Here you find an overview of all issues. You can click on an issue to see your repsonses and responses from Mitt Romney as well as the sources on which they are based.
Gun control
Proposition 1:
People should have a background check and obtain a license before they can buy a gun
| Your opinion: | You have not answered that question. |
| Opinion Mitt Romney: |
tend to disagree |
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Issues and plans from candidate's campaign website |
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" Strongly Support An Individual’s Right To Keep And Bear Arms Under The Second Amendment. Governor Romney believes in safe and responsible gun ownership. He recognizes there are people in this country who want to remove all guns in our society and he thinks they’re wrong. We need to distinguish between law abiding gun owners and criminals who
use guns. "
" Support More Severe Punishments For Those Who Commit Crimes With A Firearm. Those who use a firearm during the commission of crime must be punished severely. The key is to provide law enforcement with the resources they need and punish criminals, not burden lawful gun owners. "
"Governor Romney does not believe we need any more gun laws in this country. Like President Bush, he would sign a gun law if it was carefully written to target weapons of unusual and unnecessary lethality or power.
"Support Court Decisions That Strengthen The Second Amendment. The Governor applauds court decisions
finding the Second Amendment protects an individualized right to keep and bear arms. As President he would support that interpretation and protect the right of every law abiding adult to keep and use firearms."
http://www.mittromney.com/img/pdf/SSA/Romney_StrongerAmerica_Booklet.pdf
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Proposition 2:
Stricter gun control will not reduce crime
| Your opinion: | You have not answered that question. |
| Opinion Mitt Romney: |
tend to agree |
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Issues and plans from candidate's campaign website |
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Strongly Support An Individual’s Right To Keep And Bear Arms Under The Second Amendment. Governor Romney believes in safe and responsible gun ownership. He recognizes there are people in this country who want to remove all guns in our society and he thinks they’re wrong. We need to distinguish between law abiding gun owners and criminals who use guns.
Support More Severe Punishments For Those Who Commit Crimes With A Firearm. Those who use a firearm during the commission of crime must be punished severely. The key is to provide law enforcement with the resources they need and punish criminals, not burden lawful gun owners.
http://www.mittromney.com/img/pdf/SSA/Romney_StrongerAmerica_Booklet.pdf
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Other websites and news sources |
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And as the GOP gubernatorial candidate in 2002, Romney lauded the state's strong laws during a debate against Democrat Shannon O'Brien. "We do have tough gun laws in Massachusetts; I support them," he said. "I won't chip away at them; I believe they protect us and provide for our safety."
He now touts his work as governor to ease restrictions on gun owners. He proudly describes himself as a member of the NRA -- though his campaign won't say when he joined. And Friday, at his campaign's request, top officials of the NRA and the National Shooting Sports Foundation led him around one of the country's biggest gun shows.
Romney says he still backs the ban on assault weapons, but he won't say whether he stands by the Brady Bill. And after the gun show tour, his campaign declined to say whether he would still describe himself as a supporter of tough gun laws.
"He believes Americans have the right to own and possess firearms as guaranteed under the US Constitution," spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom wrote in an e-mail. "He's proud to be among the many decent, law-abiding men and women who safely use firearms. Like President Bush, he supports restrictions on assault weapons, but Mitt Romney has also worked with gun owners and sportsmen to ease the gun-licensing laws in Massachusetts."
(Boston Globe 14 January 2007)
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Proposition 3:
All semi-automatic weapons should be banned
| Your opinion: | You have not answered that question. |
| Opinion Mitt Romney: |
completely agree |
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Debate transcripts |
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MR. WALLACE: Governor Romney, in 1994 you said you were a stronger advocate of gay rights than Ted Kennedy. As recently as five years ago you still supported a woman's right to choose. And as governor you signed into law one of the toughest restrictions on assault weapons in the country. Are you a clear and consistent conservative?
MR. ROMNEY: Well, let's get the record straight. First of all, there's no question that I support Second Amendment rights, but I also support an assault weapon ban.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/15/us/politics/16repubs-text.html?pagewanted=print
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Environment
Proposition 1:
The effects of global warming are grossly exaggerated
| Your opinion: | You have not answered that question. |
| Opinion Mitt Romney: |
tend to disagree |
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Debate transcripts |
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"But with regards to energy -- and that's really the heart of what we're describing here -- one side of this is, of course, the fear. The fear of the fact that we face global warming. That we face serious competitive challenges globally unless we become serious with our getting prices of energy down."
