| OnTheIssues.org excerpts: (click on issues for details)
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Abortion
Josh Mandel: Signed pledge to oppose abortion on demand without exception.
Josh Mandel: I believe in protecting life.
Sherrod Brown: Women should make their own health care decisions.
Michael Pryce: ObamaCare makes doctors commit abortions against their will.
Josh Mandel: Endorsed by Ohio Right to Life PAC.
Josh Mandel: Umbilical blood is ethical source of stem cells.
Michael Pryce: Completely against abortion as a form of birth control.
Michael Pryce: No funding for embryonic stem cell research.
Lee Fisher: Committed to upholding the rights guaranteed in Roe v. Wade.
Steven Driehaus: Prohibit partial-birth abortion; and illegalize all abortion.
Eric Fingerhut: I support Roe vs. Wade.
Charlie Wilson: Legal abortion only for incest, rape, or life of woman.
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Budget & Economy
Rob Portman: Budget director for President George W. Bush.
Lee Fisher: Reduce deficit with pay-as-you-go budget rules.
Bob Taft: Keep budget balanced without new taxes; hold spending.
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Civil Rights
Michael Pryce: End affirmative action programs.
Michael Pryce: Marriage only between one man and one woman.
Lee Fisher: Same rights regardless of sexual orientation.
Lee Fisher: Equal Pay for Equal Work: fair pay for women.
Steven Driehaus: No civil unions; no same-sex marriage.
Sherrod Brown: Voted against the Patriot Act because it is unpatriotic.
Eric Fingerhut: Affirmative action is a good outreach strategy.
Eric Fingerhut: Recognize same-sex civil unions and marriage.
Joyce Beatty: Supports affirmative action in state hiring & college.
Charlie Wilson: Supports affirmative action for state agencies & colleges.
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Corporations
Josh Mandel: Auto bailout was un-American; I won't be the bailout Senator.
Sherrod Brown: Supported auto industry bailout as fighting for middle class.
Josh Mandel: Businesses hurt by complicated taxes & aggressive regulation.
Joe Biden: We bet on the auto industry; 400,000 new jobs means we won.
Lee Fisher: Experienced negotiating with companies to stay in Ohio.
Rob Portman: More than 70 company tours & plant visits, to stay in touch.
Rob Portman: More favorable policy: encourage business development.
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Crime
Michael Pryce: Supports capital punishment.
Michael Pryce: No reduced prison sentences for non-violent offenders.
Eric Deaton: Being pro-life, I believe in very limited capital punishment.
Lee Fisher: Created Ohio's first DNA database.
Steven Driehaus: Moratorium on the death penalty.
Josh Mandel: Voted YES on lethal force against home intruders.
Eric Fingerhut: Support death penalty; ban racial profiling.
Eric Fingerhut: No parole for repeat offenders.
Joyce Beatty: Moratorium on the death penalty.
Joyce Beatty: End parole for repeat violent offenders.
Charlie Wilson: Supports alternative sentencing & rehabilitation.
Lee Fisher: Expand the use of the death penalty.
Lee Fisher: More prisons; less parole for repeat violent felons.
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Drugs
Michael Pryce: Mandatory prison sentences for selling illegal drugs.
Eric Deaton: Rehabilitate drug sellers rather than just locking them up.
Lee Fisher: Rid our streets of violence and illegal drugs.
Lee Fisher: Created the award-winning Operation Crackdown program.
Steven Driehaus: Strengthen penalties and sentences for drug-related crimes.
Eric Fingerhut: Decriminalize medical marijuana.
Bob Taft: Enact more laws to fight methamphetamines.
Joyce Beatty: Strengthen penalties for drug-related crimes.
Charlie Wilson: Strengthen penalties for drug-related crimes.
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Education
Josh Mandel: Expand school choice to public, charter, & private schools.
Michael Pryce: Federal funding for K-12 school vouchers.
Lee Fisher: Where you grow up should not determine where you end up.
Eric Fingerhut: Teach abstinence; require exit exams in high schools.
Eric Fingerhut: Better teacher pay; expanded early education.
