Teen's deal with...
Political Influence
Editor: Lance Garrison
Teenagers all over the U.S. are about to turn eighteen years old and this opens vast opportunities for young American's. Voting however is one of the most important among the new freedoms. The leader of our country control's what we as teenagers will experience as adults. Becoming more involved in the doing's of all the candidates for president is indispensable. For those who are not politically involved I will present information on leading presidential candidates to make your decision easer.
There are two candidates in both sections of the political arena. GOP and Democrat.
On the Democrat side we have Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.
On the GOP side we have John McCain and Mike Huckabee.
The Issues
___________________________
Democrat's on the issues :
Hillary Clinton
The former first lady is now in her
second term as the junior senator from New York.
It's easy to give a speech about restoring the middle class, but it is hard to actually do it. ... We've been here before with a president who leaves the economic cupboard bare on Election Day .
-- from speech on November 19, 2007
| Abortion | Will sign into law the Freedom of Choice Act, which would codify Roe v. Wade into federal law. Would overturn the "global gag rule," which prohibits Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) from talking about abortion in the event of an unplanned pregnancy. Voted against the Prohibit Partial Birth Abortion bill in 2003. Did not cast a vote on Prohibiting Funds for Groups that Perform Abortions amendment in 2007. Disagreed with Supreme Court ruling to uphold the "Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act." |
| Economic Stimulus | .Would establish a $30 billion emergency housing fund to assist states and cities mitigate the effects of mounting foreclosures. Would also include a 90-day moratorium on sub prime foreclosures and an automatic rate freeze on sub prime mortgages of at least five years. Would provide $25 billion in emergency energy assistance for families facing skyrocketing heating bills. Would invest $10 billion in extending and broadening unemployment insurance for those who are struggling to find work. Would accelerate $5 billion in energy efficiency and alternative energy investments to jump-start green-collar job growth |
| Education | Would end No Child Left Behind. Promote early childhood education, including nurse home visitation programs for new parents, quality child care and Head Start and pre-kindergarten for all 4-year-olds. Improve K-12 system by meeting funding promises of IDEA. Recruit outstanding teachers and principals, especially in urban and rural areas. Cut minority dropout rate in half. Expand early-intervention mentoring programs. Identify at-risk youth early and provide $1 billion in intensive interventions. Create a new $3,500 college tax credit and increase the maximum Pell Grant. |
| Energy | Proposes a cap-and-trade program that auctions 100 percent of permits alongside investments. Would reduce electricity consumption by 20 percent from projected levels by 2020 by changing the way utilities do business. Proposes a $50 billion fund -- paid for in part by oil companies -- to fund investments in alternative energy. Would double federal investment in basic energy research. Would have renewable energy generating 25 percent of electricity by 2025 and have 60 billion gallons of home-grown bio-fuels available for cars and trucks by 2030. Proposes an increase in fuel efficiency standards to 55 miles per gallon by 2030. Would create a "National Energy Council" within the White House to ensure implementation of the plan across the Executive Branch. |
| Environment | Would develop a new treaty to replace the Kyoto Protocol, which is set to expire in 2012. Would focus on international attention to solve the problem of global deforestation. Would focus the mission of the Department of Energy on moving toward energy independence with a new approach to solar, wind, bio fuels, hydropower, geothermal and other sources of renewable energy. Would place a market-based cap and trade system to reduce carbon pollution. …In combination with efficiency, fuel economy standards and other proposals, she states the system will ensure the goal of reducing U.S. contribution to global warming below 1990 levels by 80 percent. Would oppose drilling in the Arctic National Wildfire Refuge. |
| Free Trade | Supported NAFTA while first lady but now believes NAFTA should be changed. During a 2005 trip to India, she stated, "There is no way to legislate against reality. Outsourcing will continue." However, during 2007 presidential debates, she said outsourcing was a problem. Would end the tax breaks that exist in the tax code for outsourcing jobs and have trade agreements with enforceable labor and environmental standards. |
