DEMOCRATS (from left): New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson
REPUBLICANS: Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, Arizona Sen. John McCain, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson
ABORTION Favor abortion rights? DEMOCRATS
• Clinton: • Yes.
• • Edwards:• Yes.
• • Obama:• Yes.
• • Richardson:• Yes.
REPUBLICANS
• Giuliani:• Yes.
• • Huckabee:• No. Favors constitutional amendment banning abortion rights.
• • McCain:• No. Says Roe vs. Wade should be overturned.
• • Romney:• No. Would let states decide. Previously supported abortion rights.
• • Thompson:• No. Says Roe vs. Wade should be overturned. Says states should decide abortion policy. Previously stated support for right to early-term abortion.
EDUCATION
DEMOCRATS
• Clinton:• $10 billion for universal preschool. More money for special education. Opposes performance-based merit pay for teachers; favors incentives for teachers who work in places and on subjects where shortages exist. Supported No Child Left Behind accountability law but says it should be replaced. $10,000 higher education scholarships in exchange for national service. Raise value of tuition tax credit.
• • Edwards:• Universal preschool for 4-year-olds. Change or replace No Child Left Behind. On postsecondary education: “Any young person in America who’s willing to work when they’re in college — we pay for their tuition and books at a state university or community college.”
• • Obama:• Encourage but not require universal prekindergarten programs, expand teacher mentoring programs and reward teachers with higher pay not tied to standardized test scores. Change No Child Left Behind. Tax credit for college in exchange for community service.
• • Richardson:• Favors universal preschool and kindergarten. Hire 100,000 science and math teachers. Scrap No Child Left Behind. Favors starting salary of $40,000 for teachers. Tuition in exchange for national service.
REPUBLICANS
• Giuliani:• Favors vouchers for school choice.
• • McCain:• Favors parental choice of schools, including vouchers and home schooling.
• • Huckabee:• States are responsible for education.
• • Romney:• Supports federal requirements for standardized tests, praises No Child Left Behind law, supports “school choice, better pay for better teachers, high standards, scholarships for the best kids, English immersion.”
• • Thompson:• Favors incentives for school choice.
GAY MARRIAGE Support same-sex marriage?DEMOCRATS
• Clinton:• Would let states decide.
• • Edwards:• No. Opposes constitutional amendment against it.
• • Obama:• Would let states decide.
• • Richardson:• No, but has supported recognition of same-sex civil unions.
REPUBLICANS:
• Giuliani:• No, but says he sees no need to amend Constitution. Has supported domestic partnership benefits.
• • Huckabee:• No. Amend Constitution to ban it.
• • McCain: • Would let states regulate it.
• • Romney: • No. Amend Constitution to ban it. Also opposes same-sex civil unions.
• • Thompson:• No, but stops short of supporting constitutional amendment.
GLOBAL WARMING
DEMOCRATS
• Clinton: • Ten-year, $150 billion energy package, including $50 billion “strategic energy fund” to develop new sources of fuel, paid for by eliminating tax subsidies for oil companies. Tougher fuel-efficiency standards. Would use some of the money from auctioning pollution credits to cushion higher consumer energy costs resulting from emission cuts.
• • Edwards:• $13 billion-a-year energy fund to double Energy Department’s budget for efficiency and renewable energy, accelerate clean-energy technologies, encourage consumers to buy efficient products and help workers move out of jobs in polluting industries. Eliminate oil company subsidies and require companies to pay for emitting pollution. Supports tougher vehicle fuel-efficiency standards.
• • Obama: • Ten-year, $150 billion program to produce “climate friendly” energy supplies. Joined McCain in sponsoring legislation that would set mandatory caps on greenhouse-gas emissions and increase costs to consumers. Supports tougher fuel-efficiency standards.
• • Richardson:• Favors going “well beyond” requirements of the Kyoto treaty to curb greenhouse-gas emissions, boosting fuel-economy standards and undertaking massive spending on renewable energy to slash oil imports.
REPUBLICANS
• Giuliani: Not sure how much global warming is caused by human activity. Consider expanding nuclear power as well as alternative energy.
• Huckabee: Supports greater fuel-efficiency standards. Says he supports a mandatory cap and trade system for carbon emissions, while saying he doesn’t know how much of the global warming problem is caused by human activity.
• McCain: Chief co-sponsor of a bill that sought mandatory caps on greenhouse-gas emissions.
• Romney: As governor, backed out of regional pact to curb carbon dioxide emissions from power plants because it did not cap energy costs to consumers. Says energy independence is the way to deal with global warming.
• Thompson: Has questioned whether global warming caused by man-made activity is real. Cited research suggesting solar system is warming.
GUN CONTROL
DEMOCRATS
• Clinton: Voted for ban on assault- type weapons and to require background checks at gun shows. Favored leaving gunmakers and dealers open to civil suits.
• Edwards: Voted as North Carolina senator for ban on assault-type weapons and to require background checks at gun shows.
• Obama: Voted to leave gunmakers and dealers open to suits. Also, as Illinois state lawmaker, supported ban on all forms of semiautomatic weapons.
• Richardson: Signed into law a bill allowing residents to carry concealed handguns.
REPUBLICANS
• Giuliani: Says states should decide gun controls. As New York mayor, favored variety of federal controls.
• Huckabee: Supports state laws allowing people to carry concealed weapons and national “right to carry” law.
• McCain: Voted against ban on assault-type weapons but in favor of requiring background checks at gun shows. Voted to shield gunmakers and dealers from civil suits.
• Romney: As governor, supported state’s strict gun-control laws. Previously supported federal ban on assault-type weapons and federal waiting period for purchases.
• Thompson: Hostile to many gun-control proposals.
