OnTheIssues.org


Home Issues Leaders Recent Grid Archive Senate House VoteMatch_Quiz FAQs
 2020 Election:  Joe Biden's book Cory Booker's book Pete Buttigieg's book Kamala Harris' book Bernie Sanders' book Donald Trump's book  2018 Senate   Debates 
Books by and about 2020 presidential candidates
Crippled America,
by Donald J. Trump (2015)
Fire and Fury,
by Michael Wolff (2018)
Trump Revealed,
by Michael Kranish and Marc Fisher (2016)
The Making of Donald Trump,
by David Cay Johnston (2016)
Promise Me, Dad ,
by Joe Biden (2017)
The Book of Joe ,
by Jeff Wilser (2019; biography of Joe Biden)
The Truths We Hold,
by Kamala Harris (2019)
Smart on Crime,
by Kamala Harris (2010)
Guide to Political Revolution,
by Bernie Sanders (2017)
Where We Go From Here,
by Bernie Sanders (2018)
Our Revolution,
by Bernie Sanders (2016)
This Fight Is Our Fight,
by Elizabeth Warren (2017)
United,
by Cory Booker (2016)
Conscience of a Conservative,
by Jeff Flake (2017)
Two Paths,
by Gov. John Kasich (2017)
Every Other Monday,
by Rep. John Kasich (2010)
Courage is Contagious,
by John Kasich (1998)
Shortest Way Home,
by Pete Buttigieg (2019)
Becoming,
by Michelle Obama (2018)
Higher Loyalty,
by James Comey (2018)
The Making of Donald Trump,
by David Cay Johnston (2017)
Trump vs. Hillary On The Issues ,
by Jesse Gordon (2016)
Outsider in the White House,
by Bernie Sanders (2015)
Book Reviews

(from Amazon.com)

(click a book cover for a review or other books by or about the presidency from Amazon.com)

2013-2014 Political Courage Test and legislative records, by Project Vote Smart


    Click on a participant to pop-up their full list of quotations
    from Congressional/Gubernatorial 2014 Political Courage Test (number of quotes indicated):
  • Amy Stephens (7) Republican Challenger (withdrawn) Colorado
  • Chris McDaniel (2) Republican challenger Mississippi
  • David Zuckerman (9) Vermont Democratic Gubernatorial Challenger
  • Deborah Ross (2) Democratic Senate candidate North Carolina
  • Gary Palmer (7) Republican House Member U.S. Rep Alabama- 6
  • Jamie Raskin (4) Democrat U.S. Rep Maryland- 8
  • Jason Carter (2) Georgia Democratic Gubernatorial Challenger
  • Jason Conger (4) Republican Challenger Oregon
  • Jim Abeler (5) Republican challenger Minnesota
  • Jim Oberweis (2) Republican Senate Challenger Illinois
  • Joe Carr (2) Republican Challenger Tennessee
  • Joe Dorman (1) Oklahoma Democratic Gubernatorial Challenger
  • John Katko (12) Republican House Member U.S. Rep New York- 24
  • Kathy Szeliga (4) Republican Senate candidate Maryland
  • Marco Rubio (1) FL Senator; Republican Presidential candidate
  • Napoleon Harris (6) Democratic Senate candidate Illinois
  • Norma Torres (2) Democratic House Member U.S. Rep California- 35
  • Owen Hill (2) Republican Senate Challenger Colorado
  • Randy Baumgardner (6) Republican Challenger Colorado
  • Richard Madaleno (4) Maryland Democratic candidate for governor of Maryland
  • Rob Hogg (1) Democratic Senate challenger Iowa
  • Rocky Chavez (1) Republican Senate candidate California
  • T.W. Shannon (5) Republican Senate Challenger Oklahoma
  • Ted Lieu (11) Democratic House Member U.S. Rep California- 33
  • Thom Tillis (2) Republican Jr Senator North Carolina
    OR click on an issue category below for a subset.

This set of Political Courage Tests is by congressional candidates who filled in the questionnaire in 2013 or 2014, or in the run-up to the 2014 elections.

Unfortunately, few candidates are willing to answer questionnaires anymore. Vote-Smart originally (in the early 1990s) had lots of respondents. Now they have very few -- and hence a few years ago they began to "infer" answers to the key questions that voters want to know.