ROMNEY: But the other is the opportunity. It's a great opportunity for America to develop technology to lead the world in energy efficiency as well as energy production.
And whether it's nuclear or liquefied coal, where we sequester the CO2, far more fuel-efficient automobiles -- by the way, where bureaucrats don't write the rules, but where business people come together and say, "Let's find a way to make sure that the American, the domestic industry can thrive."
Republican Debate Michigan CNBC Wall Street Journal 09-10-2007
http://www.cfr.org/publication/14459/republican_debate_transcript_detroit_michigan.html?breadcrumb=%2Fpublication%2Fpublication_list%3Ftype%3Dessential_document%26page%3D4
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Proposition 2:
An additional carbon tax on fuel will effectively reduce pollution
| Your opinion: | You have not answered that question. |
| Opinion Mitt Romney: |
tend to disagree |
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Other websites and news sources |
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As President, Will You Oppose Income Tax Increases?
Gov. Mitt Romney: "Yes. Keeping taxes low is crucial to the health of our economy, which is why I have pledged not to raise taxes. I will make the Bush tax cuts permanent, abolish the Death Tax, and bring down marginal tax rates. I will implement a middle class savings plan, which eliminates all taxes on interest, dividends, and capital gains for middle class Americans. People should be able to save their money tax-free. I also believe that we need to lower our corporate tax rate if American companies are to remain competitive in the global economy. Almost every other developed country in the world has lowered their corporate rate in recent years while we have not, and almost all have a lower rate than ours."
By Randy Hall
CNSNews.com Staff Writer/Editor
October 16, 2007
http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewPolitics.asp?Page=/Politics/archive/200710/POL20071016b.html
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Proposition 3:
The US should never sign international treaties on climate change that limit economic growth
| Your opinion: | You have not answered that question. |
| Opinion Mitt Romney: |
completely agree |
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Issues and plans from candidate's campaign website |
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"Governor Mark Sanford is right. Unfortunately, some in the Republican Party are embracing the radical environmental ideas of the liberal left. As governor, I found that thoughtful environmentalism need not be anti-growth and anti-jobs. But Kyoto-style sweeping mandates, imposed unilaterally in the United States, would kill jobs, depress growth and shift manufacturing to the dirtiest developing nations.
"Republicans should never abandon pro-growth conservative principles in an effort to embrace the ideas of Al Gore. Instead of sweeping mandates, we must use America's power of innovation to develop alternative sources of energy and new technologies that use energy more efficiently."
http://www.mittromney.com/News/Press-Releases/Environmental_Debate
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Iraq
Proposition 1:
The US had every right to invade Iraq
| Your opinion: | You have not answered that question. |
| Opinion Mitt Romney: |
completely agree |
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Debate transcripts |
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" Governor Romney, I wanted to start by asking you a question on which every American has formed an opinion. We’ve lost 3,400 troops; civilian casualties are even higher, and the Iraqi government does not appear ready to provide for the security of its own country. Knowing everything you know right now, was it a mistake for us to invade Iraq?
MR. ROMNEY: Well, the question is kind of a non sequitur, if you will, and what I mean by that — or a null set. And that is that if you’re saying let’s turn back the clock, and Saddam Hussein had opened up his country to IAEA inspectors, and they’d come in and they’d found that there were no weapons of mass destruction, had Saddam Hussein, therefore, not violated United Nations resolutions, we wouldn’t be in the conflict we’re in. But he didn’t do those things, and we knew what we knew at the point we made the decision to get in. I supported the president’s decision based on what we knew at that time. I think we were underprepared and underplanned for what came after we knocked down Saddam Hussein.
MR. BLITZER: Governor, thank you, but the question was, knowing what you know right now — not what you knew then, what you know right now — was it a mistake for the United States to invade Iraq?
