Republican nominee for President; Senior Senator (AZ):
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- Long-time foe of LCS, littoral combat ship. (Aug 2018)
- 3% increase in military is not enough; we need more. (Mar 2017)
- Vietnam POW: Ashamed of signing false confession. (Nov 2010)
- Obama opposed surge even after it appeared effective. (Jan 2010)
- 2008: guaranteed college for vets creates retention problems. (Jan 2010)
- FactCheck: Pushed for immediate withdrawal from Somalia. (Oct 2008)
- FactCheck: Voted against Lebanon deployment, but post-hoc. (Oct 2008)
- Credit Bush, troops, & luck, for not another 9/11. (Sep 2008)
- I hate war; it’s terrible beyond imagination. (Sep 2008)
- Clinton & Bush missed opportunities to get bin Laden. (Sep 2008)
- Disagrees with Bush often; but credits no attacks since 9/11. (Aug 2008)
- Applying habeas to Guantanamo let 30 terrorists attack US. (Jun 2008)
- GovWatch: Only 13 Gitmo recidivists & none attacked US. (Jun 2008)
- Improve human intelligence to get Osama bin Laden. (Jan 2008)
- Surveillance of overseas communications is ok. (Dec 2007)
- Ok to hold even US citizens as enemy combatants. (Dec 2007)
- Consult lawyers on war decisions; no half-cocked war basis. (Oct 2007)
- Ran the largest squadron in the US Navy. (Oct 2007)
- After 9/11, ask Americans to join military or AmeriCorps. (Oct 2007)
- Let loose smart, tough spies to catch Bin Laden. (Oct 2007)
- His Military Commissions Act ended up denying habeas corpus. (Oct 2007)
- 1973: Spokesperson for Operation Homecoming. (Oct 2007)
- 1977:Appointed as Navy liaison to Congress. (Oct 2007)
- 1970s: Communists negotiate when faced with force. (Oct 2007)
- I admire TR's zest for combat & pugnacious vitality. (Oct 2007)
- Leading proponent for drastically expanding National Service. (Oct 2007)
- Boost standing army from 750,000 to 900,000. (Oct 2007)
- Half of world's defense spending should be US as global cop. (Oct 2007)
- I’ve spent my life leading on national security issues. (Sep 2007)
- Radical Islamic extremism is a hydra-headed challenge. (Aug 2007)
- I support the Bush doctrine of pre-emptive war. (Jan 2006)
- We must provide our children a strong, better country. (Aug 2004)
- A lack of complacency shouldn’t provoke a lack of confidence. (Aug 2004)
- We don’t have as much to fear as we had in the past. (Apr 2004)
- Those who gave their lives deserve to be remembered. (Apr 2004)
- First reaction to Sept 11: “This is war”. (May 2002)
- Argued for base closings even in the wake of 9/11. (May 2002)
- Channel fear into productive missions and activities. (May 2002)
- 1993: Led effort to normalize relations with Vietnam. (Oct 2001)
- Accused in 2000 SC primary of ignoring veterans' groups. (Oct 2001)
- Focuses on issue-specific waste, not overall Pentagon reform. (Sep 2000)
- “Rogue state rollback” avoids use of US troops. (Mar 2000)
- Accepts gays in military under current policy. (Jan 2000)
- Military’s political leaders need military backgrounds. (Jan 2000)
- Women have proven themselves in combat-no restrictions. (Dec 1999)
- Bombing useless targets in Vietnam destroyed US morale. (Nov 1999)
- Pres. needs experience more than briefing books. (Sep 1999)
- Discard ABM Treaty and develop a missile defense. (Apr 1999)
- Use force, with US control, only for vital interests. (Apr 1999)
Defense Spending
- Make all defense contracts fixed-cost; costs out of control. (Sep 2008)
- Cited 245 pork projects, or $3.5M waste in defense bill. (Oct 2007)
- Clean up waste in defense acquisition. (May 2007)
- Eliminate defense pork, but increase most other defense. (Nov 2004)
- Terminate C-130, B-2, and Seawolf; use funds to modernize. (Dec 1999)
- Politicians keep unneeded bases open for political purposes. (Dec 1999)
- Keep health care promises to aging veterans. (Nov 1999)
- $6.4B of military spending waste is a disgrace. (Oct 1999)
- Raise military pay to avoid military draft. (Aug 1999)