Bob Taft: Implement system of standards, assessments & accountability.
Bob Taft: Ohio’s success depends on keeping education as #1 priority.
Bob Taft: Called for 20,000 reading tutors; program is succeeding.
Joyce Beatty: Adequately fund Ohio public schools.
Charlie Wilson: More funding for teachers.
Lee Fisher: Encourage charters & corporate investment.
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Energy & Oil
Josh Mandel: Use responsibly the natural resources we're blessed to have.
Eric Deaton: Produce oil from the easy state-side locations.
Lee Fisher: 25% advanced and alternative energy by 2025.
Bob Taft: Project THAW: $250 for home heating oil costs.
Joyce Beatty: Develop alternative fuels.
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Environment
Eric Fingerhut: Aggressive effort to increase clean air.
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Families & Children
Lee Fisher: Wrote Ohio's Missing Children law & Clearinghouse.
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Foreign Policy
Lee Fisher: Deploy all tools: diplomacy, strength, intel, & military.
Al Gore: Nation-building: preferable to WWIII, and a stunning success.
Al Gore: Cuba: Hard-liner on Castro; keep sanctions.
Al Gore: North Korea: Continue exploring rapprochement.
Al Gore: Russia: US’s abiding interest, but troubled by Putin.
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Free Trade
Sherrod Brown: Trade agreements have sold out the middle class.
Josh Mandel: Criticizes opponent for helping move jobs to China.
Lee Fisher: Trade agreements should be fair and enforced.
Rob Portman: Pass more trade agreements to increase Ohio exports.
Rob Portman: Served as trade representative under Pres. George W. Bush.
Lee Fisher: More stringent policy: discourage companies moving overseas.
Eric Deaton: Free trade agreements have destroyed our economy.
Lee Fisher: Make sure trade agreements export Ohio goods, not Ohio jobs.
Mike DeWine: Tariffs against dumping steel, & give fines to US companies.
Sherrod Brown: Supports fair trade; opposes exporting jobs.
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Government Reform
Josh Mandel: No government bailout that I would ever support.
Josh Mandel: Does not accept gifts in public office.
Josh Mandel: Public officials should disclose more than is required.
John Kasich: Skinny-down bureaucracy & kick out special interests.
Michael Pryce: Remove all contribution & spending limits on campaigns.
Eric Deaton: Limit & regulate campaign contributions.
Eric Deaton: No line item veto; limit "signing statements".
Joyce Beatty: Limit campaign contributions & campaigm spending.
Charlie Wilson: Supports public funding for political camapigns.
Lee Fisher: Campaign spending limits, but no state funding.
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Gun Control
Steven Driehaus: More enforcement; more safety locks; more background checks.
Eric Fingerhut: Supports safety locks, background checks, semi-auto ban.
Charlie Wilson: Require child-safety locks.
Lee Fisher: Waiting periods; child safety locks; other restrictions ok.
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Health Care
Michael Pryce: ObamaCare intimidates doctors to withhold treatment.
Lee Fisher: Supports new healthcare reform law.
Rob Portman: Repeal new health reform; it's a job killer.
Lee Fisher: Health care reform is both a moral and economic imperative.
Lee Fisher: Lower cost; ensure choice; expand coverage; no taxes.
Eric Fingerhut: Fund basic health care for all citizens.
Bob Taft: Golden Buckeye Card for senior Rx discounts.
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Homeland Security
Josh Mandel: AdWatch: served as Marine in Iraq; grandson of a soldier.
Lee Fisher: Let anyone serve who is willing; end don't-ask-don't-tell.
Rob Portman: Let the military decide on don't-ask-don't-tell.
Eric Deaton: More spending on military R&D and hardware.
Lee Fisher: If you serve your country, your country must serve you.
Mike DeWine: Brown voted 10 times to cut intelligence spending.
Mike DeWine: I don’t have confidence in Rumsfeld.
Sherrod Brown: Voted every time in favor of final intelligence budgets.
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Jobs
Joe Biden: We value working class; Republicans value privileged class.