MR. ROMNEY: Well, I answered the question by saying it’s a — it’s a non sequitur, it’s a null set kind of question, because you can go back and say, if we knew then what we know now, by virtue of inspectors having been let in and giving us that information, by virtue of if Saddam Hussein had followed the U.N. resolutions, we wouldn’t be having this — this discussion. So it’s a hypothetical that I think is an unreasonable hypothetical. And the answer is, we did what we did; we did the right thing based on what we knew at that time. I think we made mistakes following the conduct — or the collapse of Saddam’s government. "
2008 Republican presidential candidates debate hosted by CNN, WMUR-TV and The New Hampshire Union Leader
June 5, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/05/us/politics/05cnd-transcript.html?_r=1&ei=5070&en=e3205835d0dd6cb3&ex=1185768000&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1198066156-ZNlNxvFdWziLEqKCxdpT8g&pagewanted=print
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Proposition 2:
The US is safer because of the invasion of Iraq
| Your opinion: | You have not answered that question. |
| Opinion Mitt Romney: |
completely agree |
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Issues and plans from candidate's campaign website |
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Today, the nation’s attention is focused on Iraq. All Americans
want U.S. troops to come home as soon as possible. But
walking away now or dividing Iraq up into parts and walking
away later would present grave risks to the United States and
the world. Iran could seize the Shiite south, al-Qaeda could
dominate the Sunni west, and Kurdish nationalism could
destabilize the border with Turkey.
Yet the Jihad is much broader than any one nation, or
even several nations. It is broader than the conflicts in
Afghanistan and Iraq, or that between the Israelis and the
Palestinians. Radical Islam has one goal: to replace all
modern Islamic states with a worldwide caliphate while
destroying the United States and converting all nonbelievers,
forcibly if necessary, to Islam. This plan sounds irrational, and
it is. But it is no more irrational than the policies pursued by
Nazi Germany in the 1930s and 1940s and Stalin’s Soviet
Union during the Cold War. And the threat is just as real.
http://www.mittromney.com/img/pdf/SSA/Romney_StrongerAmerica_Booklet.pdf
Protect The Homeland. While there has been much emphasis on protecting facilities and responding to attacks, a key priority must be prevention. Today, protecting the homeland must begin far from home. Intelligence and law enforcement efforts able to address threats before they reach our shores must be a priority for U.S. and international action. This will demand new U.S. capabilities, stronger international alliances and integration of our federal actions with international, state and local efforts.
http://www.mittromney.com/Issues/keeping-americans-safe
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Proposition 3:
The new president should begin to bring home all US troops from Iraq immediately
| Your opinion: | You have not answered that question. |
| Opinion Mitt Romney: |
completely disagree |
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Issues and plans from candidate's campaign website |
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"All Americans want U.S. troops to come home as soon as possible. But walking away now or dividing Iraq up into parts and walking away later would present grave risks to the United States and the world. Iran could seize the Shiite south, al-Qaeda could dominate the Sunni west, and Kurdish nationalism could destabilize the border with Turkey. A regional conflict could ensue, perhaps even requiring the return of U.S. troops under far worse circumstances. There is no guarantee that the new strategy pursued by General Petraeus will ultimately succeed, but the stakes are too high and the potential fallout too great to deny our military leaders and troops on the ground the resources and the time needed to give it an opportunity to succeed."
overview, http://www.mittromney.com/img/pdf/SSA/Romney_StrongerAmerica_Booklet.pdf
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Other websites and news sources |
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In Iowa on Wednesday, Romney reiterated his support for President Bush and said a withdrawal from Iraq "would be a mistake."
AP Dec 22, 2006
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Economy
Proposition 1:
The best way to reduce the federal deficit is to raise taxes
| Your opinion: | You have not answered that question. |
| Opinion Mitt Romney: |
tend to disagree |
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Issues and plans from candidate's campaign website |
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"I believe that we are overtaxed and
government is overfed.Washington is spending too much
money. (Governor Mitt Romney, Remarks At Presidential
Announcement, 2/13/07)"
"Bring Fiscal Discipline And Strong Management To
Washington.
Establish Strict Spending Limits. Veto domestic nondefense
discretionary appropriations that increase
spending by more than inflation minus one percent."
"Restore Supermajority Requirement. Impose
congressional rule requiring a three-fifths (60%)
supermajority to pass any law that would raise taxes."
http://www.mittromney.com/img/pdf/SSA/Romney_StrongerAmerica_Booklet.pdf
p 38-39
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Proposition 2:
The tax cuts for people with a higher income should be reversed
| Your opinion: | You have not answered that question. |
| Opinion Mitt Romney: |
completely disagree |
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Proposition 3:
The government has no responsibility to provide retirement funds
| Your opinion: | You have not answered that question. |
| Opinion Mitt Romney: |
tend to agree |
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Debate transcripts |
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ROMNEY: Well, our current seniors. Currently, we're taking more money into Social Security that we actually send out. So our current seniors, their benefits are not going to change.
