Candidate #3- Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton
Background and Early Life
Hillary Diane Rodham was born on 0ctober 26,1947 in Chicago, Illinois. Growing up in a conservative household as a child, Hillary began her political career at the age of 17, volunteering to campaign for unsuccessful Republican presidential candidate Barry Goldwater in 1964. She graduated high school the following year, having been named a National Merit Finalist, and also a member of the National Honors Society. After enrolling in Wellesely College, she became the president of the university’s Young Republicans organization. Her political views quickly changed as the events of the Civil Rights Movement and the Vietnam War unfolded. Upon her graduation with a political science degree in 1969, her fellow students demanded she make the commencement address. After a seven minute standing ovation, her speech gained her national recognition and an appearance in Life magazine. Hillary then moved on to Yale Law School, becoming a member of the Board of Editors on the Yale Review of Law and Social Action and an active volunteer on campus. She met Bill Clinton, a fellow Yalie, in 1971. In 1973 she received a Juris Doctor (professional law) degree, and did her post-graduate studies at Yale Child Study Center, a place she was active in throughout her career at Yale.Political qualifications and History
Hillary was the first First Lady to hold a post-graduate degree and during her time in the White House beside her husband, she supported and at times initiated domestic policy, especially in health care. She was elected a Senator of New York in 2000 and again in 2006.
Hillary on the Issues
Iraq-In 2003, Clinton voted for military use in Iraq, a decision she now regrets. She has voted for spending bills that call for a withdrawal of troops by the end of March. She calls for a cap on the number of soldiers in Iraq in opposition to President Bush’s troop increases.
Health Care- Hillary would require that all individuals should have health insurance. She calls for federal assistance to those who cannot afford it in any of 4 ways:
1. She would require insurance companies to give coverage to anyone who applies, while stopping them from boosting the premiums of people with pre-existing medical conditions.
2. Would require that large businesses provide in part or in full, health coverage for employees.
3. Would increase the size of Medicaid and federal children’s health insurance programs.
4. Would offer tax credits to help families pay medical bills.
This huge health care program has an estimated cost of $110 Billion a year. Clinton would provide this money from eliminating President Bush’s tax cuts to those making over $250,000 and putting and end to waste and inefficiency in our current system.
Economy
Budget- Hillary would make sure the government is not cutting taxes, nor spending more than it can afford. She calls for a return for the fiscal responsibility that was in place under Bill Clinton, when the budget was balanced and our nation was posting a surplus. With a more fiscally responsible government, Hillary says we can begin “ cutting out private contractors, closing loopholes, [and] getting the health care system to be more efficient.
Jobs-Clinton vows to create 5 million “Green collar” jobs (a job in the agricultural sector of the economy, also a eco-friendly job) if elected. She will also raise the minimum wage.
Taxes- As stated before, Hillary plans on eliminating the Bush administration tax cut for those making over $250,000. She wants to extend tax cuts to the middle class such as the 10 percent income tax rate, the child tax credit, and ending the marriage penalty tax. (For information on these taxes, I would recommend using ask.com or google.)
Education- Clinton has made clear that we need to do a better job preparing our youth for a 21st century economy. She plans on doing so by making reforms at all level of education. She plans on increasing the number of math, science, and engineering graduates, as well as making college more affordable through tax credits.
Immigration- Clinton has supported of bi-partisan legislation backed by President Bush that would do the following: Increase funding to improve border security technology and further enforcement of existing laws, as well as provide legal paths to citizenship for illegal immigrants. She also voted for a bill that would lead to construction of a 700-mile fence along the Mexican border.
Minor and Social Issues
Abortion-Supports abortion rights.
Guns- Clinton voted for a 10-year extension of a bill banning assault weapons and extensive background checks at gun shows. She supports mandatory trigger locks on all handguns, and wants to hold adults responsible for their children’s use of guns.
Same-sex marriage-Supports civil unions, but opposes same-sex marriages. She believes states should finally decide the issue and that an amendment banning same-sex marriage “has no place in the Constitution.”
Stem Cell Research- Supports expanding federal funding for embryonic stem cell research.
Strengths-Hillary has been especially stern throughout this election and hopes to erase any question regarding weaknesses she has because she is a woman. She has helped her husband Bill create the Clinton Foundation, which is a multi-million dollar organization set on helping climate change, funding AIDS researching, improve health among Americans and providing essential disaster relief.
Weaknesses- There are people who claim that a woman cannot lead the free world, or that America is not ready for a female President. Hillary can also come off as cold or overly stern, and is meeting strong opposition from those who do not want a return to Clinton policies.
Political Claim to Fame- Was one of the most active First-Ladies in our nations history, and has taken her political action forward into the United States Senate.
Sources and further reading
http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/issues/
1 comment:
Ahh, Hillary Clinton... This woman caused me a lot of grief growing up.The woman who came up with the ESRB video game rating system... you know, i would get birthday/christmas money(long ago), i go to spend it on a video game, but the store can't sell it to me. why? because im underage. ahh yes, then came questioning my mom, trying to get her to buy the teen/mature rated game for me, and that never worked. she said "it's rated for a reason." well, i suppose that's a reason they don't allow children to vote, those damn video game ratings..
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