In a primary campaign where both candidates value small government and national security, it can be hard to pick out the differences between them. However, Frederick County State’s Attorney Scott Rolle and six-term incumbent Roscoe Bartlett do have different stances on several issues.

International Relations

Rolle has taken a hard-line stance on the Iraq war, criticizing his opponent for seeking U.N. support for the invasion. Saddam Hussein was a threat to U.S. national security, Rolle said, and the United States should have taken him on without worrying about other nations.

“When it comes to national security, we should not sell out U.S. sovereignty to the U.N.,” Rolle said.

Bartlett supported the Iraq war even after it became clear the U.S. was not going to gain U.N. approval, but he was interested in seeking international support, Bartlett Campaign Manager Sallie Taylor said.

“He did not want it to appear that it was the U.S.A. against the Muslim world,” Taylor said.

On other issues, Bartlett has spoken against U.N. involvement in this country’s affairs. He has co-sponsored several bills that would limit international influence on U.S. affairs, including a bill expressing disagreement with the International Criminal Court.

The War on Terrorism

Rolle said government employees need to be better equipped to respond to terrorism. He wants to increase financial support for emergency personnel, who would be first to respond after a terrorist attack, and keep in place the legislation that increases the powers of law enforcement officers, like the USA PATRIOT Act.

The act increased federal law enforcement investigative powers in terrorism cases. It gives them broad search and surveillance powers as well as access to personal and business information.

Though concerned about a few of the provisions in the act, including one allowing the government to monitor computer use in public libraries, Rolle said he would vote to renew the act.

“We must do everything to protect our families and our children, and this is a good start,” Rolle said.

Bartlett voted for the USA PATRIOT Act, but he is concerned with the erosion of civil liberties that has accompanied the quest for security, Taylor said.

“If we curb our civil liberties, then the terrorists will have won,” Taylor said. “If you give up more and more of your liberties, you have less and less security.”

Bartlett will have to see the text of the USA PATRIOT Act renewal before deciding whether to support it, Taylor said.

Education

Rolle and Bartlett both think local government should have the final say in curriculum. However, unlike Bartlett, Rolle said the federal government can play a significant role in education by setting standards.

Rolle supports the No Child Left Behind Act, which he said requires schools to invest in educating their students and then show results for the money received. He has criticized Bartlett for rejecting the No Child Left Behind Act and the federal funding that comes with it.

Enacted in 2002, the act seeks to improve schools through teacher certification requirements and annual student testing. Schools in which students do not meet federal standards must provide tutoring or let students transfer to other schools; if they do not improve, they face financial penalties.

Bartlett maintained that broad federal mandates, such at the act, do not serve students best. They create bureaucracy, Taylor said; schools controlled by local officials and parents can better meet educational needs.

Health Care

Both candidates support market-based health care solutions, including tax-free health savings accounts designed to make paying for medical care easier. However, Rolle takes the market-based solutions tack further than Bartlett, who voted for the Prescription Drug Coverage for Seniors bill Congress passed in November.

Bartlett supported the bill because he believed the market changes it would affect would make health care more affordable for everyone, Taylor said. In addition, he was pleased by the way the bill sent more funds to rural hospitals.

He does think Congress may need to go back to the bill and trim its massive appropriations, Taylor said.

By contrast, Rolle said he would not have supported such a costly solution, which he said will cause the deficit to balloon. The White House budget recently estimated the bill to cost $534 billion from 2004 to 2013, up from the November estimate of $395 billion.

“Instead of increasing our deficit, let’s try something new and exciting,” Rolle said. “Let’s use our bargaining power.”

The government should take advantage of its tremendous buying power and pressure drug companies to lower costs, Rolle said.

Campaign finance reform

Both candidates support some measure of the campaign finance reform law enacted in 2002. Designed to limit the influence of money on politics, the law limited uncontrolled donations to political parties, called soft money.

“I don’t like to see elections bought and paid for by special interests," Rolle said.

Nevertheless, Rolle said the law, which also changed limits on donations and created new finance reporting requirements, violated the First Amendment's protection of freedom of speech.

Multi-person political players should be regulated instead of individuals, Rolle said.

“Corporations, special interest groups and PACs are the ones we need to keep in check," Rolle said.

Though Bartlett does not oppose restricting donation sizes, he did not vote for the 2002 bill because of a provision banning ads that name a candidate in the days before an election, Wright said. He has sponsored legislation to repeal that provision.

Gay Marriage

Both candidates said they believe marriage is an act that can only happen between a man and a woman, and steps need to be taken to preserve the act's sanctity. But Bartlett is more eager to support a constitutional amendment – he signed on to co-sponsor the president's proposed amendment on the same it was proposed.

"We’ve ratified the Constitution by amendments now 27 times," Bartlett said in a press release. "I’m very happy with the hope that this will be the 28th Amendment to the Constitution.”

Though Rolle wants to see marriage defined, he does not think a constitutional amendment is necessary unless the courts do not first succeed in halting gay marriages.

“If we start seeing this as a trend about this country and the way to protect marriage is through a constitutional amendment, I would support it," he said.

