The Empowerment Issue! Live The Dream

Bush v Kerry: Know Your Next President
by Danielle Tomassini

The right to vote for our country’s leader has been one freedom that sets us apart from other nations. It is not just a right, but a privilege – a privilege that the majority of our country does not exercise. Whether this is due to ignorance, apathy, or the belief that one person’s vote doesn’t matter (even after the 2000 election), it greatly affects how our country is governed. With the majority of eligible voters not voting, our country is subsequently governed by a minority. The time has come to change that.

I, like many others, do not consider myself a Democrat or a Republican; depending on the issue, I can lean either left or right. I believe we no longer have a democracy, but instead we are governed by a two-party system. This system makes it near-impossible to vote into office a third or fourth party. What makes this worse is that the Democratic and Republican parties are simply two sides of the same coin – no matter what side it lands on, it’s still one coin.

I may be cynical of our political system, but I will never give up my right to vote. I am of the belief that if you give up your right to vote, you have given up your right to complain. If you don’t take a stand and if you don’t voice your opinion about our country, than you have no right to complain about the current situation.

Unfortunately, the campaign and voting processes are not the most forthright. They are muddied by the political spin and the lack of objectivity from the media and the political parties. How can we know who’s telling the truth? In order to alleviate this problem, I did some research and have put together a list of hot topics and the positions of Mr. Bush and Mr. Kerry on these topics. I have done my best to look at similar issues so you can compare apples to apples; however I was not always able to compare details. Furthermore, while Mr. Kerry has a longer voting record, I was only able to pull from quotes and some Texas legislation for Mr. Bush’s record. But most importantly, I have remained objective; the below chart does not tell you what Mr. Bush and Mr. Kerry think, but what they have done. Furthermore, I have not interpreted their positions, but simply stated what happened. Please use this as your little cheat sheet to see who better fits with your beliefs.

Beneath the table, I have included information on how to register to vote. It’s incredibly simple and painless. It doesn’t cost money, and you can do everything from the privacy of your own home. Even if you’re off to college for a few years, this is the perfect time to register in your area. But don’t wait until the last minute; it takes a few weeks for you to receive your new voter registration card.

