LINCOLN INSTITUTE  
2000 Delegate Issues Survey
July 2000

 
SECTION I:  FEDERAL LEVEL ISSUES QUESTIONS

1.) Please indicate the importance of each issue, where 0 means not at all important and 5 means very important:  (Number given is an average of all responses.)

REP    DEM

4.3       4.6       Economic Growth
3.6       4.2       Job Security
4.0       2.9       Middle Class Tax Cuts
1.8       1.1       Term Limits
4.2       3.1       National Defense
3.2       4.6       Health Care Reform
2.7       4.1       Environment
3.8       3.6       Crime
2.4       2.3       Abortion
3.1       2.1       Reforming Legal System

2.) Do you FAVOR or OPPOSE a constitutional amendment to require a balanced Federal budget?

REP    DEM

39%    17%    Strongly Favor
41%    41%    Somewhat Favor
7%      7%      Somewhat Oppose
13%    34%    Strongly Oppose

3.) Do you FAVOR or OPPOSE allowing individuals to establish tax-free savings accounts to help save money for first-time home purchases, college education and/or medical expenses:

REP    DEM

54%    38%    Strongly Favor
39%    38%    Somewhat Favor
2%      7%      Somewhat Oppose
5%      17%    Strongly Oppose

4.) Do you FAVOR or OPPOSE lowering income taxes to stimulate economic growth?

REP    DEM

56%    21%    Strongly Favor
38%    29%    Somewhat Favor
2%      18%    Somewhat Oppose
4%      32%    Strongly Oppose

5.) Do you FAVOR or OPPOSE lowering the cap on mortgage interest deductions for homeowners?

 REP    DEM

25%    14%    Strongly Favor
39%    29%    Somewhat Favor
25%    29%    Somewhat Oppose
11%    29%    Strongly Oppose

6.) Do you FAVOR or OPPOSE a flat tax plan eliminating ALL deductions?

REP    DEM

23%    7%      Strongly Favor
42%    18%    Somewhat Favor
26%    32%    Somewhat Oppose
9%      43%    Strongly Oppose

7.) Do you FAVOR or OPPOSE a flat tax plan that retains limited mortgage interest and charitable donation deductions?

REP    DEM

33%    18%    Strongly Favor
56%    14%    Somewhat Favor
11%    29%    Somewhat Oppose
0%      39%    Strongly Oppose

8.) Do you FAVOR or OPPOSE a national sales tax?

REP    DEM

9%      4%      Strongly Favor
15%    21%    Somewhat Favor
24%    18%    Somewhat Oppose
52%    57%    Strongly Oppose

9.) Do you FAVOR or OPPOSE substantially overhauling, but retaining the current tax system?

REP    DEM

21%    31%    Strongly Favor
28%    45%    Somewhat Favor
30%    14%    Somewhat Oppose
21%    10%    Strongly Oppose

10.) Do you FAVOR or OPPOSE fundamental tax reform?

 REP    DEM

56%    37%    Strongly Favor
33%    44%    Somewhat Favor
4%      15%    Somewhat Oppose
7%      4%      Strongly Oppose

11.) Do you FAVOR or OPPOSE increasing the Federal minimum wage requirement? 

REP     DEM 

16%      70%   Strongly Favor
22%      23%   Somewhat Favor
38%      7%     Somewhat Oppose
24%      0%     Strongly Oppose 

12.) Do you FAVOR or OPPOSE increasing salaries as an inducement for people to stay in the U.S. Military?

REP     DEM 

96%      86%   Favor
4%        14%   Oppose

13.) Do you FAVOR or OPPOSE U.S. Military involvement in multi-national peacekeeping forces? 

REP     DEM 

46%      86%   Favor
54%      14%   Oppose 

14.) Do you FAVOR or OPPOSE allowing gay and lesbian people serving in the U.S. Military?

REP     DEM 

37%      87%   Favor
63%      13%   Oppose

15.) Do you FAVOR or OPPOSE sending U.S. armed forces to defend Taiwan if it were invaded by the Peoples Republic of China?

