Elizabeth Warren in 2012 Mass. Senate Debate
On Civil Rights:
We need a reliable vote for equal pay for equal work
As in their previous two debates, Warren cast Brown as an unreliable vote on women's issues, though she did so more crisply than before. In a direct appeal to women, she said that when Brown had the chance to vote for equal pay for equal work, he voted
no; when he had the chance to vote for employers and insurers to pay for coverage for contraception, he voted no; when he had the chance to vote for a Supreme Court justice who supported abortion rights, he voted no. "The women of
Massachusetts need a senator they can count on--not some of the time but all of the time," she said. Whether abortion remains legal, she said, "may hang in the balance." Brown shot back that "I didn't vote for your boss," a reference to
Justice Elena Kagan, who was dean of the Harvard Law School. He said Kagan didn't have the requisite judicial experience.
Source: N.Y. Times on 2012 Mass. Senate debates
Oct 11, 2012
On Homeland Security:
Reduce size of standing army to reduce deficit
Warren portrayed herself as someone who was being honest and realistic when she said she would "raise revenues," a euphemism for taxes, and would even cut the military budget and redirect spending to education programs
and improvements in the nation's infrastructure.Only late in the debate did Warren try to explain why and how she would cut the military budget.
She said that Brown's determination not to raise taxes meant that the budget would not be balanced and the deficit would not be reduced, which would lead to across-the-board cuts in all agencies.
She would rather make planned cuts, such as by reducing the size of the standing army, she said, than allow across-the-board cuts that could hurt needed programs.
Source: N.Y. Times on 2012 Mass. Senate debates
Oct 11, 2012
On Immigration:
Strongly supports the DREAM Act
The two split on immigration. Brown said he supports an overhaul of the nation's immigration laws, but opposes the so-called DREAM Act, which would provide a path to legal status for many young illegal immigrants.
He called the proposal "back door amnesty." Warren said she strongly supports the Dream Act.
Source: Fox News on 2012 Mass. Senate debate
Oct 2, 2012
On War & Peace:
Bring US troops home from Afghanistan before 2014
Asked about Afghanistan, Warren broke with Obama, saying U.S. troops should be brought home ahead of his 2014 withdrawal date. "We can't stay and rebuild Afghanistan forever," she said. "I think it is time to bring our troops home."
Brown, however, said he wouldn't want to second guess the president. "I would rely on the guidance from the president and his generals," he said.
Source: Fox News on 2012 Mass. Senate debate
Oct 2, 2012
On Abortion:
No Supreme Court nominees who oppose legal abortion
Warren tried to portray Brown as unreliable on women's issues. Warren said she would not vote to support a U.S. Supreme Court nominee who opposes legal abortion. She criticized Brown for opposing the nomination of Elena Kagan to the court.
Brown described himself as "pro-choice" and said he opposed Kagan because she didn't have enough courtroom experience for the high court. "Sorry I didn't vote for your boss," Brown said, referring to Kagan's tenure as dean of Harvard Law School.
Warren pointed to a Brown vote in favor of a proposed amendment that would allow employers to deny insurance coverage for birth control.
Brown said he supports women's access to birth control but was trying to protect the concerns of Roman Catholics.
Source: North Adams Transcript on 2012 Mass. Senate debate
Sep 21, 2012
On Budget & Economy:
Balanced approach to deficit reduction
Warren said she favored a "balanced approach" to deficit reduction--one of President Obama's favorite euphemisms for tax increases. Brown sought to depict Warren as a tax-increaser, and he deflected her attacks, saying: "Her criticism of me is that
I'm not gonna raise taxes, and that's an accurate criticism." He said of Professor Warren, "she's obsessed with raising taxes. The first thing, every single time, is to raise taxes."
Source: FutureOfCapitalism.com on 2012 Mass. Senate Debate
Sep 21, 2012
On Corporations:
FactCheck: Insurers should pay victims, plus future immunity
Brown charged Warren for her work for Travelers Insurance in a case involving asbestos victims. Brown said Warren helped the company deny payment to asbestos poisoning victims. Brown's facts were largely true, but the impression he left was somewhat
misleading. Brown said, "She helped Travelers deny benefits for asbestos poisoning, made over $250,000 in an effort to protect big corporations."The Globe's conclusion after an extensive examination: Warren was paid $212,000 by Travelers from 2008 to
2010. Warren helped Travelers win a case that gave the company immunity from most asbestos lawsuits, and a $500 million trust fund has not been paid out because of a court order that Travelers won after Warren's work on the case ended.
