Taking a step away from biased media and impassioned quotes, here are some basic facts about our 2016 presidential candidates, including the top 3rd party candidates.
Hillary Clinton - 2016 Democratic Nominee
Running Mate: Tim Kaine, US Senator (Virginia)
Campaign Slogan: "Stronger Together"
Clinton is 68 years old. She has served as First Lady, a US Senator and Secretary of State.
Stances:
- Supports Obamacare and believes in expanding Medicare
- Believes in climate change
- Pro-choice
- Supports same-sex marriage and believes transgender people should use the restroom in which they identify
- Supports increased gun control measures such as background checks
- Supports the death penalty and believes ex-felons should have the right to vote
- Supports raising minimum wage
- Supports cutting taxes for the middle class and raising taxes for the upper class
- Against cutting social security and raising retirement age
- Supports free trade and wants to renegotiate NAFTA (multilateralism)
- Does not want to change military spending
- Considers preventing Muslims from immigrating to the US "un-American"
- Supports including undocumented immigrant children in healthcare coverage
- Voted in support of Use of Military Force Against Iraq, the No Child Left Behind Act and the USA Patriot Act
- Considers herself a progressive
Gary Johnson - 2016 Libertarian Nominee
Campaign Slogan: "Live Free"
Johnson is 63 years old. He has served as the governor of New Mexico.
Stances:
- Supports cuts to Medicare and Medicaid
- Supports environments regulations
- Pro-choice
- Supports same-sex marriage
- Against gun control
- Against the death penalty
- Supports legalizing and regulating marijuana
- Does not support raising minimum wage but rather believes government should eliminate/repeal all federal wage standards
- Wants to replace and simplify our current tax code
- Wants to abolish the IRS
- Supports raising the retirement age and would prefer to privatize social security
- Supports free trade
- Supports decreasing military spending
- Against “policing the world.” Johnson wants to focus more on fixing problems at home than on foreign affairs.
- Wants to simplify the process of entering the country legally
- Supports term limits for representatives
- Plans to submit a balanced budget to Congress as his first major act as president
- Believes state and local government should have more control over education than the national government
- Johnson's main point of view is that the government should stay out of personal decisions.
Jill Stein - 2016 Green Party Nominee
Campaign Slogan: "It's In Our Hands"
Stein is 66 years old. She has run for president once before.
Stances:
- Wants "Medicare for all"
- Supports climate change. Stein plans to transition the country to clean renewable energy.
- Supports expanding women's rights
- Supports protecting LGBTQIA+ people from discrimination
- Supports gun control
- Against the death penalty
- Supports legalizing marijuana
- Supports a $15 per hour minimum wage
- Supports rewriting the tax code with tax cuts for working families
- Against raising the retirement age
- Opposes the Trans-Pacific Partnership
- Supports cutting military spending by at least 50%
- Supports closing Guantanamo
- Opposes immigrant deportation
- Wants to repeal the Patriot Act
- Supports ending police brutality. Stein plans to establish a Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
- Supports abolishing student debt and tuition-free public education
- Believes the government should provide full, public financing for elections
Donald Trump - 2016 Republican Nominee
Campaign Slogan: "Make America Great Again"
Trump is 70 years old. He has never held public office.
Stances:
- Plans on repealing Obamacare and presenting his own healthcare plan
- Considers climate change to be a hoax
- Opposes abortion, but believes exceptions can be made in cases of rape, incest, and endangering the mother’s life
- Believes in traditional marriage/that marriage should be between a man and a woman
- Supports the right to bear arms/2nd Amendment Rights
- Supports the death penalty, and believes ex-felons should not have the right to vote
- Supports raising minimum wage to $10 an hour, but believes the decision itself should be left up to the states
- Supports cutting taxes at all levels
- Against cutting social security and raising the retirement age
- Opposes international free trade, and considers such deals “a disaster.” Trump wants to increase tariffs.
- Believes in a need for increased military spending
- Has an “America first” approach on foreign affairs and national security (unilateralism)
- Wants to ban Muslims coming from certain countries from entering America. He believes Muslims should have greater immigration hurdles than other immigrants.
- Wants to improve relations with Russia by finding common ground on the fight against the Islamic State
- Plans to fix corruption in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
It is always important to research candidates and make informed decisions on your own. No matter who you vote for, make sure you're registered by October 11th (in Georgia). Take advantage of the opportunities this country offers.
Sources:
https://ballotpedia.org https://www.isidewith.com https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/politics/political-issues/ https://www.donaldjtrump.com/ https://www.hillaryclinton.com/
http://www.jill2016.com/plan https://www.johnsonweld.com/about
