John McCain on the Issues
Other Candidates
John McCain (Republican) Web Site
Abortion
I am pro-life. I oppose abortion
except in the case of rape, incest or when the life of the mother is in
danger.--
www.mccain2000.com
Budget/Economy
McCain was one of only two
Republicans who voted twice, in 1995 and again in 1997, to take Social Security
"off-budget" - removing it from balanced budget calculations as part
of a constitutional balanced budget amendment - which would have prevented the
government from filling the trust fund with "IOU’s". --
www.mccain2000.com
Civil Rights
I support the constitutional
amendment to prohibit the physical desecration of the American flag. I believe
we have an inviolable duty to protect the right of free speech. I do not
believe, however, that guaranteeing respect for our national symbol by
prohibiting "acts" of desecration impinges on political ‘speech.’
As long as citizens are free to speak out on any matter, it does not seem
burdensome to me that we accord some modicum of respect to the symbol of those
precious freedoms. -- www.mccain2000.com
Crime
Vigorously enforce stiff
penalties against those who use a firearm in the commission of a crime. Promote
responsible firearm ownership, operation and storage through education and
training. Work to make obsolete the hate groups that fan the flame of violence
in our society. Curb the gratuitous violence in the media that is desensitizing
our culture to violence. -- www.mccain2000.com
Defense
Force has a role in but is not a
substitute for diplomacy. All means short of force should be employed first. We
should not risk American lives in quarrels that are entirely someone else’s
affair, where no faction is committed to our values, and no vital interest is at
stake. When force must be used, have clear rules of engagement, define an
achievable mission, and bring US troops home as soon as possible. And never
accept foreign or "dual key" authority for the command of US military
operations. -- www.mccain2000.com
Drugs
Q: How do you reconcile the
tolerance for alcohol with the intolerance for marijuana? A: I can’t support
the legalization 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. There is a problem in American with alcohol
abuse, and there’s no doubt about that. We have to do whatever we can to -
prevention, education, and that applies to drugs too. -- Debate at Dartmouth
College 10/29/99
Education
The nation's education system is failing
our children. American students trail those of other countries in the skills of
the future including math, science and physics. Forty percent of fourth graders
can't read, and 40 million American are unable to read a restaurant menu, much
less a computer menu. Education reform is not an option, it's a must if our
country is to remain strong, and our children are to be prepared for a future
worthy of their potential. -- www.mccain2000.com
Environment
I’m here to tell you that I
want to tell you the things that you don’t want to hear as well as the things
you want to hear. And one of those is ethanol. Ethanol is not worth it. It does
not help the consumer. And those ethanol subsidies should be phased out and
everybody here on this stage, if it wasn’t for the fact that Iowa is the first
caucus state, would share my view that we don’t need ethanol subsidies. It
doesn’t help anybody. -- Iowa GOP debate 12/13/99
Families/Children
We parents should know what our
children are seeing. I can’t tell you that I always know what my children are
watching. I can’t tell you exactly what they’re seeing when they go to the
mall. It’s my responsibility [so] when we’re wiring every school and library
with the Internet, each should have filtering software to filter out that stuff.
We need to know why we’re robbing our children of the most precious treasure,
and that’s their innocence. -- Iowa GOP debate 12/13/99
Foreign Policy
The proliferation of weapons of
mass destruction is the clearest danger we currently confront, especially in
rogue states such as Iraq, North Korea and others. The US [should support]
indigenous and outside forces that desire to overthrow the odious regimes that
rule these states. Call it rogue state rollback if you will. If you commit to
supporting these forces. don’t abandon them to the mercies of tyrants whenever
they meet with reversals as the Administration did in the north of Iraq. --
www.mccain2000.com
Free Trade
I don’t believe in walls. I
believe in freedom. If I were President, I would negotiate a free trade
agreement with almost any country willing to negotiate fairly with us. Only
risks to the security of our vital interests or egregious offenses to our most
cherished political values should disqualify a nation from entering into a free
trade agreement with us. -- Speech to National Press Club 5/20/99
Government Reform
McCain led the ten-year fight to
enact the Line-Item Veto in 1996 as a tool for the President to curb wasteful
congressional spending, and continues to work to restore this important budget
control mechanism. McCain also supported the 1997 Balanced Budget and Taxpayer
Relief Acts. -- www.mccain2000.com
Gun Control
We need to focus on halting the
spread of violent crime and punishing violent criminals who abuse their Second
Amendment rights, while preserving those same rights for law-abiding Americans.
