| I support more government spending on education. |
You: No Answer
John McCain: Disagree | Education is not a centerpiece of McCain's platform, rather: "America's economic progress requires that the federal government abide by the same standards of common sense and fiscal restraint as hardworking families." - Link
# Voted NO on $5B for grants to local educational agencies. (Oct 2005)
# Voted NO on shifting $11B from corporate tax loopholes to education. (Mar 2005)
# Voted NO on funding smaller classes instead of private tutors. (May 2001)
# Voted NO on funding student testing instead of private tutors. (May 2001)
# Voted NO on spending $448B of tax cut on education & debt reduction. (Apr 2001) Against nationally imposed standards & funding strings. (Feb 2000). - Link
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| I support school vouchers. |
You: No Answer
John McCain: Strongly Agree | McCain supports vouchers that would allow students to attend public or private school, including religious schools. - Link
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| I support the death penalty. |
You: No Answer
John McCain: Strongly Agree | McCain supports the death penalty for federal crimes. As senator from Arizona, he voted to prohibit the use of racial statistics in death penalty appeals and ban the death penalty for minors. He also supported legislation to allow the death penalty for acts of terrorism and has said he would consider further expansion of capital punishment laws for other crimes. - Link
# Broaden use of the death penalty
# Impose stricter penalties for violent felons
# Increase spending to build more federal prisons
# Impose “truth in sentencing” for violent criminals so they serve full sentences. - Link
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| I support more free trade with other countries. |
You: No Answer
John McCain: Strongly Agree | Q: Do you support the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)?
A: Yes.
Q: Do you support the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)?
A: Yes.
Q: Do you support continued U.S. membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO)?
A: Yes.
Q: Do you support the trade embargo against Cuba?
A: Yes.
Q: Should trade agreements include provisions to address environmental concerns and to protect workers' rights?
A: No. No environmental provisions in trade agreements. - Link
Free trade with any country except security risks.
Free trade is indispensable to our prosperity. NAFTA has had unambiguously positive impact on US. Pro-NAFTA, pro-GATT, pro-MFN, pro-Fast Track. Promote the Andean Free Trade Agreement. Rated 100% by CATO, indicating a pro-free trade voting record. - Link
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| I believe that social security should be privatized. |
You: No Answer
John McCain: Slightly Agree | McCain has backed away from his previously strong position in favor of personal accounts. During his bid for the 2000 Republican nomination, the Senator advocated personal accounts, and he campaigned hard for Bush's proposal in 2005. In 1999 he voted in favor of an amendment that would have allowed the Senate to consider using the budget surplus to establish personal accounts. McCain has said he will consider all options for ensuring the solvency of the system, including benefits cuts and tax hikes so long as they are part of a "compromise". - Link
Option to invest 20% of payroll taxes in private accounts.
Allow workers to invest privately.
Rated 40% by the ARA, indicating a mixed record on senior issues.
Supports individual savings accounts and work incentives. - Link
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| I believe government should help provide health care for all citizens. |
You: No Answer
John McCain: Disagree | John McCain: Has a record of promoting prescription drug coverage for older people and expanded insurance for children, but not universal coverage.- Link
and Sen. Ken Salazar (D-Colo.). He has proposed a national commission to study the nation's healthcare system and outline proposals for addressing spiraling costs. McCain has advocated making generic drugs more available to consumers and wants to ease restrictions on imported drugs to make prescriptions more affordable. He advocates placing caps on medical malpractice suits. - Link
# Voted NO on expanding enrollment period for Medicare Part D. (Feb 2006). Voted YES on increasing Medicaid rebate for producing generics. (Nov 2005). Voted YES on negotiating bulk purchases for Medicare prescription drug. (Mar 2005). - Link
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| I support decriminalization of marijuana. |
You: No Answer
John McCain: Disagree | "I still would not support medical marijuana because I don't think that the preponderance of medical opinion in America agrees with your assertion that it's the most effective way of treating pain (Sept 2007)." - Link
Sen. McCain has changed his position from protecting states' rights in regard to medical marijuana to publicly stating that he does not support ending the federal raids on state medical marijuana patients and caregivers. Sen. McCain has neither cosponsored nor voted on any legislation specifically addressing medical marijuana. - Link
