“Nobody
will ever deprive the American people of the right to vote except the American
people themselves and the only way they could do this is by not voting.” -Franklin D. Roosevelt
One of the very few things we can control in our politics is who
we elect into office. As a democratic republic, we don’t vote directly on the
issues like a literal democracy would, instead we vote for people who make it
their jobs to pass legislation which represents the people. As part of the
industrialized world who claims to be the freest country on earth, the United
States has the lowest voter turnout!
This is why voting is so important, because to fully express our
views and freedom, it is our civic duty to vote. As much as 60 years ago, the
ability to vote left out certain demographic groups. From a voting perspective,
we have breached this barrier, however, voter turnout is still incredibly low.
Personally, I think this is because the American people don’t believe their
vote means much (for instance, Illinois always votes democrat, so why bother
voting republican), being informed is incredibly difficult, and the voting
process is antiquated and limiting. In many of our fellow industrialized
nations, the voting process can last several days, including weekend days, and
is much more accessible to everyone regardless of location or voting medium.
As far as being informed, it seems easy to be informed about a
nationally covered event like the presidential election, but it is not so easy
to find, or stay current, on the smaller local and event senate elections.
There are simply too many people to consider in all of these different
elections. As a result, I find it hard to be informed and to really understand
who I am voting for when it comes to, say, local judges and commissioners. Many
people have told me they vote based on the name, or just blanketing their vote
for the party they register as. While this might be fully representative of a
voter’s view, this can’t possibly be the best way to vote.
This guide is designed to give you all of the information
necessary to understand the backgrounds and the political views of the 6
remaining presidential candidates.
Current primary standings:
Democrat
On the Democrat’s side, there are 717 superdelegates. “[These] include
distinguished party leaders and elected officials, including all Democratic
members of the House and Senate and sitting Democratic governors. Other
superdelegates are chosen during the primary season. Democratic superdelegates
are free to support any candidate for the nomination.”
“The Democratic Party has faced accusations that it has been
conducting its nominating process in an undemocratic way, because
superdelegates are generally chosen without regard to their preferences in the
presidential race and are not obligated to support the candidate chosen by the
voters.”
Republican
UPDATE: Marco Rubio suspended his campaign for President on March 15, 2016, after losing the Republican primary in his home state of Florida to Donald Trump by double digits.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/16/us/politics/marco-rubio.html?_r=0
Democrat candidate’s background/bio
“Hillary
Clinton has served as secretary of state, senator from New York, first lady of
the United States, first lady of Arkansas, a practicing lawyer and law
professor, activist, and volunteer.”
Born: Chicago,
IL in 1947 making her 68 years old.
College: Wellesley
College 1969. First student Commencement speaker
Yale University 1973 for her
J.D.
Early Career: Started
as a legal counsel. Co-founded Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families in
1977. First female chair of the Legal Services Corporation in 1978, and was
named the first female partner at Rose Law Firm in 1979.
Political Career: First
lady of Arkansas 1979 ~1992. First lady of the US 1993-2001. US Senator of New
York 2001-2009. US Secretary of State 2009-2013.
“In
2006, he was elected to the U.S. Senate after 16 years as Vermont’s sole
congressman in the House of Representatives. Bernie is now serving his second
term in the U.S. Senate.”
Born: Brooklyn,
NY in 1941 making him 74 years old.
College: University
of Chicago 1964. Active civil rights protest organizer.
Early Career: Worked as
a carpenter and documentary filmmaker.
Political Career: Mayor of
Burlington, Vermot 1981-1989. US House of Representatives 1991-2007. US Senator
of Vermont 2007-Present, Chariman of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs
2013-2015.
Republican candidate’s background/bio
An
American businessman, politician, television personality, author, Chairman and
president of The Trump Organization
Born: Queens,
NY in 1946 making him 69 years old.
College: Fordham
University for two years.
University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School of Business 1968.
Attended due to one of the few real estate departments. Also worked at his
father's company, Elizabeth Trump & Son.
