Scott Brown in 2012 Mass. Senate Debate
On Tax Reform:
Never raise taxes in a recession; it hurts job creators
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.Brown said he would never raise taxes on anyone and particularly not in the midst of a three-year recession, because doing so would hurt the "job creators" and crush small businesses.
Source: N.Y. Times on 2012 Mass. Senate debates
Oct 11, 2012
On Immigration:
DREAM Act provides "back door amnesty"
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:
Rely on guidance from generals about Afghanistan withdrawal
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 Jobs:
Proud union member
In desperate need of independents to get reelected, Brown said a lot of things that his most enthusiastic supporters don't want to hear: He's a proud union member, John Kerry would make a fine secretary of state, and Sonia Sotomayor would be a model
Supreme Court chief justice. But so would Antonin Scalia. And Anthony Kennedy. And John Roberts. To his credit, Brown only dissed the other justices by not mentioning them. Warren took the easy way out and picked her former boss, Elena Kagan.
Source: Boston Globe on 2012 Mass. Senate debate
Oct 1, 2012
On Abortion:
I'm pro-choice but anti-Elena Kagan
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.
Source: North Adams Transcript on 2012 Mass. Senate debate
Sep 21, 2012
On Abortion:
Birth control ok, but don't force churches to provide it
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:
Stop dividing Americans into haves and have-nots
Brown rejected Warren's attempt to divide Americans into the top
3% versus everyone else, or billionaires and oil companies versus everyone else. "Fingerpointing, us versus them, the haves and have-nots," he said.
Source: FutureOfCapitalism.com on 2012 Mass. Senate Debate
Sep 21, 2012
On Energy & Oil:
I'm no friend of big oil; I'm a friend of the motorist
Warren sought to depict Brown as a friend of billionaires and big oil companies, asking "whose side do you stand on?" Responding to Warren's criticism of him for a vote she described as cutting oil subsidies, Brown noted that gas prices are
$4 a gallon, and said, "I'm no friend of big oil. I'm a friend of the motorist." Warren retorted that what she called the "big five" oil companies made $137 billion in profits last year.
Source: FutureOfCapitalism.com on 2012 Mass. Senate Debate
Sep 21, 2012
On Energy & Oil:
Ease up on big oil companies to avoid high price of gasoline
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 Tax Reform:
Guilty as charged: I don't want to raise taxes
Warren said she favored a "balanced approach" to deficit reduction. Brown sought to depict Warren as a tax-increaser, and he deflected her attacks. "Her criticism of me is that I'm not gonna raise taxes, and that's an accurate criticism," he said.
At another point, he said, "The criticism you're hearing. I don't want to raise taxes. Guilty as charged." 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 War & Peace:
No nuance with Iran: no nuclear weapons
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 Abortion:
I'm a moderate pro-choice Republican & always have been
Warren raised questions about Brown's endorsement by "antichoice groups;" and his cosponsoring of the Blunt Amendment, which would allow health plans and employers to refuse to pay for contraception and other medical services if they have a religious
or moral objection. "You should stop scaring women," Brown retorted. "I've been fighting for women for a long, long time," he said. "Listen, we're both pro-choice. I'm a moderate pro-choice Republican. I always have been."
Source: Boston Globe on 2012 Mass. Senate debate
Sep 20, 2012
On Principles & Values:
Warren claims Native American; but you can see she is not
Senator Scott Brown questioned Democratic challenger Elizabeth Warren's claim of Native American heritage in the opening moments of a lively high-stakes television debate tonight. When the moderator asked if character was an issue in the race,
Brown answered, "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 responded that she had learned of her heritage from stories told by her family. "When I was growing up, these were the stories I knew about my heritage," she said.
She also said that when her mother and father wanted to get married, her 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," said Warren.
Source: Boston Globe on 2012 Mass. Senate debate
Sep 20, 2012
On Tax Reform:
I'm not going to raise taxes on our job creators
Warren and Brown tangled over Brown's recent statement that he would vote against a plan to extend Bush era tax cuts, if the cuts were not extended for those earning over $250,000 a year. "He would let taxes go up for
98% of families in order to protect tax breaks for the top 2%," said Warren. "I'll make it crystal clear. I will not vote to increase taxes on working families, not ever."
Brown said the US Chamber of Commerce had said that Warren's tax policies were the "greatest threat to free enterprise."
He added, "We already have a tremendous amount of tax revenue in Washington right now. I'm not going to raise taxes on our job creators."
Source: Boston Globe on 2012 Mass. Senate debate
Sep 20, 2012
On Gun Control:
Extend the state assault weapons ban, but not federal
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 and Brown saying it is an issue best left to the states. But gun rights proponents argue that tight controls prohibit would-be victims from defending
themselves from attackers, who will acquire guns whether they are legal or not.
Brown, who has tried to walk a difficult middle ground on the issue, takes a different tack. "Scott Brown supports the state assault weapon ban here in Massachusetts and
believes that states are the appropriate venue for making these types of decisions," Brown's campaign said.
In the Legislature, Brown was a reliable vote for gun rights, with one major exception: He supported the state version of an assault weapons ban
Source: Boston Globe on 2012 Mass. Senate debate
Jul 27, 2012
On Gun Control:
Reliably pro-gun, but opposed right-to-carry reciprocity
In the Legislature, Brown was a reliable vote for gun rights. Several of his votes earned top marks from gun rights groups, including an A-plus in 2008 from the Gun Owners' Action League. Among them was a vote against a 2004 measure that sought to ban
assault weapons manufactured prior to 1994. While serving as a state representative in 2002, he sided with a number of Democrats in allowing residents who had certain felony convictions to get gun licenses after seven years.But last year, Brown broke
with the NRA to oppose a bill that has been the gun rights lobby's top priority in Washington. Known as the National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act, it would allow gun owners with permits from their own states to carry concealed weapons across state
lines, regardless of local and state restrictions. Brown said he would vote against granting that permission.
Brown's nuanced position has drawn criticism from both sides and has caused gun rights groups to cool in their support of him.
Source: Boston Globe on 2012 Mass. Senate debate
Jul 27, 2012
Page last updated: Dec 04, 2018