REP     DEM 

53%      28%   Favor
47%      72%   Oppose

16.) Do you FAVOR or OPPOSE sending U.S. armed forces to defend Israel if it were invaded by another country?

REP     DEM 

61%      53%   Favor
39%      47%   Oppose

17.) Do you AGREE or DISAGREE that damage to the environment should be avoided no matter what it costs?

REP     DEM 

16%      71%   Agree
84%      29%   Disagree 

18.) Do you AGREE or DISAGREE that environmental protection is an important goal that should be balanced against economic costs? 

REP     DEM

93%      80%   Agree
7%        20%   Disagree

19.) Do you AGREE or DISAGREE that environmental protection costs too much and leads to a loss of jobs?

 REP     DEM

 23%      0%                 Agree
77%      100%              Disagree

20.) Generally speaking, do you FAVOR or OPPOSE free trade policies? 

REP     DEM 

40%      18%   Strongly Favor
58%      54%   Somewhat Favor
0%        11%   Somewhat Oppose
2%        18%   Strongly Oppose

21.) Are you in favor of continuing the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)? 

REP     DEM 

27%      17%   Strongly Favor
51%      31%   Somewhat Favor
16%      17%   Somewhat Oppose
6%        34%   Strongly Oppose

22.) Would you favor or oppose expansion of the NAFTA agreement to include the countries of South America?

REP     DEM

16%      7%     Strongly Favor
48%      31%   Somewhat Favor
25%      24%   Somewhat Oppose
11%      38%   Strongly Oppose

23.) Do you FAVOR or OPPOSE the activities of the World Trade Organization?

REP     DEM

2%        4%     Strongly Favor
47%      39%   Somewhat Favor
24%      39%   Somewhat Oppose
27%      18%   Strongly Oppose

24.) Do you FAVOR or OPPOSE placing limits on the terms of Member of Congress?

REP     DEM

27%      10%   Strongly Favor
24%      20%   Somewhat Favor
18%      27%   Somewhat Oppose
31%      43%   Strongly Oppose

25.) Do you FAVOR or OPPOSE banning political action committee (PAC) contributions to election campaigns?

REP     DEM

20%      17%   Strongly Favor
7%        20%   Somewhat Favor
33%      33%   Somewhat Oppose
40%      30%   Strongly Oppose 

26.) Do you FAVOR or OPPOSE providing for taxpayer funding of Congressional elections?

REP     DEM

4%        27%   Strongly Favor
15%      37%   Somewhat Favor
15%      17%   Somewhat Oppose
65%      20%   Strongly Oppose 

27.) Do you FAVOR or OPPOSE banning so-called “soft money” given to political parties for use in “party building” activities?

REP     DEM

20%      27%   Strongly Favor
18%      33%   Somewhat Favor
33%      7%     Somewhat Oppose
28%      33%   Strongly Oppose

28.) Do you FAVOR or OPPOSE prohibiting all corporate contributions to campaigns?

REP     DEM

27%      59%   Strongly Favor
20%      17%   Somewhat Favor
33%      17%   Somewhat Oppose
20%      7%     Strongly Oppose

29.) Do you FAVOR or OPPOSE prohibiting campaign contributions from labor unions?

REP     DEM

43%      17%   Strongly Favor
22%      7%     Somewhat Favor
33%      17%   Somewhat Oppose
2%        59%   Strongly Oppose

30.) Do you AGREE or DISAGREE that the Social Security system should be changed to allow individuals to personally select the investment vehicles for a portion of their FICA withholding?

REP     DEM

93%      17%   Agree
 7%       83%   Disagree

31.) Do you AGREE or DISAGREE that the Social Security system will be solvent enough to provide benefits to YOU during your retirement years?

REP     DEM 

63%      62%   Agree
37%      38%   Disagree

32.) To you AGREE or DISAGREE that the Social Security system will be solvent enough to provide benefits for your CHILDREN during their retirement years?

