Donna Edwards in The Washington Post

On Abortion: Fought for abortion rights in community AND in Congress

Van Hollen said that being a straight, white man had not stopped him from standing up for the marginalized. He fought discrimination against gay workers, despite not being gay. He supported abortion rights against a female state senator who did not.

On abortion, Edwards said, there was "not a dime's worth of difference" between her and Van Hollen. But "I started working on these issues long before I started working in Congress," she said.

Source: Wash. Post coverage of 2016 Maryland Senate debate Mar 5, 2015

On Jobs: We need a woman's voice in the discussion on equal pay

Both Edwards & Van Hollen promised to fight for abortion rights and equal pay. While Edwards emphasized her history as an activist and her experience as an African American woman, Van Hollen played up his leadership role in Congress and political effectiveness.

"A voice at the table that's a voice of a mom--of a woman--when it comes to child care and equal pay is really important; when it comes to abortion, the voice at the table of a woman is different and important," Edwards said.

Source: Wash. Post coverage of 2016 Maryland Senate debate Mar 5, 2015

On Social Security: Fought privatization in community AND in Congress

Edwards hit her rival on retirement programs, saying that "when it was time to cut a deal, Mr. Van Hollen was willing to consider--those are his own words--cuts to Social Security and Medicare." She also noted that he recently endorsed a bill that would expand Social Security benefits, which she also supports.

Van Hollen pushed back, saying he led the effort to persuade President Obama not to cut Social Security by using a less-generous cost-of-living formula.

Edwards, a community activist before taking office, painted herself as an outsider. Although Van Hollen said he fought President George W. Bush's attempt to privatize Social Security in Congress, Edwards--who was not elected until 2008--said that the outside pressure campaigns she was involved in had at least as much impact.

Source: Wash. Post coverage of 2016 Maryland Senate debate Mar 5, 2015

The above quotations are from Media coverage of nationwide political races in The Washington Post. Click here for other excerpts from Media coverage of nationwide political races in The Washington Post. Click here for other excerpts by Donna Edwards. Click here for a profile of Donna Edwards.
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