	President George H. W. Bush	Senator John F. Kerry
Abortion	o Ban partial-birth abortions, and reduce abortions overall.	o Voted to uphold Roe v Wade and not ban partial-birth abortions
	o Accepts FDA approval of RU-486 but concerned about overuse	o Voted to pass foreign aid bill without abortion related restrictions
	o No funds to international groups that offer abortion.
Civil Rights	o Affirmative Action:	o Affirmative Action:
	o For affirmative action, but not quotas or preferences.	o Voted NO on ending special funding for minority and women-owned businesses in 1997.
	o Supports ‘affirmative access’ to open the doors of opportunity through programs such as the Texas 10 percent plan, where those who graduate in the top 10 percent of their class are automatically admitted to any state college or university (Source: GeorgeWBush.com: ‘Issues: Policy Points Overview’ Apr 2, 2000)	o Voted NO on banning affirmative action hiring with federal funds.
	o Gay Rights:	o Gay Rights:
	o Tolerance & equal rights, not gay marriage & special rights	o Voted YES on expanding hate crimes to include sexual orientation.
	o Hate-crime rules don’t apply to gays.	o Voted NO on prohibiting same-sex marriage
	o Not for gay marriage but wants to leave that decision to the states. Also against gay partners adopting children.	o Does not support Defense of Marriage Act
	o Supports Defense of Marriage Act
Economy	o Favors the reduction of overall taxation for the wealthy.	o Supports rolling back Bush’s tax cuts for wealthiest Americans.
	o Supports temporary worker program, but opposes amnesty.	o Believes national debt is more important than tax cuts.
	o Imposed steel tariffs in 2002	o Voted NO on 1998 GOP budget, which would cut spending and taxes.
	o Now wants to repeal these tariffs
Education	o Block grants and vouchers are tied to test scores.	o Voted NO on school vouchers in DC (1997)
	o Increased school funding by $11B since taking office. However, he is forcing states to pay for new federal requirements to test student performance.	o Voted NO on using $75M for abstinence education, which would come from the Maternal and Child Health Block Grant Program.
	o Although spending has increased, the new requirements imposed on schools cost more than the funding provided by the government. The National Education Association estimates a shortfall of $5.4 billion in 2003.	o Kerry signed a manifesto to offer every parent a choice between charter and public schools.
	o $5B reading program; mixing phonics & literature	o Voted NO on requiring schools to allow voluntary prayer (1994)
	o Increased funding to $200M for charter schools.
	o Pushes options for private schools; without saying vouchers, but wants local control.
	o Wants to give tax money to religious schools if they are teaching kids
	o States should decide on either evolution or creationism, although he believes both are valid.
	o Strongly favors prayer in public schools.
Environment	o Restrict wetland development, but not arsenic or CO2	o Voted NO on more funding for forest roads and fish habitat (1999)
	o $4.9B to repair “crumbling” national parks	o Voted YES on continuing desert protection in California (1994)
	o Replace mandate/regulate/litigate with decentralized efforts	o Sponsored amendment to Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 to reduce liability for hazardous waste cleanup by small businesses
	o Opposes ban on logging in roadless areas of national forests; supports Tropical Forest Conservation Act
	o Supports moratorium against offshore drilling in California and Florida
	o Lobbied to weaken Clean Air Act enforcement
	o Opposed Kyoto Treaty, ESA and other regulations
Foreign Policy	o Africa: Rally world to help AIDS, but not with US funds.	o Voted YES on enlarging NATO to include Eastern Europe
	o Do “whatever it takes” to defend Taiwan, including military	o Vote YES on limiting President’s power to impose economic sanctions (1998)
	o Reform UN & IMF; strengthen NATO.	o Progressive Internationalism: globalize with US pre-eminence.
	o Agrees with Clinton-Gore: PNTR for China	o Supports multilateral cooperative internationalism.
	o Free trade tempered by steel protectionism.	o Voted YES on permanent normal trade relations with China.
	o Supports Fast Track; WTO; NAFTA; anti-dumping	o Voted YES on renewing ‘fast track’ presidential trade authority (1997).
		o Voted YES on imposing trade sanctions on Japan for closed market (1995).
Gun Control	o Restricts lawsuits against gun makers, which he had deterred in Texas	o Voted NO on banning lawsuits against gun manufacturers for gun violence
	o Supports Brady Bill; believes law-abiding citizens should be allowed to carry guns	o Voted NO on more penalties for gun & drug violations
	o Supports instant background checks at gun shows.	o Voted NO on maintaining current law: guns sold without trigger locks (1998)
	o Distributed trigger locks in state of Texas for free.
	o Supports no new gun controls, but would support tougher penalties for gun-toting criminals
	o Supports ban on automatic weapons
Health Care	o Opposed to government-run national health care.	o Voted YES on importing prescriptions from Canada (Jul 2002)
	o However, favors more federal funding for health coverage.	o Voted YES to allow patients to sue HMOs and collect punitive damages (2001)
	o Opposes the right to sue HMOs.	o Voted NO on banning human cloning (1998)
	o Supports direct access to gynecologists, doing away with gatekeepers.	o Voted YES on including prescription drugs under Medicare
	o Favors privatizing social security while maintaining government system.	o In favor of expanding stem cell research
	o Restricted funding for stem cell research; research can only be conducted on previously existing stem cells
Military	o Largest increase in defense budget in two decades.	o Voted YES on adopting Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (1999)
	o Withdrew from Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty; increased spending by $9B in missile defense	o Voted YES on military pay raise of 4.8% (1999)
		o Voted YES on banning chemical weapons (1997)

To register to vote:

Go to: http://www.justvote.org

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