2012 Republican Presidential Candidates Summary

 
Here is my compilation of what seem to be the basic beliefs of the 2012 Republican Presidential candidates. I divided this list up by the following five categories: abortion, the economy, health care, foreign policy, and marriage. This is by no means an exhaustive list.

The way chose things to list was to list only things about the candidates that differed from the other candidates. For example: repealing Obamacare. I do not say "would repeal Obamacare" because it's a given that Republican candidates would repeal Obamacare (or at least convince people they would). So I only mention repealing Obamacare if either 1) there was something unique about how/why a candidate would repeal Obamacare, or 2) if a candidate would NOT repeal Obamacare.

I gathered my information from various articles, debates, and the candidates' campaign website. If I did not list much about what a candidate believes under a certain topic, it isn't (usually) because I'm being lazy, but because I simply couldn't find anything unique or specific about that candidate under that certain topic...or I simply couldn't find much information. I also sometimes give links throughout the list that go to what I found very helpful/detailed articles about the candidate under that topic. Sometimes they are from candidates' websites, sometimes they aren't.

I did my best to not write biased, but I'm only human.

ABORTION

Michele Bachmann

            ~Would advocate “Personhood” amendment to Constitution, and then use 14^th amendment to ban abortion

Mitt Romney

            ~Would not sign Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life Pledge

            ~Previously strongly pro-abortion, claiming pro-life conversion in 2004…the following done after he says he converted:

            ~Supported legalization of RU-486 (the abortion pill)

            ~Implemented “Romneycare” health care when Governor of Massachusetts, which funded abortion

            ~Supports embryonic cell research

            ~Repeatedly flip-flopped on whether he was pro-life or pro-choice, depending on where he was running.

Ron Paul

            ~Repeal Roe v. Wade

            ~Define personhood as from conception with “Sanctity of Life” act

            ~Wouldn’t support abortion as president, but believes banning it should be left up to the states

Rick Santorum

            ~Does not believe rape and incest should be an exception if abortion is made illegal

            ~“Rick was the author of legislation outlawing the heinous act known as partial-birth abortion and he championed the fight to pass the “Born Alive Infant Protection Act” and the “Unborn Victims of Violence Act.”

            ~Supports Federal banning of abortion

Jon Huntsman

            ~Would not sign Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life Pledge

            ~Believes abortion is acceptable in the cases of rape and incest

           ~ “He wasn’t a governor who was pushing, cheerleading those who were opposed to reproductive rights. He wasn’t a governor that spearheaded either an anti-choice or reproductive rights agenda.”—Karrie Galloway, executive director of Planned Parenthood of Utah

Rick Perry

            ~Signed legislation as Governor of Texas that de-funded Planned Parenthood

            ~Supports the creation of a “human life” amendment to the Constitution

Newt Gingrich

            ~Supports federal funding of abortion in cases of rape or incest

            ~Once stated that life begins at implantation (as opposed to conception), and then amended it later to conception

ECONOMY

Michele Bachmann

            ~Repatriate corporate profits

            ~The most pushy candidate about repealing Obamacare

            ~Repeal unnecessary regulations and cut unnecessary taxes

            ~repeal Dodd-Frank

            ~Open up foreign trade

Mitt Romney

            ~Cut corporate income tax rate to 25%

            ~Implemented universal “Romneycare” when governor or Massachusetts, but says wouldn’t do that as president because it should be left up to the states

            ~Cutting non-security discretionary spending by 5%

            ~Give control of “retraining” programs back to the states

            ~Sanctioning China for unfair trade practices

            ~Cut and cap federal spending to 20% of the GDP

Ron Paul

            ~Very gung-ho about auditing the Fed

            ~Supports sound money

            ~Has plan for cutting 1 trillion of spending during 2013

            ~Cut five cabinet departments (Energy, HUD, Commerce, Interior, Education)

            ~End foreign wars

            ~End foreign aid

            ~Lower corporate tax rate to 15%

*Very good, easy-to-read plan summary, along with his exact plans for spending and budgeting (actual dollar amounts for different areas), and graphs: http://www.ronpaul2012.com/the-issues/ron-paul-plan-to-restore-america/ 

Rick Santorum

            ~Forget “green jobs” and start using our vast natural resources

            ~Cut corporate tax rates “in half”

            ~Return size of government to 18% (of GDP?)

