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Rappaport at a Glance
Signed the marriage petition and contributed financially to the cause. Called on legislature to let the people vote on the issue. Taxes: Opposes higher taxes. "I’m the only major party statewide candidate who has signed the no new taxes pledge, and I absolutely would stand by that. There’s absolutely no reason to have to raise taxes." Budget and Spending: Spend what we’ve got more wisely. "We have a $22 billion budget which is the gross national product of a small nation and we ought to be able to set the proper priorities and take care of the needs of our citizens…it’s not about cutting; it’s about reallocating; it’s about spending the money more wisely." Would not sign annual billion dollar
budget increases. "There’s no need to."
The Right to Bear Arms: Supports gun rights. "I think it’s important that people have that right. It’s what stands between us and tyranny, and criminals running roughshod over us." Opposes efforts to continue chipping away at gun rights. Believes the best gun control is criminal control. Wants to revisit some Massachusetts gun laws with a view to roll them back, such as the current practice of police chiefs arbitrarily deciding which law-abiding citizens can own firearms. Does not think people should own so-called "assault weapons." Health Care: Touts private solutions with government leadership. Says entire health care system is broken, but it still provides world class care here in Massachusetts. Opposes Hillary Health Care schemes, price controls and Band-Aid fixes. Relationship of cost to benefit needs restoration. Wants to gather experts together to come up with a three to six year plan. Says we can make health care cost effective and more available to everybody by expecting excellence, not perfection. "What the state can do, essentially, is lead. It can’t solve the problems." Education: Higher standards, wiser spending. Opposes spending more money on schools. Wants to ratchet up standards. Advocates all-day kindergarten to give structure to those coming from non-learning environments. Wants to reallocate resources that are not spent wisely, such as money spent on special ed, by offering a "Pontiac," special ed program, not a "Bentley." Gay Agenda in Schools: No enthusiastic support. Says Governor’s Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth would probably be on his list of commissions to get rid of to save us some money. Says we should be tolerant, but not endorsing of the lifestyle. Gay agenda in schools would not receive enthusiastic support from him as other governors have supported it. Gay literature probably not appropriate in schools. It is within parents’ purview to teach children. ‘Hate’ Crimes: Opposes the concept. Opposes the concept of politically incorrect crimes. Says all crimes should be prosecuted and punished, one should not take precedence over another. "We’re not kept safer because we make a certain class of crimes worse than others." Fathers and Families: Will listen to family groups. Says domestic violence is an insidious societal problem. Said courts and children are often used as weapons in divorces. Would sign a shared parenting bill. Would open his door to listen to family rights groups like the Fatherhood Coalition and Justice for Families. Says DSS needs to learn discernment, and "seems to have forgotten what their mission is, which is to try to figure out how we put families back together, not how do we separate them forever." He wants to commute Gerald Amirault’s sentence. Anti-Snob Law: Hasn’t worked. Doesn’t oppose intentions of the law, (to create more housing and economic diversity in communities), but says it hasn’t worked. Wants to look for other solutions. Agrees that developers use the law to blackmail towns into accepting their projects. 
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