ACLU Rating: Christopher Dodd has a 69% lifetime rating from the ACLU, and a 0% rating for the current congressional session due to his votes on campaign finance reform and the Real ID Act.
Abortion and Reproductive Rights - Strongly Pro-Choice: Dodd has an 100% rating from NARAL Pro-Choice America, and has consistently voted to oppose legislation that would restrict abortion rights.
Death Penalty - Retentionist, Supports Some Reform: Dodd supports the death penalty, but has argued that the capital punishment process needs to be reexamined. In 1994, he joined with 94 other senators to vote for Joseph Biden's Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, which (among other things) expanded the federal death penalty to include drug trafficking, a nonviolent offense.
The First Amendment - Supports Campaign Finance Reform: Dodd has been a consistent supporter of campaign finance reform, which is primarily responsible for his 0% ACLU rating for the current legislative session.
Immigrants' Rights - Moderately Generous: Dodd supports a citizenship path for undocumented immigrants, as well as a guest worker program for new immigrants. He has also taken a particularly strong stand against the "English as official language" movement.
Lesbian and Gay Rights - Everything But Marriage: Dodd is on record as supporting a federal civil unions policy that would grant all legal partnership rights to same-sex couples, but he does not support same-sex marriage. Like other Democratic candidates, he also supports the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), federal hate crime legislation that includes sexual orientation and gender identity as protected categories, and the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell."
Race and Equal Opportunity - Strong Candidate: Dodd is widely considered the Senate's leading advocate for low-income children, an important civil rights issue in a country where one-third of African-American children live in poverty. He is co-sponsor of the 2001 Dodd-Miller Act to Leave No Child Behind, which (among other things) would have established universal early childhood education programs, provided universal health coverage for children and custodial parents, and dramatically increased funding for after-school programs.
The Second Amendment - Supports Increased Gun Control: Dodd holds an F rating from the National Rifle Association (NRA), and tends to support gun control legislation.
War on Terror - Libertarian: Dodd is co-sponsor of the Restoring the Constitution Act of 2007, which would enforce habeas corpus standards in "enemy combatant" cases and prohibit marginal torture techniques currently in use by the U.S. government.
Tom's Take: Dodd is trying to position himself as the conscientious defender of old constitutional standards, and for the most part he lives up to the role. While he made the mistake every U.S. senator except for Russ Feingold made in 2001 by voting for the unmodified USA PATRIOT Act, it is unrealistic to have expected otherwise. Dodd is not considered an exciting candidate, but he's among the best in the Democratic field and deserves a second look.
