Jeff Beatty in 2008 MA Senate Debate
On Tax Reform:
Abolishing state income tax would act as economic stimulus
Kerry slammed Beatty’s support of Question 1 on the state ballot, the proposal to abolish the state income tax. “My prayer is that Jeff Beatty’s position will be soundly rejected by this state. To do what Jeff Beatty says we
should do would be calamitous,” he said.But Beatty said the abolition of the state income tax would act as an economic stimulus for families and businesses and would bring more jobs and opportunities to the state.
Source: 2008 MA Senate Debate reported in the Boston Herald
Oct 20, 2008
On War & Peace:
Kerry failed to read vital intelligence reports pre-Iraq war
Beatty accused Kerry of having “blood on his hands” over his vote to send U.S. troops into Iraq during a fiery televised debate last night. A combative Beatty launched a vicious verbal assault after Kerry snorted at Beatty’s claim that he failed to read
vital intelligence reports before voting for the war. “Don’t laugh. It’s not a joke,” fumed Beatty, a counterterrorism consultant and former CIA agent. “You knew. You knew when you voted for that war that we didn’t have what we needed for the war...
and you didn’t care because it was always about getting elected president. You have got blood on your hands.“Kerry branded Beatty’s attack ”insulting and frankly disgusting.“ He said his vote was based on intelligence reports presented to him by forme
CIA director George Tenet and U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell.
The candidates agreed the United States should withdraw from Iraq and concentrate on Afghanistan, while working to ensure Iran does not obtain nuclear weapons.
Source: 2008 MA Senate Debate reported in the Boston Herald
Oct 20, 2008
On Crime:
Endorsed Jessica's Law to punish sex offenders
Beatty supports John McCain for president, seeing the Republican candidate as a man like himself whose priorities are “to protect families, to protect jobs, and to protect the country.” He endorsed Jessica’s Law, a law adopted by 42 states to punish sex
offenders and limit their ability to re-offend. In support of protecting jobs, he said he opposes benefits to illegal immigrants at the expense of legal immigrants and American citizens and supports reduced taxes on small businesses.
Source: Hamilton-Wenham Chronicle on 2008 MA Senate Debate
Aug 13, 2008
On Families & Children:
Supports protecting families
Beatty supports John McCain for president, seeing the Republican candidate as a man like himself whose priorities are “to protect families, to protect jobs, and to protect the country.” He endorsed Jessica’s Law, a law adopted by 42 states to punish sex
offenders and limit their ability to re-offend. In support of protecting jobs, he said he opposes benefits to illegal immigrants at the expense of legal immigrants and American citizens and supports reduced taxes on small businesses.
Source: Hamilton-Wenham Chronicle on 2008 MA Senate Debate
Aug 13, 2008
On Free Trade:
Protect jobs for American citizens
Beatty supports John McCain for president, seeing the Republican candidate as a man like himself whose priorities are “to protect families, to protect jobs, and to protect the country.” He endorsed Jessica’s Law, a law adopted by 42 states to punish sex
offenders and limit their ability to re-offend. In support of protecting jobs, he said he opposes benefits to illegal immigrants at the expense of legal immigrants and American citizens and supports reduced taxes on small businesses.
Source: Hamilton-Wenham Chronicle on 2008 MA Senate Debate
Aug 13, 2008
On War & Peace:
Evidence for WMD in Iraq was not credible
Beatty sees Kerry’s vote to go to war as a decision based on “personal gain”--for example, in preparation for running for President--instead of national interests. Beatty said his CIA experience makes him believe the evidence for weapons of mass
destruction was not credible. As a veteran himself and a friend to families of soldiers killed or wounded in Iraq, he thinks the decision to go to war did not consider the impact on families of the men and women who had to implement that decision.
