Choose Wisely
Steamtunnels charts the hot campaign issues and where each candidate stands.
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AFFIRMATIVE ACTION
Opposes racial preferences. Supports a
Texas law that requires universities to
admit the top 10% of every high school
graduating class.
Criticized efforts to roil back affirmative
action.
Is in favor of affirmative action in higher
education and the work place.
Opposes affirmative action. Feels that
there should be “no set asides, no forced
busing, no mandatory hiring, no affirmative
action."
ENVIRONMENT
Opposes federally funded environmen
tal mandates. Supports funding for
recycling programs, federal incentives
for voluntary pollution clean-ups, and
increased oil exploration.
Longtime environmental advocate, push
es for international greenhouse emis
sions treaty. Wants to spend $2 billion
over 10 years to set aside park land, and
wants to invest in mass transit and light
rail to reduce pollution and congestion
on highways.
Favors federal investments in public trans
portation, alternative energy and the
national park system. Is against logging
on public lands, favors strict emissions
standards and mandatory labeling of
genetically engineered foods.
Would abolish the Bureau of Land
Management; calls for return of 500 mil
lion acres of land to the states. Opposes
international environmental accords and
prefers private land preservation over fed
eral regulation.
TAXES
Wants a $483 billion tax cut. Would
gradually reduce income tax levels and
repeal estate taxes.
Favors raising the standard deduction for
married couples, credits for disabled and
elderly, tax-free retirement accounts
matched by the government. Supports
deductions on secondary education,
credits for small businesses and after
school program expenses. Would give tax
breaks for school construction and other
community-building activities.
Favors progressive taxation: the more you
earn, the more you would pay.
Favors a 16% flat income tax on earnings
over $35,000 and tax cuts for inheritance
tax and small businesses. Cuts would be
paid for by higher tariffs.
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EDUCATION
Supports more state and local control
over education. Also supports stan
dardized testing, the school voucher
program and the development of more
charter schools.
Advocates increased funding for teacher
training and development, wants to hire
2.2 million new teachers, opposes vouch
ers, favors tax-free savings programs, and
would like to provide bonuses to people
who change professions to become
teachers.
Wants to raise teacher salaries and insti
tute curricula that stress civic education.
Would eliminate the Dept of Education
and return its functions to the state and
local level. Supports tax-free savings
accounts for parents, favors a constitu
tional amendment to allow school prayer,
rejects bilingualism and “multicultural" cur-**
ricula that “denigrates our history.” t
Opposes national testing and national
teacher standards.
ABORTION
Opposes abortion except in cases of
rape, incest and danger to the mother.
Has also supported parental notifica
tion laws for minors seeking abortions.
Supports abortion rights. Believes it
should be “safe, legal and rare.”
Does not support governmental regula
tion of abortions.
Opposes abortion. Favors passing Human
Life Amendment to the Constitution and a
bill conferring Constitutional rights of per
sonhood on unborn children. Would cut
funding to the “abortion industry”—
Planned Parenthood and fetal tissue
researchers. Would appoint only pro-life
justices to the Supreme Court.
CRIME
Supports death penalty, instant back
ground checks for purchases at gun
shows and raising the legal age for gun
purchases to 21. Is against mandatory
child safety locks on guns and universal
registration for guns.
Advocates more police and prosecutors,
more federal anti-crime programs.
Supports license, background checks and
safety tests to purchase handguns, as well
as federally mandated trigger locks.
Supports adding the Victims Rights
Amendment to the Constitution.
Is opposed to the death penalty, favors
the legalization of industrial hemp,
mandatory safety locks for guns, univer
sal registration and licensing and the
banning of certain types of guns.
Strong supporter of gun-owners’ rights,
also favors death penalty. Promises to
"crack down” on U.S.-Mexico border drug
traffic.
SOCIAL SECURITY
Supports partial privatization of system,
including the creation of personal
retirement accounts.
Will never privatize or divert funds away
from Social Security. Does not favor rais
ing the age limit for people to collect
Social Security.
Does not believe social security system
needs to be changed.
Favors allowing the elderly to make their
own health care decisions by investing in
their own personal insurance accounts.
Sources: yvote.com, politics.com, boston.com/campaign2000. See page 3 for photo credits.