But at the time,
most asbestos victims were actually on Warren's side of the issue. She was fighting, she says, to unlock the $500 million trust, which Travelers said at the time it was willing to pay out in order to gain immunity and settle all the outstanding claims.
Source: Boston Globe 2012 FactCheck on Mass. Senate Debate
Sep 21, 2012
On Principles & Values:
My Indian heritage played no role in Harvard hiring
Questions about Warren's roots have dogged her campaign since the story broke in April. Warren has acknowledged that she had identified herself as a minority in a legal directory for nearly a decade, and she was listed as a Native American in federal
forms filed by Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania where she worked. But she has said her heritage claim played no role in her career advancement.Some members of Warren's extended family had also heard stories of Native American blood in the
family, but others had not.
Brown challenged Warren to release her personnel records to prove that her claim of Native American heritage had played no role in her getting jobs. Warren pointed to the fact that Prof. Charles Fried, a Republican, who sat
on the committee that recruited Warren for her Harvard job, said that he was unaware of her ancestry when she was hired. "There's nothing else there. The question has been asked and answered. I think the senator just doesn't like the answer," Warren said
Source: Boston Globe 2012 FactCheck on Mass. Senate Debate
Sep 21, 2012
On Principles & Values:
My family is part Cherokee and I can't change who I am
Brown began the debate by saying Warren "checked the box claiming she is Native American, and clearly she is not." Brown called on Warren, a professor at Harvard Law School, to release records related to her hiring at the school to show whether
she got an unfair advantage. "I think character is important," he said. Warren said that her parents told her growing up that her mother was part Cherokee and part
Delaware Indian and that as a child she never questioned that story. Warren also said those who hired her during her law school career had said they were either unaware of her background or that
it played no role in their decision to hire her. "This is about family. I can't and I won't change who I am," she said.
Source: North Adams Transcript on 2012 Mass. Senate debate
Sep 21, 2012
On Tax Reform:
Stop protecting loopholes for millionaires
Warren pointed to a series of Brown votes in the Senate that she said show he sided with big oil companies and held tax cuts for the middle class hostage to give tax cuts to millionaires. "Sen. Brown is out there protecting every loophole," she said.
Brown responded that Warren supports higher taxes, and also said putting more financial pressure on oil companies could raise prices at the pump. "I am on the taxpayer's side," he said, noting that it's now costing him $70 to fill up his pick-up truck.
Source: North Adams Transcript on 2012 Mass. Senate debate
Sep 21, 2012
On War & Peace:
Take nothing off the table with Iran's nuclear weapon
Asked about the possibility that Iran could acquire a nuclear weapon, Brown criticized Warren for not adopting a tough enough response. "We cannot have a nuanced approach that Professor Warren wants," he said.
Warren said she also supports Israel and is opposed to allowing Iran to gain nuclear arms. She also praised Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Obama, saying he's "done a first-rate job. He's taking nothing off the table."
Source: North Adams Transcript on 2012 Mass. Senate debate
Sep 21, 2012
On Principles & Values:
My father's family rejected my mother's Indian heritage
Q: Is character an issue in this Senate race?BROWN: I think character is important. Professor Warren claimed she was a Native American, a person of color. And as you can see, she's not.
WARREN: When I was growing up, these were the stories
I knew about my heritage. When [my parents] wanted to get married, my father's family said no because my mother was part Delaware and part Cherokee. This is my family, this is who I am, and it's not going to change.
Source: Boston Globe on 2012 Mass. Senate debate
Sep 20, 2012
On Health Care:
ObamaCare provides free preventive care for women
As two important provisions of the Affordable Care Act reform go into effect today, U.S. Senate candidate and consumer advocate Elizabeth Warren praised the positive benefits that the health care reform law is providing to women and families across the
Commonwealth. "By ensuring that insurance companies cover key preventive health services free of charge, the Affordable Care Act is already providing real benefits to women and families here in Massachusetts and across the country," said Warren.