-- www.mccain2000.com
Bearing arms is a constitutionally protected right. With rights come responsibilities. I will continue to support effective, common sense measures that help keep firearms out of the hands of criminals, children and the mentally incompetent; that assure Second Amendment rights are exercised responsibly; and that do not impinge upon law abiding citizens in the free exercise of their rights, including the right to protect themselves and their family. -- www.mccain2000.com
Health Care
America has the best and highest quality
health care system in the world. However, it's unacceptable that 43 million
Americans lack the health insurance coverage they need to properly access the
system. It's time we make the reforms necessary to help uninsured Americans
receive the coverage and access to quality health care they need. -- www.mccain2000.com
We’re asking senior citizens
now to make a choice between their health and their income. They make too much
money to be on Medicare and not enough to pay for their prescription drugs.
We’ve got to devise a program that when a senior spends a certain part of
their income on these prescription drugs that we’ll have a state and federal
match for it. We can’t do that to our senior citizens. -- Iowa GOP debate
12/13/99
Schools
We have to have choice and
competition in our schools in order to improve our school system, including
charter schools, including a test voucher program that would be paid for with
ethanol subsidies and with sugar subsidies. And in order to make that system
work, the test voucher program throughout America, we have to have good
teachers, and I would argue that merit pay, rewards for good teachers and
helping bad teachers find another line of work is the way we must go about it.
-- Debate at Dartmouth College 10/29/99
Social Security
Social Security is a sacred
compact with seniors. The promise of Social Security benefits to working
Americans in their retirement years must be kept, in full. But reform is
necessary if we are to meet that imperative. We must put Social Security on
sound financial footing and take the program out of partisan politics. -- www.mccain2000.com
Tax Reform
I believe that taxes are too high
and the tax code too complex. The average working family pays nearly 40% of
their earnings to the taxman. That's not fair. The federal tax code is a
44,000-page catalogue of favors for special interests and a chamber of horrors
for the rest of America. The time for reform is now. -- www.mccain2000.com
Welfare/Labor
- Al Gore (Democrat)
- Alan Keyes (Republican)
- Bill Bradley (Democrat)
- Gary Bauer (Republican)
- George W. Bush (Republican)
- Harry Browne (Libertarian)
- Howard Phillips (Constitution)
- Pat Buchanan (Reform)
- Steve Forbes (Republican)
Other Candidates
For a list of the above and 17 current and former candidates from 6 political
parties, with links to their web sites, please see...
President 2000: Candidates' Web Sites
Great Sources of Voter Information
Freedom Channel
The first video-on-demand in American politics, click and see the candidates you want, on the issues you want, whenever you want them.GoVote Forum on John McCain
A popular moderated forum discussing the platform and campaign of this candidate.Issues2000
John McCain - many more statements on many more issues.League of Women Voters - Voter Information
Provides links to online information about local, state, and national candidates from all over the country.State Voter Registration Requirements
Are you eligible to vote in your state?VirtualJerusalem.com -- The Next President
A careful look at where Bush, McCain, Gore, and Bradley stand on the issues and how the election could affect Israel.VoteMatch Quiz
You enter your opinions on the issues -- VoteMatch selects the candidate that best matches your views.Project Vote Smart
This national non-partisan, non-profit effort researches, tracks and provides to the public independent factual information on over 13,000 candidates and elected officials.VIS - Voter Information Services
Using a simple and fast interface, non-partisan, non-profit VIS lets you research how likely members of Congress are to vote in support of identified advocacy groups.
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Political Parties
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