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I've been wanting to do a sort of guide to the candidates, especially since the primaries are coming up soon. So, I've now finally stopped procrastinating and have started a little series (which you can follow at the 2008-election-predictions tag). But first, here's a little introduction to the top six Republican candidates.
NOTE: I have not included several candidates in here. I love guys like Duncan Hunter or Tom Tancredo, but let's be reasonable: they have no chance of election. If they start showing signs of recovering, I'll modify this article. I will not do an article on Democrats since I'm not a Democrat and therefore will probably be biased towards the conservative Democrats. I am trying my best to be unbiased, but no one is impartial. If you're wondering, I'm a conservative Christian who supports the Iraqi War. Mike Huckabee impresses me the most so far.
Much of this data has been found via OnTheIssues.org, an excellent site for any student of politics.
Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, New York
Economically, he's the Republican dream. He's reduced taxes twenty-three times, cut spending by 7%, and loves the free market. He's got his own firm (Giuliani Partners). He wants to privatize healthcare, but give vouchers to those who can't afford it. He hasn't really said much on Social Security, but he has wanted to privatize it to a certain degree as well. He doesn't like the Fair Tax, but supports removing taxes such as the Death Tax. On foreign policy, the man is also outstanding from the Republican point of view. He's worried about Iran's nuclear capabilities down the road. He also dislikes the Democrat timetable for withdraw (it's "fundamentally irresponsible"). However, he's managed to alienate one of the most critical parts of the Republican Party: the conservative Christians. He's pro-gay unions, pro-choice, There are a few good social things about him according to the Republicans (pro-school voucher, anti-drugs, anti-porn, and has dropped crime in NYC), but the Christian vote is going to impact him hugely (several Christian leaders including James Dobson have threatened to back a third party if he is elected). And his pro-illegal alien stance has not helped either.
Former Governor Mike Huckabee, Arkansas
The conservative Christian's dream. A Southern Baptist preacher who decided to get into politics. Totally anti-abortion and fairly anti-gay. The foreign policy Republicans are fairly happy too. He's not afraid of the UN, thinks that if Iran has nukes that we should take them out, and that Iraq is our responsibility (we broke it, we fix it). Even the environmentalists are fairly happy (here's a candidate who actually supports fighting global warming). But the fiscal conservatives are divided. He claims he wants to rein in spending and is pro-corporation. But he wants to fix health care, not by privatizing it but by adding new measures (though not as drastic as our current system). He won't privatize Social Security either. On the other hand, he is probably the biggest proponent of replacing the current income tax with the Fair Tax.
Senator John McCain, Arizona
Remember this guy? Well, he hasn't changed a lot from what he was like eight years ago. Right now, his biggest problem is that he's fighting basically every section of the party. He is pretty much indifferent to abortion and gay marriage, alienating the Christians (though Sam Brownback has recently come out with an endorsement). He supports amnesty for illegal aliens, hurting him in the Republican Party. He's got no clear stance on corporations, wants to reform Social Security (but has little idea how to), likes the "tax the wealthy" format of our current tax system, and wants to make welfare harder to get (but still wants to keep it around). This has basically gotten the fiscals into another camp. And on foreign policy... your guess is as good as mine. All we know is that he deplores the Iraq War, but needs it to keep going.
Representative Ron Paul, Texas
This guy isn't really a conservative. He's a libertarian (if you remember, he ran twenty years ago for president as a libertarian). So he's doesn't have support from the entire Republican Party. However, he's got a HUGE fan base among the independents and even liberals. Socially, the Republicans are mixed. He's anti-abortion, neutral on gay marriage, dislikes the war on drugs, and is anti-death penalty. His biggest strength is his fiscal policies: he's anti-government-sponsored health care, wants to start privatizing (but not necessarily get rid of) social security, wants to remove the IRS, has a 89% NTU rating, and wants to abolish federal welfare. But on his foreign policy, many Republicans think he's cracked. Sure, he doesn't care about oil profits. But he basically doesn't want the US to interfere with any other country. Which means that the Iraqi War is illegal, Darfur isn't our responsibility, and Iran should be treated friendly and not as a potential threat. This isn't sitting great with the Republicans right now.
Former Governor Mitt Romney, Massachusetts
The wildcard right now. His biggest problem: convincing the voters he means what he says. On abortion, he's changed his mind several times. Same with gay marriage. But if his current stances are really what he means, the conservatives should love him. He talks about how he only raised taxes a little bit (compared to Giuliani), thinks businesses (not governments) should dictate trade, wants privatization of Social Security, pledges not to raise taxes (though dislikes the Fair Tax), and doesn't seem to like to expand welfare (though hasn't said anything about getting rid of it). He thought that the Iraq War wasn't a good idea in 2006, then decided it was and that we need to stay in.
Former Senator Fred Thompson, Tennessee
Socially, he's kinda in the middle. He basically thinks abortion and gay marriage should be left up to the states. Fiscally, he's more worried about balancing the budget than lowering taxes. He's not pro-big business, but not against either. He doesn't love or hate Social Security, but wants to reform it (who doesn't?). However, he is a huge tax reformer (let's get rid of the IRS!), and think states should control welfare. He also wants to stabilize Iraq and stop Iran from getting nukes.