            ~Balanced budget amendment

Jon Huntsman

            ~Reduce corporate tax rate to 25%

            ~Have a “tax holiday” (unsure what this means and how long it would last—his website does not specify)

            ~Enact comprehensive patent reform

            ~Privatize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

Rick Perry

            ~Income flat tax of 20%

            ~Reduce corporate tax rate to 20%

            ~Full audit of every regulation passed since 2008

            ~Fix Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security—and allow people to opt out

            ~Cap federal spending at 18% GDP

            ~Balanced budget amendment

            ~Simplify tax code so that taxes can be paid using a bit of paper the size of a postcard

Newt Gingrich

            ~Reduce corporate tax rate to 12.5%

            ~Optional flat tax rate of 15%

            ~“Strengthen dollar by returning to Reagan-era monetary policies”

http://www.newt.org/solutions/jobs-economy

FOREIGN POLICY

Michele Bachmann

~Opposes our Libyan involvement

~Supports sanctions on Iran

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/michele_bachmann/profile?page=0,1

Mitt Romney

~ “In his first 100 days, put our Navy on the path to increase its shipbuilding rate from nine per year to approximately fifteen per year.”

~ “Maintain robust military capabilities in the Pacific.”

~ “Maintain robust military capabilities in the Pacific.”

~Supports sanctions on Iran, and other methods to make sure they don’t get a hold of a nuclear weapon

~Sanctions on North Korea

~Does not specify what he will do in Afghanistan

http://mittromney.com/blogs/mitts-view/2011/10/fact-sheet-mitt-romneys-strategy-ensure-american-century

Ron Paul

~Make top priority securing our own borders

~ “Avoid long and expensive land wars that bankrupt our country by using constitutional means to capture or kill terrorist leaders who helped attack the U.S. and continue to plot further attacks.”

Rick Santorum

~Don’t call it “war on terror”…call it what it is! War on radical Islam!

~ “authored and passed the“Iran Freedom and Support Act” in the face of Democratic and Bush State Department opposition, which authorized Federal monies to support pro-democracy movements in Iran and keep the tyrannical dictator Mahmoud Ahmadinejad from obtaining a nuclear weapon”

~ Was on the Senate Armed Services Committee for eight years

~Does not support withdrawing from Afghanistan

~Not too concerned about foreign aid, since it’s “less than a half a percent” of the federal budget

~Supports military strike on Iran

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/rick_santorum/profile?page=0,0

Jon Huntsman

~ “Maintain” the best military

~ “Our foreign policy is only as good as our ability to project power”—fix economy, defend borders, etc.

~ “War on Terror” can’t be fought in any one country; we have to move around as the terrorists move around; be “quick on our feet” and able to deploy on a moment’s notice

Rick Perry

~ Would reset all of our foreign aid to all countries to zero—including Israel—and then build from there.

~Very gung-ho about putting up a fence along the boarder—did so in Texas

Newt Gingrich

~”Incentivize math and science education in America to ensure the men and women of our Armed Forces always have the most advanced and powerful weapons in the world at their disposal.”

~ “Understand our enemies and tell the truth about them.”

~Re-do the Visa program

~ “Allow foreigners who want to spend money, invest and create jobs in America to do so.”

~Should have an “earned citizenship”program for illegals

http://www.newt.org/solutions/immigration

HEALTH CARE

Michele Bachmann

            ~Most pushy candidate on repealing Obamacare

            ~Supports the Ryan Plan for Medicare reform

Mitt Romney

            ~Implemented similar-to-Obamacare (though less extreme) “Romneycare” when governor of Massachusetts

            ~Let states do whatever they want/decide what’s best for them

Ron Paul

            ~Give various tax credits, deductions, and exemptions for medical expenses and those with terminal illnesses.

