ACU Ratings for Senator Kerry: 2003

Judicial Nominations. Estrada Nomination (Roll Call 40) 2003-03-06 Throughout the 2003 session, Senate Democrats filibustered numerous presidential nominations to the U.S. Courts of Appeal, essentially establishing a requirement that any nominee be approved by a supermajority of 60 votes in the 100 vote Senate, rather than the simple majority required by the Constitution. This particular vote was on the nomination of Miguel Estrada, but similar votes were held on the nominations of Priscilla Owen, William Pryor, Charles Pickering, and Janice Brown. The results were the same in every case: a majority voted to move the nominations to final passage, but the supermajority of 60 votes was not attained. In this case, the vote was 55-44, on 6 March 2003. ACU supported this nomination and believes that the filibuster of judicial nominations compromises the Senate’s duty to "advise and consent." ACU supported this bill. This bill was: defeated The vote was: 55-44

Abortion Decision Affirmed. S. 3 (Roll Call 48) 2003-03-12 This resolution affirmed that the Supreme Court’s 1973 decision legalizing abortion was correct. ACU believes the original decision in Roe v. Wade was wrongly decided. ACU opposed this resolution. It passed 52-46 on 12 March 2003 ACU opposed this bill. This bill was: passed The vote was: 52-46

“Death Tax” Repeal. S. Con. Res. 23 (Roll Call 62) 2003-03-20 This amendment to the Budget Resolution would have accelerated the repeal of the Estate Tax from 2010 to 2009. ACU supported the amendment. It passed 51-48 on 20 March 2003. ACU supported this bill. This bill was: passed The vote was: 51-48

Tax Cut Reduction. S. Con. Res. 23 (Roll Call 95) 2003-03-25 This substitute to the president’s budget would have substantially reduced the Bush tax cuts and shifted spending priorities to more liberal social programs. ACU opposed the substitute. It failed by a vote of 42-57 on 25 March 2003. ACU opposed this bill. This bill was: defeated The vote was: 42-57

Budget Resolution. S. Con. Res. 23 (Roll Call 134) 2003-04-11 The Senate adopted final spending and revenue targets for fiscal year 2004. This budget contained a total of $550 billion in tax cuts over a ten-year period. ACU supported this budget as the best possible under the circumstances. It was adopted 50-50, with the vice-president casting the tie-breaking vote on 11 April 2003. ACU supported this bill. This bill was: passed The vote was: 50-50

Marriage Penalty. S. 1054 (Roll Call 155) 2003-05-15 This measure was a trade-off between general tax reductions and an accelerated phase-out of the Marriage Penalty. ACU rejected such a trade-off and opposed the amendment. It failed by a vote of 49-51 on 15 May 2003. ACU opposed this bill. This bill was: defeated The vote was: 49-51

Taxes on Investment. S. 1054 (Roll Call 171) 2003-05-15 This amendment would phase out the tax on dividend income. Taxing dividends is a form of double taxation that discourages investment. ACU supported this amendment. It was adopted by a vote of 50-50, with the vice-president casting a tie-breaking vote on 15 May 2003. ACU supported this bill. This bill was: passed The vote was: 50-50

Tax Cuts. HR 2 (Roll Call 179) 2003-05-15 This bill reduced taxes by $350 billion over 11 years, phasing out dividend taxation and accelerating tax rate reductions already in place. While not strong enough, this bill set up passage of a stronger House-Senate conference report with more tax relie ACU supported this bill. This bill was: passed The vote was: 51-49

Nuclear Weapons Development. S. 1050 (Roll Call 186) 2003-05-20 This amendment would have prohibited research into low-yield nuclear weapons. ACU believes such research is vital to national defense and opposed the amendment. It was defeated 51-43 on 20 May 2003. ACU opposed this bill. This bill was: defeated The vote was: 51-42

Military Base Closings. HR 1588 (Roll Call 205) 2003-06-04 This amendment would have canceled the next round of military base closings. ACU believes our military must be as “lean and mean” as possible, and that closing some bases can contribute to a strong defense. ACU opposed the amendment. It was defeated by a vote of 42-53 on 4 June 2003. ACU opposed this bill. This bill was: defeated The vote was: 42-53

Prescription Drug Benefit Means Testing. S. 1 (Roll Call 261) 2003-06-26 This amendment would have barred a cost-saving means test for new benefits in the Medicare prescription drug bill. ACU supported means testing and opposed this amendment. It failed 38-59 on 26 June 2003. ACU opposed this bill. This bill was: defeated The vote was: 38-59

