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)
Favors topic 1: Abortion is a woman's unrestricted right (+2 points on Social scale)	Right to choose is part of securing future for women: Favors topic 1 Supports Roe v. Wade: Favors topic 1 Ensure access to and funding for contraception: Favors topic 1 Teach teens about both abstinence & contraception: Favors topic 1 YES on expanding research to more embryonic stem cell lines: Favors topic 1
Strongly Favors topic 2: Legally require hiring women & minorities (-5 points on Economic scale)	Create new contract opportunities for MWOB small businesses: Strongly Favors topic 2 Ensure that women are provided fair wages: Favors topic 2 Ban discriminatory compensation; allow 2 years to sue: Favors topic 2 Stronger enforcement against gender-based pay discrimination: Favors topic 2 Honor the 100th anniversary of the NAACP: Favors topic 2
Strongly Favors topic 3: Comfortable with same-sex marriage (+5 points on Social scale)	Equal LGBT rights: Strongly Favors topic 3 ENDA: prohibit employment discrimination for gays: Favors topic 3 Opposes Amendment to prevent same sex marriage: Strongly Favors topic 3 Opposes banning homosexuals in the military: Strongly Favors topic 3 Repeal Don't-Ask-Don't-Tell, and reinstate discharged gays: Favors topic 3 YES on prohibiting job discrimination based on sexual orientation: Strongly Favors topic 3 YES on enforcing against anti-gay hate crimes: Favors topic 3
Strongly Opposes topic 4: Keep God in the public sphere (+5 points on Social scale)	Rated 0% by the Christian Coalition: an anti-Family-Value voting record: Strongly Opposes topic 4 Sex Ed including both abstinence and contraception: Opposes topic 4
Strongly Favors topic 5: Expand ObamaCare (-5 points on Economic scale)	Shift away from fee-for-service programs: Strongly Favors topic 5 Sponsored bill providing for autism treatment under TRICARE: Favors topic 5 Expand the National Health Service Corps: Strongly Favors topic 5 YES on giving mental health full equity with physical health: Favors topic 5 YES on Veto override: Extend SCHIP to cover 6M more kids: Strongly 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)	Never raise, never, the age for our seniors to retire: Strongly Opposes topic 6 Co-sponsored the Social Security Fairness Act: Opposes topic 6 Oppose privatization; would have lost income in recession: Strongly Opposes topic 6 Opposes private retirement accounts: Strongly Opposes topic 6
Opposes topic 7: Vouchers for school choice (-3 points on Economic scale)	Improve our nation's schools and make college accessible: Opposes topic 7 Invest more in our public schools, and demand more: Opposes topic 7 Opposes less federal or more local control of education: Opposes topic 7 YES on $40B for green public schools: Opposes topic 7
Strongly Opposes topic 8: Fight EPA regulatory over-reach (+5 points on Social scale)	Promote conservation of rare felids & canids: Strongly Opposes topic 8 Grants for beach water pollution under Clean Water Act: Opposes topic 8 Make tax deduction permanent for conservation easements: Opposes topic 8 Add polar bear & bluefin tuna to endangered species list: Strongly Opposes topic 8 Strengthen prohibitions against animal fighting: Strongly Opposes topic 8 Fund projects for international conservation of cranes: Strongly Opposes topic 8 YES on protecting free-roaming horses and burros: Opposes topic 8
Opposes topic 9: Stricter punishment reduces crime (+2 points on Social scale)	Increase funding for "COPS ON THE BEAT" program: Opposes topic 9 Supports more severe penalties for Hate Crimes: Favors topic 9 YES on expanding services for offenders' re-entry into society: Opposes topic 9
Strongly Opposes topic 10: Absolute right to gun ownership (-5 points on Economic scale)	Close the Gun Show Loophole; restrict show sales: Opposes topic 10 Rated F by the NRA, indicating a pro-gun control voting record: Strongly Opposes topic 10
