Matt Rosendale (R): Ban. "I do not believe in abortion. I do not believe that you should provide for any exceptions."
Jon Tester (D): Legal. Opposed post-20 week ban. Sponsored bill prohibiting medically unnecessary requirements on abortion services.
Q: Let Planned Parenthood receive public funds for non-abortion health care?
Matt Rosendale (R): No. Praised Trump's support for defunding.
Jon Tester (D): Yes. Support access to family planning services, preventive care & "life-saving cancer screenings."
Matt Rosendale (R): Supports medical marijuana. State should determine recreational use.
Jon Tester (D): Supports medical use. Feds need to respect vote. Hesitant about full legalization, but alcohol arguably worse.
Matt Rosendale (R): Yes. "Critical.if we are going to see improvement in our education system."
Jon Tester (D): No. Privatization of public schools feeds destruction of democracy.
Matt Rosendale (R): No. "Move the federal government out of the funding that takes place for the colleges & universities."
Jon Tester (D): Yes. Voted for Warren bill. Also supports restoring year-round Pell Grants, & supporting Perkins Loans.
Matt Rosendale (R): No. "Support traditional marriage as being between one man & one woman."
Jon Tester (D): Yes. "All couples should have the same rights to happiness & protections under the law that my wife Sharla & I enjoy."
Matt Rosendale (R): Yes. "We've had a trade war going on for decades. now we have a president who said we're not going to tolerate it."
Jon Tester (D): No. "These tariffs are harming our state's top industries by creating market uncertainty & driving up costs."
Matt Rosendale (R): No. Voted against state bill requiring independent groups to reveal how money they contribute to election campaigns is being used & where it's coming from. Supports Supreme Court's Citizens United ruling as protecting freedom of speech.
Jon Tester (D): Yes. Introduced Spotlight Act, requiring political nonprofits to disclose donors. "Dark money is a threat to our democracy. I will do everything I can to defend Montanans from this shadowy behavior." Opposed Citizens United ruling.
Matt Rosendale (R): Yes. Voted to repeal same-day voter registration. Require government-issued photo identification to vote.
Jon Tester (D): Unclear on photo ID. Introduced bill to ensure Native American voting access.
Matt Rosendale (R): No. Second Amendment rights are non-negotiable. Mass shootings all involve mental illness & sites where guns have been banned.
Jon Tester (D): Backs Second Amendment rights, but would consider "background checks, banning bump stocks & making sure our databases are talking to one another."
Matt Rosendale (R): Repeal. "I won't give up on repealing & replacing ObamaCare." Voted against MT Medicaid expansion.
Jon Tester (D): Support. Not perfect, but has helped rural hospitals & health centers, provided families with coverage, & stopped big insurance companies from denying folks coverage. Supports Medicaid expansion.
Matt Rosendale (R): No. Rule of law has been ignored & illegal immigrants allowed to flow freely into this country without consequence.
Jon Tester (D): Rejected 2010 Dream Act. Criticized Trump ending DACA. Supported bipartisan bill with increased border security, visa rule tightening & earned path to citizenship.
Matt Rosendale (R): No. Called Obama's proposal to do this "ridiculous."
Jon Tester (D): Yes. Would "help thousands of Montanans make ends meet."
Matt Rosendale (R): Yes. Let younger Americans invest privately instead of paying in.
Jon Tester (D): No. Opposes any plan to privatize.
Matt Rosendale (R): Yes. "Bigger paychecks & more jobs for Montanans. This is your money & you should be deciding how to invest or spend it--not the government."
Jon Tester (D): "Disastrous." "Need reform for hardworking Montanans, not a handout for jet-owners paid for by our kids & grandkids."
Matt Rosendale (R): No. "The climate does change. The question is how much impact do humans have on it & how much impact can we have on it by dramatically imposing draconian restrictions on our businesses."
Jon Tester (D): Yes. Climate change is real & human activity significantly contributes. "The rest of the world is together on this. We've got an incredible opportunity to create jobs & lead the world in clean technology."
Q: Support government support for renewable energy?
Matt Rosendale (R): No. Renewable power is a "grand idea" but government shouldn't subsidize.
