Stephen Breyer on VoteMatch

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)
Favors topic 1: Abortion is a woman's unrestricted right (+2 points on Social scale)	Don't require admitting privileges for abortionists: Favors topic 1 Parental notification is lower priority than maternal health: Favors topic 1 Wrote opinion upholding partial-birth abortion: Strongly Favors topic 1 Roe v. Wade is “settled law”: Neutral on topic 1
Strongly Favors topic 2: Legally require hiring women & minorities (-5 points on Economic scale)	Inequality in schools is rooted in institution of slavery: Strongly Favors topic 2 All-male military schools like VMI must admit women: Favors topic 2 Race-based college preference ok only if individualized: Strongly Favors topic 2 Disabled people can sue states under federal ADA law: Favors topic 2 College affirmative action ok to achieve racial diversity: Strongly Favors topic 2 Women under-represented as managers enough for gender bias: Strongly Favors topic 2 Hate crimes should allow racial intent to affect sentencing: Favors topic 2 Let rape victims sue alleged attackers as gender-bias crime: Favors topic 2
Strongly Favors topic 3: Comfortable with same-sex marriage (+5 points on Social scale)	No job discrimination for transgender status: Strongly Favors topic 3 Concurred on no longer deny gays the right to marriage: Favors topic 3 Overturn DOMA; equal protection for same-sex couples: Strongly Favors topic 3 Recognize GLBT as a constitutionally-protected class: Strongly Favors topic 3 Recognize GLBT as a constitutionally-protected class: Favors topic 3 Disallow all sodomy laws against same-sex activity: Favors topic 3 Anti-gay funeral pickets ok if they follow police directions: Neutral on topic 3 State laws can protect gay rights: Strongly Favors topic 3 Boy Scouts should be required to accept gay scoutmasters: Strongly Favors topic 3
Strongly Opposes topic 4: Keep God in the public sphere (+5 points on Social scale)	States can fund private schools but not parochial schools: Opposes topic 4 Ok to deny scholarships to divinity students: Strongly Opposes topic 4 Paying taxes sufficient to oppose religious tax credits: Strongly Opposes topic 4
Strongly Favors topic 5: Expand ObamaCare (-5 points on Economic scale)	Individual mandate is constitutional even with $0 tax: Favors topic 5 Concurred on allowing federal ObamaCare subsidies: Favors topic 5 ObamaCare's mandate is constitutional under Commerce Clause: Strongly Favors topic 5 Broad authority for interstate commerce, like ObamaCare: Favors topic 5 Allow states to restrict cigarette ads beyond federal rules: Strongly Favors topic 5 States have authority to protect patient rights: Strongly Favors topic 5 Federal government decides insurance issues, not states: Favors topic 5 Congress did not intend disparate result on generic drugs: Strongly Favors topic 5
No opinion on topic 6: Privatize Social Security (0 points on Economic scale)	(No votes on which to base response)
Opposes topic 7: Vouchers for school choice (-3 points on Economic scale)	Schools are limited in regulating student off-campus speech: Neutral on topic 7 Public education needs improvement, and civic lessons: Strongly Opposes topic 7 Federal aid to parochial schools is OK: Strongly Favors topic 7 Parochial school vouchers violate church-state separation: Strongly Opposes topic 7 Limited public funding OK for parochial school materials: Favors topic 7
Strongly Opposes topic 8: Fight EPA regulatory over-reach (+5 points on Social scale)	Broad jurisdiction for EPA under Clean Water Act: Strongly Opposes topic 8 EPA regulations ignores precedent of judicial review: Favors topic 8 Migratory birds should extend CWA to isolated waters: Strongly Opposes topic 8 Eminent domain applies to public economic development: Opposes topic 8 Clean Water Act applies to tributaries & wetlands: Strongly Opposes topic 8 OK to sue polluters for past pollution: Opposes topic 8