Death Penalty

Rolle said he brings his 13 years as a public prosecutor to bear when he considers the death penalty. He approves of the current system. He would also like to see the punishment extended to people who commit terrorist acts and to people who sexually assault children.

By contrast, Bartlett opposes the death penalty. Not only is the expensive procedure ineffective as a deterrent, but it is administered more often to the poor and minorities, said Bartlett's press secretary.

But Bartlett primarily opposes the death penalty on the belief that government should avoid taking a person's life.

"The congressman believes in the protection of life across the spectrum," Wright said. "He believes society is coarsened if the government kills criminals rather than protecting society from them by imprisoning them for life.”

Energy

Rolle said he wants to reduce the country's dependence on foreign oil. One way to do this would be to allow oil drilling in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge, a measure he said he supports.

Though Bartlett has the same goal of increasing the country's energy self-sufficiency, he opposes immediate Alaska drilling because he wants to save the oil reserves for the future, Wright said.

"It’s penny wise and pound foolish to go out and use what little oil we know that we might have thinking that today is a rainy day when there will surely be a rainier day," Wright said. "He (Bartlett) would husband that resource.”

Bartlett advocates developing nonfossil-fuel energy sources, including ethanol and biomass energy, and he has introduced legislation that would fund fuel research, Taylor said.

He has also obtained funding for a Western Maryland welcome center at I-270 Byron Overlook that would be largely energy self-sufficient, Wright said. Bartlett drives a Toyota Prius hybrid gas-electric car.

Traffic

Throughout his terms, Bartlett has pushed for funds for traffic improvements throughout his district, “from Garrett County on down,” Taylor said. Some of the traffic projects that received attention during his time in office include the I-270, I-70 and Route 85 corridors, which received tens of millions of dollars, Taylor said. 

Bartlett will continue pursuing funds throughout his district as necessary, Taylor said, guided by the realistic understanding of how much the state will contribute. If the state won’t match the federal funds, it isn’t worth trying for the federal funds in the first place, she said.

Rolle has a few specific plans. He wants to secure the funds to widen I-270, and he has criticized Bartlett for not doing more to widen the road.

“We're in love with our cars, and we’re not going to give them up, so we have to find solutions to get them where they’re going to go,” said campaign volunteer Bill Rolle, who is Scott Rolle’s father.

Candidate Rolle also wants to improve the MARC train system as an alternate to road transportation. Not only did he say he wanted to make the schedule more widely available, make the routes more direct and extend the train operation hours into the weekend, but he said he would ride it himself.

“If I end up working in D.C., you'll see me on the train often,” Rolle said.

On other significant issues, especially in economic matters, the two candidates are in agreement.

Taxes

Both candidates have vowed to maintain tax cuts. Bartlett received a 95 percent rating from the Americans for Tax Reform in 2002 for his support of low taxes and small government.

Rolle has also promised to keep taxes low, which he said is necessary to stimulate the economy and cut back on government waste. "Let people keep as much of their money as possible," he said.

Small Businesses

Both candidates have vowed to make the district more attractive to small businesses by reducing their burden of taxes and regulation.

Bartlett is the president of the House Small Business Committee and has fought to end taxes that affect small businesses, Taylor said.

These efforts have netted him the Guardian of Small Business Award from the National Federation of Independent Businesses each term he’s served.

Rolle counters that Bartlett has not done enough for small businesses because too many burdensome regulations still exist in the district. After conversations with business owners, he said, he has realized the area has many regulations that serve as “brick walls” to starting new businesses.

He also said he would reduce barriers to business and serve as an ambassador for the region, traveling the country to court businesses to locate in the district.

Immigration

Both candidates say are against President Bush’s immigration policy, which would give employed immigrants temporary guest-worker status, allowing them to stay in the country legally even if they entered illegally.

“Although Scott supports the president on many issues, this is one issue where he differs,” said John Tomaszewski, media coordinator for the Rolle campaign.

Rolle considers adequate border control a national security issue, Tomaszewski said.

Bartlett’s campaign manager was singing a similar tune. “Bartlett thinks we should protect our borders,” Taylor said. “He was one of the few congressmen to sign a letter to George Bush expressing reservations about his immigration plan.” 

Both candidates also oppose accepting matricula consular cards, issued by the government of Mexico, as valid identification. Unlike identification issued by the U.S. government, the cards do not require someone to prove they are in the country legally.

“We have so many people who have followed the rules to get into this country -- it’s insulting to them,” Taylor said.

Abortion

Both candidates think abortion should be legal only in cases of rape or incest, or when the mother’s life is in danger.

Rolle said that as an adoptive parent, he has a special interest in the matter. "I’m an adoptive parent, so I’d like do things to not only encourage adoption, but to make it easier and quicker," he said. "This is the option we should be pursuing."

Gun Control

Both candidates believe the Second Amendment guarantees the right to individual gun ownership and oppose gun control.

"The district I come from has many sportsmen, hunters, outdoorsmen, collectors, and they certainly have the right to do that based on the Constitution," Rolle said.

Bartlett is critical of gun control's effectiveness.

“What Bartlett often says is, if gun control worked, then the District of Columbia would be one of the safest places in the world, instead of having one of the highest murder rates," Wright said.

Copyright © 2004 University of Maryland Philip Merrill College of Journalism