2014 South Carolina Senate debates


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OnTheIssues.org excerpts:  (click on issues for details)

Abortion     Tim Scott: Human life begins at conception.     Thomas Ravenel: Hired abortion activist as campaign Communications Director.     Lee Bright: Human life begins at conception.     Jay Stamper: Limiting abortion isn't limited-government conservatism.

Budget & Economy     Tim Scott: Free enterprise is the key to national prosperity.     Thomas Ravenel: Federal spending is headed for a doomsday scenario.     Lee Bright: Free enterprise is the key to national prosperity.     Rick Wade: AdWatch: 5 years in Washington on failed $787B stimulus.     Nancy Mace: Restore some accountability in the budgeting process.     Lindsey Graham: Dollar-for-dollar offset: cut spending to raise debt ceiling.     Tim Scott: Address fiscal cliff with sequestration & tax cut extension.

Civil Rights     Tim Scott: Government shouldn't redefine marriage.     Brad Hutto: Equal pay for equal work is the next women's milestone.     Thomas Ravenel: Stay out of marriage, but if not, treat gays equally.     Lee Bright: Government shouldn't redefine marriage.     Thomas Ravenel: Government should stay out of our bedrooms &our boardrooms.     Rick Wade: First all-black U.S. Senate race in recent memory.     Jay Stamper: Asked by Party to exit race after supporting gay marriage.

Corporations     Lindsey Graham: AdWatch: Hero of the taxpayer & guardian of small business.     Jay Stamper: Stop giving away millions in corporate welfare.     Lindsey Graham: 1997: Created trucking logistics company with 100 employees.     Rick Wade: Served in Obama's U.S. Commerce Department.

Crime     Jay Stamper: Pleaded guilty to three white-collar felony charges in 2006.

Drugs     Thomas Ravenel: End the war on drugs; it's federal overreach & unsuccessful.     Thomas Ravenel: In favor of ending the war on drugs.     Tim Scott: Marijuana is unhealthy, but states' rights are important too.

Education     Tim Scott: Oppose nationwide Common Core standards.     Lee Bright: Oppose nationwide Common Core standards.     Rick Wade: All 6 siblings attended public schools.     Nancy Mace: Strongly supports educational choice.     Lee Bright: Advocates abolishing the Department of Education.     Rick Wade: Vision for S.C. focused on education and jobs.

Energy & Oil     Tim Scott: No subsidies for wind and solar.     Lee Bright: No subsidies for wind and solar.     Joyce Dickerson: Open the Savannah River Site nuclear reactor fuel project.     Lee Bright: Deal with waste, to remove obstacles to new nuclear plants.     Rick Wade: V.P. of GreenTech Automotive, the "green car" company.

Environment     Lindsey Graham: Green diesel regulations cost $367 per truck per year.

Families & Children     Thomas Ravenel: Let churches provide for families in need, not state.

Foreign Policy     Brad Hutto: Focus on state's needs, not foreign conflicts.     Brad Hutto: We should not act as the world's policeman.     Thomas Ravenel: Opposed to foreign interventions.     Lee Bright: Remove Russia from G-8 over Ukraine invasion.     Lindsey Graham: Create a democratic noose around Putin's Russia.     Jay Stamper: Trillions on foreign engagements isn't fiscal conservatism.     Nancy Mace: No foreign aid to Egypt & countries who are our enemies.

Free Trade     Lindsey Graham: NAFTA drained away textile trade from Upstate SC.     Rick Wade: Envoy to China, to get investment via EB-5 visas.

Government Reform     Tim Scott: Photo ID for voting.     Lee Bright: Photo ID for voting.     Rick Wade: Washington is broken.     Nancy Mace: Term limits of 12 years for Senate; 6 years for House.     Nancy Mace: Term limits are the only way to stop the ruling elitists.

Gun Control     Tim Scott: Opposes more gun restrictions.     Lee Bright: Opposes more gun restrictions.     Joyce Dickerson: Right to guns, but address issues of gun violence.     Tim Scott: Don't rush to judgment on gun control after school shootings.

Health Care     Tim Scott: Repeal ObamaCare; it's not a government responsibility.     Lee Bright: Repeal ObamaCare; it's not a government responsibility.     Thomas Ravenel: Against ObamaCare.     Lindsey Graham: Opposed ObamaCare from day one.     Rick Wade: ObamaCare addresses closing health care disparities.     Lee Bright: Full implementation of ObamaCare ends self-governance.     Lindsey Graham: Let ObamaCare show itself as a continuing debacle.     Nancy Mace: ObamaCare will be the undoing of our American way of life.

