Tom Graham

Agree

Agree

Agree

Abortion has been a human institution since before the pyramids, and therefore must be considered a right, just like slavery was. In fact most arguments for abortion are similar to those for slavery, and yet it was still a right. A life starts at conception. So we have 2 people's rights who have to be taken into account. Luckily, the same human institution that makes abortion a right also puts limits on it. No one was ever allowed to have an abortion after the quickening. In fact, while our constitution was being signed, doctors advertised pre-quickening abortions, but never post. My opinion is that until we get the technology that will allow us to abolish it without denying the mothers rights, we need to allow it without restriction for the first 20 weeks and then completely ban it unless the mothers life (not health) is in immediate danger.

Strongly Disagree

Strongly Agree

1) Immediately pay back the Governors 30 billion DOT road bond issue and stop those projects until we figure out how to pay for them in a non-dictatorial way. 2) Invest in projects that encourage families to think of K-12 and CTE as their highest priority items. Detroit's cultural attitude toward school is killing Michigan's school budget.

Disagree

Disagree

Strongly Agree

No Answer

People have the right to congregate and practice their religion as long as it does not infringe on the rights of others. This is known as the "Freedom of Religion". Religious people have the right to knock on your door and spread their beliefs and you have the right to tell them to leave. The separation of church and state is not mentioned in the Constitution, but the state may not endorse any religion. The slogan "In God We Trust" does not endorse a religion but acknowledges that a belief in God is something most of us share. I believe religious schools ought to receive 80% of state funding as long as 80% of the curriculum is not of a religious nature. Reading, Writing, Science, Math, History. It would be difficult to scrutinize history and science textbooks that teach creation and intelligent design are historic or scientific facts. Lots to consider.

Strongly Disagree

Free market capitalism combined with laws that state hospitals must stabilize patients brought to them. If you've had a heart attack a hospital should stabilize you, keep you there until your enzymes and proteins have returned to a normal range. But if you cannot afford heart surgery and you cannot find family, friends, local community or charity to help you, you need to be sent home. When the government started giving charity they created a huge and overpaid bureaucracy to manage it, and churches lost their place in our society. It used to be that the church knew who could afford to help and who needed help and would make it happen. Now, people get charity from the government, and those paying for that charity figure they don't need to tithe to their church because they're already donating more than that to Uncle Sugar.

Strongly Agree

Agree

Strongly Agree

Most OECD countries require immigrants to be self sufficient before entrance. I think that is a great rule for immigrants who want to live here permanently. I believe the H1B visa is being massively abused, I've seen my industry (IT) flooded with workers who have little skill. The H1B is supposed to be for geniuses, not to subsidize our companies who don't want IT wages to go up. Without H1B, IT workers would be making 2-3 times what they are making now and many more US college students would flock to IT careers. Guest farm workers are a different story. Guest farm workers (seasonal migrant workers) should be allowed entry if they have a work contract and must leave when that contract is up. Workers are most productive when they know their children are being cared for and educated.

Strongly Disagree

Strongly Agree

No Answer

I believe in God wholeheartedly. I was raised Catholic, was an alter boy until I turned 15, and wanted to be a priest. My namesake is Thomas the apostle, my siblings are John, David and Mary. I've read both the old and new testaments several times, trying to honestly and wholeheartedly believe that Jesus was in fact God incarnate on Earth, and I simply have not been able to achieve that level of faith. As a result, I no longer consider myself Christian, although I follow the teachings of Jesus. I see one of his biggest messages as being "don't be a hypocrite", just under "do unto others as you would have done to you". I also am annoyed when people say "judge not", because Jesus says you absolutely should judge, but you must judge justly, for the measure you use to judge others will be used to judge you. I think charity should be given by churches not governments.

Somewhat Conservative

I am pro-gay marriage, I think sexual orientation should be a protected class. I think transgenders are 2% bonafide medical issues, 2% bonafide mental health issues, 46% pragmatic homosexuals, and 50% political expression. Political expressions should never be a protected class. I am a lifetime member of the NRA I support the Convention of States and federalism Until we get the technology that will allow us to abolish abortion without denying the mothers rights, we need to allow it without restriction for the first 20 weeks and then completely ban it unless the mothers life (not health) is in immediate danger. I am pro legalized marijuana, alcohol, tobacco and fire arms. I am pro free market capitalism and hate burdensome regulation. I have taken the tax pledge. I am pro-union except in the public sector.

Public K-12 Schools are 28% of the Michigan budget. I went to public schools, each of my 5 children went to public schools. Every candidate should have first hand experience with public schools. As an IT systems analyst for 37 years, it has been my job to maintain tens of millions of lines of instructions which regulate the actions of countless users to ensure the accurate and efficient processing of raw materials into finished products, purchase orders are placed and bills are paid and matched, ensure inventory is picked and delivered to a work area, the work is done on time, all the labor and inventory and even equipment run time is accounted for and costed, drivers and trucks are allocated and scheduled for deliveries and pickups, and the routes those trucks take are the most efficient, all while complying with the plethora of state and federal regulations Isn't that the kind of thinking we want in Lansing?

No

The 28 day Emergency Powers Acts was plainly written so Governor could have certain powers for 28 days at the beginning of an emergency, then after the 28 days the Governor would be forced by law to cooperate with the legislature to continue fighting the emergency. This is akin to the US Presidential Emergency War Powers act giving him power for 7 days before the Congress must, through legislation support his/her actions. By simply declaring a new emergency, the Governor has committed a unconstitutional fraud against the People of Michigan, akin to the President simply declaring another military emergency to get around the Congressional War Powers requirement for legislative support. The President cannot declare war, and our Governor cannot be allowed to do what she has done. This must be fixed, it's a constitutional separation of powers issue, it's not partisan.

No Answer

Agree

Yes

All weapons should be legal to own. Private companies manufacture nuclear weapons but they have to jump over some very high regulatory hurdles to own the components. The more lethal a weapon is the more it should be regulated. Nuclear weapons - Extremely regulated .22 squirrel rifle, very little regulation, it should be sold at WalMart without a background check. Hand guns should have more regulation only because they are concealable.

Disagree

Strongly Agree

Strongly Disagree

1) Justice Reform Bill to make HYTA and Automatic Expungement recipients able to require online news sites to remove all their personally identifiable information from the story. If the people of the State of Michigan decide a person who has paid their debt to society deserves a second chance, the rights of the press can be curtailed, no right is absolute. 2) Repeal the two Emergency Powers Acts. This Governor has proven she cannot be trusted. The Acts were written so the legislature would decide if the emergency continued after 28 days, the Governor is legally misusing that power and so it must be removed. 3) I want to restrict townships from using Limited Tax General Obligation Bonds to fund capital improvement projects. They should be allowing their residents to vote or creating special assessments with a right of referendum.

Racism has always been around, but my grandfather was more racist than my father who was more racist than me. The main thing to realize is that the US and the States have taken measures to weed it out of the most important places, our public institutions. If racism is found in our police, our military, our schools, our local, state or national government, action is swift to dispel it and vilify the perpetrators, which sends a message to our citizenry, to our children that it will not be tolerated. This is why I do not think it poses a threat domestically, US citizens and governments are united and vigilant against it.