            ~ “Ensure that those harmed during medical treatment receive fair compensation while reducing the burden of costly malpractice litigation on the health care system by providing a tax credit for “negative outcomes” insurance purchased before medical treatment."

Rick Santorum

            ~Supports Ryan Plan

            ~Once voted yes on expanding Medicare to help seniors afford prescription drugs; now says that vote was a mistake, because the money isn’t used effectively

Jon Huntsman

            ~Leave things up to the states

Rick Perry

            ~Reform Medicare and Medicaid

            ~ “the best way for the federal government to improve health care in the near term is to stimulate job creation so more Americans are covered by employer-sponsored health plans”

Newt Gingrich

            ~ “make health insurance more affordable and portable”

            ~ “Create more choices in Medicare”

            ~ “Reform Medicaid by giving states more freedom and flexibility”

            ~ “reward quality care”

http://www.newt.org/solutions/healthcare

MARRIAGE

Michele Bachmann

            ~Supports Constitutional amendment defining marriage as between one man and one woman

Mitt Romney

            ~Supported gays serving openly in the military

            ~Supports federal amendment defining marriage as between one man and one woman

Ron Paul

            ~Doesn’t personally support homosexuality, but believes the states should make their own laws, and the federal government should ignore the issue altogether.

Rick Santorum

            ~ Supports Constitutional amendment defining marriage as between one man and one woman

Jon Huntsman

            ~Supports civil unions

            ~Believes choices about gay people should be left to states

            ~Thinks this country could “show a little more equality” when it comes to gays

Rick Perry

            ~ Supports Constitutional amendment defining marriage as between one man and one woman

Newt Gingrich

            ~ "I certainly think that we have every right to defend traditional marriage...whether it's by passing a law or a constitutional amendment."

All images found via Google Images. No copyright infringement intended.

Polls, Lists, and the Ultimate Argument (please read!)

I wanted to give you this short post so you could know what it is I’m planning for future posts.

First of all, after the somewhat explosive Ames Presidential Debate last Thursday, I want to compile a GOP candidate list that would summarize what each candidate believes about the big issues of today. I’ll be compiling this list for my own benefit anyway—I won’t be old enough to actually vote in 2012, but I have a somewhat rabid obsession with knowing who is right and/or why I believe what I believe, and this list will help me get the pros and cons of each candidate down on paper—so if you would like me to post this list (or not), please vote in the poll.

Also, I semi-recently ran across what I’ve been calling in my own mind “The Ultimate Pro-Abortion  Argument”. I call it ultimate because the woman who wrote this essay accepted the pro-life argument premise that the fetus is a person…and still made an extremely convincing argument for abortion. Hard to believe? Well, yes. But take it from me, it’s downright scary how convincing she makes abortion. I read it once, was astonished, and then read parts of it again…and that’s when the hidden fallacies began to emerge. Once again, I’ll be dissecting this essay for my own benefit anyway, but I would like to post it, because if you can shoot down this lie for abortion, you can shoot down any lie. The only downside is that the essay is 8500 words long, so it would take multiple posts to get through it, since I would be adding my own “dissection” words to that. I won’t lie. It’ll take serious commitment (for you and me both!) to actually wade all the way through it. (Of course, you’d be free to stop reading it whenever you like.) (It wouldn’t be just this dissection as blog posts for weeks. I would still post “normal” posts, these will just be mixed in.)

So basically, this is a post asking you to vote in the polls so I can see how I can best serve you as the blog-readers. (I like multi-tasking…if I can serve you while serving myself, so much the better.)

Thanks for reading and participating in the polls!

Images found via Google Images. No copyright infringement intended.

