A Look at Presidential Candidates

George W. Bush (R)

John Kerry (D)

Ralph Nader (I)

Abortion

· Opposes a woman's right to abortion
· Says neither the country nor Congress is ready to ban the procedure
· Opposes FDA's approval of RU-486; supports restricting its availability

· Supports a woman's right to abortion
· Says health plans should cover contraceptives
· Will only nominate pro-choice judges to the Supreme Court

· Supports a woman's right to abortion
· Supports access to safe and legal abortion
· Supports access to effective birth control, reproductive health and education

Affirmative Action

· Both opposed and supported affirmative action policies
· Opposes racial quotas and racial preferences

· Supports affirmative action policies

· Supports affirmative action policies

Death Penalty

· Supports the death penalty

· Opposes the death penalty, except for terrorists

· Opposes the death penalty
· Says it doesn't discourage crime
· Say its unfair both racially and socio-economically
· Says it frequently results in the execution of innocent people

Drug Policy

· Wants to reduce illegal drug usage by 10 percent over two years

· Favors aggressively targeting traffickers
· Believes in funding drug treatment

· Calls for an end to the war on drugs
· Says we need to acknowledge that drug abuse is a health problem; should be treated as one
· Believes some drugs should be legalized in order to regulate and control them

Economy and Taxes

· Signed two tax cut bills, including a $1.35 trillion cut over 10 years in 2001.
· Claims tax cuts helped nation overcome recessions; responsible for surge in economic growth
· Pledges to cut the deficit in half after five years

· Wants to repeal tax cuts for wealthy
· Wants to increase child tax credit
· Calls for $50 billion for job creation and economic stimulus programs
· Would like to cut deficit in half by end of first term

· Points state crises to misplaced federal tax/spending priorities
· Wants to increase corporate taxes
· Wants to increase tax stock, bond sales
· Wants to retain estate tax

Education

· Supports the No Child Left Behind Act
· Supports taxpayer-financed vouchers for tuition at private schools
· Opposes bonuses for teachers working in impoverished schools
· Opposes making federally backed bonds available for school repair and construction
· Signed a law providing tax exemption for college tuition

· Supports funding the No Child Left Behind Act
· Supports funding special education
· Supports funding school repair and construction
· Proposes $3.2 billion community service plan for high school students that would qualify them for the equivalent of their state's four-year public college tuition
· Would add a tax credit to offset college tuition costs

· Believes federal law should support teachers and students
· Believes federal government should not place too much importance on standardized testing
· Believes government should encourage schools to place an emphasis on civic experiences which connect classroom learning to the outside world; teach students how to practice democracy

Environment and Energy

· Favors oil drilling in the Artic National Wildlife Refuge
· Rejected the Kyoto Treaty on limiting Global warming gases; could hurt the nation's economy
· Says reliable and affordable energy is critical to America's economic security, national security, and homeland security

· Opposes oil exploration in the Artic refuge
· Would like the U.S. to have independence from Middle East oil in 10 years
· Wants to increase energy conservation and create clean, renewable sources of energy

· Opposes oil exploration in the Artic refuge
· Believes in investing in renewable energies such as wind, solar power
· Wants a new clean energy policy that no longer subsidizes entrenched oil, nuclear, electric and coal mining interests

Gay Rights

· Opposes gay marriage
· Supports a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage; defines marriage as the union between a man and a woman
· Continued President Clinton's policy allowing homosexuals to serve in the military, but only if they are not open about their sexuality
· Opposes gay adoption

· Opposes gay marriage; supports right to civil unions
· Would ban job discrimination against homosexuals
· Would extend hate-crime protections to homosexuals
· Would allow homosexuals to serve openly in the military
· Supports adoption by gay men/women

· No public position, but supports full equal rights for GLBT
· Supports same-sex marriages to ensure GLBT full equal rights
· In 2000, favored allowing homosexuals to serve openly in the military

Gun Control

· Supports protecting gun makers from lawsuits
· Supports renewing the ban on assault-type weapons
· Supports requiring background checks at gun shows

· Opposes granting gun makers immunity from civil lawsuits arising from wrongful use of weapons
· Supports renewing the ban on assault–type weapons
· Supports requiring the same background checks at gun shows that are mandatory for other gun sales

· Supports licensing of gun owners
· Supports trigger locks

Health Care

· Supports reducing cost for low-income patients
· Supports adding drug benefit to Medicare
· Election-year budget includes new incentives for individual saving and tax credits to help uninsured buy health insurance

· Favors lowering costs of prescription drugs by allowing bulk purchasing
· Calls for federal support to expand access to state- administered health insurance for children

· Believes in challenging the drug industry
· Wants to negotiate for cheaper drugs
· Believes universal health care addresses issues, lowers drug prices
· Supports single-payer program with full coverage for all

Homeland Security

· Supports the Patriot Act
· Hopes to deploy a shield against ballistic missiles this year

· Voted for the Patriot Act, but now is in favor of letting it expire
· Opposes national missile defense

· Wants to repeal the Patriot Act
· Wants to restore and expand civil liberties

Immigration

· Proposed increasing budget to enforce immigration laws

· Wants to speed immigration process; unite families
· Supports patrolling borders

· Wants to offer worker permits; employee rights
· Opposes open borders

Social Security

· Supports investing some Social Security taxes in stocks
· Favors private investment accounts in Social Security
· Has not ruled out raising the retirement age

· Opposes privatizing Social Security
· Opposes raising the retirement age to 67
· Opposes reducing payments

· Says retirement fund "solid"; no immediate changes needed

Terrorism and Iraq

· Authorized war to invade Iraq and oust Saddam Hussein's regime; called it a threat to the nation's security
· Won congressional approval of $87 Billion for continued military operations and aid in Iraq and Afganhanistan
· Created the Terrorist Threat Integration Center to merge, analyze and disseminate all threat information collected

· Supported decision to go to war in Iraq, but now says he did so on faulty U.S. Intelligence
· Wants to involve other nations in Iraqi rebuilding/security
· Wants to improve ability to gather, analyze, and share information to track down/stop terrorists
· Wants to make airports, seaports, and borders more secure without intruding upon personal liberties

· Wants to replace U.S. troops with U.N force
· Wants to expedite Iraqi elections
· Says 'faulty and fabricated rationale' led to quagmire in Iraq

For more information on each candidate, visit their website

georgewbush.com

johnkerry.com

votenader.org