For people 20 and 30 and 40 years old, we have four major options, for instance, for Social Security. One is the one Democrats want: raise taxes. It's the wrong way to go.
Number two, the president said let's have private accounts and take that surplus money that's being gathered now in Social Security and put that into private accounts. That works.
Other people said, well, extend the retirement age.
ROMNEY: That mathematically works. It's not as attractive. And the last is to index the Social Security benefits, the first benefit, to something other than wages, which is what it has always been.
But, in my view, that's the wrong way to go. That's the wrong way to go other than for higher-income Americans. Higher-income Americans -- that is the Posen plan -- yes, let's consider doing that. That is indexing based on prices rather than wages.
The Republican Debate on Fox News Channel
Orlando, Florida, october 21
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/21/us/politics/21debate-transcript.html?pagewanted=all
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Income
Proposition 1:
Mortgage lenders should be more tightly controlled
| Your opinion: | You have not answered that question. |
| Opinion Mitt Romney: |
tend to disagree |
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Issues and plans from candidate's campaign website |
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Recent difficulties in the housing market offer another important reason for helping more Americans save and invest. Much of the recent activity and appreciation in the housing market was driven by the widespread use of new mortgage instruments that allowed homebuyers to purchase houses without putting up any down payment and using low upfront payments that would later increase.
[...]
I have proposed changing the rate of taxation on capital gains, dividends and interest to 0 percent for middle class Americans.
Helping more Americans save and invest is crucial to meeting the challenges of an aging baby boom generation and ensuring the financial security of America. Early in our nation's history, only the very wealthy could invest in the stock market. Now, over half of the adults in America own stocks, either individually or through pension plans and mutual funds. The democratization of capital has increased the wealth of our country, and allowed the American system of free market capitalism to grow.
http://www.mittromney.com/News/In-The-News/Middle_Class_Savings_Union_Leader
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Proposition 2:
People with higher incomes should receive less Medicare benefits
| Your opinion: | You have not answered that question. |
| Opinion Mitt Romney: |
completely disagree |
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Issues and plans from candidate's campaign website |
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Rather than relying on a one-size-fits-all, government-run system, we must recognize the importance of the role of the states in leading reform and the need for innovation in dealing with rising health care costs and the problem of the uninsured. By expanding and deregulating the private health insurance market, we can decrease costs and ensure that more Americans have access to affordable, portable, quality, private health insurance.
Democrats believe that the solution to these problems is a one-size-fits-all, government-run, socialized health care system — a course that threatens medical progress and restricts free markets.
(http://www.mittromney.com/Issues/healthcare)
“Medicaid is not a great insurance product. It was designed for the very poor, but it’s being used as an insurance product. It has terrible features. It doesn’t have people paying any part of their premium. It’s entirely free. It also has a cliff eligibility. If your income goes above a certain level, you don’t get anything any more. It has all the wrong incentives. So I’d like to see us give to the states the flexibility to create their own program based upon personal responsibility, get more people in the program but have them responsible for paying for their own premiums to the extent they possibly can and rein in the spending at the federal level.
Conduct Stem-To-Stern Review. Re-examine and evaluate all federal spending programs to identify waste, duplication, and inefficiencies that can be eliminated.
(http://www.mittromney.com/img/pdf/SSA/Romney_StrongerAmerica_Booklet.pdf)
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Proposition 3:
The federal government should reduce income inequality
| Your opinion: | You have not answered that question. |
| Opinion Mitt Romney: |
tend to disagree |
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Issues and plans from candidate's campaign website |
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Coming from Massachusetts, I saw first hand the liberal future, and it doesn’t work. That’s why I ran against Ted Kennedy. Liberal social programs weren’t solving poverty; they were in fact creating a culture of poverty. I didn’t win, but at least Teddy had to take out a mortgage on his home to beat me.
(...) The options that are discussed for reforming Social Security typically begin with the Democrats talking about raising taxes – that’s a bad idea. Raising taxes will slow down the economy and become a self-defeating factor because you slow the economy and that makes the burden of the Social Security problem even greater. So you can’t raise taxes.