Business Career: Elizabeth
Trump & Son focused on middle-class rental housing across New York City. Unfortunately,
the company was accused of violations of the Fair Housing Act. 1971 he got
involved in larger projects. Eventually turned the bankrupt Commodore Hotel
next to Grand Central into the Grand Hyatt and created The Trump Organization.
1988 he bought the Taj Mahal Casino in Atlantic City, NJ which later went into
business bankruptcy in 1991. In 2001 he completed the Trump World Tower and
other buildings in the prime of Manhattan. In the later 2000’s, he has acquired
many golf courses, very intelligently branded and licensed the Trump name, made
large investments in fortune 500 companies, bought sport’s teams, created
beauty pageants, and created and stared in TV shows.
Political Career: “Trump
has described his political leanings and positions in various, sometimes
contradictory ways over time. Politico has described his positions as
"eclectic, improvisational and often contradictory." He has listed
his party affiliation as Republican, Independence Party, Democrat, and
"decline to state." He has also run as a Reform Party candidate.
Specifically, he has changed his positions on taxing the wealthy, abortion
rights and health care.” (Wikipedia) His best run for political office was in
the 2012 presidential race until the recent 2016 campaign.
“Throughout
his entire life, Ted Cruz has proven to be a passionate and effective fighter
for limited government, economic growth, and the Constitution. Ted’s calling to
public service has been inspired by his first-hand observation of the pursuit
of freedom and opportunity in America.”
Born: Calgary,
Alberta, Canada in 1970 making him 45 years old. While being born in Canada,
the Illinois Board of Elections ruled in Cruz's favor, stating, "The
candidate is a natural born citizen by virtue of being born in Canada to his
mother who was a U.S. citizen at the time of his birth."
College: Princeton
University 1992. Harvard Law School 1995.
Early Career: Director
of the Federal Trade Commission 1999-2003.
Political Career: Solicitor
General of Texas 2003-2008. US Senator of Texas 2013-Present
“As
a U.S. Senator, Marco has led a bold offensive to institute innovative,
conservative ideas to address these fundamental issues and to restore hope in
the American Dream.”
Born: Miami,
Florida in 1971 making him 44 years old.
College:
University of Florida 1993. University of Miami School of Law 1996 for his J.D.
Rubio has said that his education resulted in $100,000 of student loans, which
he paid off in 2012.
Early Career: Worked on
Bob Dole’s 1996 presidential campaign. In 1998 became City Commissioner for
West Miami.
Political Career: House of
Representatives of Florida 2000-2008, Speaker of the Florida House 2006-2008.
US Senator of Florida 2011-Present.
“As
Chairman of the U.S. House Budget Committee, John Kasich spearheaded the
successful effort to balance the federal budget for the first time since man
walked on the moon.”
Born: McKees
Rocks, PN in 1952 making him 63 years old.
College: The Ohio
State University 1974. Researcher for the Ohio Legislative Service Commission.
Early Career:
Administrative assistant to Senator Buz Lukens 1975-1978.
Political Career: Senator
of Ohio 1979-1983. US House of Representatives for Ohio 1983-2001, Chairman of
the House Budget Committee 1995-2001. Governor of Ohio 2001-Present.
Democrat candidate’s political views
and campaign promises
Hillary Clinton
- Overturn Citizens United and establish a small-donor matching system.
- “Enable Americans with existing student loan debt to refinance at current rates.” “Hold colleges and universities accountable for controlling costs and making tuition affordable.”
- “Close corporate tax loopholes and make the most fortunate pay their fair share.”
- Invest in infrastructure to create good jobs.
- “Defend the Affordable Care Act and build on it to slow the growth of out-of-pocket costs.”
- “Tackle dangerous risks in the big banks and elsewhere in the financial system.”
Bernie Sanders
- “Demanding that the wealthy and large corporations pay their fair share in taxes.”
- “Increasing the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 an hour by 2020.”
- Rebuild our crumbling Infrastructure and create good jobs.
- “Making tuition free at public colleges and universities throughout America.”