As of today, August 1st, whenever insurance plans come up for their annual renewal, the companies will be required to cover key preventive services for women free of charge. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,
approximately 47 million women nationwide, including over 1.2 million Massachusetts women, are in health plans that must cover these new preventive services without charging a co-pay, co-insurance, or deductible.
Source: Boston Globe on 2012 Mass. Senate debate
Aug 1, 2012
On Gun Control:
Extend the federal assault weapons ban
Warren's positions are largely in line with those of gun-control advocates, while Brown had long been endorsed by gun rights groups until he recently broke rank on a high-profile issue. The candidates are most sharply divided about whether to renew
the federal assault weapons ban, with Warren supporting an extension of the ban that expired in 2004 & Brown saying it is an issue best left to the states. Warren's campaign said she also supports proposals to require more rigorous background screenings,
including for people who purchase firearms at gun shows; and opposes limits on the sharing of firearms trace information.
"There is a huge difference between the guns of a sportsman or homeowner and high-powered assault weapons with 100-cartridge
magazines," she said. "I grew up around guns & gun owners, and I will work to protect the rights of law-abiding citizens. But the law must reflect the reality that, in the wrong hands, guns can be used for violent crimes, making neighborhoods less safe."
Source: Boston Globe on 2012 Mass. Senate debate
Jul 27, 2012
On Health Care:
No privatizing Medicare, nor voucher program
Too many have been using scare tactics when it comes to Social Security. Social Security can pay 100% of benefits for at least the next 20 years. Instead of taking on special interests, too many politicians have proposed privatizing
Medicare, turning it into a voucher program, or cutting it altogether. I will not support privatizing Medicare, turning it into a voucher program, or cutting benefits.
Source: Boston Globe questionnaire on 2012 Mass. Senate debate
Jul 11, 2012
On Social Security:
No unnecessary cuts or risky privatization schemes
Most independent deficit analysts say entitlement projected spending will need to be reduced to solve the budget deficit. We should start there before we even consider breaking the promises we made to our seniors.
It would be a breach of trust--and just plain poor economic policy--to jeopardize these programs with unnecessary cuts or risky privatization schemes, especially when the wealthy and well-connected continue to enjoy special tax deals.
Source: Boston Globe questionnaire on 2012 Mass. Senate debate
Jul 11, 2012
On Immigration:
Support the DREAM Act: Let kids stay
Warren jabbed at Brown while giving her ideas for solving the nation's immigration problems. "I believe in the Dream Act," Warren said. "When Scott Brown voted against it, he denied the dreams of young people who did nothing wrong and who are
trying to get an education or serve in the military. I thought that was wrong. I support the president's recent actions to help these kids."The Brown campaign called Warren "an extreme liberal on illegal immigration who supports amnesty
and even wants to reward illegal immigrants with low in-state tuition rates financed by taxpayers." A Brown spokeswoman added: "This is a key difference between Professor Warren and Senator Brown.
Senator Brown believes we are a nation of immigrants and we should welcome those who seek a better life in America, but we are also a nation of laws that have to be respected and observed."
Source: Boston Globe on 2012 Mass. Senate debate
Jun 22, 2012
On Principles & Values:
I know I'm 1/32 Cherokee because my mother told me so
Warren, a Harvard Law School professor, was listed as Native American in 1995. HLS listed her as a minority when the school was under pressure to diversify the faculty. Warren has said that her "family lore" described Indian ancestors, and the New Englan
Genealogy Association said it found indications, but not proof, that Warren had a Cherokee great-great-great-grandmother, which would make her 1/32 Indian. "I'm proud of my heritage," Warren said. Asked how she knew it included
Native Americans, she replied, "Because my mother told me so."Her opponents question whether Warren chose this heritage to gain advantages available to Indians and other underrepresented groups in academia. Warren has been adamant that she did
not seek any advantage from Native American heritage. Records show that she declined to apply for admission to Rutgers Law School under a minority student program and identified her race as "White" on an employment record at the University of Texas.
Source: Associated Press on 2012 Mass. Senate debates
May 25, 2012
Page last updated: Dec 04, 2018