I'm going to play DA for free will since it is taking such a battering.
The stance is along the lines of compatibilism which means that determinism and free will can coexist. Actions can be determined, but free will still exists.
Consider this thought experiment by Harry Frankfurt.
Donald is a Democrat and is likely to vote for the Democrats; in fact, only in one particular circumstance will he not: that is, if he thinks about the prospects of immediate American defeat in Iraq just prior to voting. Ms White, a representative of the Democratic Party, wants to ensure that Donald votes Democratic, so she secretly plants a device in Donald's head that, if activated, will force him to vote Democratic. Not wishing to reveal her presence unnecessarily, Ms White plans to activate the device only if Donald thinks about the Iraq War prior to voting. As things happen, Donald does not think about Iraq prior to voting, so Ms White thus sees no reason to activate the device, and Donald votes Democratic of his own accord. Apparently, Donald is responsible for voting Democratic although, owing to Ms. White's device, he lacks freedom to do otherwise.
Even though there was not an option to do otherwise, did Donald not choose the way he voted freely? Free will doesn't mean the ability to choose another action, it is the ability to choose otherwise. When he is contemplating the Iraq war in regards to voting, he is doing just that. He is freely choosing which way to vote. The fact that the outcome is the same either way is irrelevant. Our ability to do otherwise, doesn't necessarily mean we can actually do otherwise.
This furthermore rejects a premise of determinism, that people cannot be held morally responsible for their actions. This is derived from the idea that if everything is determined to be, how can you actually blame someone for their actions if they had no choice in what was going to happen.
Consider a similar thought experiment.
An evil man, Mr. Robinson is stalking Jim. There is a microchip in Jim's brain that allows Mr. Robinson to know his every thought, and if he chooses, to control them. Jim is now contemplating whether or not to kill Betty. This pleases Mr. Robinson, as he too wants Steve dead, but he doesn't want to do the dirty work himself. Because of this, if Jim decides to kill Betty, Mr. Robinson will remain in the shadows and enjoy the killing. However, if Jim chooses not to kill Betty, he will use his device to force him to kill Betty anyways. As it turns out, Jim kills Betty on his own accord, and Mr. Robinson never needs to use his device.
Jim is morally responsible for killing Betty, even though in the end, he could not have done otherwise anyways.