“Number two, people have talked about an inflation rate based upon consumer price index – perhaps some in the room don’t recognize this, but for people right now, when you get your Social Security initial benefit, it’s not inflated with the price index – it’s inflated with a much higher index: the wage index. And if you just change the index from the wage index to the CPI that we’re so used to, that we all talk about, that would pretty much solve the problem of our Social Security burden.
(...)
Re-examine and evaluate all federal spending programs to identify waste, duplication, and inefficiencies that can be eliminated.
(http://www.mittromney.com/img/pdf/SSA/Romney_StrongerAmerica_Booklet.pdf)
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National security
Proposition 1:
The US should reduce its financial contribution to the UN
| Your opinion: | You have not answered that question. |
| Opinion Mitt Romney: |
tend to disagree |
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Debate transcripts |
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But we have to make sure that as we enter into agreements with other nations we make sure that those agreements are in our benefit as well as theirs. Usually that's the case, but not always. And in some cases it's not.
ROMNEY: Of course, you let a country invest in the United States. Because we're going to have to stop thinking always in terms of defense and trying to keep other people out.
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071009/NEWS02/71009073
Republican Debate Michigan CNBC Wall Street Journal 09-10-2007
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Proposition 2:
Iran is not an imminent threat to world peace
| Your opinion: | You have not answered that question. |
| Opinion Mitt Romney: |
tend to disagree |
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Issues and plans from candidate's campaign website |
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Combating Nuclear Terrorism
We are faced today with the horrific proposition that those who speak of genocide are developing the capability to carry it out. It’s time to face the reality of the Iranian threat, take Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at his word and act accordingly. We must tighten economic sanctions against Iran
http://www.mittromney.com/Issues/combating-nuclear-terrorism
GOVERNOR ROMNEY: "The Iranian regime threatens not only Israel, but also every other nation in the region, and ultimately the world. And that threat would take on an entirely new dimension if Iran were allowed to become a nuclear power. And just think of the signal a nuclear Iran would send to other rogue regimes with nuclear ambitions - this could be the tipping point in the development and proliferation of nuclear regimes." (Governor Mitt Romney, Remarks At The Seventh Annual Herzliya Conference, 1/23/07)
http://www.mittromney.com/Issues/combating-nuclear-terrorism
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Debate transcripts |
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ROMNEY: You sit down with your attorneys and tell you want you have to do, but obviously the president of the United States has to do what’s in the best interest of the United States to protect us against a potential threat. The president did that as he was planning on moving into Iraq and received the authorization of Congress...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21221689/
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Proposition 3:
The US should decrease its spending on defense
| Your opinion: | You have not answered that question. |
| Opinion Mitt Romney: |
completely disagree |
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Family
Proposition 1:
Same sex marriages should be made legal
| Your opinion: | You have not answered that question. |
| Opinion Mitt Romney: |
completely disagree |
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Debate transcripts |
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"But I've been in a state that has gay marriage, and I recognize that the consequences of gay marriage fall far beyond just the relationship between a man and a woman.
They also relate to our kids and the right of religion to be practiced freely in a society. So, for instance, I want to make sure that our kids have a mom and a dad. I want to make sure the Catholic Church in our state, that's been banned from doing adoptions because they want the kids to go into home where there's a mom and a dad, that they can do adoptions again. The status of marriage, if it's allowed among the same sex individuals in one state is going to spread to the entire nation. And that's why it's important to have a national standard for marriage. And I'm committed to making sure that we reinforce the institution of marriage in this country by insisting that all states have a right to have marriage as defined as between a man and a woman; and we don't have unelected judges, liberals, standing up and saying we're going to impose same-sex marriage where it was clearly not in their state constitution. "
Republican Presidential debate in Orlando, Florida.
October 21, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/21/us/politics/21debate-transcript.html
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Proposition 2:
Abortion should be made completely illegal
| Your opinion: | You have not answered that question. |
| Opinion Mitt Romney: |
tend to agree |
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Issues and plans from candidate's campaign website |
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“I am pro-life. I believe that abortion is the wrong choice except in cases of incest, rape, and to save the life of the mother. I wish the people of America agreed, and that the laws of our nation could reflect that view. But while the nation remains so divided over abortion, I believe that the states, through the democratic process, should determine their own abortion laws and not have them dictated by judicial mandate.”