Mexico should extradite drug dealers to the US. In 2000, o the four major candidates, McCain has expressed the most hawkish positions on drug policy. He wants to increas penalties for selling drugs, supports the death penalty for drug kingpins, favors tightening security to stop the flow of drugs into the country, and wants to restrict availability of methadone for heroin addicts. In 1999, he said: I can’t support the le galization of marijuana. Scientific evidence indicates that the moment that it enters your body, one, it does damage, and second, it can become addictive. It is a gateway drug." - Link
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| I support full equal rights for homosexuals, including gay marriage. |
You: No Answer
John McCain: Slightly Disagree | He voted against the Federal Marriage Amendment. - Link
Ban on same-sex marriage is unRepublican; leave it to states. (Nov 2006). - Link
Supports civil unions, however, he supports the "don't ask, don't tell" ban on gays in the military. - Link
McCain opposes a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, but supports a ballot measure that would do just that in his home state of Arizona. - Link
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| I support the absolute right to own a gun. |
You: No Answer
John McCain: Slightly Agree | Has a C+ rating from the NRA, extremely low for a Republican. Earlier NRA ratings--from 1982 through 1998--were consistently A or A+. Critics speculate that a 1999 conflict with the NRA over campaign finance reform led McCain to break from the NRA and support more gun control legislation. - Link
# Ban cheap guns; require safety locks; for gun show checks. (Aug 1999). He is moving to the right on this issue, whereby in April of 2007, he said the believes in "no gun control". McCain has opposed many gun controls in the Senate over the years but broke from most of his party — and his past — in supporting legislation to require background checks for buyers at gun shows. In one such vote, he relished taking a position at odds with the National Rifle Association.
In a recent speech to a crowd of 400, McCain was unequivocal in support of the right to bear arms.
"I do not believe we should tamper with the Second Amendment of the Constitution of the United States," he said.- Link
# Supports ban on certain assault weapons. (Aug 1999)
# Voted against Brady Bill & assault weapon ban. (Aug 1999). - Link
|
| I support embryonic stem cell research. |
You: No Answer
John McCain: Strongly Agree | Voted YES on expanding research to more embryonic stem cell lines. (Apr 2007) - Link
|
| I support abortion being legal. |
You: No Answer
John McCain: Disagree | "I do not support Roe v. Wade. I think it should be overturned." - Link
is also anti-abortion and said in 2006 that he would have signed the South Dakota legislation banning almost all abortions, although he supports exceptions for rape, incest, or the life of the mother. - Link
also - Link
Has a 0% rating from NARAL Pro-Choice America and a 67% rating from the National Right to Life Committee. - Link
|
| I believe the national minimum wage should be increased. |
You: No Answer
John McCain: Disagree | in 2007, McCain joined 27 Senators in a Vote to Repeal (Federal) Minimum Wage, and to leave it up to the states. - Link
Senator John McCain joined his fellow Republicans to vote to maintain a filibuster on the minimum wage hike. - Link
Voted NO on restricting employer interference in union organizing. Voted YES on repealing Clinton's ergonomic rules on repetitive stress. Voted YES on increasing minimum wage to $7.25. Voted NO on raising the minimum wage to $7.25 rather than $6.25 in 2005. - Link
McCain voted for a 1996 welfare reform bill that required more work for recipients and placed limits on the amount of time they could receive benefits. Although McCain voted for a bill to increase the federal minimum wage in February 2007, he has historically voted against minimum wage increases, arguing that they can hurt small businesses. - Link
In 2003, rated 15% by the AFL-CIO, indicating an anti-union voting record. - Link
|
| I believe we should increase taxes on the wealthy. |
You: No Answer
John McCain: Disagree | # Won't sign no-tax pledge; focus on cutting spending. (Sep 2007)
# Make tax reform commission & vote yes-or-no on outcome. (Aug 2007)
# FactCheck: Families spend $20B on tax prep, not $140B. (Aug 2007)
# Opposed Bush tax cuts, but must extend them now. (May 2007)
# New tax cuts account for contingencies and over-spending. (May 2007). # Voted against Bush tax cuts for not reining in spending. (May 2007)
# Voted YES on repealing the Alternative Minimum Tax. (Mar 2007)
# Voted YES on raising estate tax exemption to $5 million. (Mar 2007)
# Voted YES on supporting permanence of estate tax cuts. (Aug 2006)
# Voted YES on permanently repealing the `death tax`. (Jun 2006). - Link
Re "Fair" of flat tax proposal: "If it came to my desk, obviously, I would sign anything that would simplify our tax code." - Link
