Tom Carper in 2012 Del. Senate Debate
On Abortion:
Fund Planned Parenthood; contraception reduces abortion
One audience member asked if they thought human rights or religious rights were more important. Another asked if the candidates would vote to fund Planned Parenthood.Carper said most religions instruct followers to treat others the way they would
like to be treated. "I think we have a moral obligation to show our faith by our deeds," he said. Carper said he would fund Planned Parenthood because 98 percent of women use contraception, and contraception will reduce the need for abortions.
Source: Cape Gazette on 2012 Delaware Senate debate
Oct 19, 2012
On Civil Rights:
Let state legislatures decide who can get married
Carper said it is up to the states' legislatures to decide who can get married in their state.
Pires criticized Carper for speaking in "double-talk" while answering "I support gay marriage. Gay people are equal."
Source: Newark Post on 2012 Delaware Senate debate
Oct 19, 2012
On Civil Rights:
Repeal DOMA; it's unconstitutional
Carper said he agrees with recent courts' ruling that the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which President Bill Clinton signed into law in 1996 giving states the grounds to bar same-sex couples from getting married, is unconstitutional. "Would
I vote to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act? I would. And when you've got four of five courts saying something is unconstitutional, I think we should fix it," Carper said.
Source: Newark Post on 2012 Delaware Senate debate
Oct 19, 2012
On Corporations:
Roadmap for deficit reduction should raise corporate taxes
Carper said President Barack Obama has created a roadmap for deficit reduction, which includes raising tax rates on corporations. He said the president's proposal has earned bipartisan support. "This is a good roadmap; we should do it," Carper said.
Carper said a comprehensive deficit reduction plan would demonstrate fiscal responsibility. The government does not create jobs, Carper said; it creates a nurturing environment where businesses can thrive.
Source: Cape Gazette on 2012 Delaware Senate debate
Oct 19, 2012
On Free Trade:
Work very, very hard to knock down trade barriers
Carper said that in order to keep taxes lower, he has worked to "pull the plug" on outdated tax credits, and that he supports the Investment Tax Credit, which places incentives on companies' investments in technologies that can be sold around the world
as commercial products and services. "We need to work very, very hard to knock down trade barriers so the products that we do develop, we can sell them to countries--not just Korea, Columbia and Panama, but to other countries as well," Carper said.
Source: Newark Post on 2012 Delaware Senate debate
Oct 19, 2012
On Immigration:
If immigrants stay out of trouble, they can stay
Asked for his opinion on undocumented workers, Carper said he has worked to establish legislation that secures U.S. borders, and that children who have migrated here with their families should not be forced to leave. "If they've stayed
out of trouble, if they're doing well in school, they can stay," he said. "They can't become citizens, but they can stay."
Source: Newark Post on 2012 Delaware Senate debate
Oct 19, 2012
On Principles & Values:
We need bridge-builders in Washington
Carper, the incumbent, said he has worked across the aisle to accomplish things in Delaware. "We need bridge-builders in Washington,"
Carper said. "We need leaders who don't build themselves up by tearing other people down."
Source: Cape Gazette on 2012 Delaware Senate debate
Oct 19, 2012
On Civil Rights:
Repeal the Defense of Marriage Act
Wade called same-sex marriage a "fringe issue" and a distraction to real issues of concern to voters. "They worry about jobs, their homes, this country and the future of their children and grandchildren," he said.Pires unequivocally supported
legalization of same-sex marriage. Carper offered more tepid support but said he supports the repeal of a Bill Clinton-era law that defines marriage as between a man and a woman. Carper only recently reversed his position on the Defense of Marriage Act.
Source: Delmarva Daily Times on 2012 Del. Senate debate
Oct 17, 2012
On Health Care:
Suffers from glaucoma & high blood pressure
[Challenged by Independent challenger Alex Pires for months], Carper pointed to a doctor's letter posted to his website. The letter says Carper has a history of glaucoma, which was treated in 2006, and well-controlled but elevated blood pressure levels,
which have been treated by daily medication. The letter was signed by Brian P. Monahan, attending physician of the U.S. Congress, and dated Oct. 12. Monahan noted in the text of the letter that it was provided at Carper's request.