Gun Control |
Voted for a 10-year extension of the assault weapons ban. Voted for requiring extensive background checks at gun shows. Supports licensing and registration of handguns, mandatory trigger locks for handguns, holding adults responsible for their children's use of guns, raising the youth handgun ban from age 18 to 21, limiting gun sales to one per month and allowing the Consumer Products Safety Commission regulate guns. |
| Health Care | Mandates individual health insurance coverage for all Americans. Offers federal subsidies for those who cannot afford it. Allows individuals to choose from among several private plans also offered to members of Congress, as well as a new public insurance plan modeled after Medicare. Requires insurance companies to offer coverage to anyone who applies, and bars insurance companies from charging higher premiums to those with pre-existing conditions. Requires large businesses to provide or help pay for employee coverage. Expands Medicaid and federal children's health care programs. Offers tax credits to limit health care premiums to a certain percentage a family's income. Cost estimated at $110 billion annually, to be paid for by eliminating the Bush tax cuts for those earning over $250,000, as well as by reducing waste and inefficiencies in the current system. Also limits the amount employers can exclude from taxes for health care benefits for those making over $250,000. |
| Homeland security | Voted for the Patriot Act in 2001 and for reauthorization in 2006. Voted against S.1927, the Protect America Act, which amends the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). Said: "There is no better way to combat anti-Americanism than to do our best to demonstrate that America is invested in lifting up people around the world." Believes the U.S. must "…renew those alliances around the world, around a common set of goals including combating genocide, expanding human rights, promoting reconciliation through diplomacy, stopping nuclear proliferation, and addressing global warming." Believes most significant threat to national security is nuclear proliferation. Would close the controversial prison at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, which currently holds hundreds of suspected terrorists and other detainees. |
| Housing | Would freeze the monthly rate on sub prime adjustable rate mortgages, with the freeze lasting at least five years until the mortgages have been converted into affordable, fixed-rate loans. Would call on mortgage industry to provide status reports on the number of mortgages it is modifying. |
| Immigration | Supported Bush-backed immigration reform legislation, which would have increased funding and improved border security technology, improved enforcement of existing laws, and provided a legal path to citizenship for some illegal immigrants. Voted to authorize construction of a 700-mile fence along the U.S.-Mexican border. |
| Iran | Voted for a September 2007 Senate resolution calling on the administration to declare Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist organization. Advocates diplomatic engagement with Iran but would not meet with leaders of Iran, Syria, Venezuela, Cuba and North Korea in first year of presidency. Has stated on Senate floor "no option can be taken off the table…No action can or should be taken without explicit congressional authorization." |
| Iraq | Voted for use of military force in Iraq, but now says she would have voted differently "if we knew then what we know now." Supports de-authorizing the war. Voted for war spending bill that would have withdrawn most U.S. troops by March 2008. Opposed Bush plan to increase the number of American troops in Iraq. Supports a phased redeployment |
| Same sex marriage | Opposes same-sex marriage but supports civil unions. Says states should ultimately decide the issue. Opposes a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage |
| Social Security | Opposes all efforts to privatize Social Security. Has stated her plan for Social Security is fiscal responsibility first, and then deal with any long-term challenges. Would support the creation of a bipartisan commission |
| Stem cell research | Supports expanding federal funding for embryonic stem cell research |
| Taxes | Opposed 2001 and 2003 Bush tax cuts. Opposed extending tax cuts through 2010. |
Barack Obama 
The former lawyer and state senator
won a U.S. Senate seat in Illinois in 2004.
This isn't just about the past, it's about the future. I don't talk about my opposition to the war to say "I told you so." 