“What became clear during the cloning debate is how the harsh logic of an absolute right to abortion had cheapened the value of human life to the point that rational people saw a human embryo as nothing more than mere research material to be used, and then destroyed.
http://www.mittromney.com/img/pdf/SSA/Romney_StrongerAmerica_Booklet.pdf p. 59
“When I first ran for office, while I was always personally opposed to abortion, I considered whether this should be a pivate decision or whether it should be a societal and government decision. I concluded that I would support the law as it was in place – effectively, the pro-choice position.
“And I was wrong.
“What became clear during the cloning debate is how the harsh logic of an absolute right to abortion had cheapened
the value of human life to the point that rational people saw a human embryo as nothing more than mere research material to be used, and then destroyed.
“The slippery slope was taking us to racks and racks of living human embryos, Brave New World-like, awaiting termination.
“What some see as just a clump of cells is actually a human life. Human life has identity. Human life has the capacity to love and be loved. Human life has a profound dignity, undiminished by age or infirmity.
http://www.mittromney.com/img/pdf/SSA/Romney_StrongerAmerica_Booklet.pdf p. 64
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Debate transcripts |
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"MR. ROMNEY: Well, I think all of us -- I believe almost all of us in the room would say that we’d love to have an America that didn’t have abortion. But the truth of the matter is that -- (applause) -- that’s not what America is right now. That’s not where the American people are right now, and so I’d like to see Roe v. Wade overturned and allow the states and the elected representatives of the people and the people themselves have the ability to put in place pro-life legislation.
And of course it’s our aspiration that at some point we’ll see a nation that doesn’t have abortion. But until that time, I certainly believe that allowing states and citizens and their representatives to fashion their own laws to protect the sanctity of life is very, very important.
I recognize that for many people, that is considered an act of murder, to have an abortion. It is without question the taking of a human life, and I believe that a civilized society must respect the sanctity of a human life. But we have two lives involved here: A mom and unborn child. We have to have concern for both lives. And so the expression of our compassion and our consideration -- and work to change hearts and minds -- and that’s the way, in my view, we’ll ultimately have a society without abortion."
Republican presidential candidate debate in Durham, North Carolina. September 5, 2007
http://www.cfr.org/publication/14142/republican_debate_transcript_new_hampshire.html?breadcrumb=%2Fpublication%2Fby_type%2Fessential_document
"MR. BLITZER: You made, Governor Romney, this decision on abortion, opposing abortion, relatively recently.
Why should conservatives out there, people who oppose abortion believe you?
MR. ROMNEY: Well, people can look at my record. I’m not going to apologize for the fact that I became pro-life. I served as governor; as I was governor, as we were debating cloning and as we were debating also embryo farming, I said Roe v. Wade has gone too far. I want to make it very clear that I’m pro-life. People here in New Hampshire have seen that I’ve fought for life. "
Republican Debate New Hampshire CNN June 5, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/05/us/politics/05cnd-transcript.html?ei=5070&en=f90492e8216c5ff1&ex=1187668800&pagewanted=print
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Proposition 3:
Using embryos for stem cell research is acceptable as it enables us to find cures for diseases
| Your opinion: | You have not answered that question. |
| Opinion Mitt Romney: |
completely disagree |
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Other websites and news sources |
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If elected, would you keep the current ban on funding for embryonic stem cell research in place? Why or why not?
I am a strong supporter of stem cell research. Adult stem cell research has already yielded great results for some patients and umbilical cord blood stem cells are promising as well. I am particularly excited about recent advances in stem cell research whereby scientists may be able to derive pluripotent stem cells without the need to create or destroy embryos. I support federal funding for such so-called alternative methods like altered nuclear transfer and direct reprogramming. I oppose cloning and think the practice of creating human embryos for the purposes of research should be banned. I want stem cell research to thrive in this country in a way that encourages medical discovery without crossing an ethical line.
