Anthony Musto'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.
Anthony Musto refused to tell citizens where he 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.
Connecticut 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. | |||
| d) Abortions should be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape. | |||
| e) Abortions should be legal when the life of the woman is endangered. | |||
| f) Abortions should be subject to a mandatory waiting period. | |||
| g) Require clinics to give parental notification before performing abortions on minors. | |||
| All tough choices. Leave government out of it. | |||
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.
| Maintain Status | a) Education (Higher) | ||
| Slightly Increase | b) Education (K-12) | ||
| Maintain Status | c) Emergency preparedness | ||
| Slightly Increase | d) Environment | ||
| Slightly Increase | e) Health care | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Law enforcement | ||
| Slightly Increase | g) Transportation and highway infrastructure | ||
| Maintain Status | h) Welfare | ||
| Greatly Increase | i) Other or expanded categories | ||
| Maintain Status | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | b) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | c) Corporate taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | d) Gasoline taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | e) Income taxes (incomes below $75,000) | ||
| f) Income taxes (incomes above $75,000) | |||
| Maintain Status | g) Sales taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | h) Vehicle taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | i) Other or expanded categories | ||
| Yes | 1) Should state sales taxes be extended to Internet sales? | ||
| No | 2) Should accounts such as a "rainy day" fund be used to balance the state budget? | ||
| No | 3) Should fee increases be used to balance the state budget? | ||
| No | 4) Should the business entity tax be repealed? | ||
| No | 5) Should the business entity tax be repealed on small businesses? | ||
| Infrastructure for utilities and rehabilitation of older properties to attract business and investment. | |||
| Regarding f - $75,000 is too low, especially if it is for married/joint filers. Income taxes should be graduated as in the federal system, but at a higher level. Generally - An earned income tax credit should be available for low income families as well, as should some portion of healthcare costs. Property and sales taxes should have exemptions built in to make them progressive de facto. | |||
| Regarding 1 - internet purchases are taxable already, called a use tax and payable on the state return Regarding 3 - fees should only be used to offset costs of services, not to raise revenue Regarding 4 and 5 - the tax should be determined by the business size - not repealed entirely but graduated. Government still has expenses related to organizing and monitering businesses and the businesses are granted limited liability in return. | |||
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?
| No | a) Do you support limiting the number of terms for Connecticut governors? | ||
| No | b) Do you support limiting the number of terms for Connecticut state senators and representatives? | ||
| Yes | 1) Individual | ||
| Yes | 2) PAC | ||
| Yes | 3) Corporate | ||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| Undecided | f) Should Connecticut participate in the federal REAL ID program? | ||
| g) Other or expanded principles | |||
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 Connecticut. | |||
| 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. | ||
| X | f) Minors accused of a violent crime should be prosecuted as adults. | ||
| g) Support state and local law enforcement officials enforcing federal immigration laws. | |||
| h) Support hate crime legislation. | |||
| i) Support a three-strikes law for individuals convicted of three violent felonies. | |||
| f - Depends upon the severity of the crime and the age of the minor i - Experienced prosecutors and judges should determine appropriate charges and sentences, and all violent crimes should carry heavy sentences to begin with. | |||
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. | ||
| X | 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. | ||
| X | j) Support allowing illegal immigrant high school graduates of Connecticut to pay in-state tuition at public universities. | ||
| j - Children brought to this state by their parents should be allowed to be treated as in-state residents if they satisfy the same requirements (that is, provable residency, paying taxes, etc.) as someone who moves here from another state. | |||
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 today's 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. | ||
| f) Include gender identity in Connecticut's anti-discrimination laws. | |||
| X | g) Increase the state minimum wage. | ||
| h) Support laws that prevent employers from dismissing employees at will. | |||
| i) Support financial punishments for those who knowingly employ illegal immigrants. | |||
| X | j) Support increased work requirements for able-bodied welfare recipients. | ||
| X | k) Increase funding for employment and job training programs for welfare recipients. | ||
| g - Minimum wage should be adjusted for inflation. | |||
Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding the environment and energy.
| X | a) Promote increased use of alternative fuel technology. | ||
| 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 Connecticut'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. | ||
| i) Other or expanded principles | |||
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? | ||
| Yes | c) Should a license be required for gun possession? | ||
| No | d) Do you support current levels of enforcement of existing state restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns? | ||
| No | e) Do you support current state restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns? | ||
| All guns should be registered and all transactions reported. | |||
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. | |||
| X | c) Support allowing municipalities, nonprofits and small businesses to buy into the state employees' health insurance plan. | ||
| d) Limit the amount of damages that can be awarded in medical malpractice lawsuits. | |||
| X | e) Allow patients to sue their HMOs. | ||
| X | f) Require hospitals and labs to release reports on infections that are a risk to public health, while not compromising patient confidentiality. | ||
| g) Legalize physician assisted suicide in Connecticut. | |||
| X | h) Support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes. | ||
| i) Other or expanded principles | |||
['Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding social issues.', 'Legislative Priorities']
| Yes | a) Should Connecticut continue to recognize civil unions between same-sex couples? | ||
| Yes | b) Should same-sex couples be allowed to marry? | ||
| Yes | c) Should Connecticut provide state-level spousal rights to same-sex couples? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support a moment of silence in public schools? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| No | h) Should the state government consider race and gender in state government contracting and hiring decisions? | ||
| No | i) Do you support affirmative action in public college admissions? | ||
| No | j) Should Connecticut 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? | ||
| No | m) Do you support allowing pharmacists who conscientiously object to emergency contraception to refuse to dispense it? | ||
| n) Other or expanded principles | |||
| Reform property, income and sales tax systems to make all progressive and/or graduated. Foster alternative energy projects and economic growth to lower costs/taxes. Allow municipalities and businesses to buy into the state healthcare pool. Improve early childhood education/interention with learning problems. | |||
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