Iraq
“The United States seems to care more about a peaceful Iraq than the Iraqis do. If that is the case, it is difficult to understand why more U.S. troops would make a difference.” … “The worst thing, the worst thing to happen would be for us to precipitously pull out. But if we don't start coming together here, Republican and Democrat, and pushing a political solution there, then I don't think we're on the right track to move this to some sort of conclusion. We can start getting fewer of our troops killed in Iraq.”
***
“We have certainly made our share of mistakes in Iraq, and things have not gone as we would have hoped. Still, we have invested the lives of more than 3,000 of our nation’s best and brightest in Iraq, our nation’s future, and the mission for which they died is not yet complete. We still need political equilibrium if we are to achieve a stable, free and united Iraq that can be an ally in the war on terrorism. We must win in Iraq, and we will. We must win for the future of the region and the future of the world and for the future of Iraq. And we must win for the future of America.”
Other Foreign Policy Issues
“My belief in the value of human life is what inspired my concern over the international genocides taking place in regions like Darfur. I traveled to Darfur and Rwanda in early 2006 to see firsthand the tragedies that have taken place there. The suffering was unlike any I have ever seen. I believe that we must show compassion to these people. America is a great nation, and we have a role to play in protecting innocent life at home and abroad.”
***
“One of the greatest threats we face as a free and democratic people is a nuclear weapon in the hands of terrorist groups and their state sponsors. Iran is at the forefront of this threat. All nations must work together to prevent the mullahs in Tehran from carrying out their genocidal threats against Americans and Israelis. We must use all the tools at our disposal, including robust, fully enforced sanctions and divestment at the federal, state, and local levels. We must continue to reach out to the Iranian people, who often suffer from the torture and abuse of the Iranian regime, through any means possible including academic, scientific and cultural efforts. And while implementing these measures, we have to be very clear that all options remain on the table. We are fighting a war that is an ideological struggle against militant Islamic fascism. We can and must win, but we have to remain firm that ours is the path of hope, freedom and truth.”
Climate Change/Energy
“I believe climate change is occurring and that humans have played a role.”
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“How I'd prevent (high gasoline prices) is us getting more supply in the system through biofuels for one thing, like ethanol.” … “Us being able to drill more at home here in the United States, and we can do this in places like ANWR safely, environmentally sound, but get the supply up here.”
***
“And, we have to in the future work on more conservation here. My family, we have a hybrid car. In that car you can get up to 42, 43 miles to the gallon. And we can do this through technology, and we can do this through increasing supply here. And by that mixture we can become energy-secure in North America in 15 years, which I think should be one of our key objectives, so that we're not held hostage to a guy like Chavez in Venezuela or Ahmadinejad in Iran. We can do better, and we need to do better than $4-a-gallon gasoline.”
Healthcare
“Do you do it (affordable healthcare) with more government or do you do it with more markets? Because these are real people experiencing this. And I pick more markets and real markets with it. Because I have not seen, in this country, ever, when the government enters into something on a bigger basis, do we get higher quality service or more of it? We don't. It doesn't work that way. One thing that hasn't been talked about up here is Health Savings Accounts. We need to expand that so people can save money, tax-exempt, from their work, the employers putting that in so they can have some money for their health care coverage.”
***
“Instead, you've got the Democrats doing a step-by-step march toward a socialized government-pay system. And they're very happy to do it that way. But we can get better health care going this way. And we can hold the price of it down and not bust the federal treasury at the same time.”
Education
“Where I think (No Child Left Behind) failed was not giving flexibility to the states.”
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“I believe we still need integration taking place in the schools, and I think it's an important thing. I think we need to do it on a voluntary and incentivized basis as much as we possibly can, but it is important for us to maintain it as a goal and objective of this country.”
***
“I believe that providing for choice in education is beneficial to student achievement.”
Homeland Security
“I think it's the central battle of our day, and I believe it's a fight we're going to be in for a generation. I think we need to start talking very clearly and convincingly to the American public about it, that we are going to be confronting this battle as long as we did communism, probably, and that this is dedicated force, militant Islamists, that means to wipe out Israel and come after us. And they have said it in their papers, and they have put it forward in their documentation. I think this next president that's coming in has to come in with some foreign policy experience on how you do this, because we have got to work with Islamic countries, and we have got to contain and confront others--like we have to contain Iran--and we have got to work with others like Pakistan and Egypt. This is a central fight, and I am going to continue the fight, as President Bush is.”
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"Securing our borders must be our top priority as a nation. Our Southern border is porous and must be secured. Secure borders make Americans safer."
Family
“I've been standing for life all along, and I'll continue to, and I think other people in this race have not stood for life all along. I've been standing and fighting for marriage as the union of a man and woman bonded together for life. I've fought for those in the Senate, and others have voted differently on those.”
***
“What I want to talk about is rebuilding the family, because I really believe, in my heart and soul, that if we would rebuild and strengthen the family structure in the country, you'd start to really deal with a number of the most difficult problems we're having in the country today, in poverty, education, and in crime, but we've broken the family structure up.”
***
“Our country was founded on the idea that its citizens should be free to express their religious beliefs without government interference. I will continue the fight to protect that freedom.”
Taxes/Fiscal Policy
“What I will do is put in place a commission that reviews government agencies and recommends annually a block of programs to be eliminated, like we do on military bases.”
***
“I have long championed both lower taxes and reform of the existing tax system, and recently signed the Americans for Tax Reform pledge to oppose all tax increases. Much of our recent economic prosperity is directly attributable to the lower taxes enacted by recent Congresses. I believe America’s tax code is overly complex and burdensome. Americans spend roughly $157 billion each year in tax preparation, to ensure they do not run afoul of the Internal Revenue Service. The system is desperately in need of reform. I support a flat tax concept that simplifies tax preparation, applies a low tax rate to all Americans, and respects the special financial burden carried by American families raising children.”
Illegal Immigration
"We will fail to stop illegal immigration until we prove that living and working here illegally is not an option."
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"Look, we're going to enforce the laws. The laws are the law, and we're going to enforce it. We're going to strengthen the southern border; we need to build a fence across it, across most of it. I think we need to have virtual fencing in some areas. We need to enforce it at the worksite."
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