-- from an October 12, 2007, speech
| Abortion | Opposes any constitutional amendment to overturn the Supreme Court's decision in Roe v Wade. Disagreed with Supreme Court ruling to uphold the "Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act." Did not cast a vote on Prohibiting Funds for Groups that Perform Abortions amendment in 2007. |
| Economic Stimulus | Would pump $75 billion into the economy via tax cuts and direct spending targeted to working families, seniors, homeowners and the unemployed. The plan also includes $45 billion in reserves that can be injected into the economy quickly in the future if the economy continues to deteriorate. Would provide an immediate $250 tax cut for workers and their families and an immediate, temporary $250 bonus to seniors in their Social Security checks. Would provide an additional $250 tax cut to workers and an additional $250 to seniors if the economy continues to worsen. Would extend and expand unemployment insurance |
| Education | Would reform No Child Left Behind, ensuring access to high-quality early childhood education programs and child care opportunities, recruit well-qualified and reward expert, accomplished teachers. Make science and math education a national priority. Reduce the high school dropout rate and empower parents to raise healthy and successful children by taking a greater role in their child's education at home and at school. |
| Energy | Proposes reducing carbon emissions by 80 percent by 2050 by using a market-based cap-and-trade system. Would invest $150 billion over 10 years in clean energy. Supports next generation biofuels. Proposes increasing fuel economy standards and would require that 25 percent of electricity consumed in the U.S. is derived from clean, sustainable energy sources by 2025. Would create a Global Energy Forum and re-engage with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. |
| Environment | Would implement an economy-wide cap-and-trade program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to the level recommended by top scientists. Would make the United States a leader in the global effort to combat climate change by leading anew international global warming partnership. Would establish a National Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) to speed the introduction of low-carbon non-petroleum fuels. Would create a Technology Transfer program within the Department of Energy dedicated to exporting climate-friendly technologies to developing countries. Would offer incentives to maintain forests globally and manage them sustainably. Would develop domestic incentives that reward forest owners, farmers and ranchers when they plant trees, restore grasslands or undertake farming practices that capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. |
| Free Trade | Would immediately call the leaders of Mexico and Canada to try to amend NAFTA. Would eliminate tax breaks for companies that are moving overseas. He stated, "We also have to have an intentional strategy on the part of the federal government to make sure that we are reinvesting in those communities that are being burdened by globalization and not benefiting from it." |
| Gun Control | Supports extending the assault weapons ban. Supports national law against carrying concealed weapons, with exceptions for retired police and military personnel. Supports limiting gun sales to one per month |
| Health Care | Would create a national health insurance program for individuals who do not have employer-provided health care and who do not qualify for other existing federal programs. Allows individuals to choose between the new public insurance program or from among private insurance plans that meet certain coverage standards. Requires employers who do not provide health coverage for employees to pay into the national health insurance program. Does not mandate individual coverage for all Americans, but requires coverage for all children. Allows individuals below age 25 to be covered through their parents' plans. Cost estimated between $50 billion and $65 billion, to be paid for by eliminating Bush tax cuts for those earning over $250,000. |
| Homeland securely | Will implement the 9/11 Commission recommendations. Provide greater technical assistance to local and state first responders and increase funding for reliable, interoperable communications systems. Develop a meaningful critical infrastructure protection plan. Will secure chemical plants and ensure safe, secure disposal of nuclear waste. Will improve U.S. intelligence system by creating a senior position to coordinate domestic intelligence gathering; establishing a grant program to support thousands more state and local level intelligence analysts and increase U.S. capacity to share intelligence across all levels of government. Voted to reauthorize Patriot Act in 2006, but would revise it. Would update the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to provide greater oversight and accountability to the congressional Intelligence Committees to prevent future threats to the rule of law. Would close the controversial prison at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, which currently holds hundreds of suspected terrorists and other detainees. |