In 2000, Sen John McCain says it is 'essence of true conservatism to be fiscally responsible,' and proposes tax cut half the size of one proposed by presidential rival George W Bush. - Link
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| I support a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants already in the U.S. |
You: No Answer
John McCain: Strongly Agree | In the spring, McCain, along with Senator Kennedy, introduced the "Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act" that came to be known at the "McCain-Kennedy Bill". The bill's major provisions included a new temporary worker program, improved border security provisions, increased employer sanctions utilizing technological innovations and a path to earned citizenship for the 12 million undocumented immigrants living in the U.S.. McCain's brand of legalization in his proposed legislation would have required that any worker seeking to embark on this path would be required to pay backtaxes, pay a fine of at least $2,000, complete a six-year temporary worker program, undergo background and criminal checks and "go to the end of the line" to wait for their adjustment of status.- Link
|
| I believe in strictly enforcing current immigration laws. |
You: No Answer
John McCain: Strongly Agree | McCain and Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) twice co-sponsored a comprehensive reform bill that would double the size of the U.S. Border Patrol. The bill also calls for a border fence, a crackdown on employers who hire undocumented immigrants, a "path to citizenship" for undocumented immigrants and a "guest worker" program offering temporary visas. - Link
# 12 million illegals in country now is de facto amnesty. (Sep 2007)
# Amnesty is forgiveness; we offer fines; lines; & long waits. (Sep 2007)
# No official English; Native Americans use own languages. (Jun 2007)
# Immigration reform needed for national security. (Jun 2007)
# Hispanics serve our country, like every wave of immigrants. (Jun 2007)
# America expects us to work on immigration together. (May 2007). - Link
|
| I believe in spending more money than we currently budget for defense and homeland security. |
You: No Answer
John McCain: Agree | Washington, DC - U.S. Senator John McCain today offered an amendment to add $847.8 million to the defense portion of the Supplemental Appropriations Bill for Fiscal Year 2001. - Link
|
| I am willing to sacrifice some civil liberties in order to protect us from terrorism. |
You: No Answer
John McCain: Strongly Agree | Voted YES on reauthorizing the PATRIOT Act. (Mar 2006). Voted YES on loosening restrictions on cell phone wiretapping. (Oct 2001). (Dec 2002). - Link
McCain has a 29% lifetime rating from the ACLU. - Link
|
| I believe foreign policy should include actively and aggressively confronting potential threats abroad. |
You: No Answer
John McCain: Strongly Agree | “The outrage in Burma cannot stand, and the world must not tolerate the campaign of murder led by this vicious military dictatorship. The strategy of ‘engagement’ employed by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), China, India, and others has utterly and dismally failed. It is time for real action.
“ASEAN should move beyond issuing statements and immediately convene an emergency meeting to expel Burma from the organization. It must also work with the United States to implement the banking sanctions that President Bush announced at the UN. The Burmese generals, who run a country named by Transparency International yesterday as the world’s most corrupt, park their millions in banks stretching through the ASEAN countries." - Link
He has called for strong action(including a NATO-enforced "no fly" zone) to end genocide in Darfur. Global climate change is seen by some as McCain's "signature issue". Citizens for Global Solutions gave McCain a B+ rating on foreign policy positions and "extra credit" for "...sponsoring climate change legislation and for addressing allegations of torture and abuse by U.S. personnel." - Link
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| I support exploratory drilling for oil even in areas that are environmentally sensitive or preserves. |
You: No Answer
John McCain: Agree | McCain and Drilling
- Link
WASHINGTON — John McCain called Monday for lifting a federal moratorium on offshore drilling for oil and gas — a politically sensitive issue in such key states as Florida.
States should decide for themselves whether to permit drilling, McCain said, but they should be given the option to combat what he called an "energy crisis" that saw gas prices reach an average of $4.08 a gallon on Monday.
- Link
McCain Seeks to End Offshore Drilling Ban
By Michael D. Shear and Juliet Eilperin
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, June 17, 2008; A01
Sen. John McCain called yesterday for an end to the federal ban on offshore oil drilling, offering an aggressive response to high gasoline prices and immediately drawing the ire of environmental groups that the presumptive Republican presidential nominee has courted for months.
