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Debbie Stabenow on Principles & Values

Democratic Jr Senator; previously Representative (MI-8)

 


Poorest member of the Senate, as measured by net worth

Eight Democrats and two Republicans ranked at the bottom of the list of the 535 lawmakers in the House and Senate in our annual calculations for the 50 Richest project, as measured by net worth. An alternative calculation would peg the seven members who report having no assets as the poorest.

These seven members are: Democrats Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, Gwen Moore of Wisconsin, John Conyers Jr. of Michigan and Gregory W. Meeks of New York, and Republicans Rick Crawford of Arkansas, Duncan Hunter of California and Louie Gohmert of Texas. These members do not have enough liabilities to drop into the 10 poorest, but their net worths range from -$15,000 (Sinema) to -$610,000 (Gohmert).

Democrat Debbie Stabenow of Michigan is the poorest member of the Senate, with a net worth of -$585,000. Fellow Democrat Mark Pryor of Arkansas is the senator with the smallest amount of assets; he has a bank account worth $1,000 to $15,000 and one for his children worth less than $1,000.

Source: Jay Hunter on Rollcall.com, "10 Poorest Members of Congress" , Sep 20, 2013

End the ongoing debate over debates: No Senate debates

It appears Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow and Republican challenger Pete Hoekstra will campaign for Michigan's Senate seat without meeting for formal debates. The Stabenow campaign issued a statement saying it is "ending the ongoing debate over debates, due to Congressman Hoekstra's refusal to accept the traditional U.S. Senate debates and his constant political attacks."

Stabenow had accepted debate invitations at the Detroit Economic Club and Grand Valley State University, which have held U.S. Senate debates in recent Michigan election cycles. Hoekstra said he wanted debates with more exposure. Neither campaign had accepted the same debate offer, leaving the two campaigns without agreement as the Nov. 6 election approaches. Each campaign has blamed the other for the impasse.

Earlier this week, the Stabenow campaign had said Hoekstra was playing games with the debate issue and that his "antics certainly don't reflect that of someone who actually wants to hold debates."

Source: Michigan Live on 2012 Michigan Senate debates , Oct 10, 2012

AdWatch: criticized for spending funds borrowed from China

Michigan residents watching the Super Bowl last night may have noticed an unusual political ad that aired during Sunday's game. In it, a young Chinese woman is seen riding a bike through what appears to be a rice paddy. She stops to tell the viewer all about Democratic Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow's spending. As a result of spending, she informs us, the U.S. has to borrow more money from China and "your economy get very weak. Ours get very good. We take your jobs. Thank you, Debbie Spenditnow!"

The ad is for Stabenow's rival, former congressman and current Senatorial candidate Pete Hoekstra. Hoekstra visited America Live Monday afternoon to address claims that his ad is inappropriate and plays on racially-charged stereotypes that, as one group put it, "encourage anti-Asian sentiment."

"The only group of people that this ad is anti" Hoekstra said, "it's anti-Debbie Stabenow, it's anti-Barack Obama, the spending policies of the liberal left."

Source: Mediaite.com's 2012 MI Senate ad review , Feb 6, 2012

Voted with Democratic Party 94.7% of 323 votes.

Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), was scored by the Washington Post on the percentage of votes on which a lawmaker agrees with the position taken by a majority of his or her party members. The scores do not include missed votes. Their summary:
Voted with Democratic Party 94.7% of 323 votes.
Overall, Democrats voted with their party 88.4% of the time, and Republicans voted with their party 81.7% of the time (votes Jan. 8 through Sept. 8, 2007).
Source: Washington Post, "Congress Votes Database" on 2008 election , Sep 8, 2007

A clear choice against failed Bush policies

There’s a clear choice [in this election] - my opponent supports the failed policies of the Bush Administration. I support a clear choice and a new way. [My campaign is] about results I’ve gotten for you and your family and the critical fight ahead.
Source: 2006 Michigan Senate Debate in Grand Rapids , Oct 15, 2006

Voted YES on confirming of Sonia Sotomayor to Supreme Court.

Yesterday, the Senate Judiciary Committee kicked off the confirmation hearings for Supreme Court Nominee, Judge Sonia Sotomayor. In her opening statement, Judge Sotomayor pledged a "fidelity to the law:"
"In the past month, many Senators have asked me about my judicial philosophy. It is simple: fidelity to the law. The task of a judge is not to make the law--it is to apply the law. And it is clear, I believe, that my record in two courts reflects my rigorous commitment to interpreting the Constitution according to its terms; interpreting statutes according to their terms and Congress's intent; and hewing faithfully to precedents established by the Supreme Court and my Circuit Court. In each case I have heard, I have applied the law to the facts at hand."
Reference: Supreme Court Nomination; Bill PN506 ; vote number 2009-S262 on Aug 6, 2009

Voted NO on confirming Samuel Alito as Supreme Court Justice.

Vote on the Nomination -- a YES vote would to confirm Samuel A. Alito, Jr., of New Jersey, to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.
Reference: Alito Nomination; Bill PN 1059 ; vote number 2006-002 on Jan 31, 2006

Voted NO on confirming John Roberts for Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

Vote on the Nomination (Confirmation John G. Roberts, Jr., of Maryland, to be Chief Justice of the United States )
Reference: Supreme Court Nomination of John Roberts; Bill PN 801 ; vote number 2005-245 on Sep 27, 2005

Religious affiliation: United Methodist.

Stabenow : religious affiliation:

The Adherents.com website is an independent project and is not supported by or affiliated with any organization (academic, religious, or otherwise).

What’s an adherent?

The most common definition used in broad compilations of statistical data is somebody who claims to belong to or worship in a religion. This is the self-identification method of determining who is an adherent of what religion, and it is the method used in most national surveys and polls.

Such factors as religious service attendance, belief, practice, familiarity with doctrine, belief in certain creeds, etc., may be important to sociologists, religious leaders, and others. But these are measures of religiosity and are usually not used academically to define a person’s membership in a particular religion. It is important to recognize there are various levels of adherence, or membership within religious traditions or religious bodies. There’s no single definition, and sources of adherent statistics do not always make it clear what definition they are using.

Source: Adherents.com web site 00-ADH7 on Nov 7, 2000

Supports Hyde Park Declaration of "Third Way" centrism.

Stabenow adopted the manifesto, "A New Politics for a New America":

As New Democrats, we believe in a Third Way that rejects the old left-right debate and affirms America’s basic bargain: opportunity for all, responsibility from all, and community of all.