Favors topic 11: Higher taxes on the wealthy (-3 points on Economic scale)	Bush tax oplicies shift burden to middle class & future: Strongly Favors topic 11 YES on paying for AMT relief by closing offshore business loopholes: Strongly Favors topic 11 YES on extending AMT exemptions to avoid hitting middle-income: Opposes topic 11
Strongly Favors topic 12: Pathway to citizenship for illegal aliens (+5 points on Social scale)	Supports continued funding of sanctuary cities: Strongly Favors topic 12 Supports granting amnesty to illegal immigrants: Strongly Favors topic 12
Opposes topic 13: Support & expand free trade (-3 points on Economic scale)	Supports Ex-Im Bank & supports trade agreements in principle: Favors topic 13 Supports TPP in principle, but verify openly before we trust: Opposes topic 13 Tariffs against countries undervaluing their currency: Opposes topic 13 YES on assisting workers who lose jobs due to globalization: Opposes topic 13 YES on promoting free trade with Peru: Favors topic 13
Strongly Opposes topic 14: Support American Exceptionalism (-5 points on Economic scale)	Restore habeas corpus for detainees in the War on Terror: Opposes topic 14 Allow travel between the United States and Cuba: Opposes topic 14 YES on Veto override: Congressional oversight of CIA interrogations: Opposes topic 14 YES on requiring FISA warrants for wiretaps in US, but not abroad: Strongly Opposes topic 14 NO on removing need for FISA warrant for wiretapping abroad: Strongly Opposes topic 14
Opposes topic 15: Expand the military (+2 points on Social scale)	Free postage for soldiers serving abroad: Favors topic 15 YES on restricting no-bid defense contracts: Strongly Opposes topic 15
Strongly Favors topic 16: Make voter registration easier (+5 points on Social scale)	YES on requiring lobbyist disclosure of bundled donations: Strongly Favors topic 16
Favors topic 17: Avoid foreign entanglements (+2 points on Social scale)	Ensure stability as we draw down our forces in Iraq: Favors topic 17 We’ve achieved our goals; withdraw from Iraq by end of 2007: Strongly Favors topic 17 Strengthen sanctions on Syria & assist democratic transition: Strongly Opposes topic 17 Opposes timetable for troop withdrawal from Afghanistan: Opposes topic 17 YES on redeploying US troops out of Iraq starting in 90 days: Strongly Favors topic 17 YES on investigating Bush impeachment for lying about Iraq: Favors topic 17
Strongly Favors topic 18: Prioritize green energy (-5 points on Economic scale)	Offshore drilling moratorium; oversight of Marcellus Shale: Strongly Favors topic 18 Reduce greenhouse emissions & stop global warming: Strongly Favors topic 18 Create an advanced alternative energy research project: Strongly Favors topic 18 Supports renewable energy tax credits: Strongly Favors topic 18 YES on tax incentives for renewable energy: Strongly Favors topic 18 YES on removing oil & gas exploration subsidies: Strongly Favors topic 18 YES on investing in homegrown biofuel: Strongly Favors topic 18 YES on criminalizing oil cartels like OPEC: Favors topic 18 YES on tax incentives for energy production and conservation: Strongly Favors topic 18 YES on tax credits for renewable electricity, with PAYGO offsets: Favors topic 18 YES on enforcing limits on CO2 global warming pollution: Favors 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)	Rated 75% by NORML, indicating a pro-legalization stance: Strongly Opposes topic 19 YES on more funding for Mexico to fight drugs: Favors topic 19
Strongly Favors topic 20: Stimulus better than market-led recovery (-5 points on Economic scale)	Auto & bank bailouts were to clean up Bush's mess: Strongly Favors topic 20 YES on $60B stimulus package for jobs, infrastructure, & energy: Strongly Favors topic 20 YES on $192B additional anti-recession stimulus spending: Strongly Favors topic 20