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Debate Info

4
5

Stephen Blythe (D)


Bill Posey (R)

Debate Score:9
Arguments:8
Total Votes:9
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Stephen Blythe (D)
(4)
 
 
Bill Posey (R)
(4)

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Who should I vote for in the 2008 Florida 15th District House of Representatives Race?


Stephen Blythe (D)

Side Score: 4
VS.


Bill Posey (R)

Side Score: 5
1 point

Blythe, a pragmatist, says that instead of focusing on immaterial fears such as "Al Qaeda", that Congress should focus on quenching every day fears that American children and parents face such as getting a comprehensive health care plan. The Institute of Medicine, states Blythe on his website, says that 18,000 Americans die every year due to not having sufficient health care.

Blythe: That's six 9/11s every year! Where is our outrage? Medicines are now outrageously expensive - a child with diabetes may need $500 worth of medicines and supplies every month - and that's not counting doctor visits! Those who need transplants but are without insurance are told to go home and die. This is not right. No child should go without needed care in our country, and no father should be given a death sentence because they don't have insurance.

With such an outspoken candidate who says positive things in so brusque a manner, could it possible that Blythe in his zeal when discussing Al Qaeda and 9/11 seem off-putting despite his amazing message?

Supporting Evidence: Blythe on health care reform (www.blythe2008.com)
Side: Stephen Blythe
1 point

In his "Responsible Plan to End the War in Iraq", Blythe states that he wants to support not only American forces removal from the Middle East, but that he wants to address humanitarian concerns abroad with the use of diplomatic strategy.

Blythe suggests that before Congress makes any more decisions abroad, the Constitution needs to be repaired in a serious way.

Blythe: The breakdown of checks and balances in our government led to bad decision-making which damaged America's national security. Ending this war and preventing future situations like it requires that we restore these Constitutional checks and balances and fix the ways in which our governmental, military, and civil institutions have failed us.

Supporting Evidence: Blythe wants to fix damage done in Iraq (www.responsibleplan.com)
Side: Stephen Blythe
1 point

In all areas, health care, education, the economy Blythe points to the war as a source of debt. Blythe states that the reason why education, health care and medicare are under federal fire is because Congress okay'd funding for Bush's war and now, we all must pull together to strengthen the economy.

Blythe on current labor needs:

On a global scale, nations need to consider putting a stop to financial speculation – buying purchase options – on necessities such as food and fuel. One estimate is that this financial speculation is responsible for about half of the current price of oil.

8. We MUST stop the war. It is bleeding us dry financially.

9. We are spending around $500 billion per year on the interest on our debt! Compare that to the federal expenditure of only $5 billion per year on cancer research. We MUST get our debt under control!

Supporting Evidence: Stop the war says Blythe. It's the source of America's debt! (www.blythe2008.com)
Side: Stephen Blythe
1 point

An advocate for pro-choice, Blythe believes that giving women the right to choose is a basic right. However, he does want to eventually limit the number of abortions in Brevard County and nationwide, not by revoking a woman's right to choose, but by "making every pregnancy a wanted pregnancy."

Blythe: "I feel strongly that we should reduce the number of abortions - and the way to do that is to make every child a wanted child and every pregnancy a wanted pregnancy. For this reason I have worked with other parents in Brevard County to make objective birth control information more accessible to our young women through the Brevard County School District."

Given the grassroots initiative by county residents to revise the sex-ed program in public schools to make them more accurate and detailed, it seems that Blythe is on the right path to pleasing his progressive constituency.

Supporting Evidence: Blythe works for improved sex-ed (www.aclufl.org)
Side: Stephen Blythe
2 points

In order to secure US borders, Posey says that we must continue to fund Border Patrol and give them greater resources to get the job done. He avidly supports finishing the border fence project and securing out airways, but how he would like to get this done in Congress is still a little unclear. The focal point of Posey's argument appears to be for the support of the Mexico-US border fence.

Posey: We must build the fence that Congress has already authorized along the Mexican border to halt the majority of the influx. Then, and only then, will we be able to begin to address the problem of illegals currently within the United States.

Posey discusses immigration
Side: Bill Posey
1 point

On Posey's website he has a section entitled "Vetsforposey", which focuses specifically on veteran rights and resources. Because Posey is choosing to use grassroots efforts, he understands how necessary it is to focus on individual constituent groups in order to win issues.

Posey: Members of Veterans for Posey will help guide me in my veteran and military policies and will be a key component of my grassroots campaign.

The site includes links to Bill Posey's supported legislation which includes non-profit veteran support to provide medical funding for the uninsured, approving the addition of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom to the list of qualifying military campaigns to receive wartime benefits, and life insurance for the members of the Florida National Guard.

Supporting Evidence: Posey's legislation for Vets (billposey.com)
Side: Bill Posey
1 point

"Within a next decade, we will break through with enough solar technology to gain all of the power for this country from the sun."-Bill Posey

But before that can happen, says Posey, Americans must first look to domestic drilling to satisfy our current need for petroleum. There is no good reason, he argues further, why Americans have not turned to domestic reserves in the past, but many environmentalists and economists see no savior in ANWR drilling.

As for drilling offshore, Posey offers no answer to the problem of marine life and oceanic destruction. Until pro-oil Republicans like Posey and conservative Democrats can find an environmentally safe way to unlock these "great reserves" of which they speak, is the moratorium on domestic drilling justified?

Posey says drill first
Side: Bill Posey
1 point

If elected, Posey says that he will hit Congress with ABTA (Activity Based Total Accountability) to make certain that the American people get the service that they pay for in Washington.

ABTA, according to Posey, will not only require that Congress account for it's expenditure, but also what it accomplished in detail. In this way, Americans can measure what activities are being done, what they do to benefit society, and what it cost to complete.

Posey:"...We're gonna do it[ABTA] on one page so that you can't get that fast-foot shuffle, and say, 'well, this is a pass-through to this agency and we're not responsible.' No. It's one page."

Posey uses ABTA to make Congress accountable
Side: Bill Posey