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Written by: Matthew McGuire | Photo by: Marc Nozell / Flickr
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Political waves have been in motion early this campaign for the upcoming presidential election.
The Republicans have recently debated on issues that resonate within the GOP party. After the debate, the focus of the debate magnified on the comments between Donald Trump and Megyn Kelly.
To showcase the depth of the upcoming election, this article goes over the candidates past voting records, and how the stand with important issues.
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Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton have voted the same way 93 percent of the time in the two years they shared in the Senate.
The 31 times that Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Sanders disagreed happened to be on some the biggest issues of the day, including measures on continuing the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, an immigration reform bill and bank bailouts during the depths of the Great Recession.
Military
| Date | Issue | Outcome | Sanders | Clinton |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb. 8, 2007 | George W. Casey nomination | Confirmed, 83-14 | Supported confirmation | Opposed confirmation |
| March 15, 2007 | Congress should not cut military funding if it would undermine troop safety or mission | Agreed to, 82-16 | No restrictions on cutting military funding | Cut military funding only under certain conditions |
| May 16, 2007 | Set deadline for continued war funding | Agreed to, 87-9 | Opposed deadline | Supported deadline |
| July 12, 2007 | Develop and deploy “effective defense” against Iranian ballistic missiles | Agreed to, 90-5 | Opposed Iranian missile defense development | Supported Iranian missile defense development |
| July 19, 2007 | Bar transfer of Guantanamo detainees to America | Agreed to, 94-3 | Allow transfer of Guantanamo detainees | Block transfer of Guantanamo detainees |
| Sept. 26, 2007 | Set policy to “combat, contain, and roll back” violent Iranian activities in Iraq | Agreed to, 76-22 | Opposed policy | Supported policy |
| Sept. 17, 2008 | Defense budget bill | Passed, 88-8 | Opposed defense budget | Approved defense budget |
| Oct. 1, 2008 | Approve U.S.-India civilian nuclear deal | Passed, 86-13 | Opposed nuclear deal | Supported nuclear deal |
Environmental
| Date | Issue | Outcome | Sanders | Clinton |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 19, 2007 | Provide loans to produce synthesis gas from coal. | Rejected, 33-61 | Opposed | Favored |
| June 20, 2007 | Balance corn use between agriculture and ethanol production in case of lost crop | Rejected, 31-63 | Supported agricultural interests | Supported ethanol producers |
| June 20, 2007 | End tax credit for renewable diesel fuels made through petroleum co-processing | Rejected, 45-49 | Maintain tax credit | End tax credit |
| Sept. 23, 2008 | Waive budget restrictions on legislation extending tax deductions and alternative minimum tax | Agreed to, 84-11 | Opposed waiving restrictions | Favored waiving restrictions |
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GOP Debate 08/07/15
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“In 2004, I strongly came out against the war with Iraq, because it was going to completely destabilized the Middle East. I’m the only one of these candidates on this stage that knew that and had the vision to say it, and that is exactly what happened.” – Donald Trump
The GOP Debate lacked direct answers and positions on important issues. When Trump was asked about a foreign relations questions, he went on a tangent that did little to show his ability to interact with leaders from other countries.
He did comment on his stance with the Iraq war in 2004. An important element is to see if Trump will stick with the point of view, or if he will change his stance.
As the frontrunner for the Republican party, Trump has the best chance to secure the nomination for the party. With that nomination would move him into a one-on-one competition with either Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton, and a possible Joe Biden.
It is key for Jeb Bush, Rand Paul, Scott Walker, Ted Cruz and the other candidates to create opportunities for themselves to showcase why their voting record, and experience is best for the GOP party.
Climate Change and Republicans
According to the Associated Press, Scott Walker has not made climate change a focus of his campaign, but he has spoken at the Heartland Institute, a group that denies man-made climate change. Walker also joined more than a dozen other coal-reliant states suing the Environmental Protection Agency to block the so-called Clean Power Plan, which would require states to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 30 percent by 2030. Walker has also signed the “no climate tax” pledge to oppose any legislation that would raise taxes to combat climate change.
Jeb Bush, goes over a common sense approach, which sounds like a progressive stance on the environment for a Republican, but when it comes to voting, he talks a different walk.
Overall, Bush is firmly in line with the GOP on most high-profile energy priorities. He has repeatedly endorsed the Keystone XL oil pipeline and lauded the onshore hydraulic-fracturing boom that has boosted natural-gas production to record levels and crude-oil production to near-record levels. In a speech to the National Automobile Dealers Association in San Francisco early this year, Bush quipped that “it is not cool in San Francisco” to talk about the boom.
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National News
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