Jon Tester (D): Yes. Supports tax credits, expedited permitting, utility renewable mandates, & carbon capture credits for coal plants.
Matt Rosendale (R): No. Cut government & return money in tax cuts.
Jon Tester (D): Yes. 2008 stimulus was necessary. Need to invest more in infrastructure.
Matt Rosendale (R): No public statements found.
Jon Tester (D): Yes. "Repealing Net Neutrality handed our Internet to large corporations." Decision "hurts commerce, small business, education, & healthcare."
Matt Rosendale (R): Yes.
Jon Tester (D): No. Supports treaty as "only option" to prevent nuclear weapons development.
"This tax scheme not only, it also raises taxes on Montana families in the long run, forces cuts to Medicare, and caps deductions that allow Montanans to keep more of their hard-earned money in their wallets," Tester said. "This all takes place while corporate tax cuts remain permanent, inflating the bank accounts of big business and leaving the folks who do the hard work with smaller paychecks."
Rosendale said Tester's vote against the bill was one of the reasons he is motivated to run for U.S. Senate.
We decided to investigate whether Tester supports a national gun registry. It turns out the opposite is true. A national gun registry [means] the government has a single, consolidated list of all guns and all gun owners across the country.
Rosendale's campaign pointed us to a vote Tester cast in favor of a 2015 amendment sponsored by Sen. Dianne Feinstein that failed in the Senate. Feinstein sought to extend the FBI's [gun watch] list to those on the US government's consolidated terror watchlist. The Rosendale campaign's argument appears to be as follows: Because the terror watchlist has mistakenly listed innocent people, the watchlist could be used as a national gun registry. We rate this "Pants on Fire."
The lawmakers include both Democrats and U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke, recently picked by Republican President-elect Donald Trump to be interior secretary. "We say to those few who seek to publicize anti-Semitic views that they shall find no safe haven here," Zinke wrote in an open letter also signed by Gov. Steve Bullock (D); U.S. Sens. Steve Daines (R), and Jon Tester (D); and Attorney General Tim Fox (R).
Neo-Nazis plan to march in January in the mountain ski town of Whitefish in Montana's remote and rugged northwestern reaches. The march is to support the mother of white nationalist leader Richard Spencer. Sherry Spencer is facing pressure from community members to sell a building she owns in Whitefish because of its ties to her son and to disavow her son's beliefs.
Tester, ever the opponent of Citizens United, acknowledged the problem in his closing statement. "We're back in 1912," he said, harkening back to the days of Montana's Copper Kings. "We've come back to a time when corporations can give unlimited amounts of money, secret money, and influence the political structure of this country. And that's scary for a democracy."
But Rehberg, who had no response when asked directly how much outside interests had spent in this race, doesn't seem to be too troubled by where that money is coming from.
Tester said the spending was a step in the right direction as it built infrastructure and created jobs, which would be his No. 1 priority if re-elected. The senator pointed to the ongoing construction of the Kalispell bypass and the rehabilitation of the Going-to-the-Sun Road as projects enabled by the stimulus package. "We're still not where we need to be. But it was a step in the right direction to help us move forward," he said. "We couldn't sit back and do nothing."
Rehberg called his opponent fiscally irresponsible, and drew again and again on Tester's record of aligning with the administration of President Barack Obama. "I didn't vote for it then and I wouldn't vote for it now," Rehberg said of the stimulus bill. "It didn't create jobs."
Earlier in the debate, Tester defended the Dodd-Frank legislation as being important to prevent abuses from "too-big-to-fail" financial institutions on Wall Street. The legislation put "more cops on the beat to make sure Wall Street won't do it again."
Rehberg appeared to speak favorably of Citizens United, saying political free speech is the most important, but he added that he supports 100 percent transparency with campaign donations.
The problem, Tester pointed out, is that Citizens United doesn't require transparency in reporting political contributions.
Tester depicted Rehberg as an irresponsible spender during his 12 years in Congress. He described Rehberg as a politician who used a "credit card" to vote for a new federal prescription drug program and two wars, among other spending.