Homeland Security     Tim Scott: Maintain a superior nuclear arsenal.     Thomas Ravenel: No NSA snooping; defend the Fourth Amendment.     Thomas Ravenel: No more blood & treasure on 'nation-building' in Iraq.     Thomas Ravenel: I want a military that defends America, not Germany or Japan.     Thomas Ravenel: We absolutely must have the world's strongest military.     Lee Bright: Maintain a superior nuclear arsenal.     Joyce Dickerson: I'm mad as heel about delays in veterans' care.     Lindsey Graham: Doing nothing about Benghazi leads to a more dangerous world.     Jay Stamper: NSA domestic spying included innocent U.S. citizens.     Lindsey Graham: NSA domestic spying only targets terrorism suspects.     Lindsey Graham: NSA leaker Edward Snowden is a felon, not a hero.     Lindsey Graham: Cuts to military systems will leave us with a hollow force.     Jack Reed: Don't over-react to Benghazi; situation was confused.     Lindsey Graham: President did not do enough to protect Benghazi embassy.

Immigration     Tim Scott: Protect the borders; prevent illegal entry.     Thomas Ravenel: Robust worker visa program, plus anything else reasonable.     Lee Bright: Protect the borders; prevent illegal entry.     Lee Bright: Secure the border first; but no amnesty.     Lindsey Graham: Secure border now in place with comprehensive immigration.     Lindsey Graham: New amnesty is tough and ends incoming illegals.

Jobs     Joyce Dickerson: Equal pay for women, and higher minimum wage.     Lindsey Graham: Biggest business headache is worker's compensation system.

Principles & Values     Tim Scott: Judeo-Christian values established our government framework.     Thomas Ravenel: Values taught by church, not enforced by mandate.     Lee Bright: Judeo-Christian values established our government framework.     Thomas Ravenel: Fiscally conservative and socially moderate libertarian.     Rick Wade: Withdraws from race, citing too-late entrance.     Tim Scott: OpEd: Dems call Scott "senator for the Heritage Foundation".     Rick Wade: Commitment to listen to the people, not special interests.     Nancy Mace: Give a conservative voice to the people of South Carolina.     Lee Bright: I live all aspects of my life based on Biblical principles.     Rick Wade: Ran unsuccessfully for secretary of state in 2002.     Tim Scott: Grew up poor in a black community in North Charleston.     Tim Scott: Served in public office for 18 years, with 2 terms in House.

Social Security     Thomas Ravenel: Voluntary personal accounts for younger workers.

Tax Reform     Lee Bright: Supports the FairTax to simplify taxes.

Technology     Thomas Ravenel: Government doesn't belong in your email inbox.     Rick Wade: Infrastructure investment in the poorest areas of S.C.     Joyce Dickerson: Ensure the county has reliable public transportation.     Lee Bright: Dredge the Port of Charleston to a 50-foot depth.

War & Peace     Lindsey Graham: More intervention in Iraq avoids an American city in flames.     Thomas Ravenel: Intervention in Iraq based on same nonsense as in past.     Thomas Ravenel: U.S. military is over-involved overseas.     Thomas Ravenel: Republicans are pro-invading this or that country.     Lindsey Graham: Obama "screams loudly & carries no stick," in Russia & Syria.     Newt Gingrich: Obama "screams loudly & carries no stick," in Russia & Syria.     Jay Stamper: Don't go on "war footing" against Russia over Ukraine.     Lindsey Graham: Support the Syrian rebels against Assad & Iran.     Lee Bright: Intervention in Syria would help the Muslim Brotherhood.     Lindsey Graham: Intervention in Syria to degrade Assad's chemical weapons.     Lindsey Graham: Getting Syria wrong leads to Iranian nukes & war with Israel.     Nancy Mace: Intervention in Syria would bolster al-Qaida.     Lindsey Graham: Syria: Assad must go, and small arms won't do it.     Lindsey Graham: Get involved in Syria to protect against al Qaeda and Iran.     Lindsey Graham: Slow Afghan withdrawal, with 15,000 US troops left behind.

Welfare & Poverty     Thomas Ravenel: New Deal & Great Society are examples of federal overreach.

Click for quotations from other sources by: Brad Hutto Democratic Challenger South Carolina Jack Reed Democratic Sr Senator Rhode Island Jay Stamper Republican Challenger South Carolina Joyce Dickerson Democratic Senate Challenger South Carolina Lee Bright Republican Challenger South Carolina Lindsey Graham South Carolina S.C. Senator; Republican Presidential candidate Nancy Mace Republican Senate challenger South Carolina Newt Gingrich Republican Rick Wade Democratic Senate Challenger South Carolina Thomas Ravenel Republican Senate challenger South Carolina Tim Scott Republican Senator-Appointee South Carolina