OnTheIssues has similarly inferred answered since 2000, when we tried to get every incumbent Senator and Senate candidate to respond to our VoteMatch quiz: only one incumbent responded, and some challengers, but we saw the trend then, and began inferring answers instead of asking. OnTheissues still ACCEPTS candidate responses (as does Vote-Smart) if the candidate so chooses, but it is no longer expected.

 OnTheIssues.org excerpts:  (click on issues for details)
Abortion
    David Zuckerman: Supports public funds for abortion procedures.
    John Katko: All life has worth; and cover prenatal care.
    Ted Lieu: 100% pro-choice.
    Jason Carter: Voted against restrictions on abortion rights.
    Deborah Ross: Allow ObamaCare state exchanges to provide abortion services.
    Jim Abeler: Rated 100% by MN Citizens Concerned for Life.
    Amy Stephens: NO on penalties for violent offenses against pregnant women.
    Randy Baumgardner: Voted YES on penalties for violent offenses against fetuses.
    T.W. Shannon: Voted YES on parental approval & adult questionnaires.
    Chris McDaniel: Require doctor's prescription to get an abortion.
Budget & Economy
    John Katko: Supports stimulus, to promote business growth.
Civil Rights
    David Zuckerman: Supports same-sex marriage and inclusion of gender identity.
    Norma Torres: Recognize out-of-state same-sex marriages.
    John Katko: Same-sex marriage has been decided, so no opinion.
    Ted Lieu: On the frontline in the fight for marriage equality.
    Napoleon Harris: Ban sexual orientation conversion therapy for minors.
    Napoleon Harris: Ratify the Equal Rights Amendment.
    Marco Rubio: Opposes Paycheck Fairness: don't require equal pay for women.
    Jim Oberweis: Voted no on state-level same-sex marriage.
    Jim Abeler: No state authorization of same-sex marriage.
    Jim Abeler: Rated 0% by MN-OAP on positions on racial equity.
    Amy Stephens: Rated 43% on voting positions by Women's Lobby of Colorado.
    Randy Baumgardner: Rated 35% on voting positions by Women's Lobby of Colorado.
Crime
    David Zuckerman: Alternatives to incarceration; no death penalty.
    Gary Palmer: Supports capital punishment.
    John Katko: Capital punishment can be an effective deterrent.
    Ted Lieu: The death penalty doesn't work.
    Amy Stephens: Voted NO on parole violation punishment reduction.
    Randy Baumgardner: Voted NO on parole violation punishment reduction.
    Amy Stephens: Voted YES on requiring all convicts to submit DNA.
    Kathy Szeliga: Voted NO on repealing the death penalty.
    Jamie Raskin: Voted YES on repealing the death penalty.
    Richard Madaleno: Voted YES on repealing the death penalty.
Drugs
    Norma Torres: Food stamps for drug felons; immunity for reporting overdose.
    Napoleon Harris: Make marijuana possession a civil violation.
    Kathy Szeliga: Voted NO on reducing penalties for possession of marijuana.
    Jamie Raskin: Voted YES on reducing penalties for possession of marijuana.
    Richard Madaleno: Voted YES on reducing penalties for possession of marijuana.
Education
    Jason Conger: Voted NO on in-state tuition for non-resident aliens.
    John Katko: Make decisions about public schools at local level.
    John Katko: Fully fund the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
    Ted Lieu: Fight for more resources & more professionalism.
    Napoleon Harris: Supplemental state aid to low-income school districts.
    Amy Stephens: Voted NO on expanding comprehensive sex education.
    Joe Carr: Prohibit discrimination against college religious groups.
    Owen Hill: Voted NO on expanding comprehensive sex education.
    Randy Baumgardner: Voted NO on expanding comprehensive sex education.
    T.W. Shannon: Voted YES on students expressing religious viewpoints.
    Amy Stephens: Voted NO on authorizing same-sex civil unions.
    Owen Hill: Voted NO on authorizing same-sex civil unions.
    Randy Baumgardner: Voted NO on authorizing same-sex civil unions.
    Chris McDaniel: Increase number of charter schools statewide.