Rehberg described the stimulus as a failure. "You don't spend $1 trillion and hope to create an asset. I don't think government should be picking winners and losers. Government should be creating an environment of liberating Main Street."
Tester dismissed claims that he's sided with Obama and the Democrats on the vast majority of issues. He cited the auto industry bailout, proposals to regulate farm dust and youth labor and the removal of wolves from the endangered list as instances when he's gone against members of his party.
Rehberg spoke of the need for "Montana solutions" and declared his support for government assistance to ensure rural areas of the state are provided adequate highways and air and train service.
The decision has been derided by many Montana politicians. Montana, 21 other states and the District of Columbia have asked the high court to rule that Citizens United doesn't apply to Montana's or other state laws regulating corporate campaign spending.
Rehberg said he supported the 2010 ruling, although he added that there should be full transparency on where campaign money is coming from. "There should be nothing more free than political free speech," he said.
Tester responded that "corporations are not people. Because of Citizens United, corporations have more rights when it comes to donations than people do," he said.
Incumbent Democrat Jon Tester responded that the widely criticized ruling puts democracy at risk by giving corporations more power than people. The Supreme Court ruling undid past restrictions on political spending by corporations and special interest groups.
Rehberg said he supported the 2010 ruling, although he added that there should be full transparency on where campaign money is coming from. "There should be nothing more free than political free speech," he said.
Tester responded that "corporations are not people. Because of Citizens United, corporations have more rights when it comes to donations than people do," he said.
JONES: That’s easy for me. Eliminate unconstitutional departments and agencies.
BURNS: There’s only one way to control the deficit--grow the economy and control spending. We have brought down spending on the discretionary spending - the part we have some control over. The non-discretionary part is troubling. We’re continuing with the tax cuts which have energized the economy--that’s the way you take care of the deficit. We didn’t ask for 9/11, or Katrina, or the war on terror. We always grew through it. You grow the economy and control spending and that’s the way you take care of the deficit.
TESTER: When it comes to funding for Montana, we took the third biggest cut in FY05, in that discretionary funding. Out of 13 subcommittee chairs, Sen. Burns is ranked 10th in getting dollars to this state for critical projects. It’s time that we spend the money wiser, that we prioritize better, and start looking out for middle class folks.
BURNS: The incentives for alternative fuels & renewable fuels are just like any other incentive to increase production, & that’s exactly what is happening, because of the competition in the market. We would not have had those big windmills if not for [the recent] energy bill. It is the marketplace that will force us into conservation and renewables.
I’ve got a kid in college today in Montana, and one that just graduated a few years ago. So I know what college education costs you and your families. We have finally started to turn the university funding at the state level around, with the first significant funding increases after a decade of neglect. But we can do more.
I have a plan to expand tuition tax credits to make college tuition more affordable for Montana families. Sen. Burns has voted to end tuition tax credits for 11,000 Montanans. I believe we need to keep low-interest loans and increasing Pell grants. Sen. Burns has voted against higher student loans and opposes increases in Pell grants. Too many middle-class families are being priced out of the dream of providing their kids a higher education.
JONES: The cheapest electrical power is nuclear energy. We must re-institute nuclear power. Coal is another one. Montana is rich in coal, which can be liquefied into gasoline. Government over-regulates the energy industry.
BURNS: Last year we opened up some new areas for energy production. And we found more oil and we found more gas. That’s what brings down the price of gasoline, when policies inject competition into the market.
TESTER: America’s energy independence is critically important, and we have a tremendous opportunity in Montana to help America become energy-independent. If I were not running for US Senate, on my farm, we would be crushing safflower, because I’ve run the numbers, and it works, and it provides a renewable energy source that makes sense. We did a lot of things in the last session to help promote bio-fuels and renewables and wind energy.
BURNS: No; it doesn’t get to the real folks that should have some way of controlling their greenhouse gases. That’s the reason I’m a great believer in alternative fuels. We have to do everything that we can do, [but] stay within the economy growing.