A separate letter provided by Wilmington eye surgeon S. Gregory Smith goes into greater detail on Carper's history with glaucoma.
Pires called the letter "phony" and "bogus" and renewed a call for Carper's full medical records. "I'm more enthusiastic about the issue, not less," Pires said. "I'm right. I know I'm right."
Source: Delmarva Daily Times on 2012 Del. Senate debate
Oct 17, 2012
On Principles & Values:
Rumors about my health are "baloney" and "hogwash"
Alex Pires continued his assault on Tom Carper, asserting that the incumbent had a hidden illness he wasn't disclosing to voters.Carper responded by pointing to a doctor's letter posted to his website 2 days before stating that the senator's "overall
health is good."
The moderator initiated the conversation, asking Pires to explain why he would question the senator's health, after Pires first raised the health issue in July. "If Tom Carper is emotionally and mentally healthy, he would end it by
putting his health records out," Pires said, saying the senator has had trouble focusing during public events and suggesting Carper would step down soon after re-election.
Carper responded, calling the the issue "baloney," adding that "we'd do well
to focus on the health of our economy and finances."
In an interview following the debate, Carper said rumors that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's or a form of dementia is "hogwash. It's nonsense."
Source: Delmarva Daily Times on 2012 Del. Senate debate
Oct 17, 2012
On Social Security:
Private accounts as an add-on, not full privatization
Pires attempted to attack Carper on Social Security, accusing the senator of supporting a plan to privatize the government program by putting Americans' retirement funds in private accounts. He called Carper a "proponent of privatization," reading
quotes from 2005 that appeared to reflect Carper's support for the move.Carper said he only supported private accounts as an add-on to the traditional Social Security program.
Carper added that he opposed a full privatization measure proposed by President George W. Bush in 2005. In fact, he and other lawmakers sent a letter to then-President Bush on March 3 of that year calling on the
Republican to "publicly and unambiguously announce that you reject privatized accounts funded with Social Security dollars."
Source: Delmarva Daily Times on 2012 Del. Senate debate
Oct 17, 2012
On Tax Reform:
Broaden the base of taxable income by removing deductions
Wade said that Congress must act to remove deductions and loopholes to simplify the tax code. He said that General Electric was able to avoid paying any federal income taxes two years ago by deploying special interest tax loopholes."We have loopholes
everywhere but not loopholes for 'We, the people,' " Wade said. "We need to overhaul the tax code, which is 60,000 pages of nonsense, and remove it as an obstacle." Wade said his experience as a business owner would be an asset in the Senate.
Carper also said he would support lowering tax rates across the board and broadening the base of taxable income by removing deductions. The plan is similar to others offered by President Barack Obama's deficit reduction commission and Republican presiden
Source: Delmarva Daily Times on 2012 Del. Senate debate
Oct 17, 2012
On Principles & Values:
2000: Twenty debates are "the Delaware way"
Kevin Wade, the Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate, is challenging Senator Tom Carper (D-DE) to a series of "twenty debates or thirty debates" in the upcoming campaign. He issued the challenge on WDEL radio Friday afternoon. Wade said that
Carper challenged then-incumbent senator William V. Roth (R-DE) to a series of twenty debates statewide in 2000. Carper defeated Roth in that election, and called the debate challenge "the Delaware way."
"There are 880,000 people in the state that
have questions they'd like to ask of Senator Carper" Wade said during his call-in to a popular Wilmington radio program. "Maybe we can get 500 at a time into a room and get the questions asked and he can describe his vision from his 35-year incumbency
standpoint," he continued.
Wade described Carper as "silent Tom down in the Senate." He said the debates in 2000, which he referred to as "the Carper rule," were a good idea then and are a good idea now. "Good ideas don't age," he said.
Source: Delaware Republican Examiner on 2012 Delaware Senate debates
May 26, 2012
Page last updated: Dec 04, 2018