Malpractice Reform. S. 11 (Roll Call 264) 2003-07-09 This bill would have limited expensive medical malpractice lawsuits that are driving up insurance costs and driving doctors out of practice. ACU supported the bill. Although the vote to cut off debate received a majority 49-48 on 9 July 2003, 60 votes are required to end debate under Senate rules. The measure failed. ACU supported this bill. This bill was: defeated The vote was: 49-48

Taxpayer Support for Abortion. S. 925 (Roll Call 267) 2003-07-09 This amendment would have repealed President Reagan’s “Mexico City policy,” under which the U.S. refuses to fund international family planning organizations that promote abortion. ACU opposed the amendment. It was defeated by a vote of 43-53 on 9 July 20 ACU opposed this bill. This bill was: defeated The vote was: 43-53

Higher Mileage Requirements. S. 14 (Roll Call 309) 2003-07-29 This amendment would have required automobile manufacturers to increase the mileage of their cars. Higher mileage requirements increase price, and make cars smaller and less safe. ACU opposed the amendment. It failed 32-65 on 29 July 2003. ACU opposed this bill. This bill was: defeated The vote was: 32-65

Overtime Rules Reform. HR 2660 (Roll Call 334) 2003-09-10 This amendment would have stopped the U.S. Department of Labor from issuing new, more flexible rules for overtime pay to reflect changing employee desires and workplace conditions. ACU supported the new rules and opposed this amendment. It was adopted 54-45 on 10 September 2003. ACU opposed this bill. This bill was: passed The vote was: 54-45

Broadcasting Controls. S. J. Res. 17 (Roll Call 348) 2003-09-16 This amendment expressed disapproval for a Federal Communications Commission rule that would have allowed more freedom in broadcast media ownership. There are more media outlets today than ever before and government should not control media ownership. ACU opposed this resolution. It passed 55-40 on 16 September 2003. ACU opposed this bill. This bill was: passed The vote was: 55-40

Election Law. HR 2989 (Roll Call 409) 2003-10-23 This amendment would increase federal control over local and state elections. ACU opposed this trend toward federalizing local elections. The amendment was adopted 63-31 on 23 October 2003 ACU opposed this bill. This bill was: passed The vote was: 63-31

Global Warming. S. 139 (Roll Call 420) 2003-10-30 ) This measure would have forced the United States into compliance with the Kyoto Treaty that was never ratified by the Senate. It would have required massive, expensive reductions in carbon dioxide. Science does not support Kyoto and its impact on the U.S. economy would be devastating. ACU opposed the measure. It was rejected 43-55 on 30 October 2003. ACU opposed this bill. This bill was: defeated The vote was: 43-55

Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit. HR 1 (Roll Call 459) 2003-11-25 This so-called Medicare “reform” marked the greatest expansion of a federal program in almost 40 years. The $400 billion measure will add trillions to the un-funded liability of the Medicare program, provides only the illusion of patient choice, and will cause millions of seniors to lose their current insurance coverage. The bill did contain a “health savings account” provision favored by ACU, but on balance this did not justify the bill’s overall lack of fiscal responsibility. ACU opposed this bill so strongly that the vote is double-weighted in this rating. It passed 54-44 on 25 November 2003. ACU opposed this bill. This bill was: passed The vote was: 54-44

Just thought you might like to see last years voting record of Kerry. There is 19 years of ammo on the record.

Lifetime ACU conservative rating of 5%???!!!!

Students of history will recall that Lenin at the end of his life put forth the New Economic Policy (soon to be crushed by Stalin), which would have probably given Lenin an ACU rating of 10-20%

And the mainstream media are currently touting their party's line that Kerry is a "moderate."

2 posted on 01/30/2004 5:26:30 AM PST by FormerACLUmember (Man rises to greatness if greatness is expected of him)

Kerry is just another north-eastern Liberal masquerading as the Savior Of Mankind, spending our money for the privilege of donning that title.

3 posted on 01/30/2004 5:59:23 AM PST by Gritty ("Kerry's still terrible.The difference is, he's now terrible with a full supporting cast-Mark Steyn)

Is there a way we could have Bush's number? Alot of people claiming there would be no difference in Kerry or Bush and it would be nice to compare their ratings.

4 posted on 01/30/2004 9:26:34 AM PST by linn37 (Have you hugged your Phlebotomist today?)

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