HEALTH INSURANCE
DEMOCRATS
• Clinton: Mandatory universal coverage in first term. Tax credits for working families. Businesses would be required to offer insurance to employees or pay into a pool for people without it. Expand Medicare and federal employees’ health insurance plan to cover those without adequate workplace insurance. Raise taxes on wealthier families to help pay estimated cost of $110 billion a year.
• Edwards: Mandatory universal coverage in first term by expanding system of federal health insurance and family tax credits, and by imposing requirements on employers, insurance companies and individuals. Increase taxes on wealthier families to pay for program’s cost of up to $120 billion a year.
• Obama: Mandatory coverage for children. Aim for universal coverage by requiring employers to share costs. Says package would cost up to $65 billion a year. Raise taxes on wealthier families to pay the cost.
• Richardson: Tax breaks for businesses and for people who pay for their own coverage. Lower the eligibility age for Medicare to 55 and expand programs for poor and children. Package could cost up to $110 billion a year. Claims savings from expanded spending on preventive care would help achieve mandatory universal coverage without tax increases.
REPUBLICANS
• Giuliani: Income-tax deduction of $7,500 per taxpayer to defray insurance costs. Tax credit for poorer workers. Expanded use of health savings accounts. No mandate for universal coverage.
• Huckabee: Favors market solutions, state innovation.
• McCain: $2,500 refundable tax credit for individuals, $5,000 for families.
• Romney: Incentives for states to expand affordable coverage.
• Thompson: “Market-driven” expansion of affordable coverage, but no mandate.
IMMIGRATION Support legal status for illegal immigrants?DEMOCRATS
• Clinton: Voted for 2006 bill with conditional path to citizenship, and supported border fence.
• Edwards: Supports path to citizenship for illegal immigrants who speak English and meet other conditions.
• Obama: Voted for the 2006 bill, including the fence.
• Richardson: Favors conditional path to citizenship for illegal immigrants; opposes border fence.
REPUBLICANS
• Giuliani: Open to conferring legal status if certain conditions are met. Urges use of tamper-proof ID cards for immigrants. Says most of border should be policed with high-tech monitoring, supplemented by a fence.
• Huckabee: Has favored allowing illegal immigrants who are in the country to apply for legal status if they meet certain conditions. As governor, opposed banning state services for illegal immigrants.
• McCain: Sponsored 2006 bill that would have allowed illegal immigrants to stay in the U.S., work and apply to become legal residents after learning English, paying fines and back taxes and clearing a background check. Now says he would secure the border first. Supports border fence.
• Romney: Says he opposes McCain’s immigration bill, although he called it reasonable in 2005. Supports building a border fence. Calls for tamper- proof ID card so only legal immigrants can work. Opposes policy allowing legal immigrants to host extended families in U.S.
• Thompson: Opposed the conditional path to citizenship. Previously supported selective expansion of legal immigration. Opposes policy allowing legal immigrants to host extended families in U.S.
TAXES
DEMOCRATS would let some of Bush’s tax cuts expire in 2010 as scheduled, in effect raising taxes on wealthier people to help pay for programs. Additionally:
• Clinton: Tax proposals focused on universal health care plan, including tax credits to make insurance more affordable. Also, would tax a portion of health insurance benefits provided to workers making more than $250,000. Maintain estate tax on the richest tier. Increased tax breaks for college. $1 billion paid family leave program to be financed by eliminating some tax shelters.
• Edwards: For middle- and low-income people, set up tax-free savings accounts and have government match the first $500 in savings, expand earned-income and child- and dependent-care tax credits, and exempt the first $250 of investment income from capital gains taxes. Tax cuts to cost $25 billion a year. Raise rate on capital gains tax to 28 percent from 15 percent for those making over $250,000.
• Obama: About $80 billion in tax breaks mainly for low-income workers and the elderly, including tax credit worth up to $500 a person to offset payroll taxes and elimination of tax-filing requirement for older workers making under $50,000. A mortgage-interest credit could be used by lower-income homeowners who do not take the mortgage interest deduction because they do not itemize their taxes. Raise corporate taxes and the top rate on capital gains and dividends to pay for the cuts.
• Richardson: Has supported cuts in income and capital gains taxes as governor.
REPUBLICANS would generally extend Bush’s tax cuts, which could cost $2.3 trillion to keep in place until 2017. Additionally:
• Giuliani: Cut corporate tax rate to 25 percent from 35 percent; eliminate estate tax. Hold the line on marginal tax rates or reduce them, and establish a permanent child tax credit. Index the alternative minimum tax to inflation. Income-tax deduction of $7,500 per taxpayer to defray health insurance costs. Seek spending caps of 5 percent or more on civilian agencies; slash bureaucracy by rehiring only half the number of employees who retire.
• McCain: Opposed some of Bush’s tax cuts because they were not wedded to spending cuts, but now says the tax cuts should be made permanent. Eliminate alternative minimum tax.
• Huckabee: Replace system of taxing income and investment with 23 percent national sales tax on goods and services, cushioned for lower-income people and with rebates for essential purchases.
• Romney: Tax breaks to those earning less than $200,000, including eliminating capital gains, interest and dividend taxes for most. Estimated cost of $32 billion a year to be paid in part by cutting growth of federal spending. Eliminate estate tax.
• Thompson: Let people choose between current system or one with flat rate of 10 percent on first $50,000 of individual income or $100,000 of joint income, and 25 percent on income above those amounts. Exempt family of four from tax on first $39,000 of income, and more than double standard deduction. The simplified option would contain no other tax credits or deductions, and would retain 15 percent tax rate on capital gains. Also, end the estate tax and cut the top corporate tax rate to no more than 27 percent from 35 percent.