| Housing | Proposes creating a $10 billion fund to help prevent foreclosures, eliminate some taxes and fees for families who must sell and offer counseling to homeowners. Announced a "credit card bill of rights" to provide disclosure of hidden credit costs. Would provide tax credits to 10 million middle class homeowners who struggle with mortgage costs |
| Immigration | Supported Bush-backed immigration reform legislation, which would have increased funding and improved border security technology, improved enforcement of existing laws, and provided a legal path to citizenship for some illegal immigrants. Voted to authorize construction of a 700-mile fence along the U.S.-Mexican border. |
| Iran | Did not vote on a September 2007 Senate resolution calling on the administration to declare Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist organization. Believes in using diplomatic efforts and would meet with leaders of Iran, Syria, Venezuela, Cuba and North Korea during first year of presidency. Would leave military option on the table. |
| Iraq | Opposed use of military force in Iraq. Voted for war spending bill that would have withdrawn most U.S. troops by March 2008. Supports phased redeployment of U.S. troops. Opposed Bush's plan to send additional troops to Iraq. Had once called for troop withdrawal to begin by the end of 2006. |
| Same sex marriage | Opposes same-sex marriage, but also opposes a constitutional ban. Supports civil unions. |
| Social Security | Strongly opposed to privatizing Social Security. Believes that the first place to look for ways to strengthen Social Security is the payroll tax system. Currently, the Social Security payroll tax applies to only the first $97,500 a worker earns; Obama supports increasing the maximum amount of earnings covered by Social Security. Would work with Congress to choose a payroll tax reform package that will keep Social Security solvent for at least the next half century. |
| Stem cell research | Supports expanding federal funding for embryonic stem cell research. |
| Taxes | Opposed extending 2003 Bush tax cut law through 2010. Supports eliminating marriage penalty and extending child tax credit. Supports scaling back capital gains and dividends tax cuts and re-examining tax benefits for the top one percent of earners. |
GOP's on the issues:
John McCain
The U.S. senator from Arizona ran for the GOP
presidential nomination in 2000, but lost to George W. Bush.
For all the grandiose promises made in this campaign, has any candidate spoken honestly to the American people about the government's role and failings about individual responsibilities?
-- from speech on October 11, 2007
| Abortion | Voted for the Prohibit Partial Birth Abortion bill in 2003 and "yes" for Prohibiting Funds for Groups that Perform Abortions amendment in 2007. Believes Roe v. Wade is a flawed decision that must be overturned. Supports Supreme Court ruling upholding the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act. |
| Economic Stimulus | Would lower the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 25 percent. Would allow first-year deduction of equipment and technology investments and establish a permanent research and development tax credit equal to 10 percent of wages spent on R&D |
| Education | Voted for No Child Left Behind. Stated during GOP primary debates: "We need more charter schools. We need vouchers where it's approved by the local, state school boards. We need to have, clearly, home schooling if people want that … We need to reward good teachers and find bad teachers another line of work." |
| Energy | Proposes a national energy strategy that will rely on the technological prowess of American industry and science. Would not support subsidizing every alternative or tariffs that restrict the competition that stimulates innovation and lower cost. Believes barriers to nuclear energy are political not technological. Would provide for safe storage of spent nuclear fuel and give host states or localities a proprietary interest so when advanced recycling technologies turn used fuel into a valuable commodity, the public will share in its economic benefits. Proposed a bipartisan plan to address the problem of climate change and stimulate the development and use of advanced technologies. It is a market-based approach that would set reasonable caps on carbon and other greenhouse gas emissions, and provide industries with tradable credits |