Energy & Oil
    David Zuckerman: Fund alternative energy; end funding for traditional energy.
    Gary Palmer: Supports Keystone XL & offshore oil production.
    John Katko: Supports Keystone XL but regulate greenhouse gases.
    Ted Lieu: Regulate greenhouse gas; no Keystone & no offshore drilling.
    Kathy Szeliga: Voted NO on offshore wind renewable energy credits.
    Jamie Raskin: Voted YES on offshore wind renewable energy credits.
    Richard Madaleno: Voted YES on offshore wind renewable energy credits.
Environment
    David Zuckerman: Led the effort to require GMO labeling.
    Gary Palmer: Rein in the EPA.
    T.W. Shannon: Consistently rated at 50% & above by Oklahoma Sierra Club.
    Joe Carr: Require photographic evidence of animal abuse.
    Jim Abeler: Rated 34% on animal rights in 2013; but 100$ in 2011.
    Jason Conger: Rated 53% by Conservation Voters; 80% by Humane Society.
Families & Children
    Jason Conger: Rated 79% by Oregon Stand for Children.
Government Reform
    David Zuckerman: No voter IDs; yes independent redistricting.
    Jason Conger: Voted NO on looser campaign finance reporting.
    Gary Palmer: Full disclosure of sources of campaign contributions.
    John Katko: Regulate campaign contributions from corporations and unions.
    Ted Lieu: Replace Citizens United with a Clean Money system.
    Napoleon Harris: Allow voter registration on Election Day or at early voting.
    Kathy Szeliga: Voted NO to online voter registration & online voting.
    Jamie Raskin: Voted YES to online voter registration & online voting.
    Richard Madaleno: Voted YES to online voter registration & online voting.
Gun Control
    David Zuckerman: Supports background checks, and concealed carry.
    Gary Palmer: Repeal unconstitutional gun restrictions.
    Ted Lieu: Restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns.
    Thom Tillis: Concealed carry permits for state parking lots.
Health Care
    David Zuckerman: Medicaid expansion under ObamaCare; but no mandate.
    John Katko: Complete overhaul of ObamaCare.
    Ted Lieu: Support ObamaCare, but work to make it better.
    Napoleon Harris: $50M to expand Medicaid services.
    T.W. Shannon: Prohibit Oklahoma enforcement of ObamaCare.
    Rocky Chavez: Voted NO on expanding eligibility for Medi-Cal.
    Deborah Ross: Expand state Medicaid under ObamaCare.
Homeland Security
    Gary Palmer: Fully fund the Defense Department.
Immigration
    John Katko: Require illegal immigrants to return to country of origin.
    Ted Lieu: Comprehensive immigration reform must happen.
    Jason Carter: Voted to keep public benefits for undocumented immigrants.
Social Security
    John Katko: Honor our promise, but personal retirement accounts ok.
    Ted Lieu: I oppose any effort to privatize social security.
    Joe Dorman: NO on public employee choice of contributions vs. benefits.
    Jim Oberweis: Voted NO on increasing state employees' pension plans.
    Amy Stephens: Voted NO on increases to public employee retirement benefits.
    Randy Baumgardner: Voted NO on increases to public employee retirement benefits.
Tax Reform
    Gary Palmer: Repeal the death tax; adopt the FairTax.
    Thom Tillis: Repeal estate tax, except real estate & residents.
    Rob Hogg: Increase the earned income tax credit (EITC).
    Jim Abeler: Rated 52% by Taxpayers League of Minnesota.
War & Peace
    John Katko: Use military force to prevent hostile nuclear nations.
    Ted Lieu: No bombing North Korea for possessing nuclear weapons.


The above quotations are from 2013-2014 Political Courage Test and legislative records, by Project Vote Smart.

Logo
All material copyright 1999-2022
by Jesse Gordon and OnTheIssues.org
Reprinting by permission only.

E-mail: submit@OnTheIssues.org
Mail
Send donations or submit quotations to:
OnTheIssues.org
1770 Massachusetts Ave. #630
Cambridge, MA 02140



OnTheIssues.org
Home Page
Most recent quotations Archive of books & debates Candidate Matching Quiz

Page last edited: Mar 20, 2020