Rick Weiland in 2014 SD Senate debate

On Corporations: Stop sweetheart deals for businesses 'too big to fail'

A: Rick is running so that we can take back our country and our government--so that every small business, every family farmer and rancher, and every working person in South Dakota gets a fair shake and an even playing field. Rick is running so that we can stop the waste in government, so that we can stop the sweetheart deals and the government bailouts of businesses that are 'too big to fail'. It's time for the everyday citizens to take back our country and that is what this campaign is about.

On Health Care: Give Medicare recipients a choice of private insurance

A: "The Medicare Choice Act will give all Americans a choice between Medicare, private insurance, or a combination of both." If elected, Weiland pledges to write, introduce, and fight hard to enact a new health care law that will give every American a choice between buying into Medicare, keeping his or her private insurance, or a combination of both. "The Medicare Choice Act, by simply allowing people to choose what they want, will make our entire health care delivery system cheaper, more responsive to the needs of patients and health care providers, and less responsive to the demands of either big money insurance giants."

On Social Security: Protect and expand instead of cut and destroy

A: Rick Weiland told voters that 'protect and expand,' not, 'cut and destroy,' are the words we should be using when we talk about Social Security. In the polls about 90% support requiring the super-rich to contribute to Social Security based on their entire income, just like most South Dakotans do. "So 9 out of 10 Americans say protect Social Security by making the wealthy pay like the rest of us. We can take back our Congress and protect our Social Security, or we can let the big money Congress cheat us again."

On Government Reform: Congress should fight for people, not for big donors

Weiland says he wants to restore honor to Congress. "We've got a government whose approval rating is less than 10 percent. It's because they are not representing the people anymore."

On Energy & Oil: End subsidies to big oil companies, instead of gas tax

"Until we exhaust every other option, I wouldn't consider a gas tax increase--especially with this administration in control of the money," Republican Mike Rounds said in a statement. Rounds said he would prefer to look at "spending reforms, alternative revenue options such as revenue from energy exploration on federal lands" or "reforms that provide greater flexibility to the states and local contractors."

Democrat Rick Weiland said he wouldn't "ask any South Dakotan to pay more taxes on gasoline." Instead, Weiland said Congress should raise money by eliminating "subsidies" and "tax loopholes" to "big oil companies and other huge corporations." An increase in the gas tax, Weiland said, would be on the table only after "asking big corporations to pay their fair share" and providing people with more money in the form of a minimum wage increase.

On Energy & Oil: Opposes Keystone XL pipeline

A campaign adviser said Weiland is framing his push for a public option as essentially support for allowing the public to buy into Medicare, which is popular with seniors, and his opposition to Keystone XL is appealing to farmers & ranchers who know it could hurt their water supply.

On Health Care: Push for public option to expand ObamaCare

A campaign adviser said Weiland is framing his push for a public option as essentially support for allowing the public to buy into Medicare, which is popular with seniors, and his opposition to Keystone XL is appealing to farmers & ranchers who know it could hurt their water supply.

On War & Peace: No U.S. military intervention in Syria

Weiland has received the backing of Howard Dean's Democracy for America, a national progressive group. His campaign adviser said calling his campaign "progressive" would be inaccurate: "He's running a populist campaign. It's not a conventional progressive campaign at all."

On Health Care: Keep parts of ObamaCare that work, and add Medicare option

A: I really think people feel that their government's no longer on their side. And we'll talk a lot about health care and what's wrong with the Affordable Care Act. I think there needs to be a Medicare choice option, to get people an opportunity if they want to buy into Medicare versus having to buy into private insurance.

Q: What kind of reaction do you get in those communities when you tell them you support ObamaCare and expanding Medicare?

A: What I say is that the Affordable Care Act was co-opted by big insurance companies and big drug companies and we didn't get a public option. What I like are the advancements in health care delivery: covering preexisting conditions, eliminating lifetime caps; and coverage up to 26 years old on the parent's plan. Somebody asked me today, 'Would you repeal ObamaCare?' I would repeal what's not working. I would certainly keep what is working. And what I would add to it is this Medicare choice option.

On Principles & Values: Touring all 311 of South Dakota's incorporated towns

A: I believe South Dakota's made up of a bunch of people that respect and honor hard work. And I'm out there. I'm earning, I hope, the right to represent them. This town-to-town effort and the one-vote-at-a-time grassroots approach I think is (what voters should expect). Not only am I doing that, but we've had over 100 public meetings. And so I'm willing to get out there and have a conversation with the people of South Dakota. And let them know where I stand and be on the record on things they ask me about.

On Corporations: Immigration problem from profits from cheap immigrant labor

Weiland called the Senate bill--which he supports--a "band-aid solution" and said a real fix would involve raising the minimum wage to stop employers from turning to immigrant labor for low costs, and harsh penalties such as prison time for people who employ undocumented workers.

On Immigration: Border security and a path to citizenship at the same time

Rounds says border security has to come first, to be completed before a path to citizenship for immigrants here illegally can begin, with plenty of preconditions and limitations, requiring "10 to 15 years to apply for citizenship. This is not amnesty."

Weiland, on the other hand, said there's no reason why border security & a path to citizenship can't proceed at the same time. He endorsed the Senate immigration bill, which Rounds opposes for being insufficiently tough on border security. But that border security shouldn't stop movement on letting illegal immigrants move toward citizenship, Weiland said. Supporters of Sen. John Thune's amendment (including Rounds) would require border security to come first; opponents say border security will be used to block the path to citizenship perpetually.

On Civil Rights: Favors same-sex marriage

Weiland has the support of his onetime boss, Tom Daschle, the former Senate majority leader (also a South Dakota Democrat), and of the party's more liberal base. But his candidacy has upset some in the Democratic establishment. Many South Dakota Democrats are hoping for a centrist to compete in a state where the number of registered independents has increased over the past five years. Daschle said he believed that Weiland would be able to earn the establishment's support. "I've been through this hundreds of times--a candidate has to prove himself or herself before they get support of the [Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee]. I believe Rick will be able to do that."

On Gun Control: Universal background checks for guns

Weiland has the support of his onetime boss, Tom Daschle, the former Senate majority leader (also a South Dakota Democrat), and of the party's more liberal base. But his candidacy has upset some in the Democratic establishment. Many South Dakota Democrats are hoping for a centrist to compete in a state where the number of registered independents has increased over the past five years. Daschle said he believed that Weiland would be able to earn the establishment's support. "I've been through this hundreds of times--a candidate has to prove himself or herself before they get support of the [Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee]. I believe Rick will be able to do that."