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)
Opposes topic 1: Abortion is a woman's right (-3 points on Social scale)	Strongly opposes "Abortion is a woman's right": Strongly Opposes topic 1 Rated 7% by NARAL, indicating a pro-life voting record: Strongly Opposes topic 1 Rated 75% by the NRLC, indicating a mixed record on abortion: Neutral on topic 1 YES on banning partial birth abortions except for maternal life: Strongly Opposes topic 1 YES on criminal penalty for harming unborn fetus during other crime: Opposes topic 1 NO on $100M to reduce teen pregnancy by education & contraceptives: Opposes topic 1 YES on notifying parents of minors who get out-of-state abortions: Opposes topic 1 NO on expanding research to more embryonic stem cell lines: Opposes topic 1 NO on barring HHS grants to organizations that perform abortions: Favors topic 1
Favors topic 2: Require hiring more women & minorities (-3 points on Economic scale)	Strongly favors requiring companies to hire more minorities: Strongly Favors topic 2 Rated 57% by NAACP, indicating a mixed record on affirmative-action: Neutral on topic 2
No opinion on topic 3: Same-sex domestic partnership benefits (0 points on Social scale)	Supports "Sexual orientation protected by civil rights laws": Strongly Favors topic 3 Rated 11% by the HRC, indicating an anti-gay-rights stance: Strongly Opposes topic 3 YES on adding sexual orientation to definition of hate crimes: Strongly Favors topic 3 YES on constitutional ban of same-sex marriage: Strongly Opposes topic 3
Strongly Favors topic 4: Teacher-led prayer in public schools (-5 points on Social scale)	Rated 83% by the Christian Coalition: a pro-family voting record: Strongly Favors topic 4 Rated 0% by the AU, indicating opposition to church-state separation: Strongly Favors topic 4 YES on recommending Constitutional ban on flag desecration: Favors topic 4
Favors topic 5: More federal funding for health coverage (-3 points on Economic scale)	Supports More Federal Funding for Health Coverage: Favors topic 5 Rated 50% by APHA, indicating a mixed record on public health issues: Neutral on topic 5 Maintain Medicare funding of HMO benefits: Favors topic 5 NO on funding GOP version of Medicare prescription drug benefit: Favors topic 5 YES on $40 billion per year for limited Medicare prescription drug benefit: Favors topic 5 YES on increasing Medicaid rebate for producing generics: Favors topic 5 NO on negotiating bulk purchases for Medicare prescription drug: Strongly Opposes topic 5 YES on expanding enrollment period for Medicare Part D: Favors topic 5 NO on limiting medical liability lawsuits to $250,000: Opposes 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
Opposes topic 6: Privatize Social Security (-3 points on Economic scale)	Opposes privatizing Social Security: Opposes topic 6 Rated 40% by the ARA, indicating a mixed record on senior issues: Neutral on topic 6 NO on establishing reserve funds & pre-funding for Social Security: Opposes topic 6
Strongly Opposes topic 7: Parents choose schools via vouchers (-5 points on Economic scale)	Opposes parents choosing schools via vouchers: Strongly Opposes topic 7 Rated 100% by the NEA, indicating pro-public education votes: Strongly Opposes topic 7 YES on funding smaller classes instead of private tutors: Opposes topic 7 YES on funding student testing instead of private tutors: Opposes topic 7 YES on $5B for grants to local educational agencies: Opposes topic 7
Strongly Favors topic 8: Death Penalty (-5 points on Social scale)	Supports the death penalty: Strongly Favors topic 8
Favors topic 9: Mandatory Three Strikes sentencing laws (-3 points on Social scale)	Rated 87% by the NCJA, indicating a "tough-on-crime" stance: Strongly Favors topic 9 YES on reinstating $1.15 billion funding for the COPS Program: Opposes topic 9
Opposes topic 10: Absolute right to gun ownership (-3 points on Economic scale)	Opposes absolute right to gun ownership: Strongly Opposes topic 10 NO on banning lawsuits against gun manufacturers for gun violence: Strongly Opposes topic 10 YES on prohibiting lawsuits against gun manufacturers: Strongly Favors topic 10 YES on prohibiting foreign & UN aid that restricts US gun ownership: Favors topic 10
Opposes topic 11: Repeal tax cuts on wealthy (+2 points on Economic scale)	Supports making income tax flatter & lower: Opposes topic 11 Rated 42% by NTU, indicating "Satisfactory" on tax votes: Neutral on topic 11 Rated 0% by the CTJ, indicating opposition to progressive taxation: Strongly Opposes topic 11 NO on reducing marriage penalty instead of cutting top tax rates: Opposes topic 11 YES on spending $448B of tax cut on education & debt reduction: Favors topic 11 YES on $350 billion in tax breaks over 11 years: Strongly Opposes topic 11 YES on extending the tax cuts on capital gains and dividends: Strongly Opposes topic 11 NO on $47B for military by repealing capital gains tax cut: Opposes topic 11 YES on retaining reduced taxes on capital gains & dividends: Strongly Opposes topic 11 YES on permanently repealing the `death tax`: Strongly Opposes topic 11 YES on supporting permanence of estate tax cuts: Strongly Opposes 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