| Environment | Introduced the Climate Stewardship and Innovation Act of 2007 with Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-CT). The legislation is designed to significantly reduce the nation's greenhouse gases, accomplished through a combination of trading markets and the deployment of advanced technologies. Would propose use of alternative energy sources, including nuclear |
| Free Trade | Voted yes on NAFTA in 1993. He stated, "Free trade is something I think is vital to the future of America". He has called himself "the biggest free marketer and free trader that you will ever see." |
Gun Control |
Sponsored legislation requiring background checks at gun shows. Voted against a 10-year extension of the assault weapons ban. Opposed legislation requiring trigger locks for handguns. Opposed 1994 crime bill, which contained the assault weapons ban. Has a C+ rating from the NRA |
| Health Care | Opposes federally mandated universal coverage. Would increase awareness and promote the use of existing children's health insurance programs while expanding community health centers. Supports health care tax dividends for low-income Americans, medical malpractice reform, improving electronic record-keeping, expanding health savings accounts, and encouraging small businesses to band together to negotiate lower rates with health care providers. |
| Homeland securely | Voted for the Patriot Act in 2001 and for its reauthorization in 2006. Was not present for vote on amending FISA in August 2006. Would revitalize U.S. public diplomacy and work to recreate an independent agency with the sole purpose of getting America's message to the world. Would set up a new civil-military agency patterned after the Office of Strategic Services in World War II. Said: "The State Department and other agencies need to enhance their ability to send more experts to rebuild war-torn lands -- or, better still, bolster peaceful development to reduce the chances of war breaking out in the first place." Would create an Army Adviser Corps with 20,000 soldiers who would work with friendly militaries abroad. Would increase the number of personnel in information operations, Special Forces, civil affairs, military policing, military intelligence and other disciplines. Would increase numbers in Army and Marines and spend more on defense budget. Would close the controversial prison at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, which currently holds hundreds of suspected terrorists and other detainees |
| Housing | Would consider greater intervention by the federal government to limit effects of mortgage crisis if current measures fail. Believes a government bailout should only be a last resort |
| Immigration | Co-sponsored Bush-backed immigration reform legislation, which would have increased funding and improved border security technology, improved enforcement of existing laws, and provided a legal path to citizenship for some illegal immigrants. Voted to authorize construction of a 700-mile fence along the U.S.-Mexican border. |
| Iran | Did not vote on a September 2007 Senate resolution calling on the administration to declare Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist organization. Says military action is an option, but would consult with congressional leaders before taking action. |
| Iraq | Voted for use of military force in Iraq. Supported Bush veto of war spending bill that would have withdrawn most U.S. troops by March 2008. Was an early proponent of sending additional American troops to Iraq. |
| Same sex marriage | Supports definition of marriage as a union between a man and a woman, but opposes a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. Says individual states should decide the issue. Says a federal marriage ban might be appropriate if courts overturned state marriage laws. Supports legal benefits for same-sex partners. |
| Social Security | When asked about Social Security during a GOP debate, he stated: "Every man, woman and child in America needs to know it's going broke, and we've got to do the hard things. We've got to fix it for the future generations of Americans ... It's got to be bipartisan. And you have to go to the American people and say we won't raise your taxes. We need personal savings accounts, but we [have] to fix this system." |
| Stem cell research | Supports federal funding for embryonic stem cell research on embryos that would otherwise be discarded or perpetually frozen. |
| Taxes | Voted against 2001 and 2003 Bush tax cut laws, but later voted in favor of extending tax cuts through 2010. Says he opposes a proposal supporters call the "Fair Tax," which would repeal income taxes and other taxes and abolish the Internal Revenue, but has previously said he would sign it into law as president. |
Mike Huckabee 
Before he was a governor of Arkansas,
Huckabee served as pastor to several churches
My faith is my life -- it defines me. My faith doesn't influence my decisions, it drives them. ... Real faith makes us humble and mindful, not of the faults of others, but of our own.
