decide when, how, and what our children will learn. We have turned their futures over to lobbyists and bureaucrats. I support giving educational control back to parents, who know their children better than any politician in Washington ever will. The federal government has no constitutional authority to fund or control schools. I want to abolish the unconstitutional, wasteful Department of Education and return its functions back to the states. By removing the federal subsidies that inflate costs, schools can be funded by local taxes, and parents and teachers can directly decide how best to allocate the resources." (votesmart.org)
- Michael Hope. 2010. Liberty Central: Questionnaire For 2010 Congressional Candidates. Responded YES to the question: "Do you oppose government regulation of greenhouse gas emissions?" (libertycentral.s3.amazonaws.com)
- Michael Hope. Issue Position: Energy. "Government regulations, taxes, and corporate subsidies have distorted the energy market, causing some prices to rise above what they would be in the free market, while artificially lowering other prices and discouraging conservation. The costs of energy subsidies are hidden in your tax bill so the government can silently withhold them from your wallet with each paycheck. As your Congressman, I will work to restore a free-market in energy. In particular, I will seek for Congress to repeal federal regulations and taxes that hinder the development of new energy sources. Such policies give government bureaucrats the power to pick winners and losers, and cause resources to be devoted to those producers with the most political clout rather than to the producers who are best able to meet the needs of consumers. Alternative sources should prove their viability in the free market. Any source that truly is cheaper and cleaner, yet still reliable, will not need government help to develop or sell... Clean, safe, and reliable energy is far too important to leave to the political whims of Washington bureaucrats. Its time to drill here, drill now, pay less and let the market work out the problems of production and cost. We need Get the government out of the energy market altogether." (votesmart.org)
- Despite exhaustive research, Vote Smart was unable to find information about this candidate's position.
- Michael Hope. 2010. Liberty Central: Questionnaire For 2010 Congressional Candidates. Responded YES to the question: "Would you support repealing the Obama Health Care Bill, including the individual mandate?" (libertycentral.s3.amazonaws.com)
- Michael Hope. Issue Position: Health Care. "Health care is not a right in The US Constitution. It certainly is not any one of the 17 enumerated powers of Congress in Art.1 Sec.8 of The US Constitution. Therefore the Matter falls to the States and the people to take up such a measure. Just to name a few unconstitutional programs undertaken by the Federal Government over the past 80 years or so being Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid which are all unconstitutional. That is why even they must eventually be phased out over a period of time, rather than abruptly, as to not cause major disruptions in current needs of seniors and the indigent. There are free market solutions to these needs of seniors and the indigent. The market worked out these concerns very efficiently prior to 1965 with the inception of Medicare and socially engineered and centrally planned health care economies by government. Which only served to drive up health care cost through government subsidies, burdensome regulations and state government imposed monopolies. Bottom line, we don't need these same incompetent bureaucrats, who have ran everything that they have put their greedy hands to, into insolvency, taking over the health care industry. Let the profit and loss feed back mechanism of the free market preserve our medical resources from political waste and corruption." (votesmart.org)
- Michael Hope. 2010. Liberty Central: Questionnaire For 2010 Congressional Candidates. Responded YES to the question: "Do you support a border enforcement first policy for defending Americas borders?" (libertycentral.s3.amazonaws.com)
- Michael Hope. Issue Position: Border Security and Immigration. "No amnesty for illegal aliens." (votesmart.org)
- Michael Hope. 2010. Liberty Central: Questionnaire For 2010 Congressional Candidates. Responded "It demands more of a repealing of the unconstitutional laws that violate our private property rights and 2nd Amendment rights to protect that property." to the question: "Does the War on Terror demand more of a military response or a law enforcement response?" (libertycentral.s3.amazonaws.com)
- Michael Hope. Issue Position: Foreign Policy. "We can continue to fund and fight no-win police actions around the globe and continue policing the world and nation building, or we can refocus on securing America and bring our troops home to defend the homeland. No war should ever be fought without a declaration of war voted upon by the Congress, as required by the Constitution. Under no circumstances should the U.S. again go to war as the result of a resolution that comes from an unelected, foreign body, such as the United Nations. Too often we have supported those who turn on us, like the Kosovo's who aid Islamic terrorists, or the Afghan jihadists themselves, and their friend Osama bin Laden. We armed and trained them, and now we're paying the price. At the same time, we must not isolate ourselves. The generosity of the American people has been felt around the globe. Many have thanked God for it, in many languages. Let us have a strong America, conducting open trade, travel, communication, and diplomacy with other nations. Peace, commerce and friendship was the advise of the founders." (votesmart.org)
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