Source: Hamilton-Wenham Chronicle on 2008 MA Senate Debate
Aug 13, 2008
On Energy & Oil:
Additional drilling has to be part of the solution
Beatty said he is all for developing alternative energy sources and electric- and hydrogen-powered cars, but he said additional drilling for domestic oil has to be part of the solution.Beatty said he supports the proposed additional drilling in
Alaska’s ANWR wildlife preserve; drilling off the coast of the US; and Sen. John McCain’s call for a temporary suspension of the federal 18 cents per gallon gasoline tax.
Source: Attleboro Sun Chronicle on 2008 MA Senate Debate
Jul 30, 2008
On Energy & Oil:
Should have drilled ANWR 10 years ago; so drill now
Q: Is there any way your plan or your policies would diverge from John McCain’s?A: Sure. First of all, we were out there before he came up with his proposal. Second, he was not for drilling in ANWR. But I’m not running against John McCain,
I’m running against John Kerry. Contrast me to John Kerry. John Kerry doesn’t want to drill in ANWR, doesn’t want to drill off the coast. If you drill off the coast, that oil becomes available within two years.
It’s supply and demand, it’s the most simple rule of economics.
John Kerry says no to ANWR--you know why? He says because it will take ten years before any of that oil comes online. I said, ‘OK, what if we had done it ten years ago? You’ve been in the
Senate all this time. Did you not look down the road and see that we were going to need to be in control of our own destiny, not at the mercy of a Middle Eastern country who, whether they decided to pump more gas or not, we would have to go begging for?
Source: Dedham Times Interview on 2008 MA Senate Debate
Jul 16, 2008
On Homeland Security:
Restructure forces, larger, & for liberation, not occupation
We don’t have a force structure that’s designed to support an occupation. Didn’t have it in 2003, and I would be surprised if we ever have it again. During the Cold War, maybe we had it. During World War Two we had millions of people in uniform.
The Russians, who have occupied their share of countries--they had had millions of people in uniform. We only have hundreds of thousands of people in uniform.Let’s talk about what my take is on how our military should be used. I think that the
American military is small, should not be, and it won’t be structured for occupation. We should really be a military that when we use it, it’s a last resort, but it should be used for liberation not occupation.
When you do that you’re able to go in, you try to keep as much of the host country infrastructure in place as you can. That’s what we did after World War II in Japan, we kept a lot of infrastructure in place.
Source: Dedham Times Interview on 2008 MA Senate Debate
Jul 16, 2008
On War & Peace:
Iraq invasion was a mistake, but we can’t leave now
Q: You said you would not have voted as the Senate did six years ago to authorize the invasion of Iraq. Do you still hold that opinion?A: Absolutely. I think it was a mistake, I thought it was a mistake at the time. I don’t have to say with hindsight,
Source: Dedham Times Interview on 2008 MA Senate Debate
Jul 16, 2008
On War & Peace:
Leave Iraq with success, by any path
We can’t just turn around and leave [Iraq] because they will recruit like crazy. They will be able to say, ‘We defeated the Americans’. They will bring people to their side. The consequences for us will be severe if we do not leave
Iraq with some sort of success.There’s more than one way to get a success. I’ll support any path that I believe allows us to leave with a success. You almost define success as anything that the terrorists would define as not a success for them.
Source: Dedham Times Interview on 2008 MA Senate Debate
Jul 16, 2008
On Energy & Oil:
Opposed gas tax hikes; roll-back gasoline prices
His message on the economy, he says, ought to resonate among such working, middle-class voters. He wants to cut taxes, roll-back gasoline prices and trim government spending.He said that, in contrast, his opponent is a globe-trotter who has proposed
gas tax hikes.
“He doesn’t get it,” said Mr. Beatty, who is retired from a career in the US Army, CIA and FBI and running a small security business. “He doesn’t have any contact with the lives most of us lead. I’m a proud member of the middle class.”
Source: Worcester Telegram & Gazette on 2008 MA Senate Debate
Apr 2, 2008
Page last updated: Dec 01, 2018