- Military personnel on food stamps is a national disgrace. (Aug 1999)
- Europeans should spend more on defense, within NATO. (Apr 1999)
Torture
- 2005: interrogations must follow US Army Field Manual rules. (Aug 2011)
- Bush administration’s waterboarding was torture. (Aug 2008)
- McCain Amendment: Torture ban passed by veto-proof majority. (Jul 2008)
- Hiding torture is wrong, and harms US credibility abroad. (Dec 2007)
- Waterboarding is torture; we’re not going to torture people. (Nov 2007)
- Waterboarding is torture; & as A.G., Mukasey will declare it. (Nov 2007)
- Torture supported only by people without military experience. (Sep 2007)
- Torture is ineffective as interrogation & for world opinion. (May 2007)
- Close Guantanamo Bay prison; announce no-torture policy. (Apr 2007)
- Torture has never worked throughout history. (Apr 2007)
- Abusing prisoners hurts America's cause in War on Terror. (Sep 2006)
Vietnam
- Experience has taught me: the US military must not fail. (Sep 2008)
- Inappropriate to lie to public; tell Americans what we face. (Sep 2008)
- 1973: America is better country than when I left 6 years ago. (Mar 2008)
- Vietnam generation still haunted by specter of Vietnam. (Oct 2007)
- Casualty of Vietnam was loss of America’s faith in herself. (Oct 2007)
- Worked with John Kerry on Vietnam POWs. (Oct 2007)
- Immutable principle of war: luck is unreliable. (Aug 2007)
- Vietnam not wrong, but how it was fought and led was. (Sep 2002)
- Disagrees with Perot: No more POWs in Vietnam. (Feb 2000)
- Vietnam was a worthy cause despite losing. (Nov 1999)
Voting Record
- Keep “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy - it works. (Jan 2000)
- Voted YES on extending the PATRIOT Act's roving wiretaps. (Feb 2011)
- Voted NO on limiting soldiers' deployment to 12 months. (Jul 2007)
- Voted NO on preserving habeas corpus for Guantanamo detainees. (Sep 2006)
- Voted NO on requiring CIA reports on detainees & interrogation methods. (Sep 2006)
- Voted YES on reauthorizing the PATRIOT Act. (Mar 2006)
- Voted YES on extending the PATRIOT Act's wiretap provision. (Dec 2005)
- Voted NO on restricting business with entities linked to terrorism. (Jul 2005)
- Voted NO on restoring $565M for states' and ports' first responders. (Mar 2005)
- Voted NO on adopting the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. (Oct 1999)
- Voted YES on allowing another round of military base closures. (May 1999)
- Voted YES on cutting nuclear weapons below START levels. (May 1999)
- Voted YES on deploying National Missile Defense ASAP. (Mar 1999)
- Voted YES on military pay raise of 4.8%. (Feb 1999)
- Voted NO on prohibiting same-sex basic training. (Jun 1998)
- Voted NO on favoring 36 vetoed military projects. (Oct 1997)
- Voted YES on banning chemical weapons. (Apr 1997)
- Voted YES on considering deploying NMD, and amending ABM Treaty. (Jun 1996)
- Voted NO on 1996 Defense Appropriations. (Sep 1995)
- Federalize aviation security. (Nov 2001)
- Rated 0% by SANE, indicating a pro-military voting record. (Dec 2003)
- Sponsored bill giving higher priority to rail security. (Jul 2005)
- Sponsored bill banning torture of terrorists in US custody. (Jul 2005)
- Innovate intelligence-gathering for future hard targets. (Mar 2005)
- Assessments of al Qaida in Afghanistan in 2001 were accurate. (Mar 2005)
- CIA needs more focus on counterterrorism. (Mar 2005)
- So-called Legal Issues are myths; not real CIA hindrances. (Mar 2005)
- Intelligence community shares information poorly. (Mar 2005)
- CIA should work more with scientists to understand WMDs. (Mar 2005)
- Sponsored bill for Iraq budget to be part of defense budget. (Jun 2006)
- Improve educational assistance for veterans. (Apr 2008)
- No transfers of Gitmo prisoners to US or abroad. (Jan 2015)
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Written by
Jan Brewer on Homeland Security
Doug Ducey on Homeland Security
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