Opposes topic 9: Stricter punishment reduces crime (+2 points on Social scale)	Live witness not required for all scientific testing: Strongly Favors topic 9 Delay executions if asked by International Court of Justice: Strongly Opposes topic 9 Fleeing police is not in itself sufficient to allow search: Opposes topic 9 No death penalty without considering mitigating evidence: Opposes topic 9 OK to lengthen prison sentences retroactively: Favors topic 9 Uphold "Miranda", informing people being arrested of rights: Opposes topic 9 Life-sentence alternative should affect death sentence: Opposes topic 9
Strongly Opposes topic 10: Absolute right to gun ownership (-5 points on Economic scale)	Congress can regulate guns in school under Commerce clause: Opposes topic 10 No right to loaded guns in crime-ridden cities: Strongly Opposes topic 10
Strongly Opposes topic 11: Higher taxes on the wealthy (+5 points on Economic scale)	Only Congress can allow out-of-state Internet sales tax: Opposes topic 11 State taxes must credit taxes paid in other states: Strongly Opposes topic 11 Railroads can sue for tax exemptions on other diesel users: Opposes topic 11
Strongly Favors topic 12: Pathway to citizenship for illegal aliens (+5 points on Social scale)	DACA protect childhood immigrants from deportation: Strongly Favors topic 12 6-month limit on detaining illegal immigrants: Favors topic 12 6-month limit on detaining illegal immigrants: Favors topic 12 No automatic deportation for aliens convicted of crimes: Strongly Favors topic 12 Award back pay to illegal alien fired for union organizing: Strongly Favors topic 12 INS may not hold deportation suspects indefinitely: Favors topic 12 AZ law intrudes on federal immigration policy & civil rights: Strongly Favors topic 12
Favors topic 13: Support & expand free trade (+2 points on Economic scale)	Sovereign immunity applies to foreign-controlled companies: Favors topic 13
No opinion on topic 14: Support American Exceptionalism (0 points on Economic scale)	Supreme Court can learn from foreign laws: Opposes topic 14 Congress authorized detaining US citizens as enemy soldiers: Strongly Favors topic 14 Guantanamo detainees allowed habeas writ in US courts: Opposes topic 14 Treaty giving individual rights should bind US courts: No opin. on topic 14
No opinion on topic 15: Expand the military (0 points on Social scale)	(No votes on which to base response)
Strongly Favors topic 16: Make voter registration easier (+5 points on Social scale)	Trump election challenge didn't meet criteria for Court: Favors topic 16 Open to term limits on the Supreme Court if long enough: Favors topic 16 AZ mail-in restrictions violate Voting Rights Act: Strongly Favors topic 16 Allow curbside voting & loosen rules during pandemic: Strongly Favors topic 16 Voting Rights Act still needed to prevent discrimination: Strongly Favors topic 16 Corporate political spending is not protected free speech: Favors topic 16 Campaign finance reform should level candidate playing field: Strongly Favors topic 16 Corporate speech can be restricted but not banned: Strongly Favors topic 16 Public campaign finance can fund based on opponent spending: Strongly Favors topic 16 States cannot sue each other over eased voting rules: Favors topic 16
No opinion on topic 17: Avoid foreign entanglements (0 points on Social scale)	(No votes on which to base response)
Favors topic 18: Prioritize green energy (-3 points on Economic scale)	Let courts decide what's secret in Cheney energy task force: Opposes topic 18 States can request that EPA regulate CO2 greenhouse gases: Strongly Favors topic 18 Clean Air Act displaced federal common law on CO2 emissions: Strongly Favors topic 18 Extend CWA restrictions to isolated water bodies: Favors topic 18
Opposes topic 19: Marijuana is a gateway drug (+2 points on Social scale)	Medical marijuana advocates should seek FDA reclassification: Opposes topic 19 Sentencing rules change allows crack sentence reductions: Opposes topic 19 Tactile inspection for drugs should be legal, like visual: Strongly Favors topic 19 No roadblocks with drug-sniffing dogs: Opposes topic 19
Opposes topic 20: Stimulus better than market-led recovery (+2 points on Economic scale)	Must have well rounded vision to institute change: Opposes topic 20

Stephen Breyer is a Progressive Libertarian
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