http://projects.washingtonpost.com/2008-presidential-candidates/issues/candidates/mitt-romney/#stem-cell-research
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Immigration
Proposition 1:
To prevent illegal immigration, the US should complete the fence along the entire Mexican border
| Your opinion: | You have not answered that question. |
| Opinion Mitt Romney: |
completely agree |
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Proposition 2:
All illegal immigrants without a criminal record should be given the right to stay in the US legally
| Your opinion: | You have not answered that question. |
| Opinion Mitt Romney: |
completely disagree |
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Proposition 3:
Illegal immigration threatens our national security
| Your opinion: | You have not answered that question. |
| Opinion Mitt Romney: |
completely agree |
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Health care
Proposition 1:
Providing health care is not the responsibility of the government
| Your opinion: | You have not answered that question. |
| Opinion Mitt Romney: |
completely agree |
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Proposition 2:
US law should obligate all companies to provide health care insurance for their workers
| Your opinion: | You have not answered that question. |
| Opinion Mitt Romney: |
tend to disagree |
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Debate transcripts |
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"Our health care system right now really penalizes individuals that might want to buy their own insurance, as opposed to buying it through their company. And that's why I propose that people should be able to get their insurance individually, and it should be--and get the same tax treatment as to whether the company buys it for them, or they buy it for themselves. And all medical expenses would be tax deductible. Source: 2007 Republican debate in Dearborn, Michigan Oct 9, 2007 "
http://myclob.pbwiki.com/Should+we+end+the+employer-based+health+care+system
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Proposition 3:
The government should provide health care coverage for the millions of uninsured Americans
| Your opinion: | You have not answered that question. |
| Opinion Mitt Romney: |
tend to agree |
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Law and order
Proposition 1:
The death penalty helps deter crime
| Your opinion: | You have not answered that question. |
| Opinion Mitt Romney: |
completely agree |
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Proposition 2:
The government should spend money on keeping drugs off the streets, not on treating drug addicts
| Your opinion: | You have not answered that question. |
| Opinion Mitt Romney: |
tend to agree |
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Issues and plans from candidate's campaign website |
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"The difference?
"Romney got tough on drugs like meth.
"He never pardoned a single criminal.
"And Mike Huckabee?
"He granted 1,033 pardons and commutations, including 12 convicted murderers.
"Huckabee granted more clemencies than the previous three governors combined.
"Even reduced penalties for manufacturing methamphetamine.
"On crime. The difference is judgment."
[...]
Gov. Romney's Legislation Included Treatment For Addicts And Tougher Penalties For Dealers. "The first step called for in the blueprint is the creation of a new council to bring together the 13 state agencies that provide substance-abuse services. Each receives a portion of the $250 million the state spends each year on treatment and services, but there is no coordination among them, Healey said. Gov. Mitt Romney yesterday signed an executive order creating the council, of which Healey will be chairwoman. Among other recommendations, the plan calls for passage of $9.1 million in supplemental spending to expand detox and treatment services, passage of a bill to crack down on the manufacture and distribution of methamphetamine, and real-time tracking of heroin overdoses to help identify regions with the greatest need." (Julie Mehegan, "State Tackles Drug Abuse," The [Pittsfield, MA] Berkshire Eagle, 5/16/05)
http://www.mittromney.com/News/Press-Releases/Ad_Choice_Judgment
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Proposition 3:
For each crime there should be a fixed minimum sentence
| Your opinion: | You have not answered that question. |
| Opinion Mitt Romney: |
tend to agree |
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Education
Proposition 1:
Better teachers should be paid higher wages than their colleagues
| Your opinion: | You have not answered that question. |
| Opinion Mitt Romney: |
completely agree |
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Other websites and news sources |
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Other education priorities
Romney supports vouchers that would allow students from low-income areas pay for private-school tuition. As governor, he advocated merit pay for teachers, English immersion classes for foreign-speaking students, and increased math and science requirements. He told a New Hampshire crowd in August 2007 that the failure of inner-city schools is “the great civil rights issue of our time.”
http://asp.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/issues.aspx?i=8&c=15
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Proposition 2:
Creationism should be taught in science classes in school
| Your opinion: | You have not answered that question. |
| Opinion Mitt Romney: |
completely disagree |
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Other websites and news sources |
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“I believe that God designed the universe and created the universe,” Mr. Romney said in an interview this week. “And I believe evolution is most likely the process he used to create the human body.”
He was asked: Is that intelligent design?
“I’m not exactly sure what is meant by intelligent design,” he said. “But I believe God is intelligent and I believe he designed the creation. And I believe he used the process of evolution to create the human body.”
While governor of Massachusetts, Mr. Romney opposed the teaching of intelligent design in science classes.
“In my opinion, the science class is where to teach evolution, or if there are other scientific thoughts that need to be discussed,” he said. “If we’re going to talk about more philosophical matters, like why it was created, and was there an intelligent designer behind it, that’s for the religion class or philosophy class or social studies
class.”