The move is aimed at easing voter anger over rising energy prices by freeing states to open vast stretches of the country's coastline to oil exploration. In a new Washington Post-ABC News poll, nearly 80 percent said soaring prices at the pump are causing them financial hardship, the highest in surveys this decade.
"We must embark on a national mission to eliminate our dependence on foreign oil," McCain told reporters yesterday. In a speech today, he plans to add that "we have untapped oil reserves of at least 21 billion barrels in the United States. But a broad federal moratorium stands in the way of energy exploration and production. . . . It is time for the federal government to lift these restrictions."
McCain's announcement is a reversal of the position he took in his 2000 presidential campaign and a break with environmental activists, even as he attempts to win the support of independents and moderate Democrats. Since becoming the presumptive GOP nominee in March, McCain has presented himself as a friend of the environment by touting his plans to combat global warming and his opposition to drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and in the Everglades. |
| I generally identify with environmentalists and their positions. |
You: No Answer
John McCain: Slightly Disagree | John McCain's lifetime environmental voting record as rated by the League of Conservation Voters is 26. - Link
Voted yes to confirm the nomination of Gale Norton as Secretary of Interior.- Link
"Mr. President, America will need oil for the foreseeable future. What gives this generation the right to deplete this vital resource when we have the opportunity to preserve it for the benefit of future generations? At the end of our day, we still have prudent alternatives to ANWR to meet our energy demands and we should aggressively pursue them. A more acute energy need than our own in the future may require development, where assurances of improved technology may better protect the environment. With other viable energy options available to us today, to approve ANWR drilling would be a dereliction of our duty to posterity. "- Link
|
| I support increased agricultural subsidies. |
You: No Answer
John McCain: Disagree | He was also the only Republican senator to vote against the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996, which phased out many of the farming subsidy programs put into place during the Great Depression. - Link
McCain has argued that government support for ethanol actually raises gasoline prices. He has claimed ethanol does nothing to make the U.S. more energy independent. - Link
End sugar subsidy; it hurts consumers & helps only tycoons. - Link
|
| I believe that government should provide more economic incentives to corporations to promote growth. |
You: No Answer
John McCain: Slightly Agree | People worry about corporations unduly influencing elections. Voted NO on repealing tax subsidy for companies which move US jobs offshore. Voted YES on reforming bankruptcy to include means-testing & restrictions. Voted YES on restricting rules on personal bankruptcy. Rated 61% by the US COC, indicating a mixed business voting record. - Link
"I have proposed a bipartisan plan to address the problem of climate change and stimulate the development and use of advanced technologies. It is a market-based approach that would set reasonable caps on carbon and other greenhouse gas emissions, and provide industries with tradable credits. By reducing its emissions, a utility or industrial plant can generate credits it may trade on the open market for a profit, offering a powerful incentive to drive the deployment of new and better energy sources and technologies; for automakers to develop new ways to lower pollution and increase mileage; for utilities to generate cleaner electricity and capture carbon; for appliance manufacturers to make more efficient products, and for the nation to use energy with maximum efficiency-building conservation into the economy in a manner that produces financial and environmental benefits. Dupont Corporation has reaped $2 billion dollars in energy savings and reduced its carbon emissions by 72% since 1990." - Link
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| I believe that government should increase regulation on corporations for greater workplace and consumer protection. |
You: No Answer
John McCain: Slightly Agree | * People worry about corporations unduly influencing elections. (Sep 2007)
* Voted NO on repealing tax subsidy for companies which move US jobs offshore. (Mar 2005)
* Voted YES on reforming bankruptcy to include means-testing & restrictions. (Mar 2005)
* Voted YES on restricting rules on personal bankruptcy. (Jul 2001)
* Rated 61% by the US COC, indicating a mixed business voting record. (Dec 2003). - Link
But the current threat to our prosperity comes not from over-regulation. The culprits are corporate executives who exploited regulatory loopholes and diffident oversight -- from boards of directors, analysts, auditors and government -- to enrich themselves at the expense of their companies' health, and the millions of investors who entrusted to these new "malefactors of great wealth" their American Dream of a college education for their children, secure employment and a comfortable retirement for themselves. The corporate scandals that dominate headlines today have already claimed millions of victims. Investors who have lost their life savings. Employees who lost their jobs and their pensions after being pressured by their employers to invest the bulk of their savings in company stock.
