VoteMatch Responses (Click here for VoteMatch quiz)
VoteMatch Question & Answer (Click on question for explanation and background)	Based on these stances: (Click on topic for excerpt & citation)
Strongly Favors topic 1: Abortion is a woman's unrestricted right (+5 points on Social scale)	Supports Roe v. Wade and abortion rights: Strongly Favors topic 1 NO on prohibiting minors crossing state lines for abortion: Strongly Favors topic 1 NO on defining unborn child as eligible for SCHIP: Favors topic 1 YES on expanding research to more embryonic stem cell lines: Favors topic 1 NO on barring HHS grants to organizations that perform abortions: Favors topic 1 NO on restricting UN funding for population control policies: Favors topic 1
Favors topic 2: Legally require hiring women & minorities (-3 points on Economic scale)	Democratic Party gives voice to people with no voice: Strongly Favors topic 2 I opened up more billets to Navy women than anyone: Favors topic 2 Doing away with Confederate iconography is secondary issue: Opposes topic 2 Ban discriminatory compensation; allow 2 years to sue: Favors topic 2
Favors topic 3: Comfortable with same-sex marriage (+2 points on Social scale)	Evolution on gay marriage has been good for the country: Favors topic 3 Supports civil unions; opposes constitutional ban: Favors topic 3 Supports don’t ask, don’t tell rule for military: Opposes topic 3 Opposes constitutional ban of gay marriage: Strongly Favors topic 3 ENDA: prohibit employment discrimination for gays: Favors topic 3 Repeal Don't-Ask-Don't-Tell, and reinstate discharged gays: Favors topic 3
No opinion on topic 4: Keep God in the public sphere (0 points on Social scale)	(No votes on which to base response)
Strongly Favors topic 5: Expand ObamaCare (-5 points on Economic scale)	ObamaCare should have been more narrowly focused: Opposes topic 5 Focus on health access, not on corporate profits: Favors topic 5 Don’t let drug companies write Rx drug plan: Strongly Favors topic 5 Preserve access to Medicaid & SCHIP during economic downturn: Strongly Favors topic 5 NO on allowing tribal Indians to opt out of federal healthcare: Strongly Favors topic 5 NO on means-testing to determine Medicare Part D premium: Favors topic 5 NO on the Ryan Budget: Medicare choice, tax & spending cuts: Favors topic 5 YES on requiring negotiated Rx prices for Medicare part D: Favors topic 5 YES on adding 2 to 4 million children to SCHIP eligibility: Favors topic 5 YES on overriding veto on expansion of Medicare: Favors topic 5 YES on expanding the Children's Health Insurance Program: Favors topic 5 YES on regulating tobacco as a drug: Favors topic 5
Strongly Opposes topic 6: Privatize Social Security (-5 points on Economic scale)	Entitlement programs are safety net, not socialism: Strongly Opposes topic 6 Opposes using Social Security taxes for private accounts: Opposes topic 6 NO on establishing reserve funds & pre-funding for Social Security: Opposes topic 6
Strongly Opposes topic 7: Vouchers for school choice (-5 points on Economic scale)	More pre-K programs; more second-chance high schools: Opposes topic 7 Rebuild our public educational system: Strongly Opposes topic 7 Public education levels the playing field: Opposes topic 7
Opposes topic 8: EPA regulations are too restrictive (+2 points on Social scale)	Make tax deduction permanent for conservation easements: Opposes topic 8 NO on prohibiting eminent domain for use as parks or grazing land: Opposes topic 8
No opinion on topic 9: Stricter punishment reduces crime (0 points on Social scale)	I risked political suicide for criminal justice reform: Opposes topic 9 Holistic plan to bring hardened criminals to justice: Strongly Favors topic 9 Reduce recidivism by giving offenders a Second Chance: Strongly Opposes topic 9 NO on reinstating $1.15 billion funding for the COPS Program: Favors topic 9
Strongly Favors topic 10: Absolute right to gun ownership (+5 points on Economic scale)	Access to guns is a critical self-defense right: Strongly Favors topic 10 Allow veterans to register unlicensed guns acquired abroad: Favors topic 10 Ban gun registration & trigger lock law in Washington DC: Strongly Favors topic 10 Dangerousness, not mental incompetence, limits gun rights: Strongly Favors topic 10 YES on prohibiting foreign & UN aid that restricts US gun ownership: Favors topic 10 YES on allowing firearms in checked baggage on Amtrak trains: Favors topic 10
Strongly Favors topic 11: Higher taxes on the wealthy (-5 points on Economic scale)	Raise taxes on capital gains but not on regular pay: Favors topic 11 Our tax policy is creating a permanent underclass: Favors topic 11 Our tax policies make no sense: Strongly Favors topic 11 NO on raising the Death Tax exemption to $5M from $1M: Strongly Favors topic 11 NO on allowing AMT reduction without budget offset: Favors topic 11 NO on raising estate tax exemption to $5 million: Strongly Favors topic 11 NO on repealing the Alternative Minimum Tax: Strongly Favors topic 11