REP     DEM

20%      54%   Agree
80%      46%   Disagree 

33.) When it comes to helping people solve their problems, do you believe the Federal government is primarily an adversarial force, or a positive force?

REP     DEM

74%      13%   Adversarial Force
11%      67%   Positive Force
15%      20%   No Opinion

34.) Who do you think will be your party’s nominee for Vice President?

REPUBLICANS:

66%      Tom Ridge
12%      John Danforth
5%        Elizabeth Dole
5%        John McCain
2%        John Kasic
2%        Richard Lugar
2%        Colin Powell
2%        J.C. Watts

DEMOCRATS

23%      Bill Bradley
15%      John Bonier
15%      Diane Feinstein
15%      John Kerry
8%        Evan Bayh
8%        Tom Gephart
8%        John Mitchell
8%        Bill Richardson
 

SECTION II: STATE LEVEL ISSUE QUESTIONS


1.) Do you FAVOR or OPPOSE the property tax-based system currently utilized by school districts, local and county governments to fund government services?

REP     DEM

22%      20%   Favor
63%      70%   Oppose
15%      10%   No Opinion

2.) Do you FAVOR or OPPOSE replacing property/real estate taxes with a local tax on earned income?

REP     DEM

50%      53%   Favor
41%      37%   Oppose
9%        10%   No Opinion 

3.) Would you FAVOR or OPPOSE replacing property/real estate taxes with a local sales tax?

REP     DEM

39%      37%   Favor
52%      50%   Oppose
9%        13%   No Opinion 

4.) Would you FAVOR or OPPOSE allowing school districts, municipal and county government to enact a COMBINATION of property/real estate taxes, earned income taxes, and local sales taxes?

REP     DEM 

38%      68%   Favor
53%      25%   Oppose
9%        7%     No Opinion 

5.) Would you FAVOR or OPPOSE eliminating sales taxes and replacing the lost revenue with an increase in the personal income tax rate? 

REP     DEM

15%      43%   Favor
76%      43%   Oppose
9%        14%   No Opinion

6.) Would you FAVOR or OPPOSE exempting the Internet from all forms of taxation, including sales taxes?

REP     DEM

62%      40%   Favor
24%      43%   Oppose
14%      17%   No Opinion

7.) Generally speaking, are you in favor of the concept of “school choice”?

REP     DEM

72%      14%   Yes
26%      86%   No

8.) Do you feel Educational Opportunity Grants should be made available to students who wish to attend a PUBLIC SCHOOL in a district other than their district of residence?

REP     DEM

48%      27%   Yes
48%      73%   No
4%        0%     No Opinion 

9.) Do you feel Educational Opportunity Grants should be made available to students who wish to attend a PAROCHIAL school?

REP     DEM

61%      23%   Yes
33%      77%   No
6%        0%     No Opinion

10.) Do you feel Educational Opportunity Grants should be made available to students who wish to attend a non-religions PRIVATE school?

REP     DEM

63%      10%   Yes
30%      87%   No
7%        3%     No Opinion

11.) Do you support the concept of CHARTER PUBLIC schools?

REP     DEM

70%      28%   Yes
22%      55%   No
8%        17%   No Opinion

12.) Should local school boards be allowed to contract with private companies to provide instructions, administrative and operational services to public schools?

REP     DEM

70%      23%   Yes
22%      60%   No
8%        17%   No Opinion

13.) Should local school boards be given the ability to hire and retain staff (including teachers) on the basis of performance?

REP     DEM 

67%      63%   Yes
20%      33%   No
13%      4%     No Opinion

14.) Generally speaking, do you feel our public schools are doing a better job, about the same job, or a worse job of educating our young people than they did ten years ago?

REP     DEM

80%      43%   Better
9%        40%   About the Same
11%      17%   Worse

15.) Generally speaking, do you think too much, about the right amount, or not enough tax money is presently being spent on public school education in Pennsylvania today?

