Lamar Alexander on Principles & Values

Republican Sr Senator (TN); previously candidate for President

Voted with Republican Party 88.1% of 319 votes.

Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), was scored by the Washington Post on the percentage of votes on which a lawmaker agrees with the position taken by a majority of his or her party members. The scores do not include missed votes. Their summary:
Voted with Republican Party 88.1% of 319 votes.
Overall, Democrats voted with their party 88.4% of the time, and Republicans voted with their party 81.7% of the time (votes Jan. 8 through Sept. 8, 2007). Source: Washington Post, “US Congress Votes Database” , Sep 8, 2007

Pledge Plus Three: daily patriotic affirmation in schools

Since September 11, we Americans have not had to look far to find the good in our own country. More good has poured forth in the seven months since that tragic day then during the last forty years-- more courage, more charity, more selflessness, more patriotism, more leadership, and more recognition of the role of religion in American life. Source: , May 27, 2002

Campaign focus: Education; lower taxes; strong defense

My campaign will have three basic ideas at its core.

To fix public education;
To improve family incomes by lowering taxes and securing Social Security;
To strengthen our national defense.

Source: www.LamarAlexander.org/issue , May 25, 1999

Voted YES on confirming of Sonia Sotomayor to Supreme Court.

Yesterday, the Senate Judiciary Committee kicked off the confirmation hearings for Supreme Court Nominee, Judge Sonia Sotomayor. In her opening statement, Judge Sotomayor pledged a "fidelity to the law:"

"In the past month, many Senators have asked me about my judicial philosophy. It is simple: fidelity to the law. The task of a judge is not to make the law--it is to apply the law. And it is clear, I believe, that my record in two courts reflects my rigorous commitment to interpreting the Constitution according to its terms; interpreting statutes according to their terms and Congress's intent; and hewing faithfully to precedents established by the Supreme Court and my Circuit Court. In each case I have heard, I have applied the law to the facts at hand."

Reference: Supreme Court Nomination; Bill PN506 ; vote number 2009-S262 on Aug 6, 2009

Voted YES on confirming Samuel Alito as Supreme Court Justice.

Vote on the Nomination -- a YES vote would to confirm Samuel A. Alito, Jr., of New Jersey, to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Reference: Alito Nomination; Bill PN 1059 ; vote number 2006-002 on Jan 31, 2006

Voted YES on confirming John Roberts for Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

Vote on the Nomination (Confirmation John G. Roberts, Jr., of Maryland, to be Chief Justice of the United States ) Reference: Supreme Court Nomination of John Roberts; Bill PN 801 ; vote number 2005-245 on Sep 27, 2005

Rated 0% by the AU, indicating opposition to church-state separation.

Alexander scores 0% by the AU on church-state separation

OnTheIssues.org interprets the 2006 AU scores as follows:

0%- 20%: opposition to church-state separation (approx. 232 members)
21%- 79%: mixed record on church-state separation (approx. 79 members)
80%-100%: support of church-state separation (approx. 153 members)

About the AU (from their website, www.au.org):

Americans United for Separation of Church and State (AU) is a religious liberty watchdog group based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1947, the organization educates Americans about the importance of church-state separation in safeguarding religious freedom. AU is a nonpartisan organization dedicated to preserving the constitutional principle of church-state separation as the only way to ensure religious freedom for all Americans.

Americans United is a national organization with members in all 50 states. We are headquartered in Washington, D.C., and led by the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director. AU has more than 75,000 members from all over the country. They include people from all walks of life and from various faith communities, as well as those who profess no particular faith. We are funded by donations from our members and others who support church-state separation. We do not seek, nor would we accept, government funding.

Source: AU website 06n-AU on Dec 31, 2006

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Page last updated: Apr 22, 2013