While Social Security, Medicare and the Affordable Care Act (called Obamacare by critics) have been the front-and-center issues in the June 12 special election between Democrat Ron Barber and Republican Jesse Kelly, there are plenty of other issues on which the two candidates disagree.
Take abortion, an issue that has barely been discussed in the race, aside from an Arizona Democratic Party mailer telling voters that Kelly opposes abortion even in cases of rape, incest and when a mother’s health is in danger.
In 2010, Kelly told the Center for Arizona Policy, a conservative Christian lobbying group, that he thought abortions should be illegal unless continuing the pregnancy would result in the death of the mother.
Barber supports abortion rights as laid out in the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade ruling.
“I support that (ruling) and support the right of a woman to make that decision, which is a very difficult one for the woman who has to make it,” Barber said. “We don’t need government or anyone else making that decision.”
Barber was critical of a new state law that limits abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy. The law also redefined pregnancy as beginning at the end of a woman’s last menstrual period, effectively prohibiting abortion as early as 18 weeks into pregnancy.
Barber spoke out against a new state law that blocks Planned Parenthood clinics from receiving any federal health-care dollars that flow through the state, even to provide low-income women with breast exams, cancer screenings, birth-control options, STD treatments or cancer screenings.
“No matter where you stand on the issue of abortion, what the governor did and the Legislature did to restrict access to women going to Planned Parenthood and other similar clinics was wrong,” Barber said. “You can’t use federal money for abortion, anyway, but what they did was take away important services for women, like mammograms, pap smears and family-planning services.”
The candidates also split on gay rights.
President Barack Obama announced earlier in May that he personally supported the rights of gays and lesbians to marry, although he considered it to be an issue best left to individual states to decide.
At a March debate, Kelly condemned the idea of gay marriage and promised to back a federal constitutional amendment limiting marriage to one man and one woman.
Kelly denounced the Obama administration’s decision to stop defending the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act, a federal law that allows states to refuse to recognize gay marriages performed in other states, saying that “it’s completely backwards, what has happened in this country.
“This is a no-brainer question,” Kelly said. “I absolutely believe that marriage is between a man and a woman, and for all the bailouts they have given, and the ‘too big to fail’ this and ‘too big to fail’ that, the only institution in this country that’s too big to fail is the American family.”
Barber said he opposes the idea of amending the U.S. Constitution to limit marriage to one man and one woman.
“Historically, amendments to the Constitution have been about expanding rights, ensuring rights and protecting rights, not taking away rights,” Barber said.
Marriage confers important rights that gay and lesbian couples can’t have in states where gay marriage is against the law, according to Barber.
“If people are willing and want to make a lifelong commitment to one another, they should be able to have the same kinds of benefits and relationship that my wife and I have,” Barber said. “If loving people want to make a commitment, we should encourage that kind of commitment, not try to take it away.”
On another gay-rights issue, Barber said the Obama administration and the Pentagon made the right call when they rescinded “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” in 2011.
“We’ve not seen problems with the policy being removed,” Barber said. “This is somewhat clichéd by now, but I think what Barry Goldwater said years and years ago about gays in the military still fits: ‘I don’t care if they are straight, just as long as they can shoot straight.’ If someone wants to serve their country and put their life on the line, it shouldn’t matter what their sexual orientation is. I think the way the military went about changing that policy was wise and prudent.”
In 2010, Kelly told the Weekly that moving to get rid of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy “was a terrible move and completely unnecessary. Right now, it’s a unit-cohesion issue; it’s a recruitment and retention issue.”
Kelly, who served in the Marines for four years, including a stint in Iraq, said that knowing a fellow soldier was gay had a negative effect on other soldiers.
“Once someone was suspected of that, or thought of that way, there was nothing hateful coming out of it. It just affected the unit,” Kelly said. “It may be an uncomfortable fact, but it is a fact.”
Kelly recalled that a gay soldier he served with failed to measure up.