Strongly Opposes topic 12: Illegal immigrants earn citizenship (-5 points on Social scale)	Supports "Immigration helps our economy-encourage it": Favors topic 12 Rated 83% by USBC, indicating a sealed-border stance: Strongly Opposes topic 12 Ease Canadian border-crossing rules: Favors topic 12 NO on allowing illegal aliens to participate in Social Security: Strongly Opposes topic 12 NO on giving Guest Workers a path to citizenship: Strongly Opposes topic 12 NO on establishing a Guest Worker program: Opposes topic 12 YES on building a fence along the Mexican border: Strongly Opposes 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
Strongly Favors topic 13: Support & expand free trade (+5 points on Economic scale)	Supports expanding Free Trade: Favors topic 13 Rated 58% by CATO, indicating a mixed record on trade issues: Neutral on topic 13 Ease Canadian border-crossing rules: Favors topic 13 Grant fast-track authority to the President: Favors topic 13 YES on removing common goods from national security export rules: Favors topic 13 YES on granting normal trade relations status to Vietnam: Favors topic 13 YES on extending free trade to Andean nations: Strongly Favors topic 13 YES on establishing free trade between US & Singapore: Favors topic 13 YES on establishing free trade between the US and Chile: Favors topic 13 YES on implementing CAFTA for Central America free-trade: Strongly Favors topic 13 YES on free trade agreement with Oman: Strongly Favors topic 13 YES on promoting free trade with Peru: Favors topic 13
Opposes topic 14: The Patriot Act harms civil liberties (-3 points on Social scale)	YES on extending the PATRIOT Act's wiretap provision: Strongly Opposes topic 14 YES on reauthorizing the PATRIOT Act: Opposes topic 14 NO on preserving habeus corpus for Guantanamo detainees: Strongly Opposes topic 14 YES on requiring CIA reports on detainees & interrogation methods: Strongly Favors topic 14 YES on removing need for FISA warrant for wiretapping abroad: Strongly Opposes topic 14
Opposes topic 15: Expand the armed forces (+2 points on Social scale)	Rated 40% by SANE, indicating a mixed record on military issues: Neutral on topic 15 YES on requiring on-budget funding for Iraq, not emergency funding: Opposes topic 15 YES on limiting soldiers' deployment to 12 months: Opposes topic 15
Opposes topic 16: Stricter limits on political campaign funds (+2 points on Economic scale)	NO on banning campaign donations from unions & corporations: Opposes topic 16 NO on banning "soft money" contributions and restricting issue ads: Opposes topic 16 NO on establishing the Senate Office of Public Integrity: Opposes topic 16 NO on allowing some lobbyist gifts to Congress: Strongly Favors topic 16
Opposes topic 17: US out of Iraq (-3 points on Social scale)	Supports continuing Foreign Aid to Russia, Israel, & others: Strongly Favors topic 17 NO on redeploying troops out of Iraq by July 2007: Strongly Opposes topic 17 NO on redeploying US troops out of Iraq by March 2008: Strongly Opposes topic 17 NO on redeploying non-essential US troops out of Iraq in 9 months: Opposes topic 17
Favors topic 18: Replace coal & oil with alternatives (-3 points on Economic scale)	Supports spending resources to stop Global Warming: Favors topic 18 Rated 21% by the LCV, indicating anti-environment votes: Strongly Opposes topic 18 Keep efficient air conditioner rule to conserve energy: Strongly Favors topic 18 Rated 33% by CAF, indicating a mixed record on energy independence: Neutral on topic 18 YES on terminating CAFE standards within 15 months: Strongly Opposes topic 18 YES on targeting 100,000 hydrogen-powered vehicles by 2010: Strongly Favors topic 18 YES on removing consideration of drilling ANWR from budget bill: Favors topic 18 YES on reducing oil usage by 40% by 2025 (instead of 5%): Strongly Favors topic 18 YES on disallowing an oil leasing program in Alaska's ANWR: Strongly Favors topic 18 YES on banning drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge: 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
Strongly Favors topic 19: Drug use is immoral: enforce laws against it (-5 points on Social scale)	Supports "Drug use is immoral: enforce laws against it": Strongly Favors topic 19
No opinion on topic 20: Allow churches to provide welfare services (0 points on Economic scale)	(No votes on which to base response)