Tom Smith in 2012 Penn. Senate Debates
On Abortion:
Pro-life, period, but not for rape
In response to a question on Indiana Senate candidate Richard Mourdock's statement that a pregnancy resulting from rape is "something
God intended," Casey called it "outrageous." Smith said he also doesn't agree with the statement but added that he is "pro-life period."
Source: Cumberlink Sentinel on 2012 PA Senate debate
Oct 26, 2012
On Civil Rights:
Equal pay for equal work
On the U.S. Supreme Court review of race and college admissions, Casey said he hoped the court would not limit efforts to "right ongoing wrongs." Smith said people should be judged by character, not by skin color.Asked about wage disparities between
men and women, Smith said he believes in equal pay for equal work. Casey noted his support for a bill that Republicans are blocking that would require employers to prove that differences in pay are not gender-related.
Source: Cumberlink Sentinel on 2012 PA Senate debate
Oct 26, 2012
On Social Security:
Let Social Security payroll tax reduction expire in January
Social Security payroll into privately managed investment accounts. Meanwhile, Casey's attack that Smith supports tax breaks for the wealthy is based on Smith's support for a revenue-neutral flat tax--instead of a system of
graduated tax rates on higher income--and the elimination of taxes on capital gains. Casey's Medicare claim refers to a plan unveiled last year in the House of Representatives by Rep. Paul Ryan.
Republican Tom Smith, has said he'd let a temporary reduction in the Social Security payroll tax expire in January. He wants taxpayers to be able to divert Social Security taxes into private investment accounts.
Smith also says future Medicare beneficiaries should have the option of getting a government check to help buy private coverage.
Source: WMZ-TV 69-News on 2012 PA Senate debate
Oct 18, 2012
On Principles & Values:
Optimistic there will be a debate; but nothing finalized
There are no debates scheduled between incumbent Bob Casey and his Republican challenger Tom Smith. Not one.Sure, everyone understands busy campaign schedules. Pennsylvania is a big state to travel around, and candidates do have to hold a certain
number of fundraisers and meet and greets. But no debates?
You have to wonder whether either candidate wants to be accountable and accessible to the public if they will not even take time for a debate. When The Patriot-News Editorial
Board reached out to the two campaigns Thursday, their answers were unimpressive.
"The race has been tightening for the past several weeks, and we are optimistic there will be a debate. Should anything be finalized I will let you know," wrote a
spokeswoman for Tom Smith's campaign in an email.
Casey's team would not speak on the record, although it, too, expressed optimism there would be a debate. The responses are not reassuring, considering there are only 26 days left before Election Day.
Source: The Patriot-News on 2012 PA Senate debates
Oct 12, 2012
On Principles & Values:
Declined to respond to League of Women Voters questionnaire
Less than four weeks until Election Day, Pennsylvania's U.S. Senate candidates have yet to even agree on the terms of a debate in a low-profile campaign that is being waged largely through TV ads that are costing millions of dollars.
In other states, U.S. Senate candidates are already plowing through their debate schedule.The League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania said it is trying to arrange two debates between Democratic Sen. Bob Casey and
Republican challenger Tom Smith, but nothing was final Wednesday. The league has even had trouble getting responses from
Smith and Casey for its voters' guide, said the executive director of the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania: "This has been one of the toughest years yet to get information out of people."
Source: Erie Times-News on 2012 PA Senate debates
Oct 11, 2012
On Budget & Economy:
Stagnant economy due to over-regulation & complex taxes
So what prompts a successful 64-year-old businessman who should be enjoying his retirement to take on one of Pennsylvania's most formidable politicians? "The three major issues that people want to talk about right now are what got me into this,"
Smith says, "That's the economy being stagnated, the lack of jobs, and deficit spending and the national debt."He hears those concerns echoed in countless meetings across the state, as workers and business owners share their frustrations about the
economy, and about Washington adding to those burdens. "Businesses are scared to expand right now," Smith says. "It's understandable. I lived that."
After 20 years running mining operations,
Smith knows that businesses need consistency to expand and flourish: in energy prices, regulations, and tax policy. It just isn't there today. An overly complex tax code also hurts, Smith says.
