Iraq
“Rather than an escalation of U.S. troops, who I do not believe will contribute to long-term success in Iraq, we should be beginning a phased redeployment of U.S. troops."
***
"The Congress has voted as of today to end this war, and now we can only hope that the president will listen. ... This is not America's war to win or lose."
***
(To General Petraeus) “You have been made the de facto’s spokesmen for what many of us believe to be a failed policy. Despite what I view as your rather extraordinary efforts in your testimony both yesterday and today, I think that the reports that you provide to us really require the willing suspension of disbelief.”
Other Foreign Policy Issues
"When I'm president we'll have a time out to take stock of where we are on trade. Every trade agreement has to be independently, objectively analyzed."
***
"I am not in favor of this rush for war, but I'm also not in favor of doing nothing. Iran is seeking nuclear weapons."
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“Use our military not as the solution to every problem but as one element in a comprehensive strategy. As president, I will never hesitate to use force to protect Americans or to defend our territory and our vital interests. We cannot negotiate with individual terrorists; they must be hunted down and captured or killed. Nor can diplomacy alone stop the perpetrators of genocide and crimes against humanity in places such as Darfur. But soldiers are not the answer to every problem. Using force in lieu of diplomacy compels our young men and women in uniform to carry out missions that they may not be trained or prepared for. And it ignores the value of simply carrying a big stick, rather than using it.”
***
“The forgotten frontline in the war on terror is Afghanistan, where our military effort must be reinforced.”
Climate Change/Energy
"Our present system of energy is weakening our national security, hurting our pocketbooks, violating our common values and threatening our children's future. Right now, instead of national security dictating our energy policy, our failed energy policy dictates our national security."
***
“The other day the oil companies reported the highest profits in the history of the world. I want to take those profits and I want to put them into a strategic energy fund that will begin to find alternative smart energy, alternatives and technologies that will begin to actually move us toward the direction of independence!”
***
“Tackling the energy crisis is the calling of our time. And when I'm president, it will be the calling of our nation. And it will involve all of us."
***
“The truth is that conservation is not just a personal virtue but an important part of any sensible energy policy."
***
(Senator Clinton, would you rule out expanding nuclear power?) “No, but it would not be one of the options that I favor, unless, number one, the cost can get down for the construction and operation; number two, that we have a viable solution for the nuclear waste. I voted against Yucca Mountain. I've spoken out against Yucca Mountain. I think that recently the discovery -- there's an earthquake fault going under the proposed site at Yucca Mountain -- certainly validates my opposition. So there are a lot of very difficult questions. But we're going to have to look at the entire energy profile, in order to determine how we're going to move away from our dependence upon carbon-based fuels. And I will look at everything, but there are some tough questions you'd have to answer with respect to nuclear.”
Healthcare
"I think there are a number of mechanisms" that are possible, including "going after people's wages, automatic enrollment."
“I want to have universal health care coverage by the end of my second term.”
***
“We have to lower costs, improve quality and cover everybody.”
***
“I think it's time that Americans had access to the same health care choices that members of Congress and federal employees do.”
***
“I voted against the Medicare prescription drug benefit because I thought we could provide a much simpler, cheaper benefit to our seniors than what was cooked up in the back rooms of the Bush administration.”
***
“It will also be based on shared responsibility, that everybody's going to have to do something. Individuals, businesses, our health care providers, and of course the drug and insurance companies are going to have to dramatically change the way they do business as well.”
***
“I have put forth approximately $120 billion in savings from health care changes--everything from electronic medical records to better management of chronic care. That is about in the ballpark of what all of us believe it will cost to cover everyone. The challenge that I'm wrestling with is how do we realize the savings? I don't think there is any Democrat that is not going to let the Bush tax cuts on the wealthiest Americans expire. We're all going to do that, so that money will be available.”
Education
"We need a new approach. One that is balanced—that puts learning, not memorizing and testing, front and center in American education again. It's time that we start supporting educators and quit pointing fingers. We should reward teachers when schools show achievement gains. We can't do this unless we finally fix what is wrong with No Child Left Behind."
