Alright Alliance High seniors its your turn to start voting and you need to be informed. It is your civic responsibility and that is why I am here to guide you on your path to making informed political decisions. Each week I am going to feature one of the presidential candidates and what they stand for. After perusing these easy to read posts there will no longer be an excuse for you to not vote. Oh, and when you go get your new license when you’re eighteen, register to vote! The below information comes from issues2000.org

This week I am introducing to you: Mitt Romney. Mitt is leading the pack in the primary election. He was the Governor of Massachusetts and he is Republican. His stands for the following issues is as follows:

Abortion

• Firmly pro-left
• Abortion decision should recognize two lives involved
• Right to choose
• Feds should stay out of abortion
• Stem cell research lofty goals don’t justify destroying life.

Budget and Economy

• Left foreclosures happen; let the market reboot
• Help middle class first
• Middle-income American’s save money tax-free
• Let companies go bankrupt

Civil Rights

• Federal definition of marriage as one man, on woman
• Against legalizing gay marriage
• Favored gays serving openly in military
• Supports Employment Nondiscrimination Act at state level
• Supports benefits for gay partners but not gay marriage.

Corporations

• No individual bailouts; but preserve financial system
• Big banks handle massive regulations; small banks get killed.
• Reduce corporate tax rate

Crime

• Hire private companies to manage out state prisons
• Reform sentencing process; appeal too-lenient sentences
• Supports death penalty in heinous murders
• Favors mandatory sentencing and three strikes

Drugs

• Opposes legalization of recreational or medical marijuana
• Mandatory sentence and higher penalty for repeat drunk driving
• Combat the ruthless narco-terrorists in Colombia

Education

• Smaller classroom size only matters to teachers’ unions
• Insist that teachers get evaluated
• Failure to educate minorities is a civil rights issue
• Bold reforms: required H.S. graduation test
• Supports No Child Left Behind
• Supports English immersion and abstinence education
• Supports abolishing the federal Department of Education
• Schools can teach family values but not religion or prayer
• Supports means-tested vouchers for public and private schools

Energy & Oil

• Compensate Nevada for nuclear waste
• SOME human contribution to global warming
• Reduce greenhouse emission abroad
• Nuclear power is a win-win
• Need world wide global warming solutions
• Invest in new technologies to get us off of foreign oil
• Develop alternative energy but also drill in ANWR

Environment

• States should be able to have their own emissions standards

Families & Children

• Child development enhanced by having a mother and father
• Don’t change labor laws
• Strengthen America, strengthen the American family

Foreign Policy

• Unacceptable for Iran to become a nuclear nation
• No European-style solutions to an American Problem
• We need friends in the Muslim world
• Encourage others to welcome democracy without military

Free Trade

• Trade with china only if they follow international rules
• China is a currency manipulator; go after them for cheating
• China doesn’t want to have a trade war so push hard
• Open up markets to American goods and services

Government Reform

• Balanced budget amendment and line-item veto
• Focus on global Jihad, immigration, tax cut, and healthcare

Gun Control

• Supports the 2^nd amendment and the assault weapon ban
• Supports the work of the NRA
• Ban lethal weapons that threaten police

Health Care

• Return healthcare to states
• No federal individual mandate
• ObamaCare waivers on day one; repeal bill on day two
• RomneyCare intended as state plan; never as national model
• Believes in 10^th amendment
• Base health care system on free choice and private medicine
• Get everyone some form of catastrophic health coverage
• Some tax treatment if people buy insurance without employers

Homeland Security

• Against cutting defense
• Devoted to making America the strongest nation on Earth
• Updating nuclear arsenal
• No Miranda rights for suicide bombers against closing Guantanamo
• Raise military spending to 4% of our GDP
• FBI wiretaps and spying on immigrants OK

Immigration

• Alien employment cards; not amnesty
• Build 2,600 mile fence with enough guards to secure it
• Let business determine visas
• Illegal immigrants shouldn’t get tuition break in schools
• Opposed to illegal immigrants staying

Jobs

• Tax incentives for employee training
• I believe in domestic supports for our agriculture industry

Social Security

• Keep social security as an essential federal program
• Favors private accounts
• Will try to fix Social Security without raising taxes
• Add individual retirement accounts as option
• System is federal responsibility, not state governments

Tax Reform

• Middle class needs help
• Reduce the tax burden on middle income families
• Against death tax
• End taxes on interests dividends and capital gains

Technology

• China must respect intellectual property if they want trade
• Against road project to stimulate the economy
• Invest in nanotech and materials science
• Invest infrastructure from growing economy by lower taxes

War and Peace

• Crippling sanctions against Iran and military to stop nukes
• Withdraw from Afghanistan after 2012
• Supported the surge; never supported a timed withdrawal
• Supports listening to generals on war situations

Welfare and Poverty

• Entitlements: focus on future beyond next election
• Creating jobs helps poorest workers; not cash handouts
• Require welfare recipients to work