Fishbaugh, Esther

Meet the Candidate

Running For:
State House of Representatives
District:
65
Political Affiliation:
Republican
Phone:
(406) 581-7119

Survey

Response Legend

  • SSStrongly Supports
  • SSupports
  • OOpposes
  • SOStrongly Opposes
  • *Comment
  • −Declined to respond
  • †Declined to respond, Position based on citation

Question Response Comments/Notes
1. Public Schools in Montana are overfunded: S
2. Public Schools in Montana are underfunded: O
3. Public Schools in Montana are adequately funded: S
4. Parental choice in education should be expanded through tax credits, education savings accounts, vouchers, and other means to allow children to attend any school of their or their parents choice: SS
5. Parents should be allowed to home school their children without additional state regulation: SS
6. The teaching of "Critical Race Theory" (CRT) should be banned in Montana public schools: SS
7. Comprehensive sex education, beginning as early as kindergarten, should be allowed in public elementary schools: SO* Education policies are in a rut and could use innovation for delivery of education opportunities to families. I would like to see schools become education centers where families can pick and choose what classes their children need. Delivery of those classes could be in a brick and mortar setting or via telecommunication. Current school schedules could be modified to offer core classes such as Math or English as a common hour during the school day with children placed in the class that matches their level of understanding rather than age-based classes where mismatched students fall further behind. Classes could be further enhanced to deliver content in various ways that better match learning styles, such as more hands-on content for boys or literature-based instruction for high-level readers. All schools should be required to publish their proposed budgets and last year's expenditures. Property tax income and state assistance should be included. Salaries of administrators and teachers should be included as broad categories. These reports should be published online and at least 2 months before any levy or bond request. State requirements for educational content, graduation requirements and any other mandates for public, homeschool, private and charter schools should be published online as well.
8. Income taxes in Montana are too high: S
9. Property taxes in Montana are too high: SS
10. Corporate taxes in Montana are too high: S
11. The 2nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution allows all citizens to own firearms for self-protection: SS
12. Climate Change is a problem requiring increased regulation: SO
13. Environmental regulations in Montana are too stringent: S
14. Environmental regulations in Montana are NOT stringent enough: O* Government expenditures need to be transparent and published online every year. Proposed budgets in relation to past expenditures should be published online; department budgets should be constructed from a zero-dollar starting point with justification for each category closely examined. Control of spending should be the highest priority of each legislator in balance with providing for critical elements of government such as law enforcement, prisons, infrastructure and energy. Environmental regulations are often used to block useful commerce even when all regulations have been addressed. Permits should be issued promptly when all studies have been concluded; the pathway to completion should be published online so all parties know how much, how far, how costly and how long the process should take. CO2 is a very mild greenhouse gas but one that is vital to life. CO2 makes up about 0.04% of our atmosphere but is critical for plant growth which is, in turn, critical for oxygen replacement. More CO2 in our atmosphere increases biomass which will consume more CO2; CO2 has a cycle like the water cycle with beneficial outcomes for plant life such as allowing plants to use water more efficiently. There is evidence that CO2 was 10 times higher in the past and our earth not only survived, it thrived. I would like to see innovation in CO2 use through more biomass production such as greenhouses near CO2 producing industries such as coal-fired electrical generation.
15. Montanans should not be discriminated against or treated differently because of their vaccine status: SS* Individuals should be free to choose their own medical pathway; choices can be presented by medical professionals, but the final decision is that of the individual. Parents are responsible for their children and must be free to choose the medical options they deem best for their child. Medical professionals and health experts have a duty to disseminate health information accurately without withholding pertinent information. When deliberate withholding of care or medical information is proven, those responsible should face prosecution. Any schemes that promote a vaccine or medicine with kickbacks to those that prescribe them should be outlawed. Governments should not pay bonuses to hospitals for admittance of people with a diagnosis and then more payments if a particular treatment is given such as when hospitals were paid to admit people with Covid19 and then paid more if that individual was placed on a respirator and paid more when Remdesivir was prescribed. I lost a friend to kidney failure when they were denied effective treatment but prescribed Remdesivir instead against the wishes of their family. The medical community has an oath of "Do No Harm" which many practitioners were required to violate during the pandemic. This situation should never be allowed; it is a disservice to Montanans and the medical community both.
16. Doctor assisted suicide should be legal in Montana: SO
17. Abortion should be banned in ALL stages of pregnancy: SS
18. Abortion should be banned during all stages of pregnancy, with the exceptions for rape and incest: S
19. Abortion should be banned only after a heartbeat is detected (around 6 weeks): S
20. Abortion should be banned only after the first trimester (12 weeks): S
21. Abortion should be banned only when a fetus becomes viable outside the womb (20 weeks): O
22. Abortion should be banned only after the 2nd trimester (28 weeks): SO
23. Abortion should never be banned, not at any stage of pregnancy: SO
24. The Montana Constitution should be amended to allow abortion: SO
25. Infanticide (the killing of infants born alive with physical abnormalities, including infants born as a result of a botched abortion) should be banned in Montana. SS
26. Companies and individuals should be allowed to opt-out of the abortion related mandates contained in Obamacare: SS* I believe life begins at conception and would like to see a life protection for all unborn humans regardless of their developmental stage. Because abortion is legal in Montana currently, I will support any further restrictions until all life is protected at every stage.
27. Transgender athletes should be allowed to compete against athletes of the opposite sex: SO
28. Doctors should be banned from performing sex-change procedures on minors: SS
29. Homosexuals and transgender people should be allowed to adopt children: O
30. Non-discrimination laws should be expanded to protect sexual orientation and gender identity in the same way that race, creed, nationality, and religion are protected: SO
31. Montana’s marriage laws should be changed to reflect the legalization of same-sex marriage by the U.S. Supreme Court: SO* Only two biological sexes exist; to pretend otherwise is to deny reality. No government should mandate that the majority of people participate in a minorities' fantasy. Government protections against discrimination of an individual due to immutable characteristics or religious belief is a rightful function of government, but elevating actions or choices to the same level for protection is inherently discriminatory against everyone else.