“I would never make the connection between his personal preferences and his performance on the job,” Kelly said, “but I will tell you that this particular individual was the worst Marine I ever served with.”
This article appears in May 31 – Jun 6, 2012.
Interesting article. I am going to guess that this information did not come from Mr. Ron Barber’s mouth. I have friends that have been to several Chamber of Commerce meetings and Mr. Barber arrives with papers and reads a 20 minute speech, then does not allow for questions. If he ever would allow a question, it would be to one of his own pre prepared. NOW Mr. Charles Manolakis doesn’t need all those papers, because he can answer questions and speak on his own. He thinks like a TRUE Democrat not a puppet.
I also received a mailer showing Mr. Barber with his 1% FRIENDS in the FOOTHILLS. I FOUND IT UPSETTING. I would rather have Mr. Manolakis who is for we, the 99% individuals.
I have been to numerous Barber events. I have never seen him read from a script. Not once. They haven’t been at formal events such as a Chamber of Commerce meetings, but rather smaller groups and medium size gatherings where he is talking to real people, talking about the issues, talking about how he is going to make a real difference in our lives. Ron Barber is the real deal. He is a caring individual who looks out for everyone, but especially for those who need help the most – the elderly, veterans, the disabled, the disenfranchised.
He’s not young and brash like the brazen, “etch-a-sketch”, Jesse Kelly (who thinks we must be stupid). Kelly can’t even find Green Valley on a map. How will he represent us? Barber knows CD8. He’s inclusive.
He will make an outstanding Congressman. One with integrity. He will stand for what is right, whether it falls along party lines or not. I believe in him and he will have my vote.
Mr. Barber doesn’t want another candidate in the room when he is there. He has even refused to attend a meeting unless the other candidates leave the room!!!!! Mr. Manolakis has no problem with that. So if Mr. Barber goes to Congress, is he going to demand that all the other Congressmen leave the room when he speaks. The only time Mr. Barber seems to be comfortable or able to speak without papers, is at a function with his peers. Did you not SEE ALL THE PAPERS Mr. Barber was fluttering through at the DEBATE????? That is not what a Congressman does. VOTE Charles Manolakis, he is capable of SPEAKING IN FRONT OF ANYONE……
At a media event on May 7 Ron Barber invited me to stand with him while he spoke, primarily about Social Security and Medicare. He had no notes and took — and answered — lots of questions from press and public. His remarks were germane and reassuring to this geezer who has depended on Social Security for over 14 years and on Medicare for more than 11. Barber’s election is critical to the district and to the Congress, where he’ll be a voice of reason and accommodation.
Hey Suan: You’re wrong. Barber did talk with me about his positions on those issues. It’s Jesse Kelly who will not consent to a sit-down interview with The Weekly or the Arizona Daily Star.
Voting for Mr Manolakis is going to be nothing more than a vote for Jesse Kelly…so if you’re comfortable with that idea then go right ahead and push the lever…but its a very bad thing you are doing. Jesse Kelly is a very bad person for our district to send to Congress…he is not a man who appreciates Southern Arizona for its own beauty; he wants to remake it in a Phx vein, nothing more, nothing less…
I’d rather hug a cactus than stand in the same room with the man…
I agree with commenter bwilde – there is no good reason for Mr. Manolakis to be running in an election that even he must know he cannot win. Normally, the Greens are good for helping keep the Democrats honest and responsive to their traditional constituency. In a tight race like this, however, votes for Manolakis could derail Ron Barber’s chances of winning. If Mr. Barber were to lose because of that, it would be a case of, as Voltaire said, the best being the enemy of the good.
As for Jesse Kelly, I am mystified why any Republican of above-average intelligence would vote for him. He has shown no evidence that he has any of the essential personal qualities required to serve effectively in Congress. Furthermore, had he any decency and class, he would have sat out the special election, if for no other reason than a healthy sense of shame. Since he has shown his true colors, however, it behooves CD8 voters to really ponder the future, and what they want southern Arizona to become.