1. WAR
1. WARHoffman — Against it. A veteran, Hoffman calls for fully funding the Veterans Administration while shutting down the 800-plus bases the U.S. maintains across the globe, with ample retraining as needed for troops coming home. He opposes all U.S. wars and military interventions abroad.
Cantwell — Big military spender. In 2009, when the Pentagon said they didn’t want more F-22 fighter planes (which Boeing is a major subcontractor for), Cantwell voted to build them anyway, at a cost of $1.75 billion for seven aircraft. In June 2018 she again voted to increase military spending.
2. HEALTHCARE
Hoffman — Healthcare for all. Hoffman supports a free, universal, nonprofit, socialized medical system, with workers and patients/consumers in charge. He upholds women’s right to safe, legal abortion on demand.
Cantwell — Healthcare for some. Cantwell refused to support Bernie Sanders’ Medicare for All bill in 2017. She also voted against a bill that would have allowed U.S. citizens to get cheaper pharmaceuticals from Canada.
3. ENVIRONMENT
Hoffman — End reliance on fossil fuels. Hoffman sides with the Puyallup Tribe against the Liquefied Natural Gas plant being constructed in Tacoma and is active in the fight. He calls for a swift transition away from fossil fuels and for a nationalized energy industry under workers’ control.
Cantwell — Fracking is fine. Cantwell has remained silent about the Tacoma plant. And she co-sponsored the Energy and Natural Resources Act of 2017, which put out the welcome mat for increased hydraulic fracturing and was opposed by over 350 environmental organizations.
4. PALESTINE
Hoffman — For Palestinian rights. Hoffman supports the international BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) campaign against Israel’s inhumane treatment of Palestinians. He advocates for Palestinians’ right of return and an end to U.S. arms sales and military aid to Israel.
Cantwell — BDS should be illegal. Cantwell co-sponsored a bill with senators including Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio that would make the BDS campaign illegal. This is an unconstitutional blow against free speech and the right of people in the U.S. to organize in defense of Palestinians.
5. PRISONS
Hoffman — Stop mass incarceration. Hoffman believes the “three strikes” mandatory life sentence for repeat offenders should be overturned. He opposes the death penalty, the so-called War on Drugs, and prison time for nonviolent crimes. He supports closing private, for-profit prisons, ending detention of immigrants, abolishing ICE, and opening the borders.
Cantwell — Lock ’em up. Cantwell voted for Clinton’s 1994 Crime Bill, which made “three strikes” the law of the land, expanded the number of offenses eligible for the death penalty, and led to millions of arrests of people of color and the poor. She also voted against an amendment to the act that would have replaced the death penalty with life imprisonment.
