CANDIDATE | NATIONAL SECURITY | TAXES & SPENDING | EDUCATION | HEALTHCARE | 2nd AMENDMENT | SOCIAL ISSUES | IMMIGRATION | ENVIRONMENT & ENERGY |
Rudy Giuliani
| we must “win the Terrorists’ War on Us” by remaining on offense, strengthening domestic tools and expanding military and intelligence as well as NATO; but also decentralizing for quicker reaction time | “will fight to keep tax rates low” while also simplifying the tax code and reducing the corporate tax rate;intends to “end earmarking and start budgeting like a business,” including reducing federal civil service by 20% | wants to drastically change education system to focus on children, not bureaucrats; committed to real school choice; will work to strengthen home school programs | intends to increase competition through tax cuts and by empowering patients and doctors | strong supporter of the 2nd amendment; also of consistently and stringently prosecuting criminals with firearms | supports the Defense of Marriage Act; also parental notification and ban on partial birth abortion, supporting organizations that promote adoption as alternative to abortion | “Border security and homeland security are inseparable.” wants biometric ID and national database for non-citizens; “Americanization” of immigrants | seeks energy independence through diversification (also nuclear power), innovation, and conservation |
Mitt Romney For a Stronger America. www.mittromney.com ![]() | intends to increase military and intelligence staff and spending (to 4 %) | wants the line-item veto for presidents, 60% majority of Congress for tax raises, and reduction of entitlement spending | promotes local control of schools, school choice, and improving No Child Left Behind | intends to deregulate state markets, stop the ‘free-riding’ ER patients, and make all health-care costs tax-deductible | wants to protect this right to bear arms! | strongly opposes gay marriage and women’s right to choose | plans to ‘reject amnesty’, ‘punish sanctuary cities’ and create a national database of non-citizens | plans to increase spending on R&D for making fossil fuel use cleaner, and for commercializing nuclear technology and renewable energies |
Mike Huckabee Faith. Family. Freedom. www.mikehuckabee.com ![]() | plans to increase defense spending to 6 % | plans to “completely eliminate all federal income and payroll taxes” and introduce a universal, consumption-determined ‘FairTax’ | supports home schooling, more charter schools, and public school choice personally interested in arts and music education | advocates encourag- ing the private sector to seek innovative ways to bring down costs and improve the free market for health care services | wants to protect this right to bear arms! but also crack down harder on criminals with firearms | strongly opposes gay marriage and abortion rights | wants to “build the fence” and increase border patrol, impose harder penalties on employers and reduce bureaucracy for legal immigrants | plans to make US independent of foreign energy sources, support agriculture for ethanol, etc. |
John McCain Ready from Day One. www.johnmccain.com ![]() | “will strengthen the military, shore up our alliances, and ensure that the nation is capable of protecting the homeland, deterring potential military challenges, responding to any crisis that endangers American security, and prevailing in any conflict” | will repeal the Alternate Minimum Tax; cut taxes on dividends, etc.; cut ineffective gov’t programs and reform civil service and social security; intro. line-item veto and 60% majority of Congress for tax increases | no positions expressed on website | will promote competition among insurers and give insured more control and responsibility while reforming payment systems and controlling costs | wants to protect this right to bear arms! | wants to overturn Roe v. Wade and protect marriage; will fund medical and genetic research that does not involve use of human embryos | plans to secure the border but also build alliances in Mexico and Latin America; to create a flexible labor market; and to assimilate immigrants | wants to make US energy-independent, promote diversification also into clean-coal and nuclear energy; has a market-based approach to climate change and protection |
originally published in Currents Feb/Mar 2008