Kansan Chaos



Phill Kline





There’s been a lot going on in Kansas this year, and prayers are needed. As I showed in a previous post, Governor Brownlee has signed three pro-life bills into law. Now, there are several more things going on, all connected to Planned Parenthood of Kansas and mid-Missouri.



Steve Six



Steve Six, former Kansan Attorney General, has been nominated by President Obama to the 10^th Circuit Court of Appeals. The 10^th Circuit Court of Appeals is one of thirteen courts that are “intermediate appellate courts between the district (trial) courts and the Supreme Court of the United States”. Six getting a job here would be, put simply, not good, and here’s why:

Phill Kline, also former Kansan Attorney General, has been the only politician, God bless him, to dare confront Planned Parenthood. Since 2004, Mr. Kline has been struggling to bring Planned Parenthood to justice for the many crimes they have committed. There are many loophole-reasons that this has not happened, a large one being this: Steve Six.

In Mr. Kline’s own words, “[t]he charges are based on records redacted of patient identities which were subpoenaed by Shawnee County District Judge Richard Anderson in October of 2004. [5] Typically law enforcement can receive such records with patient names within three working days, yet here Planned Parenthood was able to delay use of the records for three years.”
Combined with Planned Parenthood stalling big time, Six did the following to help them (again in Kline’s words): “1) pursuing two lawsuits aimed at returning the evidence against Planned Parenthood to Planned Parenthood ;[7] 2) obtaining secret orders to silence a key witness ;[8] and 3) suing the prosecutor (myself) [Kline] in an effort to remove from my [Kline’s] office the evidence against Planned Parenthood.”

Besides this, Six used a warped, illogical way of thinking to help delay the trial by claiming that Kline didn’t have the authority to file the charges. First, when Kline was the Attorney General, Six said that only a District Attorney could file the charges. (He also made this claim when Kline filed charges against the late Dr. George Tiller, who used to be the largest late-term abortionist, defeating Kline’s attempt.) But then, after Kline became a District Attorney, and Six was Attorney General, Six claimed that only his own office could hold the evidence against Planned Parenthood, though his own office couldn’t file the actual charges.

Excuse me? How much sense does this make?

This is an important trial against Planned Parenthood. If convicted of the “107 criminal acts, including 23 felonies,” Planned Parenthood of Kansas and mid-Missouri could easily lose all of its federal funding.

Sebilius and Six

Oh, and one more thing: Steve Six was appointed by former Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebilius. Planned Parenthood is a major political benefactor of Sebilius.

Basically, with all obvious bias and corruption, Six SHOULD NOT be given a position in the 10^th Circuit Court of Appeals. And I didn’t even go into Six’s deception to Senators, his lawsuit against a judge, or the fact that his witness-silencing was done as secretly as possible. (You can read the detailed article by Phill Kline here, and another one by Kansans for Life here.)
Despite Six’s two-year delay, Planned Parenthood’s criminal trial is now in progress.

The decision on Six’s possible appointment has yet to be made.

Phill Kline went into the second part of his trial TODAY, July 19^th, for charges against him concerning both of the investigations he led against Planned Parenthood and Dr. Tiller. The claim is that he obtained information illegally.  

If you live in Kansas you can contact either of the U.S. Kansas senators (whichever one is yours) and thank them for publicly opposing the Six nomination and ask them to continue to do so. And whether you live in Kansas or outside it, you can pray. It is much appreciated.

Images found via Google Images. No copyhright infringement intended.

Mitt Romney

 

Summed up in one sentence, Mr. Romney makes me nervous. I’ve always felt a little uneasy about him, though I can’t pinpoint why.

