The CatholicVote.org Research Team has been hard at work this election season to ensure that Catholic voters across the country are well-informed when they reach the polls. For our friends in Kentucky, we have pored through the public statements and positions of Mitch McConnell and Alison Lundergan Grimes on issues that matter to Catholics.
We believe the choice is clear: Mitch McConnell is the right choice for Kentucky.
He has long been a champion of pro-life, pro-family, and pro-freedom legislation in the Senate. We need his experience and leadership now more than ever.
This flyer features a simple side-by-side comparison of the two candidates’ positions on issues that are foundational to Catholics. On issues such as life, marriage and religious liberty, Mitch McConnell is immeasurably better than Alison Lundergan Grimes.
We have also included other areas of concern to Catholic voters, including education and health care. On these issues, we also think that Mitch McConnell comes out on top. Unlike abortion, which involves an intrinsic evil which can never be justified, Catholics are free to disagree on which approach is best on education and health care.
[Click here or the flyer image above to download our printable one-page Candidate Comparison Flyer.]
LIFE:
Mitch McConnell has consistently fought for pro-life legislation in the Senate, earning him an endorsement from the National Right to Life PAC. Source: NRLPAC
Alison Lundergan Grimes does not believe that unborn children have a right to life, earning her an endorsement from NARAL Pr0-Choice America. Source: NARAL Pro-Choice America
MARRIAGE:
Mitch McConnell believes that marriage is a union between one man and one woman. He voted for the Marriage Protection Amendment in the Senate. Source: Library of Congress Voting Records
Alison Lundergan Grimes favors the redefinition of marriage. Source: Huffington Post
RELIGIOUS LIBERTY:
The HHS mandate is a policy where the federal government forces employers to pay for abortion pills and other morally objectionable services. The United States Senate on March 1, 2012, rejected the Blunt Amendment which would have restored the religious liberty rights of all Americans who objected to being forced to pay for abortion pills. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of religious liberty in the Hobby Lobby case in June 2014.
Mitch McConnell co-sponsored the Blunt Amendment and filed an amicus brief with Senator Orrin Hatch, arguing that the HHS Mandate would violate religious freedom. Source: Library of Congress Voting Records & Senator Hatch Official Website
Alison Lundergan Grimes criticized the Supreme Court’s Hobby Lobby decision, said she believed the Justices were wrong. WFPL Louisville News
HEALTH CARE:
Mitch McConnell voted against Obamacare in the Senate. Source: United States Senate Voting Record
Alison Lundergan Grimes is opposed to privatization of healthcare and other insurance programs. She favors Obamacare. “But rather than pushing for privatization, vouchers, or simply shifting costs to seniors, we should be looking for ways to spend smarter.” Grimes for Senate campaign website
EDUCATION:
Mitch McConnell opposes Common Core. “We have a system in which politicians and bureaucrats have too much control, parents have too little, and students’ needs get lost in the shuffle. Big Government, even at its best, is inherently inefficient, and too easily distracted from core missions by special interests….school choice has given poor, mostly minority families the hope that government has not.” Source: Huffington Post
Alison Lundergan Grimes favors greater federal control over education instead of allowing parents, teacher, and local authorities to find solutions. “The federal government can play a central role in helping students and families pursue educational opportunities…” Source: Grimes for Senate campaign website