Intelligent design is typically defined as the claim that examination of nature points to the work of an intelligent designer, as opposed to the utterly random, naturalistic processes that are taught as part of evolutionary theory. Critics have called intelligent design a thinly disguised version of creationism, which takes a literal approach to the creation account in Genesis, that the earth was created in six days and is less than 10,000 years old.
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/05/11/romney-elaborates-on-evolution/
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Proposition 3:
More government funding should go into public schools, not to education vouchers
| Your opinion: | You have not answered that question. |
| Opinion Mitt Romney: |
tend to disagree |
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Other websites and news sources |
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Other education priorities
Romney supports vouchers that would allow students from low-income areas pay for private-school tuition. As governor, he advocated merit pay for teachers, English immersion classes for foreign-speaking students, and increased math and science requirements. He told a New Hampshire crowd in August 2007 that the failure of inner-city schools is “the great civil rights issue of our time.”
http://asp.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/issues.aspx?i=8&c=15
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Terrorism
Proposition 1:
Anti-terrorism legislation, such as the Patriot Act, unacceptably violates civil liberties
| Your opinion: | You have not answered that question. |
| Opinion Mitt Romney: |
completely disagree |
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Issues and plans from candidate's campaign website |
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Gov. Romney Understands We Must Effectively Use Intelligence, Including Wiretapping And Electronic Surveillance, To Prevent Attacks. GOV. MITT ROMNEY: "The key to effective homeland security, in my view, is intelligence, finding the attackers before they attack, gathering and analyzing tips, monitoring suspects, wiretapping, surveillance, all of the tools associated with intelligence work. It's aided measurably by the Patriot Act, perhaps our most effective new tool. It is also dependent on effective delineations of responsibilities between and among federal agencies, across federal and state lines and state and local lines." (Gov. Mitt Romney, Remarks At The National Press Club, Washington, D.C., 7/14/04)
http://www.mittromney.com/News/Press-Releases/Romney_Vision_FISA
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Proposition 2:
Some form of torture is acceptable if it can prevent terrorist attacks
| Your opinion: | You have not answered that question. |
| Opinion Mitt Romney: |
completely agree |
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Other websites and news sources |
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Mr. Romney has also said that in the event of an extreme terrorist threat, he would not rule out even the harshest interrogation techniques, echoing comments made by his national security adviser, Maj. Gen. James Marks, who is retired.
When the general was asked, in a 2005 interview on CNN, how far he would go if he thought he could elicit information that would save the lives of either American soldiers or civilians, he replied, “I’d stick a knife in somebody’s thigh in a heartbeat.”
And in recent weeks, three candidates, Rudolph W. Giuliani, Mitt Romney and Fred D. Thompson, have embraced some of the more controversial policies on the treatment of those suspected of supporting terrorism, backing harsh interrogation methods and refusing to rule out the use of waterboarding, a simulated drowning technique, on detainees
Their public statements came as the debate over whether waterboarding is torture had threatened to derail the nomination of Michael B. Mukasey as attorney general after he refused to call the technique illegal
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/03/us/politics/03torture.html?ei=5088&en=6db438312fa127a6&ex=1351742400&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&pagewanted=print
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Proposition 3:
Iraq is just one front in a broader fight against Islamic terrorism
| Your opinion: | You have not answered that question. |
| Opinion Mitt Romney: |
completely agree |
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Issues and plans from candidate's campaign website |
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“I think many of us still fail to
comprehend the extent of the threat posed by radical Islam,
by Jihad. Understandably, we focus on Afghanistan and Iraq.
Our men and women are dying there.We think in terms of
countries, because we faced countries in last century’s
conflicts. But the Jihad is much broader than any one nation
or nations.
http://www.mittromney.com/img/pdf/SSA/Romney_StrongerAmerica_Booklet.pdf
Iraq is just one front in the war.We removed Hussein, but
afterward, we were under-prepared, under-planned, undermanned,
and under-managed. But walking away now or
dividing the country and then walking away would have real
and severe risks for America and for our troops. I support the
troop surge for that reason. And one thing I know, we
shouldn’t let Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid dictate our battle
strategy to the commanders in the field or to the
Commander-in-Chief.
http://www.mittromney.com/img/pdf/SSA/Romney_StrongerAmerica_Booklet.pdf
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