Glance at Republican Candidates
Rand Paul: Paul was born on Jan. 17, 1963 in Pennsylvania. He has been serving as the United States senator of Kentucky since 2011. He had a taste for politics because his father, Ron Paul, was a former congressman and presidential nominee. He attended medical school at Duke University and specialized in ophthalmology. He has libertarian tendencies and believes in small government.
Foreign Policy: Paul hasn’t entirely ruled out a nuclear deal with Iran, very much unlike his Republican counterparts. He believes a diplomatic approach is more effective than military intervention. For ISIS, he suggests the United States continue arming Kurdish fighters and continuing to put troops on the ground. He would also like a congressional declaration of war.
Immigration: Paul thinks conservative Republicans need to be part of the solution on immigration. He stated he was open to debate on how to execute this process. He supports the immigrants that are here and granting them temporary work visas. However, his stance on a pathway to citizenship is unclear. He advocates for tighter border security and more legal issuance of visas.
Environment: Paul suggests that human activity is quickening the pace of climate change and is open to carbon emission reducing legislation. He does say that it could hurt our economy and it shouldn’t be a top priority.
Education: He wants to shut down the Department of Education, no questions asked. He would keep the distribution of funding to the local and state level.
Social Issues: Paul believes in limitations on abortion rights and that life begins at conception. He doesn’t agree with the legalization of gay marriage, and even suggests that government shouldn’t be in the business of marriage at all.
Chris Christie: Christie was born on Sept. 6, 1962 in Newark, New Jersey. He is the governor of New Jersey. He has lived in New Jersey almost his whole life, minus the years he spent in college. He got a law degree from Seton Hall University and later worked as a lobbyist. In 2001 he was nominated as United States Attorney for New Jersey by President George W. Bush.
Foreign Policy: Christie widely debates the Iran nuclear deal. He believes that we shouldn’t trust a government that sponsors terrorist organizations. He thinks our better option is to strengthen ties with Israel and maintain good relations with them. Christie stated he would be willing to send troops to fight ISIS if it became necessary. He wouldn’t tie the hands of the military.
Immigration: Christie has suggested monitoring immigrants that come into the U.S. by means of biometric technology. He compared it to the kind of fingerprinting technology the police force uses for criminals. He thinks that if we closely track people coming into the country on visas we can be sure they don’t overstay.
Environment: Christie believes climate change and does address that it could be caused by human interaction with the environment. In his state of New Jersey, he denied a cap-and-trade program, which gives organizations a profit incentive to reduce certain emissions into the atmosphere.
Education: Christie doesn’t support common core standards; he originally signed on to common core standards but wasn’t happy with implementation. He doesn’t want federal standards — he wants New Jersey standards.
Social Issues: Christie believes marriage should be between a man and a woman, but Supreme Court ruling is the law of the land. He also dropped a New Jersey challenge to the court decision. On the issue of guns, he would want less restriction on guns and more aggressive research on mental health issues.
— lilywachtor3@hotmail.com