Steve Welch in 2012 Penn. Senate Debates

On Health Care: Lunacy that consumers don't know real prices

Scaringi attacked President Obama's health plan, saying, "What we have to do is get health care back to the way it was before government got involved."

Welch agreed with Scaringi's position to take government out of the picture, but added that health care reform was needed long before Obama took office. "Let's be honest with ourselves, health care was broken before ObamaCare and Republicans need to acknowledge that," Welch said. "ObamaCare broke it even further." He added that when compared to most economic models, the American health care system is inherently flawed. "Think about the lunacy of a marketplace where the consumer doesn't know what the real price is," Welch said.

Source: Lehigh Valley Express-Times on 2012 PA Senate debate Apr 5, 2012

On Immigration: Secure America's borders

All of the candidates also favored securing America's borders, protecting the right to bear arms, and imposing a term limit on congressional politicians. And each candidate believes Casey can be unseated.

"He is the most liberal senator in the U.S. Senate," Welch said. "He is completely out of touch with the people of Pennsylvania."

Source: Lehigh Valley Express-Times on 2012 PA Senate debate Apr 5, 2012

On Principles & Values: Voted Democratic in 2008; but renounced support of Obama

The state Democratic Party issued a news release before the debate at the Union League, noting that Tom Smith is a former Democrat. Smith, who was a Democrat for four decades while serving as a township supervisor in the 1970s and 1980s, said he joined the Democratic Party to honor his parents. He was a Democratic committeeman as late as 2010. "It's true I was a Democrat but I was conservative, so I really wasn't a Democrat," Smith explained, adding that he chaired a county Tea Party organization. Source: Philadelphia Daily News on 2012 PA Senate debate Apr 4, 2012

On Government Reform: Term limits instead of a road to riches

Each of the candidates thought the federal debt is the nation's greatest threat. Welch called for a balanced budget amendment and term limits for lawmakers. "It should be a privilege to serve, not a road to riches," he said.

"We need a balanced budget amendment. That is really the only way we have to stop career politicians to spend us to bankruptcy," Scaringi said. He called for elimination of those agencies that harm the economy and are not supported by the Constitution.

Source: Williamsport Sun-Gazette on 2012 PA Senate debate Mar 23, 2012

On War & Peace: Everything needs to on the table with Iran, but not publicly

With regard to the U.S. policy with Iran, Welch said everything needs to be put on the table. "Our allies need to know we stand with them," he said. "Obama telegraphs everything he's going to do. That's bad negotiating tactics."

Scaringi said he does not want Iran to have nuclear capabilities but said the U.S. has to proceed with caution. Reports indicate, he said, that Iran is not trying to obtain nuclear capabilities.

Source: Williamsport Sun-Gazette on 2012 PA Senate debate Mar 23, 2012

On Corporations: Current tax code punishes small businesses while GE pays 0%

The rest of the debate focused on job creation and the economy, specifically corporate tax rates. All of the candidates favored lowering the corporate tax rate to promote job creation.

Welch said that the current tax code punishes small businesses, and that there are too many loopholes for large corporations (he made a few references to GE paying 0 percent taxes throughout the debate).

Source: PoliticsPA.com coverage of 2012 PA Senate debate Jan 21, 2012

On Jobs: National right-to-work make us globally competitive

"Right-to-Work" was also a big issue during the debate, following Rick Santorum's claim during CNN Presidential debate that the reason he did not support national right-to-work legislation was that Pennsylvania voters did not support right-to-work legislation. Each of the candidates disagreed with this position.

Steve Welch, an entrepreneur and former congressional candidate from Chester County said, "We have to pass national right-to-work to make us competitive in the global economy."

Source: PoliticsPA.com coverage of 2012 PA Senate debate Jan 21, 2012

On Principles & Values: Switched party from Democrat to GOP in 2005

Candidate Tim Burns used a discussion about Obama as an opening to bash Welch's 2005 switch to the Democratic party and his vote for Obama during the 2008 primary, as well as his financial support for Joe Sestak in 2006.

Welch offered a mea culpa on the party switch, and reiterated his support for John McCain in the 2008 general election, saying he thought Obama was the lesser of two evils compared to Hillary Clinton. For the first time, he answered the Sestak charge by bringing up the record of then Rep. Curt Weldon, the man Sestak defeated in 2006. Weldon was an establishment Republican who ran into ethics troubles near the end of his term, culminating in an FBI raid of his office.

In perhaps his strongest response yet to the party-switching charge, Welch said, "Tim Burns' Republican party means Ronald Reagan could never have been President."

Source: PoliticsPA.com coverage of 2012 PA Senate debate Jan 21, 2012

The above quotations are from 2012 Pennsylvania Senate Debate. Click here for other excerpts from 2012 Pennsylvania Senate Debate. Click here for other excerpts by Steve Welch. Click here for a profile of Steve Welch.
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Page last updated: Dec 04, 2018