Iowa State Legislative Election 2016 Political Courage Test

Abortion & Reproductive

1. Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation?
- No Answer

2. Should abortions be illegal after the first trimester of pregnancy?
- No Answer

3. Should abortion be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape?
- No Answer

4. Should abortion be legal when the life of the woman is endangered?
- No Answer

5. Do you support requiring parental notification before an abortion is performed on a minor?
- Yes

6. Do you support requiring parental consent before an abortion is performed on a minor?
- Yes

7. Do you support the prohibition of public funds for abortion procedures?
- Yes

8. Do you support the prohibition of public funds for organizations that perform abortions?
- No

9. Other or expanded principles
- I do not feel that I am qualified to decide anything on this matter. Personally I am pro-life, however I'm not going to pretend that I have a better idea than anyone else has on these issues. This is a decision between a woman, her family, and her doctors, period. The only way to respect the rights of all citizens is to allow them to make personal decisions themselves. Education is the key in matters such as this.

Budget, Spending, & Tax

1. Tapping into Iowa's "rainy day" fund
- No

2. Decreasing funding for public universities
- Yes

3. Reducing state employee salaries AND/OR pensions
- Yes

4. Instituting mandatory furloughs AND/OR layoffs for state employees
- Yes

5. Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients
- No

6. Other or expanded principles
- If we really want to balance and stabilize our budget, we should first work to end the rampant corruption and cronyism that is prevalent in the statehouse. The government should protect the people and regulate corporations not protect corporation and regulate the people. Taxation is theft and we need to be working to decrease government and spending in the public sector instead of continuing to grow government and return individual liberty back to the people of Iowa.

1. Education (higher)
- Maintain Status

2. Education (K-12)
- Maintain Status

3. Environment
- Slightly Increase

4. Health care
- Maintain Status

5. Law enforcement/corrections
- Maintain Status

6. Transportation/infrastructure
- Maintain Status

7. Welfare
- Greatly Decrease

8. Other or expanded categories
- We are constitutionally restricted in funding education and environmental issues however we need to get the government out of education except for funding and put the power back into the hands of the parents, teachers, and communities. We also need to look into green technology to supplement our current fossil fuels, but only if they are viable on their own without subsidizing. Obviously if the goal is to shrink government then we eventually want all of these issues to come down drastically, but being pragmatic about it is the key.

1. Alcohol taxes
- Eliminate

2. Cigarette taxes
- Eliminate

3. Corporate taxes
- Eliminate

4. Small business taxes
- Eliminate

5. Gas/Oil taxes
- Eliminate

6. Property taxes
- Eliminate

7. Sales taxes
- Eliminate

8. Income taxes (low-income families)
- Eliminate

9. Income taxes (mid-income families)
- Eliminate

10. Income taxes (high-income families)
- Eliminate

11. Do you support applying sales taxes to all online purchases?
- No

12. Other or expanded principles
- Once again, TAXATION IS THEFT, but we need to pragmatically work to eliminate unjust progressive taxation by gradually reducing it and returning control back to the private sector and switching to a fair flat or consumption tax.

Campaign Finance & Government Reform

1. Individual
- No

2. Political Action Committee
- Yes

3. Corporate
- Yes

4. Political Party
- No

5. Should candidates for state office be encouraged to meet voluntary spending limits?
- No

6. Do you support requiring full and timely disclosure of campaign finance information?
- Yes

7. Do you support the use of an independent AND/OR bipartisan commission for redistricting?
- Yes

8. Do you support requiring a government-issued photo identification in order to vote at the polls?
- No

1. Other or expanded principles
- I would support a government issued voter ID if and only if it was provided at no cost to the taxpayers, otherwise it would be in direct violation of the 24th amendment. As far as campaign finance, we need to eliminate the corruption that is corporate cronyism inside the Iowa Statehouse. I cannot find one politician that hasn't taken a single dime from special or corporate interests and the results is a severe impingement on all of our individual liberties.

Crime & Public Safety

1. Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes?
- No

2. Do you support alternatives to incarceration for certain non-violent offenders, such as mandatory counseling or substance abuse treatment?
- Yes

3. Do you support legalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana?
- Yes

4. Should a minor accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult?
- No

5. Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police?
- No Answer

6. Do you support delaying the seizure of assets by law enforcement officials until after a conviction?
- Yes

7. Other or expanded principles
- The state couldn't manage to run a hot dog cart on Grand Ave. correctly let alone be in charge of someone's life. I do not support mandatory anything by the state but I do support the repeal of all non-violent victimless laws that merely generate revenue for the state while violating the rights of citizens. Possession and use of cannabis would fall under these guidelines. Federal laws should be handle by the federal government as authorized by the US Constitution and the government has no right to private property.

Economic

1. Do you support government spending as a means of promoting economic growth?
- No

2. Do you support lowering taxes as a means of promoting economic growth?
- Yes

3. Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector?
- Yes

4. Do you support increased state funding for job-training programs that re-train displaced workers?
- No

5. Do you support expanding access to unemployment benefits?
- No Answer

6. Do you support requiring welfare applicants to pass a drug test in order to receive benefits?
- No

7. Do you support providing financial incentives to the private sector for the purpose of job creation?
- No

8. Do you support providing direct financial assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure?
- No

9. Do you support an increase of the minimum wage?
- No

10. Should employers be able to ask about applicants' criminal history before interviewing them?
- No

11. Other or expanded principles
- We cannot tax ourselves into prosperity. The free market must be exactly that. Free. Businesses fail and that is the market's way of resetting itself. The only job of the government is to protect of natural rights and provide access to the courts to air grievances, provide another check against the federal government, and be laboratories for democracy as provided under the 10th amendment. If social welfare recipients should be able to pass a drug test then corporate welfare recipients should have to as well. Minimum wage isn't the problem, taxes & regulations are. Violent felonies only on letter j.

