Media coverage of Pennsylvania political races in The Philadelphia Inquirer


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OnTheIssues.org excerpts:  (click on issues for details)

Abortion     Barack Obama: Insurers must provide contraception, but not employers.     Kathleen Sebelius: Make contraceptives available to everyone.     Tom Smith: No abortion under all circumstances, including rape & incest.     Bob Casey: Roe v. Wade Should Be Overturned.     Bob Casey: Right to Privacy means contraception, not unborn.

Budget & Economy     Tom Smith: Stagnant economy due to over-regulation & complex taxes.     Pat Toomey: Growing government was not the key to economic recovery.     Joe Sestak: Auto & bank bailouts were to clean up Bush's mess.     Pat Toomey: We can't borrow and spend our way to prosperity.     Joe Sestak: Deregulation of banks led to the economic meltdown.     Pat Toomey: Real threat to economy is billions on bailouts.

Civil Rights     Arlen Specter: Oppose gay marriage but support civil union.     Betsy Summers: Support gay marriage.     Jim Clymer: Oppose gay marriage and also oppose civil union.     Joseph Hoeffel: Oppose gay marriage but support civil union.

Corporations     Tom Smith: Compliance with regulations is strangling business.

Education     Bob Casey: Intelligent Design in religion class, not science class.     Joseph Hoeffel: Voted to increase funding for No Child Left Behind 4 times.

Energy & Oil     Katie McGinty: No fracking COMPANY donations; but some from fracking execs.     Tom Smith: Fossil fuels are key to reasonable energy prices.     Tom Smith: Former coal company executive; ease up on coal mining.

Families & Children     Mary Gay Scanlon: Helping women around the world key to helping their kids.     Bob Casey: Mandatory reporting of the pure evil of child abuse.

Health Care     Shiva Ayyadurai: Coronavirus: diet & vitamins better defense than masks.     Joseph Hoeffel: Voted against a sweet deal for pharmaceutical companies.

Homeland Security     Rick Santorum: We need to spend money to study the EMP threat.     Bob Casey: Don�t censure Bush for domestic spying.

Immigration     Katie McGinty: Communicate with federal officials instead of sanctuary city.     Pat Toomey: Withhold community funding from sanctuary cities like Philly.     Steve Lonegan: No on amnesty; tighter border security.

Jobs     Joe Sestak: Increase minimum wage to $10.80 now & $15 later.     John Fetterman: Backs $15-an-hour minimum wage.     Katie McGinty: Backs $15-an-hour minimum wage.

Principles & Values     Joe Sestak: TV ad: Toomey's record is same as Sen. Rick Santorum's.     Pat Toomey: TV ad: Sestak served well in Navy; but not on Congress.     Betsy Summers: Specter and Hoeffel are both big-government candidates.

Social Security     Joe Sestak: Never raise, never, the age for our seniors to retire.     Katie McGinty: Cuts to Social Security are wrong for working families.

Tax Reform     Tom Smith: Supports flat tax; remove loopholes but keep exemptions.

Technology     Rick Santorum: Scale of potential destruction from EMP demands action.

War & Peace     Bob Casey: Disagrees with timeline & pulling troops out.     Betsy Summers: Get soldiers out of Iraq as quickly as possible.

Click for quotations from other sources by: Arlen Specter Former Democratic incumbent (elected as Republican) Pennsylvania Barack Obama Democratic President (elected 2008) Betsy Summers 2004 former Libertarian Challenger Pennsylvania Bob Casey Democratic Sr Senator; previously state treasurer Pennsylvania Jim Clymer Joe Sestak Democratic candidate for President; Navy Admiral John Fetterman Pennsylvania Democratic nominee for Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. Joseph Hoeffel 2004 former Democratic challenger; US Representative Pennsylvania Kathleen Sebelius Kansas Former Democratic Governor (1994-2002); Cabinet Sec'y (HHS) Katie McGinty Democratic Senate candidate Pennsylvania Mary Gay Scanlon Democrat U.S. Rep Pennsylvania- 5 Pat Toomey Republican Jr Senator Pennsylvania Rick Santorum Republican Presidential candidate Shiva Ayyadurai Republican for Massachusetts U.S. Senator (withdrew) Massachusetts Steve Lonegan Republican Senate Challenger New Jersey Tom Smith Republican Challenger Pennsylvania