***
"I am setting a big goal for this country: to cut the dropout rate for students of color in half within a decade. I’ll address the crisis of untapped potential. I believe we can do it. I reject the fatalism which says we cannot reform our education system. I reject the notion that children dropping out of school are a lost cause - because when I’m president, these children will be my cause."
***
“That’s why I’m for adding 100,000 teachers to the classroom. We know that modernizing and better equipping our schools works. And we know that high standards works. But what’s important is to stay committed to the public school system, not siphon off money, as my opponent would, with vouchers.”
Homeland Security
“I have worked very hard to try to convince the administration to do those things that would make us safer. And I think there's a big disconnect between the rhetoric and the reality. We haven't secured our borders, our ports, our mass transit systems. You can go across this country and see so much that has not been done. The resources haven't gotten to the front lines where decisions are made in local government the way that they need to. And I think that this administration has consistently tried to hype the fear without delivering on the promise of making America safer. And its foreign policy around the world has also made the world less stable, which, of course, has a ripple effect with respect to what we're going to face in the future. So I hope that we can put that myth to rest. It is certainly something I will try to do during the campaign.”
***
“To meet these challenges, we will have to replenish American power by getting out of Iraq, rebuilding our military, and developing a much broader arsenal of tools in the fight against terrorism.”
***
“We can't get the resources to match the rhetoric. In this latest budget, the president is proposing to cut funds for first responders to the tune of $1.7 billion. The way I see it, saying you believe in homeland security without funding first responders is like saying you believe in building a hospital without doctors and nurses. If we don't fund you, we're not funding our first line of defense, and we're going to need to work together to make that happen.”
Family
You know, if you're a family that is struggling, and you don't have health care well you are invisible to this President. If you're a single mom trying to find affordable child care so you can go to work, well you're invisible too. And I never thought I would see that our soldiers who serve in Iraq and Afghanistan would be treated as though they were invisible as well.”
***
"Since the Family and Medical Leave Act was passed in my husband's administration, more than 50 million men and women have taken advantage of it. Well, I think it needs to be updated and it needs to be expanded somewhat."
Taxes/Fiscal Policy
“I don't think there is any Democrat that is not going to let the Bush tax cuts on the wealthiest Americans expire. We're all going to do that, so that money will be available.”
***
"Many of you are well enough off that ... the tax cuts may have helped you. We're saying that for America to get back on track, we're probably going to cut that short and not give it to you. We're going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good."
***
Well, let me just give you a different perspective. When my husband left office with a balanced budget and a surplus, the projection was that Social Security was solvent until 2055, giving us plenty of time to deal with the aging of the baby boomers and every thing else. Now, after seven years of President Bush and an irresponsible Republican Congress, the life of the Social Security trust fund has been cut to 2041. We've lost 14 years in seven years because of their fiscal irresponsibility. So the first thing is, let's get back to doing what worked in the '90s to shore up Social Security. Let's quit taking money from the Social Security trust fund to fund tax cuts for the wealthy and the war in Iraq.”
***
“Well, we want to keep some differential on very high- income people (the Alternative Minimum Tax), but that's part of this tax reform effort that Democrats will do starting in 2009. When we have a Democrat in the White House and a Democratic majority, we can get serious about making the tax system work for middle-income Americans again, instead of being tilted so much toward the rich.”
Illegal Immigration
"I believe we have to, as part of comprehensive immigration reform, create a path to earned legalization and I will continue to stand for that and advocate for that."
***
"Everybody talks about family values ... let's start valuing families and that means immigrant families as well as every other family."
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Immigration reform should include "a path to earned citizenship for those who are here, working hard, paying taxes, respecting the law, and willing to meet a high bar for becoming a citizen."
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"I am, you know, adamantly against illegal immigrants. Clearly, we have to make some tough decisions as a country. And one of them ought to be coming up with a much better entry and exit system so that if we're going to let people in for the work that otherwise would not be done, let's have a system that keeps track of them."
***
"As president, I will not support driver's licenses for undocumented people and will press for comprehensive immigration reform that deals with all of the issues around illegal immigration including border security and fixing our broken system."
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