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer on 2012 PA Senate debate
Sep 23, 2012
On Corporations:
Compliance with regulations is strangling business
Regulations are a stumbling block to job creation, he says. "I've talked to doctors' groups, I've talked to manufacturers, builders, farmers, bankers," he says. "It doesn't matter to whom I speak, they're all getting regulated to death." Instead of
reasonable regulations, Smith says, the Obama administration has "gone to excess, and they are just strangling business. We have to spend so much time just asking, 'Are we in compliance?' instead of producing and expanding."
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer on 2012 PA Senate debate
Sep 23, 2012
On Energy & Oil:
Fossil fuels are key to reasonable energy prices
A reasonably priced source of energy is the cornerstone to a strong economy, says Smith, who backs an "all of the above" approach, "and we have the reserves in this country, and this state, too, to be energy self-sufficient. "A big key to that is
fossil fuels, but our president, he's declared war on fossil fuels, and we can't do that. We have to have them for jobs, and that's what most voters in Pennsylvania feel, too, that we need these jobs."
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer on 2012 PA Senate debate
Sep 23, 2012
On Social Security:
AdWatch: divert payroll tax into privately managed accounts
The candidates for US Senate in Pennsylvania are vowing to protect Social Security and Medicare but they have very different plans on how they'll go about it. "The first thing we should do is grow the economy," said
Sen. Casey. "The second thing we should do is stop these crazy proposals to take Social Security benefits and put them in the stock market... invest them in a very high risk venture that makes no sense for Social Security."Casey's opponent,
Social Security payroll into privately managed investment accounts. Meanwhile, Casey's attack that Smith supports tax breaks for the wealthy is based on Smith's support for a revenue-neutral flat tax--instead of a system of
graduated tax rates on higher income--and the elimination of taxes on capital gains. Casey's Medicare claim refers to a plan unveiled last year in the House of Representatives by Rep. Paul Ryan.
Source: Cumberlink Sentinel on 2012 PA Senate debate ad review
Sep 19, 2012
On Energy & Oil:
Former coal company executive; ease up on coal mining
Smith, from coal country northeast of Pittsburgh in Armstrong County, called for increased energy production in Pennsylvania, where he said 40 percent of electrical power was generated from coal. A former coal company executive, he decried what he said
was excessive regulation of mining by the Environmental Protection Agency. "Things will get worse if the president is reelected," he said. "The EPA will run even more out of control. And Bob Casey--Senator Zero--will do what he always has done: nothing."
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer on 2012 PA Senate debate
Sep 6, 2012
On Tax Reform:
Supports flat tax; remove loopholes but keep exemptions
Tom Smith released his economic-policy plan, calling for a "flat tax" on all earners. But he said a flat tax would be an improvement on the current tax code, which he described as full of "gimmicks" and "loopholes" and "10 times the length of the
Bible without any of the good news.""If you pay a flat tax, you know what your tax is going to be. The people who work and make more," Smith said, "they are paying more." Smith's flat tax would not be truly flat. He said he would allow exemptions for
mortgage interest, charitable giving, and student-loan interest, all features of the current tax code beloved by the middle class.
He would do away with federal taxes on capital-gains investment income. He said he would consider having no tax for the
poor, but declined to say what income level should qualify for such an exemption. That could depend "on how well we do in getting this debt under control," he said.
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer on 2012 PA Senate debate
Sep 6, 2012
On Abortion:
No abortion under all circumstances, including rape & incest
Tom Smith inadvertently waded into the war of words over rape and abortion. Asked about his stance on abortion, Smith said he opposed it in all circumstances, including rape and incest.He then seemed to equate the trauma of a pregnancy brought about
by rape with a woman's deciding to have a child outside marriage. Smith backtracked under later questioning, saying that the situations were not exactly the same but that "a life is a life, and it needs to be protected."
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer on 2012 PA Senate debate
Aug 29, 2012
On Principles & Values:
Elected as Democrat as township supervisor for decades
Source: Philadelphia Daily News on 2012 PA Senate debate
Apr 4, 2012
On Education:
Get rid of the Department of Education
The moderator held a lightning round, where the candidates could only answer "yes," "no," or "abstain."
All of the candidates said that they are pro-life, pro-second amendment, and would get rid of the Department of Education.
Source: PoliticsPA.com coverage of 2012 PA Senate debate
Jan 21, 2012
Page last updated: Dec 04, 2018