With an election year upon us, it is important for collegiettes to be up to date on potential presidential candidates, and their stances on issues that will directly affect us.
Democrats:
Hillary Clinton: Clinton is the Democratic frontrunner and former Secretary of State under the Obama Administration. She has recently been under scrutiny for a personal email account she used while Secretary of State.
- Right to Choose: Yes
- Supreme Court Ruling on Gay Marriage: Yes
- Education: Proposes that student loans already held by people should be refinanced and that college itself be more affordable.
Joe Biden: Current Vice President who has recently decided not to run.
Bernie Sanders: Sanders is the independent Vermont Senator who has gained a lot of support recently from young voters. He is a self-described socialist who wants to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour.
- Right to Choose: Yes
- Education: Believes all public colleges and universities should be tuition free and has sponsored bills to drastically reduce interest rates on student loan debt.
- Gun Control: Represents a state that has virtually no gun control, but has still voted to ban certain types of semi-automatic weapons.
Republicans:
Jeb Bush: Bush is the brother of former President George W. Bush. He has made a name for himself as the former governor of Florida, holding a very moderate stance on some issues (such as immigration and education), but very a conservative one on other issues (such as the economy and abortion).
- Education: Believes we need to improve degrees being completed in four years, lower cost, and establish more accountability for higher education.
- Right to Choose: Pro-Life, and believes Planned Parenthood should be defunded.
- Gun Control: Strong supporter of the Second Amendment, but believes we need to focus on violent criminals and persons with mental illnesses.
Donald Trump: Trump is a real-estate developer who continues to be the Republican frontrunner in the polls.
- Gun Control: Believes the Second Amendment to our Constitution is clear and the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be threatened.
- Right to Choose: Recently declared himself pro-life after years of being pro-choice.
- Education: Disagrees with the Common Core state curriculum standards and believes the Department of Education needs to be cut “way, way down.”
Ben Carson: Carson is the former head of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins. He has no prior experience in the realm of politics.
- Right to Choose: Pro-life, holding that human life begins at conception.
- Education: Thinks the education system should be run by involved parents and engaged teachers as opposed to federal bureaucrats.
- Gun Control: Believes the right of law-abiding citizens to own firearms is fundamental to our liberty.
Carly Fiorina: Fiorina is the former CEO of Hewlett-Packard.
- Right to Choose: Pro-life, because she believes every human life has potential, but also acknowledges that if a woman is facing unplanned pregnancy, she deserves empathy and support.
- Education: Believes we need to focus on accountability and developing great teachers to inspire students.
- Same-sex Marriage: Thinks the debate about gay marriage is really a debate about how the government deals with benefits and whether those benefits should be bestowed equally. Acknowledges that religious people view marriage as a religious institution and believes their rights must be protected as well.
Sources:
- http://www.cbsnews.com/media/where-the-2016-candidates-stand-on-gun-control/4/
- https://www.bencarson.com/issues
- https://www.donaldjtrump.com/
- https://www.hillaryclinton.com/
- https://jeb2016.com/?lang=en
- https://berniesanders.com/issues/
- https://carlyforpresident.com/