Former Senator from Tennessee
Age: 65
EXPERIENCE: Actor, 1987-2007; Tennessee Senator, 1994-2003; attorney, Arent, Fox, Kintner, Plotkin & Kahn, 1991-94; Tennessee Appellate Court Nominating Commission, 1985-87; special counsel to the Senate Intelligence Committee, 1982; special counsel to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, 1980-81; special counsel to Tennessee Gov. Lamar Alexander, 1980; attorney in private practice, 1975-94; minority counsel to the Senate Watergate committee, 1973-74; Assistant U.S. attorney, 1969-72; lawyer, private practice, 1967-69.
EDUCATION: B.S., Memphis State University, 1964; JD, Vanderbilt University, 1967.
FAMILY: Wife Jeri, four children (including two from previous marriage that ended in divorce). A fifth child died in 2002.
THE ISSUES:
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ABORTION:
- Does not favor abortion rights.
- Says Roe v. Wade should be overturned.
- Says states should decide abortion policy, indicating he would not support a constitutional abortion ban.
- Previously stated support for right to early-term abortion.
- Favors incentives for school choice.
- Does not support same-sex marriage, but stops short of supporting a constitutional amendment that would outlaw it.
- Favors federal action to protect states that prohibit gay marriage from having to honor same-sex marriage allowed in another state.
- Has questioned whether global warming caused by manmade activity is real.
- Cites research suggesting solar system is warming.
- Hostile to many gun control proposals, including mandatory background checks at gun shows.
- Supported campaign finance changes that gun groups and other activists saw as an infringement of their speech rights.
- Prefers "market-driven" expansion of affordable coverage, but no mandate.
- Opposes conditional path to citizenship for illegal immigrants that President Bush supported.
- Has previously supported selective expansion of legal immigration.
- Opposes policy allowing legal immigrants to host extended families in U.S.
- Supports Bush's course in Iraq and has said he still believes it was right to invade.
- Only major candidate proposing lower-than-promised benefits for future retirees.
- Also warns richest people "we're not going to take care of all your Medicare in the future."
- Would generally extend Bush's tax cuts, which could cost $2.3 trillion to keep in place until 2017.
- Favors letting people choose between current system or one with flat rate of 10 percent on first $50,000 of individual income or $100,000 of joint income, and 25 percent on income above those amounts.
- Would exempt family of four from tax on first $39,000 of income, and more than double standard deduction.
- That simplified option would contain no other tax credits or deductions, and would retain 15 percent tax rate on capital gains.
- Would also end the estate tax and cut the top corporate tax rate to no more than 27 percent from 35 percent.
EDUCATION:
GAY MARRIAGE:
GLOBAL WARMING:
GUN CONTROL:
HEALTH INSURANCE:
IMMIGRATION:
IRAQ:
SOCIAL SECURITY:
TAXES: