Editorials

This is the third of a five part series on my opinion of the candidates as non-biased as I can make it, based on facts obtained from the internet, newspapers and visual media. The candidates are presented in alphabetical order.
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Experience -  Senator, former navy pilot,  experienced businessman

He is experienced with the workings of congress, so he understands the behind the scenes workings as well as procedures in presenting policies to congress as well as the senate.  His wife All of these have their pluses and minuses as you can judge for yourself if this is what you want in a candidate. My comments will be presented on each candidate in the fifth and last publication, with a summarization with pros and cons.

Senator McCain's priorities are the war in Iraq, immigration reform, pro-life/adoption

Abortion - Pro-life; supports federally-funded stem cell research on existing lines of stem cells. Opposes creation of human embryos for purposes of research.

Budget/Economy - Supports the repeal of the Alternative Minimum Tax. Make the Bush administration’s income and investment tax cuts permanent. reduce government spending; take aim at “wasteful” “pork barrel” spending; requirement of a 3/5 vote of Congress to raise taxes; ban on Internet and cell phone taxes.

Civil Rights - opposes gay marriages; supports stronger border enforcement but citizenship for illegal immigrants already living in the U.S., provided they learn English, pay a fine and have clean criminal records. Stronger screening of cargo at ports as part of border enforcement. Work with leaders in Mexico and Latin America to strengthen their countries.

Crime - Supports capital punishment for federal crimes.

Education - McCain believes state and local agencies, not the federal government, should be responsible for developing and enforcing academic standards. Supports teacher testing, merit pay, schools and federally-financed school vouchers for students in failing schools. Believes “choice and competition” are the future of education, with No Child Left Behind is a “good beginning” but needs to be fixed.

Foreign Policy  - U.S. had not committed a sufficient number of troops to the conflict; additional troops to clear and hold insurgent strongholds, provide security for rebuilding local institutions and economies, halt sectarian violence in Baghdad and disarm militias, dismantle al Qaeda, train the Iraqi Army; and to embed American personnel in Iraqi police units. strengthening the Iraqi armed forces and police, and accelerating political and economic reconstruction; opposes adoption of a timetable for withdrawal.

Gun Control - Prosecute criminals, not citizens for gun ownership;  ban cheap guns; require safety locks;  ban on certain assault weapons; guns are a problem, but so are violent web sites & videos teaching how to build bombs;  punish criminals who abuse 2nd Amendment rights; the right of law abiding citizens to keep and bear arms is a fundamental, individual Constitutional right.

Health Care - lower health care costs to bring down the cost of insurance. His plan for affordable health care includes: allowing families to control health care dollars, promote competition between health care companies, illness prevention, health care access to all citizens, give veterans the option to chose their own provider, promote alternative treatments, making treatment and cost information public, reform payment; cheaper and generic drugs, reforming insurance practices; make families purchase health insurance nationwide; health coverage portable from job to job,   introduce initiatives to halt the epidemic of obesity and diabetes.

Homeland Security - Requires a strong military; maintain our military leadership, retain our technological advantage, and ensure that America has a modern, agile military force able to meet the diverse security challenges of the 21st century.

Energy/Environment - Pledged to end U.S. reliance on foreign oil and modernize the way we generate and employs energy; independence from foreign oil suppliers; rely on technological innovations; expansion of safe nuclear power; Supports flexible-fuel vehicles; reduce carbon and greenhouse gas emissions; implement a cap-and-trade system for utility or industrial plants that reduce emissions. Believes climate change is a “global problem that requires a global solution.”

Social Security - bipartisan reform of Social Security; opposed to raising taxes to finance Social Security; supports plan to subsidize personal health accounts.

War & Peace - U.S. had not committed a sufficient number of troops to the conflict; additional troops to clear and hold insurgent strongholds, provide security for rebuilding local institutions and economies, halt sectarian violence in Baghdad and disarm militias, dismantle al Qaeda, train the Iraqi Army; and to embed American personnel in Iraqi police units. strengthening the Iraqi armed forces and police, and accelerating political and economic reconstruction; opposes adoption of a timetable for withdrawal.

Welfare & Poverty - Welfare recipients should be required to spend at least 40 hours a week in a combination of work and training programs; supports increased funding for child care programs;
Supports housing assistance for low-income families.

Senator McCain, as do all candidates, has what I consider both good and bad ideas, with some being sorely needed but I am skeptical on the reception of his well defined political views by the nation. His stance of the migration of the millions of jobs elsewhere while still providing tax breaks and subsidies to big companies sorely needs addressing. The oil cartels are slowly but steadily destroying the ability of middle class America to even afford to drive to work, deal with increasing food costs and strive against the lack of jobs within our borders. Again, one of the Presidential pretenders to the throne needs to set up NOW and address the fuel and food costs that will soon strangle our nation.  

The policy against terrorists must be strictly dealt with to avoid a repeat on the 911 disaster, and since the United Nations pays lip service to everything except actual world events, while wanting to implement the 'one world, one government' policy, with of course, them as the forefront leadership, which would destroy the imbedded and ingrained United States sovereignty. 

His gun control ideas seem valid as in my opinion, the criminal needs to be punished, not the victim, and out forefathers implemented the second amendment to prevent tyranny as well as allowing citizens to protected themselves, their families and their rights.   

Social security, health care, more jobs, homeless persons and affordable fuels are major issues that must be addressed. We need to realize that we can't support nor can we police the world, our resources are not limitless, and allowing other nations to drill for oil off our coast while Congress wrings their hands, the environmentalists are shedding tears at the thought of the United States doing the exact same thing that is ongoing by other nations, which is a total farce. We can not afford to become a non-entity on the world scene, as few nations would help us like we dedicate our assistance to all countries in need.

 On Senator McCain, I grade him a C-.

Congressional voting records, a matter of public  record - http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/legislative/a_three_sections_with_teasers/votes.htm
 

That's my opinion and I'm sticking to it!