TESTER: Us pulling out of the Kyoto Accord is exactly what’s wrong. We need to have communication with folks around the world. This is a worldwide problem. I hope [global warming] is a glitch in the environment, but we need to treat it in case it’s not. I’d point out that, with the exception of wind and solar, you still have carbon emissions from other renewables, like biofuels and ethanol. Our universities can be a big player in how we can sequester carbon, and solve this carbon issue. We can solve this problem but it’s going to take some research dollars, and some commitment, and some leadership. The folks that are there can’t do it. We need a change.
BURNS: We’ve been warming since the Ice Age, and that continues. That’s a pretty well-known fact.
TESTER: The truth is, the polar ice cap is half as thick as it was in 1950. Yes, Earth is warming since the Ice Age, that’s correct, but it’s warming much more rapidly now than it ever has in our history.
JONES: There is global warming; it’s very slight; it’s a recovery from what’s called the Little Ice Age, when the average temperatures were much lower. In the years 500AD to 1000AD, temperatures were much higher than they are right now. Global warming is a natural recovery, and is not harmful. Most of it is only happening in the northern hemisphere. Scientists have proven that carbon dioxide emissions contribute only about 5% of the total greenhouse gases. If we reduce that worldwide, do you think it will have a big impact no greenhouse gases? No it will not. This is a natural occurrence and we should not make any effort to change it.
TESTER: The current process of earmarking in the middle of the night, without transparency, is the wrong way for representative democracy to be working. Good projects, like this land-grant university, can stand up to the scrutiny of the light of day. Quite frankly, I don’t support earmarks, period.
If a project’s a good project, which includes probably most if not all of those 34 earmarks, they could withstand scrutiny in front of the entire Congress. I’m not for earmarks because they don’t pass public scrutiny with the transparency that our government and our forefathers set up.
JONES: Incumbents always put something in the transportation bill so they can brag about all the money they brought to the state. None of the 34 are qualified.
BURNS: I’m proud about what I brought back to Montana. That money’s going to be spent somewhere in America, and I want Montana to get her share.
A: I’d start with no-bid contracts in Iraq. That’s kind of wild. Then negotiations for Medicare Part D prescription drugs--I negotiate when I go to buy a pickup truck, so we ought to be negotiating-- but that’s what happens when you have big pharmaceutical companies writing legislation. It’s time that we spend the money wiser, that we prioritize better, and start looking out for middle class folks. But that’s not the people who have control- the cronies on K-Street that buy votes have more control than the folks that elect us. You need to have people back there in Washington who have experience balancing a checkbook and setting priorities. I have balanced a checkbook in the private sector and in the public sector. My opponent has not been able to do that.
TESTER: It deals with the freedoms that so many people have fought and died for. If we want to get serious about the War on Terror, we need to make the investments to fight the war on terror. We ought not be taking rights away from honest citizens. If we’ve got terror cells around the world, then let’s invest in human intelligence. Let’s invest in our Special Forces. Let’s go after ‘em, and let’s be serious, and not get sidetracked by Iraq. Right now, we’re taking rights away from honest people. If they think you fall into their list, you’re a target. By the time they figure out there’s a terror cell, they can get a warrant. The Senator wants to let them have Carte Blanche. The government ought not be taking away our freedoms.
JONES: We’ve lost our Fourth Amendment rights; now there’s no protection to our privacy.
BURNS: The Patriot Act is a tool that is in place now for drug kingpins and organized crime.
TESTER: I think it’s a bit premature to say that there should be impeachment proceedings against Pres. Bush. I do think there will be public hearings, and I think that’s critically important. If impeachable offenses are found, then so be it. I think we need to focus on the issues I hear about from the people of this great state. We’ve got a system that’s broken right now, and needs to be fixed, and it needs some leadership back in Washington DC. The current cast isn’t getting it done.
JONES: Yes, Pres. Bush has committed many impeachable offenses. He has issued executive orders that have the force and effect of law, when he has no constitutional authority to issue laws. Pres. Bush pushed the Patriot Act and other bills that have been just as threatening to our freedom. This man has to be impeached in order to preserve our freedoms. We have to impeach this man to let these people know they cannot do that to our freedoms.
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The above quotations are from State of Montana Politicians: Archives.
Click here for other excerpts from State of Montana Politicians: Archives. Click here for other excerpts by Jon Tester. Click here for a profile of Jon Tester.
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