Lee Fisher: Incentive for Ohio jobs rather than breaks for jobs overseas.
Rob Portman: High unemployment rate creates Ohio brain drain.
Lee Fisher: OpEd: In charge of job creation when Ohio lost 400,000 jobs.
Lee Fisher: Enforce collective bargaining and prevailing wage laws.
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Principles & Values
Sherrod Brown: AdWatch: nepotistic hiring practices at the state treasury.
Josh Mandel: OpEd: Missed 14 monthly meetings as Ohio Treasurer.
John Kasich: Kasich rhymes with Basic.
John Kasich: Host of weekly news show, "Heartland with John Kasich".
Lee Fisher: I'm just as angry at Washington insiders as you are.
Rob Portman: If you like the way things are going, support my opponent.
Lee Fisher: Ohio voters are mad as hell over Republican policies.
Rob Portman: A top adviser to President George W. Bush.
Mike DeWine: Worked in a bi-partisan manner to get things done.
Mike DeWine: Brown does not represent the mainstream of Ohio.
Sherrod Brown: Endorsed by conservative group that cares about tax fairness.
Paul Hackett: Ohio Democrats need an 88-county strategy to win elections.
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Social Security
Josh Mandel: Raise retirement age, but not for Baby Boomers or older.
Sherrod Brown: Don't raise retirement age; system has been reliable.
Lee Fisher: No benefit cuts; don't raise retirement age.
Rob Portman: Bush's proposal was sound, but I'm not for privatization.
Lee Fisher: Strengthen, preserve and protect Social Security.
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Tax Reform
Josh Mandel: I'm proud to pledge for lower taxes.
Sherrod Brown: Anti-tax pledges handcuff budget decisions.
Josh Mandel: Eliminate the death tax; it's an unjust double taxation.
Michael Pryce: Consumption tax gets government off our backs.
John Kasich: Lower taxes to create competitive climate.
Lee Fisher: Let Bush tax cuts expire for millionaires.
Rob Portman: Any tax increase would hurt the fragile economy.
Lee Fisher: 2005 tax cut reduced Ohio taxes by 16.8%.
Lee Fisher: Let tax cuts on wealthy expire, to pay for health reform.
Mike DeWine: Some ads had mistakes, but say Brown votes against tax cuts.
Sherrod Brown: DeWine’s ads doctor WTC photos to distort my record on taxes.
Bob Taft: 3-year tax holiday for high-tech start-ups.
Charlie Wilson: Supports progressive state income tax.
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Technology
Bob Taft: New programs for high-tech skills training.
Bob Taft: $52M to support high-tech research.
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War & Peace
Josh Mandel: Two tours of duty in Iraq as a U.S. Marine.
Michael Pryce: We are world police; Iran likely already has a nuclear bomb.
Michael Pryce: No military nor development funding for Afghanistan.
Michael Pryce: Withdraw from Iraq; but sanctions on Iran.
Lee Fisher: Set a deadline for withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Rob Portman: Arbitrary deadline for withdrawal lets enemy wait it out.
Eric Deaton: Withdraw from Iraq; increase sanctions on Iran.
Lee Fisher: Responsibly end the war in Iraq; train Afghan troops & exit.
Lee Fisher: Stop Iran & North Korea from developing or acquiring nukes.
Mike DeWine: Cannot set an artificial timetable for withdrawal from Iraq.
Mike DeWine: Iraq has become a cause celebre for the jihadists.
Mike DeWine: Would not have voted to go into Iraq with what we now know.
Sherrod Brown: Instruct the military to come up with a withdrawal plan.
Sherrod Brown: Iraq has distracted the War on Terror and made us less safe.
Sherrod Brown: Voted against $87 billion that went to Halliburton.
Al Gore: Bosnia: Be proud that we stopped ethnic cleansing.
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Welfare & Poverty
John Kasich: Chaired committee which overhauled the welfare system.
Steven Driehaus: Fund faith-based and community-based private organizations.
Joyce Beatty: Expand state services to include the working poor.
Lee Fisher: Fund state social programs for teens; pre-K; at-risk youth.
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