The Susan B. Anthony List recently released a pledge for the 2012 Presidential "hopefuls" to sign stating pro-life measures, such as de-funding health centers that are involved with abortion, and appointing pro-life people to the appropriate positions. Mr. Romney wouldn’t sign this. (To be fair, Herman Cain and Gary Johnson wouldn't either.) I guess I can understand what he means in his explanation [paragraph 2 and 4], but it isn’t enough. So Mr. Romney doesn’t want Planned Parenthood (PP) de-funded? Or does he? I’m confused now. The only reason the pro-life movement is going after PP specifically is because it’s the biggest abortion provider in the US. If we could de-fund all abortion clinics, so much the better. So why is he uneasy about that? It also seems very strange that he practically repeated the PP argument against de-funding: that women will lose access to vital health services. Hmmm.

He also thinks that appointing only pro-life appointees to relevant federal positions would "strictly limit his choices" [paragraph 4]. Why? Does he intend to not appoint pro-life people? Who else then, except pro-abortion?

Besides this statement, Mr. Romney is still a little dangerous because of his past strong support for abortion and his slowness to take up the “De-fund PP!” battle cry. Never trust a politician who switches his views. Never. Even if it’s for the better. Because we have absolutely no way of knowing if that is what they really mean or not. I hate politicians who flip-flop. If he becomes pro-life and stays pro-life and consistently does dangerous things (politically) for life, then I might consider actually believing him. I have a rule about whether to believe flip-flopping politicians or not: are they going to gain anything from suddenly stating such-and-such? And if they do, do the risks they take outweigh that statement? Do they hover in the background or do they shout from the rooftops, even when the shouting is unpopular?

Enough about the pro-life issue. Here is the rest of my analysis:

Mr. Romney’s saying all the same things everybody else is. He’ll replace Obamacare, he’ll create jobs, he’ll stop the out-of-control spending. I got bored reading his website simply because it was all the same things I’d heard before.

One thing I just recently found out (so is not the reason he makes me nervous) is that Mr. Romney is a Mormon. I don't think he's evil or anything, and it may have absolutely no impact on how he does as President, but that's another thing to add onto my why-Romney-makes-me-nervous list.

Rick Santorum

I listened to Rush Limbaugh interviewing Rick Santorum a few days ago while I was painting the kitchen. I liked what I heard, so when I finished painting, I Googled Mr. Santorum to find out more about this presidential candidate. I found his website, and, out of curiosity, I took a look at another Google result that was titled “Rick Santorum’s 12 Most Offensive Statements”. I read through them all, and at the end, thought happily, “I think I like this guy!”

In my book, offensive=politically incorrect=good. Most of his comments I didn’t find offensive, just true, and many of them made me think that the “other side” was just trying to twist something he said into something that was offensive. Even if some of his views were offensive (nobody’s perfect), at least he doesn’t hide his true beliefs and is brutally honest.

Anyway, I’ve been researching Mr. Santorum, both from positive and negative sources, and I’ll “break him down” for you here.

He served as the Pennsylvania U.S. Rep in 1990, and then in the U.S. Senate from 1995-2007. This despite his being a Conservative in a usually blue state. In twice of his four winning races (he lost one) he won running against an incumbent Democrat.

Overall, Mr. Santorum seems to have no qualms saying exactly what he thinks, despite how unpopular it might be, which is why I’m impressed with him. He has a 0% rating from NARAL Pro-Choice America, meaning he has a very pro-life voting record. He’s against Obamacare and wants to change Medicare, but I’m afraid I can’t get more specific than that, because I’m still trying to figure out exactly how it (Obamacare and Medicare and health care in general) works. However, all you smart people can watch his interview on Fox  to hear him explaining his stance on it. He proudly declares that he calls “The War on Terror” “The War on Radical Islam” instead, because that’s what it is. He’s very unpopular with pro-gay people because he’s very loud about his opinion that marriage is between a man and a woman.

Another fun little “plus” about him is that he has seven children, and I believe he homeschools at least some of them.

Mr. Santorum gets a lot of negative media, and considering that the media tends to be left-leaning, and he’s a Conservative, that may very well be a good thing. I may end up supporting Mr. Santorum, but I really wish Sarah Palin would let us know if she was running or not first…