Education

1. Do you support the national Common Core State Standards initiative?
- No

2. Do you support a merit pay system for teachers?
- Yes

3. Is the tenure process for public school teachers producing effective teachers?
- Yes

4. Should parents be allowed to use vouchers to send their children to any school?
- Yes

5. Do you support state funding for charter schools?
- Yes

6. Do you support the state government providing college students with financial aid?
- Yes

7. Should illegal immigrants who graduate from Iowa high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities?
- No

8. Other or expanded principles
- Abolish Comon/Iowa Core, teachers deserve merit pay not special interest pay, tenure protects academic freedom and minority rights, parents should have the ultimate say in their children's interests, charter schools are a viable alternative to public school, the system we live in today dictates financial aid and better state than federal, and illegal ANYONE shouldn't be eligible for for anything public. We wouldn't hire illegal felons as teachers would we?

Environment & Energy

1. Do you support state funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, thermal)?
- No

2. Do you support state funding for the development of traditional domestic energy sources (e.g. coal, natural gas, oil)?
- No

3. Do you support state funding for improvements to Iowa's energy infrastructure?
- Yes

4. Do you support state funding for open space preservation?
- Yes

5. Do you support government regulations of greenhouse gas emissions?
- Yes

6. Do you support increased regulations of the hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") industry?
- Yes

7. Do you support passing additional regulations on the agricultural industry in order to reduce water pollution?
- Yes

8. Other or expanded principles
- Although I don't mind minimal subsidization upon start up for green energy, it should be tapered off and the business should be allowed to fend for itself in the marketplace. Same goes for traditional fossil fuels. I also support the legalization of industrial cannabis as a source of biofuel and believe it is light years beyond ethanol in this regard. Unfortunately our current infrastructure is in shambles and has to be fixed. Who's in charge of that anyways?? I think our Founders made a mistake by not regarding pollution & environmental factors into Constitution & should be left to states.

Gun

1. Do you generally support gun-control legislation?
- No

2. Should background checks be required on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows?
- No

3. Should citizens be allowed to carry concealed guns?
- Yes

4. Should a license be required for gun possession?
- No

5. Other or expanded principles
- Our right to self preservation is one of the greatest rights we have and shall not be infringed. Criminals will always find a way to circumvent the law so gun laws are useless in this regard. A basic course testing that an individual has all the necessary requirements is all that should be needed. We shouldn't have to pay the state $300 to protect out hearing by having a silencer on our guns just as we shouldn't have to pay the state for use of any of our rights.

Health

1. Do you support a universally-accessible, publicly-administered health insurance option?
- No

2. Do you support expanding access to health care through commercial health insurance reform?
- Yes

3. Do you support interstate health insurance compacts?
- Yes

4. Do you support Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare")?
- No

5. Do you support requiring individuals to purchase health care insurance?
- No

6. Do you support monetary limits on damages that can be collected in malpractice lawsuits?
- No

7. Do you support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes?
- Yes

8. Do you support allowing terminally ill patients to utilize experimental treatments that have not yet been approved by the Food and Drug Administration?
- Yes

9. Other or expanded principles
- Article I, Section 10 or our Constitution allows states the right to enter into agreements with other states for their common benefit. Thomas Jefferson also believed that a confederation of states was much stronger than the federal government when it came to the rights of the states and its citizens. The state shouldn't be involved in mandating anyone if they don't wish to participate. Healthcare should be exposed to the free market just like any other occupation and would drop the cost of care considerably. Access to medicinal cannabis is a necessity for those families with suffering loved ones.

Social

1. Do you support same-sex marriage?
- Yes

2. Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Iowa's anti-discrimination laws?
- Yes

3. Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Iowa's anti-discrimination laws?
- Yes

4. Do you support legalizing physician-assisted suicide in Iowa?
- Yes

5. Other or expanded principles
- Government has no right to tell anyone who they can associate with or love. We need to get government out of matters such as this where they don't belong. I believe we are all born with the same natural rights whether black, white, purple, LGBT or whatever and anti-discrimination laws only create entitlement classes but like in the case of civil rights movement government intervention was necessary. In this day and age if you still discriminate, you're just ignorant, even though that's the right of every individual. As long as the assisted suicide is voluntary by the patient its ok.

Legislative Priorities

In the following area, please explain in a total of 100 words or less, your top two or three priorities if elected. If they require additional funding for implementation, please explain how you would obtain this funding.
- To reduce government and spending by auditing at the administrative level and eliminating all waste they encumber upon individual liberty. A large part of this will be possible by implementing blockchain technology which will give the constituents 100% transparency in all matters and eliminate unnecessary positions. Then we can work on reforming taxes by gradually facilitating a fair flat of consumption tax, gradually reducing it each year and still making sure all constitutionally authorized matters are paid for. Finally, legalization of medicinal and industrial cannabis giving the sick the medicine they need and giving Iowa farmers another cash crop option.