Brandon Stewart's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Brandon Stewart has demonstrated Political Courage by telling citizens where he stands on the issues he may face if elected.
Tennessee Congressional Election 2012 Political Courage Test
| Yes | Do you support United States' combat operations in Afghanistan? | ||
| Yes | Do you support a timetable for withdrawal from Afghanistan? | ||
| I always support our troops. However, I do believe we need to bring our troops home. Let's get them out of Afghanistan and only keep in enough troops to support UN efforts with the least amount of danger to our soldiers. | |||
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? | ||
| Yes | do you support reducing Medicaid spending? | ||
| Yes | do you support reducing Medicare spending? | ||
| Yes | Is balancing the budget a legislative priority? | ||
| I think that spending on defense, medicaid and medicare are all valuable forms of spending. However, we need to take a look at how much money is being spent if we plan on reducing our country's debt. Balancing the budget, and reducing debt, through all researched and intelligent means should be examined. Taxes may have to go up too, but that is the only way we will correct the financial problems facing this country. If I owe $2000 to a bank for a credit card, I have to pay it off. The government must pay off debt quickly! | |||
| Yes | Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions? | ||
| I feel that there is too much interaction between government and business sectors. They should be separated much more. This includes campaign contributions (in any form). I am not taking any contributions at all, let alone from businesses. The money used in campaigns could go to a much greater good than an election campaign (like any charity or food bank). | |||
| No | Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| Much like my view on abortion, I believe that life is sacred. I do not believe that capital punishment succeeds as a deterrent, nor does it change the fact that a crime was committed. I understand that victims like retribution for crimes done, but as a society we must rise above individual vengeance when upholding our version of law. | |||
| No | 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? | ||
| No | Do you support the temporary extension of unemployment benefits? | ||
| No | Do you support the 2010 temporary extension of tax relief? | ||
| I do like infrastructure projects, which I deem very valuable. But, I don't like projects being created for the sole purpose of job creation. These projects do employ many people, which does create income for workers. That's good! Though, the government needs to be less involved with business entities. Furthermore, spending money on unemployment benefits and tax relief is not doing a good job of boosting our currently low economy. Let's focus on spending that money elsewhere, like investment in education, research, or paying down the national debt. | |||
| No | Do you support requiring states to implement education reforms in order to be eligible for competitive federal grants? | ||
| While I do think our country, as a whole, needs a stronger education system, I don't believe that eligibility requirements have helped. There is too much focus on standardized testing (thanks to "No Child Left Behind"). Let's see more emphasis on reading, math, and science. If the federal government can get out of debt, I would fully support paying more money toward education at the federal level. However, a national education requirement needs to focus on more than just scantron tests. | |||
| Yes | Do you support reducing restrictions on offshore energy production? | ||
| Absolutely. As I've said in a few answers now, there should be fewer connections between government and business. The 1 caveat to this, though, is when the off shore production could endanger the people living on the coasts as well as the wildlife in those offshore areas. Remember the BP oil spill in the Gulf? I would like to see more research and creation relating to naturally safe energy, which could be off shore. I've seen windmill farms that are being moved into the ocean, so something along those lines might be great and safe. | |||
| No | Do you believe that human activity is contributing to climate change? | ||
| Yes | Do you support the federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| While I don't believe climate change is happening because of human activity, I also don't think all of the pollutants that are put into the air/sea are good for us. I don't think that federal regulation is a good thing, but I would like to see industries that are polluting and causing harm to human beings be stopped. See my off shore energy answer. Both answers are basically the same, as I want to see industry do its own thing until it is harmful. | |||
| No | Do you support restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns? | ||
| I fully support a person's right to bear arms, as stated in the US constitution, so long as they fulfill state law requirements for licenses or classes. There should be no federal restriction. | |||
| 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? | ||
| I would be glad to repeal the Affordable care act and change my stance on the mandate, so long as those people that choose not to buy health insurance will be 100% responsible for their costs at time of service (via hospitals, individual doctors, etc.). I don't want to pay the bill for someone that isn't being responsible and may need a doctor's services. We need to ensure all Americans can receive health care. I don't like the idea that your company is responsible for your healthcare. Let's separate business and government while still ensuring all Americans lead healthy lives. | |||
| 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? | ||
| I support legal immigration and oppose illegal immigration. I support the deportation of illegal immigrants and securing our borders. I am glad to invite minors that were brought here illegally as children to apply for citizenship. If they are not pursuing citizenship application seriously and quickly, then they should be returned to their country of origin. | |||
| No | Do you support same-sex marriage? | ||
| I do support a civil union between 2 people. Marriage is a religious institution and I don't like government being in the business of marriage. The government should give the same benefits to any two people that have formed a legal union, be that same sex or not. | |||
| No | 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 think we need to bring our troops in the middle east back home. The US is too focused on preventing terror and weapon creation through methods of war. It is those methods that escalate countries, like Iran, into creating nuclear weaponry. It is that escalation that causes strife and helps create terrorism. Iran having a nuclear weapon isn't really a problem unless they use it. What reason do they have to use it? Have we given them reason to fear our military power in their region? Yes. Both sides have reason to fear and we must end that fear. | |||
| No | Do you support allowing individuals to divert a portion of their Social Security taxes into personal retirement accounts? | ||
| Social Security is just that. If you want to save for retirement with a personal account, there are many avenues to take so that you can do so. I do think that we need to balance our budget and pay off our national debt, so that we can invest in social security and the retirement of all US citizens. | |||
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.
| Maintain Status | a) Agriculture | ||
| Maintain Status | b) Arts | ||
| Greatly Decrease | c) Defense | ||
| Slightly Increase | d) Education | ||
| Maintain Status | e) Environment | ||
| Eliminate | f) Homeland Security | ||
| Eliminate | g) International aid | ||
| Slightly Increase | h) Medical Research | ||
| Slightly Increase | i) Scientific Research | ||
| Slightly Increase | j) Space exploration | ||
| Greatly Decrease | k) United Nations | ||
| Slightly Decrease | l) Welfare | ||
| m) Other or expanded categories | |||
| Greatly Increase | a) Capital gains taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | b) Corporate taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | c) Excise taxes (alcohol) | ||
| Slightly Increase | d) Excise taxes (cigarettes) | ||
| Greatly Decrease | e) Excise taxes (transportation fuel) | ||
| Slightly Increase | f) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Slightly Increase | g) Income taxes (middle-income families) | ||
| Slightly Increase | h) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| Eliminate | i) Inheritance taxes | ||
| Eliminate | j) Payroll taxes | ||
| I would only vote on a tax increase if there was also a solid plan for lowering national spending AND the money was ear marked for paying down the deficit. A pledge to no new taxes is unrealistic. I do think taxes will need to go up to pay off the deficit. However, I am not sure what the right percent is or for how long. An excise tax on non essentials, like alcohol and cigarettes makes a lot of sense to me. However, transportation is a necessity for most people and should see a reduction in tax. | |||
| 1: The salary standard for congress is too high. I want to see this reduced by ~$70-100k. 2: Members of Congress should not be in office for life. There should be term limits instated for all serving as congressional representatives. 3: A congressman leaving office today should not be a lobbyist in Washington tomorrow. I will request a limitation on the ability to leave office and immediately serve as a Washington insider lobbying for special interests. I want to see more accountability and a reduction in spending by our federal government. |
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