- “Guaranteeing healthcare as a right of citizenship by enacting a Medicare for all single-payer healthcare system.”
- Overturn Citizens United and change campaign finance and strengthen voting rights for individuals, not corporations or big money.
Republican candidate’s political views
and campaign promises
Donald Trump
- “A simpler tax code with four brackets – 0%, 10%, 20% and 25%.” No business, big or small, will pay more than 15% in taxes of their income.
- Repeal Obamacare, fully deduct premiums on tax returns, and “remove barriers to entry into free markets for drug providers that offer safe, reliable and cheaper products.”
- “Declare China A Currency Manipulator. End China’s Intellectual Property Violations. Eliminate China’s Illegal Export Subsidies And Other Unfair Advantages.” Improve US corporate advantage with the proposed 15% tax cap.
- “There must be a wall across the southern border” paid by Mexico. Enforce current immigration laws, give American’s priority for jobs.
- “Defend The Rights of Law-Abiding Gun Owners. Fix Our Broken Mental Health System.”
- “Ensure veterans get the care they need wherever and whenever they need it,” both physical and mental.
Ted Cruz
- Protect the Second Amendment.
- “Restore the Constitution as a standard. Protect the people by rolling back the federal government to the functions the Constitution sets out. Give power back to the states and the people.”
- “Stop illegal immigration, Build a wall that works, triple border security, and put in place the surveillance and biometric tracking to secure the border.” Stop Obama’s Amnesty.
- “Fiercely defend our allies and interests. Immediately repeal every word of President Obama’s dangerous Iran deal and will prioritize American national security interests in every instance.”
- Instruct the Department of Justice, the IRS, and every other federal agency that the persecution of religious liberty ends today.”
- Implement a flat tax; Personal – 10%, Business – 16%. Abolish IRS, eliminate death tax, overseas profit tax, alternative minimum tax, Obamacare taxes.
Marco Rubio
- “Stop China from undermining America.”
- “Fight for a Balanced Budget Amendment and force Washington to live within its means without raising taxes.” “Repeal ObamaCare and cut trillions in spending.”
- “Rewrite the Obama Administration’s Flawed Five-Year Offshore Drilling Plan. Immediately Approve the Keystone XL Pipeline. Expedite Approval of American Natural Gas Exports.”
- “Establish income-based repayment (IBR) as the universal repayment method for federal student loans; Empower new borrowers to make loan payments in proportion to what they earn, and give graduates the option of consolidating existing loans into the new, simplified IBR system.”
- “Deport criminal illegal aliens, Hire 20,000 new Border Patrol agents, Finish all 700 miles of walls on our southern border, Implement a mandatory eVerify system.”
- “Boost the size of our forces to do the jobs we ask them to do, and modernizing them to meet the threats they will face so that when efforts to deter conflict fail.”
John Kasich
- “Work with Congress to balance the budget in eight years by reining-in spending, reforming our broken entitlement programs such as Medicaid and Medicare, sending federal programs back to our states and communities where they belong.”
- “Work with Congress to cut personal and business taxes, simplify the tax code and initiate a top-to-bottom review of our tax system to eliminate barriers to innovation, and root-out bias, arrogance and corruption in the Internal Revenue Service.”
- “Begin dismantling Washington and taking our power, money and influence back to our states and communities.”
- “Approve the Keystone XL pipeline, bring common sense and science to energy regulation in order to properly balance environmental stewardship and job creation, and encourage research in new technologies.”
I hope you have found this guide useful. Let me know in the comments below and be sure to submit your e-mail to follow our blog and share the posts you like! If you would like to write a blog post for us sharing your experience or a review on your product, contact us for more details.
-Andrew
Be sure to let your voice be heard and vote!!!
Please note: Being transparent, I wanted to present the information above in as unbiased manner as possible, however, I fully support Bernie Sanders. I hope this didn't sway the guide in any direction, however, there are many issues on each candidates website not discussed here. I tried to present the hottest issues as discussed in the debates and online.