Opposes topic 12: Pathway to citizenship for illegal aliens (-3 points on Social scale)	No country is a country without defining its borders: Strongly Opposes topic 12 Supports DREAM Act: legal status for undocumented children: Favors topic 12 Secure the border first; them deal with other aspects: Opposes topic 12 Tamper-proof ID card; stricter enforcement against employers: Strongly Opposes topic 12 Allow illegal immigrants a path to citizenship: Strongly Favors topic 12 YES on continuing federal funds for declared "sanctuary cities": Strongly Favors topic 12 YES on eliminating the "Y" nonimmigrant guestworker program: Neutral topic 12 YES on declaring English as the official language of the US government: Strongly Opposes topic 12 NO on comprehensive immigration reform: Strongly Opposes topic 12
Opposes topic 13: Support & expand free trade (-3 points on Economic scale)	Enforce existing trade laws to create fair trade: Opposes topic 13 GOP free trade dream world costs American jobs: Strongly Opposes topic 13 I will lead the ANTI out-sourcing of American jobs: Strongly Opposes topic 13 YES on promoting free trade with Peru: Favors topic 13
No opinion on topic 14: Support American Exceptionalism (0 points on Economic scale)	Allow travel between the United States and Cuba: Opposes topic 14 YES on requiring FISA court warrant to monitor US-to-foreign calls: Opposes topic 14 YES on removing need for FISA warrant for wiretapping abroad: Strongly Favors topic 14
No opinion on topic 15: Expand the military (0 points on Social scale)	Supports cutting back the army's ground commitments: Opposes topic 15 Quit Reagan administration protesting cuts to Navy budget: Strongly Favors topic 15 YES on limiting soldiers' deployment to 12 months: Opposes topic 15
Favors topic 16: Make voter registration easier (+2 points on Social scale)	Increasing number of lobbyists is a problem: Favors topic 16
Favors topic 17: Avoid foreign entanglements (+2 points on Social scale)	Prepare for unpredictable actions by North Korea: Opposes topic 17 Prefers confidence building gestures to deal with Iran: Opposes topic 17 Arab Spring: stay out if no Americans at risk: Favors topic 17 Iraq invasion empowered Iran & led to sectarian violence: Strongly Favors topic 17 No patriotism question when Eisenhower questioned Korean War: Strongly Favors topic 17 It was a mistake to go to Iraq; said so before Senate vote: Strongly Favors topic 17 America is fighting the wrong war in Iraq: Strongly Favors topic 17 Honors troops but questions Bush’s strategic errors: Favors topic 17 A cogent critic of the war in Iraq: Favors topic 17 Opposed the War on Iraq on pragmatic grounds: Favors topic 17 YES on redeploying US troops out of Iraq by March 2008: Strongly Favors topic 17 NO on redeploying non-essential US troops out of Iraq in 9 months: Opposes topic 17
Favors topic 18: Prioritize green energy (-3 points on Economic scale)	Strong supporter of nuclear power & all-of-the-above: Strongly Opposes topic 18 To solve climate change, India and China must participate: Favors topic 18 Energy expansion: Keystone XL and off-coast drilling: Strongly Opposes topic 18 Support alternative sources instead of drilling ANWR: Strongly Favors topic 18 Sign on to UN Framework Convention on Climate Change: Strongly Favors topic 18 NO on barring EPA from regulating greenhouse gases: Favors topic 18 NO on factoring global warming into federal project planning: Opposes topic 18 YES on removing oil & gas exploration subsidies: Strongly Favors topic 18 YES on addressing CO2 emissions without considering India & China: Favors topic 18 YES on tax incentives for energy production and conservation: Strongly Favors topic 18 YES on requiring full Senate debate and vote on cap-and-trade: Opposes topic 18 YES on protecting middle-income taxpayers from a national energy tax: Opposes topic 18 YES on $2 billion more for Cash for Clunkers program: Favors topic 18
Opposes topic 19: Marijuana is a gateway drug (+2 points on Social scale)	Stop locking up people for mere possession: Strongly Opposes topic 19 Everything should be on the table, including legalization: Strongly Opposes topic 19 Drug courts to deal with drugs as a sickness: Strongly Favors topic 19 Drug abuse is a sickness and we've got to treat the sickness: Opposes topic 19 Add Virginia to High Intensity Drug Trafficking program: Strongly Favors topic 19 Recommend drug policy to deal with growth of incarceration: Opposes topic 19
Strongly Favors topic 20: Stimulus better than market-led recovery (-5 points on Economic scale)	Top of economy doing great; but workers not: Strongly Favors topic 20 GOP puts corporate interests first; Dems put workers first: Strongly Favors topic 20 Rated 86% by UFCW, indicating an anti-management/pro-labor record: Favors topic 20 YES on increasing tax rate for people earning over $1 million: Strongly Favors topic 20 YES on additional $825 billion for economic recovery package: Strongly Favors topic 20 YES on $192B additional anti-recession stimulus spending: Strongly Favors topic 20