Monday, March 19, 2007

Political Bio of the Week


This week is devoted to a lead Republican Presidential candidate, John McCain.

McCAIN, John Sidney, III, a Representative and a Senator from Arizona; born in Panama Canal Zone, August 29, 1936; attended schools in Alexandria, Va.; graduated, United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, Md. 1958, and the National War College, Washington, D.C. 1973; pilot, United States Navy 1958-1981, prisoner of war in Vietnam 1967-1973; received numerous awards, including the Silver Star, Legion of Merit, Purple Heart, and Distinguished Flying Cross; elected as a Republican in 1982 to the Ninety-eighth Congress; reelected to the Ninety-ninth Congress in 1984 and served from January 3, 1983, to January 3, 1987; elected to the United States Senate in 1986; reelected in 1992, 1998 and in 2004 for the term ending January 3, 2011; chair, Committee on Indian Affairs (One Hundred Fourth Congress; One Hundred Ninth Congress), Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation (One Hundred Fourth through One Hundred Sixth Congresses, One Hundred Seventh Congress [January 20, 2001-June 6, 2001], One Hundred Eighth Congress); unsuccessful candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in 2000.
Favors:

Banning affirmative action hiring with federal funds
Special funding for minority and women-owned businesses
Leaving gay marriage to the states
Prohibiting same sex marriage
Ten Commandments in schools
School prayer
Abstinence education
Recommending Constitutional ban on flag desecration
Health insurance for children
More tax-deductible health costs; limits on malpractice
Tax credits for those without employee health insurance
Limiting self-employment health deduction
Negotiating bulk purchases for Medicare prescription drugs
Privitize Social Security
Option to invest 20% of payroll taxes in private accounts
Roth IRA's for retirees
Using the Social Security surplus to fund tax reductions
Parents chose schools via vouchers
Education savings accounts
Death Penalty
More prisons and increased penalties
Mandatory prison terms for crimes involving firearms
Absolute right to gun ownership
Repealing existing gun restrictions; penalize criminal use
Banning lawsuits against gun manufacturers for gun violence
Removing charitable deduction since it only benefits the rich
Middle-class tax cut, expand 15% bracket
Flatter, lower and simpler taxes
Requiring super-majority to raise taxes
Eliminating the marriage penalty
Extending the tax cuts on capital gains and dividends
More help for legal immigrants when immigrating and once here
English immersion over bilingual education
Limiting welfare for immigrants
Allowing illegal aliens to participate in Social Security
Guest Worker program
Expanding free trade with anyone
Renewing fast track presidential trade authority
Patriot Act and wiretap provision
Raise military pay to avoid military draft
Closing unneeded military bases
Deploying National Missle Defense ASAP
Requiring on budget funding for Iraq, not emergency funding
Multiple restrictions on campaign finance reform
Sending in heavy wave of troops to Iraq to establish order
Strengthen Clean Air and Water Act; but not Kyoto
Targeting 100,000 hydrogen cars by 2010

Opposes:

Partial Birth Abortions
Military Base Abortions
Abortions, except rape and incest
Prohibiting job discrimination by sexual orientation
Adding sexual orientation to definition of hate crimes
Including prescription drugs under Medicare
Federal Government size & scope, including military
Replacing US troops w/ UN troops
Limiting NATO expansion to only Poland, Hungry and Czech
Allowing all necessary force in Kosovo
Reducing oil usage by 40% by 2025 (instead of 5%)

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