Over the past ten years, the system of checks and balances that protects the investor has seriously deteriorated. It must be restored, if we are to restore the public's confidence in our financial markets, and reinvigorate their faith that there is room in our markets for THEIR dreams as well as the ambitions of executives who profit so handsomely from them. Unless Congress and the President move rapidly and boldly to reform corporate governance and government oversight, and repair investor confidence, the damage done by these scandals will outlive most of us in this room.
The first principles of free markets - transparency and trust - have been the first victims of crony capitalism, evidenced most dramatically in the scandals involving Enron, Arthur Anderson, Global Crossing, WorldCom, Tyco, and others. Trust was sacrificed in too many corporate boardrooms on the altar of quick and illusory profits intended to generate astonishingly inappropriate levels of executive compensation. Corporations established off-balance sheet partnerships to mask liabilities and inflate profits. Executives maximized their compensation with stock option plans that burdened their companies with huge hidden costs. Companies gave massive loans as sweetheart loans to CEOs. Venerable accounting firms, having looked the other way as companies cooked the books, shredded documents to hide their misdeeds. We should make it easier to prosecute and impose penalties for securities fraud that will severely afflict the corporate wrongdoer. - Link
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| I support very strict controls on government spending. |
You: No Answer
John McCain: Strongly Agree | Voted YES on Balanced-budget constitutional amendment. (Mar 1997). - Link
"An active president, i.e. me, will veto bills and threaten to shut down the government to make them spend less money." - Link
# Congress spends money like a drunken sailor. (May 2007)
# Veto all pork-barrel bills and announce pork spenders. (May 2007)
# Use veto power to reduce government spending. (Jan 2000)
# Distribute surplus: 23% tax cuts; 62% Social Security. (Jan 2000). - Link
|
| I believe in mandatory world-wide limits on global warming pollutants. |
You: No Answer
John McCain: Disagree | Strengthen Clean Air & Water Acts; but not Kyoto. (Jan 2000). - Link
As a senator, McCain has worked closely with Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.) on legislation designed to reduce greenhouse emissions through a market-based system and the development of nuclear, solar and other alternative energy sources. McCain supports federal funding and preservation of national parks, arguing that Americans should take "stewardship" of their "natural heritage." - Link
|
| I believe government should increase regulation of activities that appear likely to harm the environment. |
You: No Answer
John McCain: Slightly Agree | As a senator, McCain has worked closely with Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.) on legislation designed to reduce greenhouse emissions through a market-based system and the development of nuclear, solar and other alternative energy sources. McCain supports federal funding and preservation of national parks, arguing that Americans should take "stewardship" of their "natural heritage." - Link
# Use park visitor fees for park development bonds. (Dec 1999)
# Preserve natural resources for future. (Jul 1999)
# Voted YES on including oil & gas smokestacks in mercury regulations. (Sep 2005)
# Voted YES on confirming Gale Norton as Secretary of Interior. (Jan 2001)
# Voted YES on transportation demo projects. (Mar 1998)
# Voted NO on reducing funds for road-building in National Forests. (Sep 1997)
# Voted NO on continuing desert protection in California. (Oct 1994)
# Voted YES on requiring EPA risk assessments. (May 1994)
# End commercial whaling and illegal trade in whale meat. (Jun 2001)
# Supports grants for brownfields remediation. (May 2002)
# Make EPA into a Cabinet department. (May 2002)
# Rated 53% by the LCV, indicating a mixed record on environment. (Dec 2003)
# EPA must do better on mercury clean-up. (Apr 2004)
# Focus on results, not regulation. (Sep 1998). - Link
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| I believe the President's military action against Iraq was the right thing for him to do at the time. |
You: No Answer
John McCain: Strongly Agree | McCain has been a strong supporter of the U.S. decision to overthrow the Saddam Hussein regime in Iraq, of a continued military presence, and of Bush’s “hawkish” foreign policy in general. - Link
McCain has defended the moral justification for the war. He refers to terrorism as "a malevolent force that defiles an honorable religion by disputing God's love for each and every soul on earth" and as "a fight between right and wrong, good and evil." - Link
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