-- on his campaign Web site
| Abortion | Believes Roe v. Wade should be overturned and would support a constitutional amendment to protect the right to life. As governor, he banned partial-birth abortions in Arkansas and required parental notification. Would veto any pro-abortion legislation Congress might pass. Pledges to "staff all relevant positions with pro-life appointees." Supports Supreme Court ruling upholding the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act. |
| Economic Stimulus | When asked what he would do for a short-term economic stimulus if he was president, Huckabee responded: "The first thing I'd do is make those tax cuts permanent. I'd make sure that we didn't raise any taxes and, in fact, try to cut rates on both corporate income tax and individual income tax." Asked about rebates, he said: "It certainly would be something I'd put on the table. …We want to be careful not to go into what I call a major government bail-out, because then it becomes an issue of going further into debt I think the second thing that the president needs to do is to really look at some serious spending cuts. It's not enough just to cut taxes." Would eliminate all federal income and payroll taxes. Would replace with Fair Tax, a simple tax based on wealth. |
| Education | Will provide children with "Weapons of Mass Instruction": art and music. States on Web site: "Art and music are as important as math and science." Supports No Child Left Behind but writes on Web site: "While there is value in the 'No Child Left Behind' law's effort to set high national standards, states must be allowed to develop their own benchmarks." Supporter of the rights of parents to home-school their children, creating more charter schools and public school choice. |
| Energy | States the first thing he will do as president is send Congress a comprehensive plan for energy independence and would achieve energy independence by the end of second term. States on campaign Web site: "We have to explore, we have to conserve, and we have to pursue all avenues of alternative energy -- nuclear, wind, solar, hydrogen, clean coal, bio-diesel, and biomass." |
| Environment | When asked during a 2007 GOP primary debate if he believed global warming existed, he said, "Whether humans are responsible for the bulk of climate change is going to be left to the scientists, but it's all of our responsibility to leave this planet in better shape for the future generations than we found it." Would pursue all avenues of alternative energy including wind, solar, clean coal and bio diesel. Would propose greenhouse gas emissions be curtailed. Would support drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and increased offshore drilling. |
| Free Trade | Believes job migration is a result of three things: excessive taxation, excessive regulation and too much litigation. States on official campaign Web site: "Globalization, done right, done fairly, can be the equivalent of a big pay raise by allowing us to buy things more cheaply." |
Gun Control |
Opposes reauthorization of the assault weapons ban. Opposes mandatory trigger locks for handguns. Opposes waiting periods for gun purchases. Owns a variety of firearms. NRA member. Has a concealed carry permit. |
| Health Care | Says current system is "irrevocably broken" but opposes federally mandated universal coverage. Would encourage private sector innovation to reduce health care costs. Supports market-based approaches at the state level. Would make health care more affordable by reforming medical liability, improving electronic record-keeping, promoting portable health plans, expanding health savings accounts, making health insurance tax deductible, and offering tax credits to low income families. |
| Homeland security | Believes the long-term solution is to empower the moderates in the Middle and Near East by attacking the underlying conditions that breed terror. Believes part of battling terrorism is achieving energy independence. Believes in the Powell doctrine of using overwhelming force to accomplish a mission. Would expand the army and increase the defense budget. Would close the controversial prison at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, which currently holds hundreds of suspected terrorists and other detainees. |
| Housing | Encourages lenders to work with those who have borrowed to keep from foreclosure. Does not support a government bailout. Has stated problem "…needs to be handled by the … people who made the mistake in the first place: over ambitious borrowers and greedy lenders. You would ask those parties to sit down and find out if there a way they can resolve it … there are consequences for people's actions." |
| Immigration | Opposed Senate immigration plan co-sponsored by Sen. McCain and supported by President Bush. Opposes allowing illegal immigrants to obtain driver's licenses. Will fine and penalize employers who hire illegal immigrants. Proposes a nine-point strategy for immigration and border security: Build border fence by 2010, increase border patrol, prevent amnesty, enforce the law on employers, establish an economic border, empower local authorities, ensure document security, discourage dual citizenship, modernize the process of legal immigration. |
| Iran | Would intensify diplomatic effort regarding Iran. Encourage more economic sanctions. Believes the president has the right to take military actions against Iran without congressional approval under certain circumstances. |
| Iraq | Has offered qualified support for Bush Iraq policy, saying the president has access to military and diplomatic information that is not publicly available. Opposes congressional resolutions that express opposition to the president's plan to increase the number of American troops in Iraq. Opposes proposals to cut funding to the war |
| Same sex marriage | Opposes same-sex marriage. |
| Social Security | Would eliminate all federal income and payroll taxes, including Social Security. The program would be funded by the Fair Tax. Advocates the "personalization" of Social Security funds, allowing a person greater freedom over how to invest the money. |
| Stem cell research | Opposes federal funding for embryonic stem cell research. Says "I don't think it's right to create a life to end a life. That's not a good health decision." |
| Taxes | Supports proposal supporters call the "Fair Tax," which would repeal income taxes and other taxes and abolish the Internal Revenue Service and replace them with a national retail sales tax. Signed a pledge not to raise taxes. |
www.cnn.com/POLITICS