Again, feel free to use this as a resource in constructing your own letters to the editor or informing places of worship:
In our efforts to keep you informed the stance of candidates on moral issues in the upcoming elections, we wished to draw distinctions between Mike DeWine, the incumbent Senator, and his challenger, Rep. Sherrod Brown. On the key issues of values, Sherrod Brown does not match up with Brown County values. The company you keep is sometimes indicative of the values you have. Brown has shown himself to be out of the mainstream on values issues.
Regarding abortion, He's earned the highest ratings from pro-abortion advocacy groups, and even opposed banning partial-birth abortion. Brown's Voting Record In 2005 Earned Him A 100% Rating From NARAL Pro-Choice America. ("2005 Congressional Record On Choice," NARAL Pro-Choice America, ww.prochoiceamerica.org/assets/files/CAC-cong-record-on-choice-2005.pdf, Accessed March 10, 2006) NARAL Also Rated Brown As 100% Pro-Choice In 2004. NARAL Has Endorsed Brown In The 2006 Senate Race. For The Last Six Years In A Row, The National Right To Life Committee Gave Brown A 0% Rating. Brown Voted At Least EIGHT Times Against Banning Partial-Birth Abortion. (S. 3, CQ Vote #530: Adopted (thus sent to the Senate) 281-142: R 218-4; D 63-137; I 0-1, October 2, 2003, Brown voted Nay; H.R. 760, CQ Vote #242: Passed 282-139: R 220-5; D 62-133; I 0-1, June 4, 2003, Brown voted Nay; H.R. 4965, CQ Vote #343: Passed 274-151: R 208-9; D 65-141; I 1-1, July 24, 2002, Brown voted Nay; H.R. 3660, CQ Vote #104: Passed 287-141: R 209-8; D 77-132; I 1-1, April 5, 2000, Brown voted Nay; H.R. 1122, CQ Vote #325: Passed 296-132: R 219-8; D 77-123; I 0-1, July 23, 1998, Brown voted Nay; H.R. 1122, CQ Vote #65: Passed 295-136: R 218-8; D 77-127; I 0-1, March 20, 1997, Brown voted Nay; H.R. 1833, CQ Vote #422: Passed 285-137: R 215-15; D 70-121; I 0-1, September 19, 1996, Brown voted Nay; H.R. 1833, CQ Vote #756: Passed 288-139: R 215-15; D 73-123; I 0-1, November 1, 1995, Brown voted Nay) Brown Also Voted To Allow Minors To Be Transported Across State Lines To Circumvent Parental Consent Laws. (H.R. 748, CQ Vote #144: Passed 270-157: R 216-11; D 54-145; I 0-1, April 27, 2005, Brown voted Nay; H.R. 476, CQ Vote #97: Passed 260-161: R 201-14; D 58-146; I 1-1, April 17, 2002, Brown voted Nay; H.R. 1218, CQ Vote #261: Passed 270-159: R 206-14; D 64-144; I 0-1, June 30, 1999, Brown voted Nay) Brown Voted At Least THREE Times Against Fetal Protection Bills, Including The Unborn Victims Of Violence Act, Commonly Known As "Laci and Conner's Law."(H.R. 1997, CQ Vote #31: Passed 254-163: R 207-13; D 47-149; I 0-1, February 26, 2004, Brown voted Nay; H.R. 503, CQ Vote #89: Passed 252-172: R 198-21; D 53-150; I 1-1, April 26, 2001, Brown voted Nay; H.R. 2436, CQ Vote #465: Passed 254-172: R 198-21; D 56-150; I 0-1, September 30, 1999, Brown voted Nay) The record for Mr. Brown is quite clear, he is pro-abortion on demand.
In regards to marriage, Mr. Brown also does not match up with mainstream values. “More important to the stereotypical netroots participant, [Brown is] an unabashed liberal. . . . [He's] one of the House's most effective, articulate spokesmen for progressive causes. A Cleveland Democrat, Brown is pro-gay marriage…”(Ezra Klein, "Netroots Activists Are Liberal Firebrands? Tell That To Sherrod Brown," The American Prospect, December 20, 2005) Most Ohioans Disagree With Brown's Stance:
61% Of Ohioans Voted For An Amendment To The Ohio Constitution, Issue 1, Which Recognizes Marriages Only Between One Man And One Woman. (Ohio Secretary Of State Website, www.sos.state.oh.us, Accessed March 16, 2006) Brown Was One Of Only 67 House Members To Vote Against The Defense Of Marriage Act(H.R. 3396, CQ Vote #316: Passed 342-67: R 224-1; D 118-65; I 0-1, July 12, 1996, Brown voted Nay). Brown Also Voted Against Proposing A Constitutional Amendment To Define Marriage As Consisting Only Of The Union Of A Man And A Woman. (H. J. Res. 106, CQ Vote #484: Rejected 227-186: R 191-27; D 36-158; I 0-1, September 30, 2004, Brown voted Nay) Campaign ads are one thing, the record is another. Sherrod Brown has consistently voted outside the mainstream of Ohio values on marriage and abortion.
Please consider his opponent, Mike DeWine. .Senator DeWine's pro-life accomplishments in the Senate include:Co-sponsored the Child Protection Act, which would make it a federal crime to take a minor over state lines for an abortion without parental notification. The bill passed the Senate on July 25, 2006. Wrote the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, which recognizes that when a criminal attacks a pregnant woman and injures or kills the child she is carrying, he has claimed not one, but two victims. The President signed this legislation into law on April 1, 2004.Co-sponsored the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act, which makes it a federal crime for any physician to knowingly perform a partial-birth abortion. President Bush signed this Act into law in November 2003. Endorsed by the Ohio Right to Life. The record is clear. Mike DeWine supports traditional values.