REP     DEM

 13%      10%   Too Much
31%      17%   About the Right Amount
56%      73%   Not Enough

16.) Do you think the state was justified in passing the Educational Empowerment Act which immediately removed control of two distressed school districts from their elected school boards and positioned a number of other school districts for similar action if they don’t achieve certain minimal educational standards?

REP     DEM

37%      50%   Yes
33%      40%   No
30%      10%   No Opinion

17.)  If you were asked to assign a letter grade based on the overall job our public schools are doing in educating our young people today, what would that grade be?

REP     DEM

78%      3%     A
13%      59%   B
7%        31%   C
0%        3%     D
2%        3%     F  

18.) Some states within the nation have a Right to Work law which means that a worker cannot be fired or kept from having a job for either joining or not joining a labor union. Do you AGREE or DISAGREE that such a law would be good for Pennsylvania?

REP     DEM

57%      17%   Strongly Agree
24%      21%   Somewhat Agree
4%        7%     Somewhat Disagree
11%      55%   Strongly Disagree
4%        0%     No Opinion

19.) In the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, all employees such as teachers, firemen, state workers and local government employees are required to join or pay dues to a union as a condition of employment.  Do you AGREE or DISAGREE with this arrangement that requires public employees to support a union in order to work for the government in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania?

REP     DEM

2%        62%   Strongly Agree
9%        17%   Somewhat Agree
14%      14%   Somewhat Disagree
73%      7%     Strongly Disagree
2%        0%     No Opinion 

20.) Do you AGREE or DISAGREE that as a condition of employment government workers should be prohibited from going on strike?

REP     DEM

54%      17%   Strongly Agree
22%      23%   Somewhat Agree
15%      30%   Somewhat Disagree
9%        30%   Strongly Disagree 

21.) Do you AGREE or DISAGREE that public school teachers should be required to join a labor union and be required to pay union dues as a condition of their employment?

REP     DEM

0%        50%   Strongly Agree
4%        20%   Somewhat Agree
20%      13%   Somewhat Disagree
73%      17%   Strongly Disagree
3%        0%     No Opinion

22.) Do you AGREE or DISAGREE that public school teachers should be required to join a labor union AND be required to pay union dues as a condition of their employment if a portion of those dues goes to union political activities?

REP     DEM

2%        40%   Strongly Agree
0%        27%   Somewhat Agree
9%        13%   Somewhat Disagree
87%      20%   Strongly Disagree
2%        0%     No Opinion    

23.) Do you AGREE or DISAGREE with the Pennsylvania 21st Century Environmental Commission’s claim that “urban sprawl” is the number one environmental problem facing Pennsylvania?

REP     DEM

36%      65%   Agree
64%      35%   Disagree

24.) Do you AGREE or DISAGREE that land use, community planning and zoning powers should be taken away from municipal governments and turned over to county or regional governments?

REP     DEM

33%      45%   Agree
67%      55%   Disagree

25.) Do you AGREE or DISAGREE that Pennsylvania’s municipalities should be given more power to control land use and zoning?

REP     DEM

67%      72%   Agree
33%      28%   Disagree

26.) Do you AGREE or DISAGREE that over the past five years, your home area has experienced TOO MUCH growth?

REP     DEM

34%      46%   Agree
66%      54%   Disagree


SECTION III: DEMOGRAPHIC QUESTIONS

1.) Are you:

 REP     DEM

20%      3%     Very Conservative
53%      7%     Somewhat Conservative
22%      34%   Moderate
4%        41%   Somewhat Liberal
0%        14%   Very Liberal

2.) Are you:

REP     DEM

68%      41%   Male
32%      59%   Female

3.) Your age group would be:

REP     DEM

7%        3%     18-30
33%      23%   30-50
38%      57%   50-65
22%      17%   Over 65


The Lincoln Institute’s 2000 Delegate Issues Survey was conducted between June 2, 2000 and June 23, 2000.  All Delegates and Alternate Delegates to the Republican and Democrat national conventions were mailed survey questionnaires.  A total of 46 Republicans and 30 Democrats responded to the survey.