http://minnesota.publicradio.org/projects/ongoing/select_a_candidate/positions.php?race_id=14Social Security
Do you favor privatizing Social Security to any degree?
Coleman: Yes
Individuals ought to be allowed to invest in IRA's, but Social Security should not be completely privatized.
Franken: No.
In a written statement to MPR Franken said, "my wife's family survived because of Social Security survivor benefits, and I will go to the mat to protect Social Security from privatization. I think the Bush administration and its apologists have exaggerated concerns about solvency. But those concerns do exist, and I think we should look at raising the cap on income subject to FICA."
Tax Cuts
Should the President's tax cuts be made permanent?
Coleman: Yes
Voted NO on $47 billion for military by repealing capital gains tax cut (Feb. 2006). Voted YES on retaining reduced taxes on capital gains & dividends (Feb. 2006). Voted YES on extending the tax cuts on capital gains and dividends (Nov. 2005). Voted YES on $350 billion in tax breaks over 11 years (May 2003). Voted YES on raising estate tax exemption to $5 million. (March 2007). Voted YES on supporting permanence of estate tax cuts (Aug. 2006). Voted YES on permanently repealing the `death tax` (June 2006).
Franken: No.
In a written statement to MPR Franken said, "I am strongly opposed to making Bush's tax cuts permanent. Never before in the history of our country have we had a tax cut during a time of war - and under this Administration, we've had two. That's ridiculous. We should not extend the tax cuts for the top 1%. When President Clinton raised the top marginal tax rate, Republicans claimed it would lead to financial ruin. Instead, it led to unprecedented prosperity. I think we should go back to unprecedented prosperity."
Health Care
Do you favor or oppose universal health care?
Coleman: Oppose
According to a posting on Sen. Coleman's Web site he is opposed to a single payer health care system and supports affordable health care through (1) Health Savings Accounts (2) Association Health Plans (3) Medicare Part D and (4) income-based tax credits for individuals and families without employer-based health insurance.
Franken: Favor
In a written statement to MPR Franken said, "My number one domestic priority is to get us to universal health care. We spend 16% of our GDP on health care; no other industrialized country spends more than 11%. Yet we cover only 82% of our people; they all cover 100% of theirs. "The first thing we should do, and we should do it immediately, is cover every kid in America by essentially expanding Medicare to include everyone 18 and under. And, by the way, Medicare should really be Medicare - we shouldn't be throwing away Medicare dollars by overpaying the insurance companies to cherry-pick the healthiest seniors to cover. "There are several feasible options being used around the world for covering everyone else, including a single-payer system, and my priority is to get to universal health care as quickly as possible, even if this means temporarily adopting a mixed system or a system that allows states some flexibility how they cover their citizens."
Abortion
Do you favor or oppose legalized abortion?
Coleman: Oppose.
"I am pro-life," Coleman said during a speech at the Humphrey Institute May 14, 2007. He voted in favor of banning partial birth abortions except for when maternal life is threatened in March 2003.
Franken: Favor
In a written statement to MPR Franken said, "I believe that abortion should be safe, legal, and rare. And during the Clinton Administration, the number of abortions declined every year. Why? Because under President Clinton, our government understood that the best way to prevent abortions is to prevent unwanted pregnancies. That should be our focus."
Marriage Equality
Do you favor or oppose a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between one man and one woman?
Coleman: Favor
Voted in favor of a constitutional amendment that defined marriage as being between one man and one woman in June 2006.
Franken: Oppose.
In a written statement to MPR Franken said, "I would strongly oppose such an amendment. We shouldn't be writing discrimination into the Constitution. I'm for equal rights in marriage, since I've been married for almost 32 years and don't really feel like my marriage is threatened by two people of the same sex making a public and binding commitment to each other. I do understand that many reasonable people of good faith disagree with this position but agree that all Americans should have the same legal rights and we shouldn't let right-wing ideologues invent divisions that don't exist. "The issue of equal rights in employment is actually a more important issue that gets very little attention. In a large majority of states, it is still legal to fire someone simply for being gay. That's wrong. Minnesota is not one of those states, and I will fight to end employment discrimination based on sexual preference nationwide."
There's more at the link.
So yeah, it's sad that you voted for Franken "just because he wasn't Coleman" - but maybe not for the reason you think.
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(170 posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
