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questions</title></head><body>
<div><tt><font color="#000000">This from Randy Stapilus' blog today:
(http://www.ridenbaugh.com/index.php/2006/05/05/choosing-questions/#m<span
></span>ore-296 )</font></tt></div>
<div><tt><font color="#000000">He reports on answers from candidates
for Idaho 1st Cong. District to a survey jointly sponsored by a
coalition of very conservative Idaho groups. It's a very scary
read.</font></tt></div>
<div><tt><font color="#000000"><br></font></tt></div>
<div><tt><font color="#000000">Mark Solomon</font></tt></div>
<div><tt><font color="#000000">********</font></tt></div>
<div><tt><font color="#000000"><br></font></tt></div>
<div><tt><font color="#000000">Choosing questions<br>
by Randy Stapilus <br>
<br>
Some states, Washington and Oregon for two, develop statewide and
localized voter guides which include information about the candidates
for office, and information from the candidates - campaign statements
and so on - included as well. They can be helpful assists to
voting.<br>
<br>
Idaho doesn't have such a publication, but it does have this primary
season something called the Gem State Voter guide, published by a
collection of very conservative groups - Idaho Values Alliance
(conservative Christian, led by Bryan Fischer) , Education Excellence
Idaho (principally backing charter, private and home school options),
Idahoans for Tax Reform (an anti-tax group, led by Laird Maxwell),
This House is My Home (another Maxwell group, aimed at undercutting
land use planning), and Idaho Chooses Life (anti-abortion, led by
David Ripley). Word is that their voter guide will be distributed
through churches and allied organizations around Idaho.<br>
<br>
What's interesting in these surveys is both the nature of questions
asked, and who responds, and how.<br>
<br>
In this survey - in the range of questions posed to candidates, which
understandably vary somewhat from office to office - some subjects are
addressed in detail, while quite a few other fields are skipped.
You'll not find much here about economic issues (aside from taxes and
property rights), environmental matters (though salmon and dam
breaching are referenced briefly), education, health, law, crime and
the judiciary (except where they touch on sex-related or religious
matters).</font></tt><br>
<tt><font color="#000000"></font></tt></div>
<div><tt><font color="#000000">What's in? Here are some of the
questions posed to candidates for the Republican nomination for
Idaho's 1st U.S. House seat (in the form of support or oppose the
proposition):</font></tt></div>
<div><tt><font color="#000000"><br>
Amend U.S. Constitution to define marriage as
between one man and one woman<br>
Vigorous prosecution of obscenity laws<br>
Ban abortions except to save the life of the
mother<br>
Parental consent for underage girls to get an
abortion<br>
Woman to receive an ultrasound picture of her
unborn baby before an abortion<br>
Require women to receive thorough information about
abortion risks and development of unborn child before an abortion<br>
Federal ban on all human cloning, including
embryonic stem cell research<br>
Return control of education to state and local
government<br>
Teach the Bible as literature and history in public
schools<br>
Abstinence-only sex education in public schools<br>
Education tax credits to expand parental choice in
education<br>
Post Ten Commandments on public property<br>
Impeachment of judges who exceed their
Constitutional authority<br>
Protect right of chaplains to pray according to
their convictions<br>
Retain "under God" in the Pledge of
Allegiance<br>
Continue property tax exemption for churches<br>
Continue right of churches to address public policy
issues without losing tax exempt status<br>
Continue right of churches to distribute
non-partisan voter guides<br>
Elimination of all budget earmarks<br>
Reduce government spending rather than raise
taxes<br>
Reduce welfare programs<br>
Pledge not to raise taxes, fees or rates<br>
Freeze federal spending for non-defense outlays<br>
Simplify the IRS Code with a flat income tax<br>
Social Security choice of investing in individual
retirement accounts for younger workers<br>
Federal Balanced Budget Amendment<br>
"Just compensation" for home and property
owners when government land regulations reduce property values<br>
Allow teaching man is a created being, not an
evolved being<br>
Allow teaching Ten Commandments is the foundation
of western law<br>
Allow teaching man's law should be consistent
with God's law</font></tt></div>
<div><tt><font color="#000000"> Allow teaching basic
rights are a gift of God, not government<br>
Allow teaching the proper role of government is to
protect rights given to man by God<br>
Legal use of firearms as a defense against
criminals, without fear of being prosecuted or sued<br>
Allow convenience store workers to carry firearms
behind the counter<br>
Law-abiding citizen's right to carry a concealed
weapon<br>
<br>
Of the six candidates for the nomination, Sheila Sorensen and Robert
Vasquez did not respond. (Sorensen presumably figured the crowd that
gets and uses this guide isn't her natural constituency; Vasquez'
reasoning is a little less clear. Nor did most of the few Democrats
cited in the report respond.) The other four - Skip Brandt, Bill Sali,
Norm Semanko and Keith Johnson - all said (according to the guide)
they were in support of every one of the propositions in the list
above.<br>
<br>
Realizing that, you might want to review the list above one more
time.<br>
<br>
All of them also said they were opposed to:<br>
<br>
Homosexual adoption of children<br>
Taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood<br>
Physician assisted suicide<br>
Use of eminent domain for economic purposes<br>
"Sexual orientation" language in hate crimes
legislation<br>
Casino gambling on Indian lands<br>
Internet gambling<br>
<br>
The degree of unanimity on all of these issues, pro and con - a few
these topics may represent broad consensus but most are true hot
buttons - is striking.<br>
<br>
The four candidates did split on a few issues. On "Remove
jurisdiction from the U.S. Supreme Court over religious liberty
issues," Brandt said he opposed, Johnson declined to say, and
Semanko and Sali said they were in favor. On "Line item veto for the
president," Brandt said he opposed, Sali was undecided, while
Johnson and Semanko said they were in favor. Interestingly, on
"Abolish the IRS and replace with a national sales tax," Sali was
the one undecided while the other three were in favor.</font></tt><br>
<tt><font color="#000000"></font></tt></div>
<div><tt><font color="#000000">Still, whatever you conclude from all
this, the survey throws a bright light on these candidates. And
suggests some followup questions, as well, in the short stretch of
campaign season remaining.</font></tt></div>
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