Preface to the primaries: candidates and their stances

    Never before has an election seen as much publicity so early on as the one America is consumed with now.  The nation has reached almost consensus standing in believing that a change is necessary. 
     With this mindset, voters are left to examine and analyze the frontrunners of the competition. By taking a closer look at the candidates, voters will hopefully decide not only where the candidates stand on the hot issues, but also where they themselves stand on deciding which way to vote.  The issues that are under examination here are:  immigration, the economy and healthcare.  These are important issues because these are the contingent issues that matter to everyone. 
    Two students will be weighing in on the issues and offering their own dose of political agenda in the process.  Jason White, a senior, is the chairman of GCSU’s College Republicans and Brad Speir, a senior, is the co-founder of GCSU’s Young Democrats.

White:

Immigration
    “After Super Tuesday we’ll see how big of an issue Immigration really is.  If McCain is elected then it will prove not to be as big of an issue in the Republican primary, but if either Romney or Huckabee win the primary then it will prove to be a bigger issue,” White said. 

Economy
     “The economy is in a borderline recession, the stock market is fluctuating and it is making people worried,” White said.  “When people get worried it adversely affects the economy.”

Healthcare
     “We don’t want Hillary Care, but other than that, health care is a bigger issue for the Democrats because their candidates have bolder proposals,” White said.

Speir:

 Immigration   
“I don’t blame the immigrants that are here,” Speir said.  “There’s got to be a reason for them to come over here and that’s that Mexico’s economy is in the hole.  There are no jobs over there.  They have even worse healthcare than we do insurance wise.  I think that we should work with Mexico and get them on par.”

Economy
     “I think that there are things that the federal government should be expected to do such as taking care of everyone who lives in it,” Speir said. 

Healthcare
     “Healthcare should be universal or at least universal insurance.  I think if you look at any other western country or any other country that cares about itself, it’s not even a debate.  It’s just a given (that) you take care of your own,” Speir said. 

JohnMcCain

Immigration
• Build a better relationship with Mexico and Latin America.
•   Create a more efficient luggage checking system.
Economy
•   Require 3/5 of Congress to approve a tax increase.
•   Repeal the Alternative Minimum Tax.
Healthcare
•   Increase healthcare competition.
•   Bridge the gap between retirement and the time someone can receive Medicare.
www.johnmccain.com

Mitt Romney

Immigration
•   Implement an enforceable verification system.
•   Punish cities with large numbers of illegal immigrants.
Economy
•  Eliminate the death tax.
•  Eliminate the taxes on middle class savings.
•  Lowering taxes in every possible situation.
Healthcare
•   Add more variety to private healthcare plans.
•   Decrease the cost of healthcare plans.
•   Expand and deregulate private health insurance.
www.mittromney.com

Mike Huckabee

Immigration
•   Build a 700-mile long wall.
•   Deploy 23,000 agents.
•   Deploy four drone planes.
•   Implement 300 miles of vehicle barriers
•   Deny amnesty to illegal immigrants.
Economy
•   Eliminate the federal income and payroll taxes.
•   Implement the Fair Tax.
Healthcare
•   Advocate a preventative healthcare system.
•   Add more variety to private healthcare plans.
www.mikehuckabee.com

Barack Obama

Immigration
•  Crack down on businesses who hire illegal immigrants.
•  Focus on building the economic standing of Mexico.
Economy
•   Provide tax fairness for the middle class.
•   Strengthen America’s workforce by concentrating on early childhood education and teacher incentives. 
Healthcare
•   Quality, affordable and portable for everyone.
•   Implement a mandatory coverage for all children.
www.barackobama.com

Hillary Clinton

Immigration
•   Cross-cooperation with our neighboring countries.
•   Work in paving the way for illegal immigrants who are paying taxes.
Economy
•   Restore equal opportunity to all Americans by strengthening the middle class. 
•  Focus on the basic bargain principle that hardworking Americans lead to the government being hardworking.
Healthcare
•  Affordable, Reliable and Available coverage for everyone.
•  Focus on small business as well as the nation as a whole. 
www.hillaryclinton.com

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Feb 1 2008. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry