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Books by and about 2024 presidential candidates |
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Hillbilly Elegy,
by JD Vance (2017) |
Crippled America,
by Donald J. Trump (2015) |
Fire and Fury,
by Michael Wolff (2018) |
Trump Revealed,
by Michael Kranish and Marc Fisher (2016) |
The Making of Donald Trump,
by David Cay Johnston (2016) |
Promise Me, Dad ,
by Joe Biden (2017) |
The Book of Joe ,
by Jeff Wilser (2019; biography of Joe Biden) |
The Truths We Hold,
by Kamala Harris (2019) |
Smart on Crime,
by Kamala Harris (2010) |
Becoming,
by Michelle Obama (2018) |
Higher Loyalty,
by James Comey (2018) |
The Making of Donald Trump,
by David Cay Johnston (2017) |
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Book Reviews |
(from Amazon.com) |
(click a book cover for a review or other books by or about the presidency from Amazon.com)
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| OnTheIssues.org excerpts: (click on issues for details)
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Abortion
Cory Gardner: Make "the pill" available without a prescription.
Maya Cummings: Emily's List endorsement.
Ken Cuccinelli: No new abortion restrictions as governor.
Mike Huckabee: End Planned Parenthood funding by tying to debt limit vote.
Mike McFadden: Make contraceptives available without a prescription.
Newt Gingrich: Don't discard excess embryos from in vitro fertilization.
Newt Gingrich: Don't discard excess embryos from in vitro fertilization.
Newt Gingrich: Embryonic stem-cell research desensitizes us to kill babies.
Newt Gingrich: Embryonic stem-cell research desensitizes us to kill babies.
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Budget & Economy
Barack Obama: FactCheck: Deficits cut in half, but still higher than 2008.
Elaine Chao: Reckless tax and spend strategy is hazardous for economy.
Jerry Brown: Ping-pong budgeting makes no sense.
Joe Manchin III: Constitutional amendment requiring balanced budget.
John Raese: Constitutional amendment requiring balanced budget.
Pope Francis: Trickle-down theories are structurally perverse economics.
Russell Feingold: 41-point plan to help control federal spending.
Russell Feingold: 41-point plan to help control federal spending.
John Kasich: Balanced Budget Forever: promote constitutional amendment.
Rand Paul: Is the Fed too big to be audited?
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Civil Rights
Barack Obama: FactCheck: Gender wage gap is $0.19, not $0.23.
Barbara Buono: Push legislature to legalize gay marriage.
Bob McDonnell: Objects to anti-gay discrimination in principle.
Bobby Jindal: Find common ground on gay marriage even when we disagree.
Chris Christie: No legislating gay marriage; but referendum ok.
Clarence Thomas: Anti-gay marriage laws not the same as anti-miscegenation.
Jeb Bush: Traditional marriage best; but recognize gay couples.
Joni Ernst: Endorsed by RightNOW Women PAC to escape "war on women".
Ken Cuccinelli: Homosexuality is against nature and harmful to society.
Larry Hogan: Respect state law on same-sex marriage (even if not my view).
Marco Rubio: Leave gay marriage to states, but keep DOMA.
Mike Lee: Equality means giving citizens the right to define marriage.
Mike McFadden: Gay marriage ok; but I'm personally for traditional marriage.
Paul Ryan: Supports DOMA; supports constitutional ban on gay marriage.
Pope Francis: Doesn't support breaking law to stop gay marriage.
Rand Paul: Make federal benefits equal for gay couples.
Tim Kaine: No discrimination against nominating gay judges.
Tim Kaine: Same-sex couples should have the same legal rights.
Tim Kaine: 2005: No gay adoption; 2011: gay adoption okay.
Wendy Long: Firefighters don't deserve to be victims of racial quotas.
Corey Stewart: Unfair to condemn only white nationalists.
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Corporations
George Allen: Focus on small business and job creation.
George Allen: Encourage corporations to repatriate their foreign earnings.
Joe Manchin III: Endorsed by U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Neel Kashkari: Corporate rate complexity encourages investment abroad.
Rob Portman: More favorable policy: encourage business development.
Ron Johnson: I'd be the only manufacturer in the Senate.
Ron Johnson: I'd be the only manufacturer in the Senate.
Tom Corbett: Give up on privatizing state lottery program.
Tom Cotton: AdWatch: Worked as management consultant, not in insurance.
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Crime
Asa Hutchinson: Four executions in 8 days; keep protocol of lethal injection.
Bill Weld: Prosecute police for civil rights violations.
Donald Trump: FactCheck: Stop-&-frisk unconstitutional but NYPD disagrees.
Gary Johnson: What are some local police doing that others aren't?
Jeb Bush: Death penalty a tough call, but victims' families benefit.
John Kasich: Black Lives Matter means the system doesn't work for them.
John Kasich: Police must understand challenges of black community.
Mike Lee: Keep violent predators behind bars, not nonviolent offenders.
Tim Kaine: Opposes death penalty as a Catholic, but upholds VA law.
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Drugs
Bill Weld: Tighten opioid prescription rules to keep them off streets.
Colin Bonini: Decriminalizing marijuana sends young people wrong message.
Donald Trump: Yes to medical marijuana; otherwise, decide state by state.
Elizabeth Warren: Legalizing marijuana will reduce opioid deaths.
Gary Johnson: Mass shootings result from War on Drugs "shoot first" notion.
Gary Johnson: Harm reduction strategies for heroin but no legalization.
Jack Markell: Decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana.
Jeff Merkley: Positives of pot legalization outweigh the negatives.
Jerry Brown: How many people can get stoned and still have a great state?
Martin O`Malley: Baltimore recovered from open-air drug markets.
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Education
George Allen: Froze college tuition while governor.
Kay Hagan: Repeatedly stressed support for public schools.
Marco Rubio: Private lenders get percentage of student's income.
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Energy & Oil
Bill Weld: Carbon capture & sequestration technology for global warming.
Bill Weld: Carbon trading credits but no carbon tax.
Dave Freudenthal: Nation's first state excise tax on wind energy production.
Jeb Bush: Why is State Department in permit business for XL pipeline?
Pope Francis: Calls for aggressive climate change action.
Terry McAuliffe: Co-founded GreenTech electric car company, in Mississippi.
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Environment
Creigh Deeds: Bring high-speed rail & bus rapid transit to Virginia.
Donald Trump: Eminent domain is a very useful tool for job creation.
Jerry Brown: $25B for water-shortage farmland.
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Families & Children
Mike Lee: End hidden double-tax imposed on working parents.
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Foreign Policy
Asa Hutchinson: Eradicate North Korean leadership, but no assassinations.
Bill Weld: Focus on nuclear proliferation & the Sunni-Shia schism.
George W. Bush: PEPFAR has saved 12M lives in Africa; let's keep it up.
Pope Francis: Open Cuba; end American embargo.
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Free Trade
Brad Ellsworth: NAFTA has cost Indiana jobs.
Daniel Coats: Trade barriers would hurt Indiana.
Hillary Clinton: FactCheck: Yes, called TPP "gold standard," unambiguously.
Jennifer Wexton: Open markets help business, not tariffs.
Lee Fisher: More stringent policy: discourage companies moving overseas.
Mike Pence: Supports TPP and trade agreements with Pacific Rim and China.
Ted Cruz: End the Export-Import Bank.
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Government Reform
Donald Trump: FactCheck: Removed more regulations than other presidents.
George Allen: Judges shouldn't invent law or impose their political views.
John Raese: Federal earmarks create career politicians.
Tom Vilsack: Money is the only reason he left presidential race.
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Gun Control
Ed Gillespie: Fight UN gun ban treaty, & fight bans on guns or ammunition.
Gary Johnson: Banning assault weapons just criminalizes the owners.
Larry Hogan: Ban bump stocks and other rapid-trigger devices.
Larry Hogan: Increase age of unsupervised access from 16 to 18.
Lincoln Chafee: Common-ground, commonsense safety legislation.
Lucy McBath: Fight for gun control and save lives.
Mark Warner: Restrict but don't ban high-capacity magazines.
Mike Espy: Appeared in advertisement in support of NRA.
Steve Stockman: The best gun lubricant around is Liberal Tears.
Steve Stockman: 1993: Opposed federal raid on the Branch Davidian compound.
Ted Cruz: Obama is coming for our guns.
Ted Strickland: 2010: Pro-gun & NRA endorsed; 2016: end gun epidemic.
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Health Care
Alec Ross: Favors public option over single payer.
Bill Weld: Likes health savings accounts & more competition.
Gary Johnson: Let states experiment with Medicare & Medicaid rules.
Gary Johnson: Run Medicare and Medicaid via states and municipalities.
Gary Johnson: Free market reduces prices with places like "Stitches R Us".
George Allen: I want to be the deciding vote to repeal ObamaCare.
Jeff Flake: ObamaCare is a heavy anchor to drag around.
Joe Manchin III: Opposes requiring individuals or businesses to buy insurance.
Joe Manchin III: Prohibit denying coverage for pre-existing conditions.
John Raese: ObamaCare is worst bill to ever come out of Congress.
John Raese: ObamaCare is pure, unadulterated socialism.
Ken Cuccinelli: Opposes ObamaCare and opposes delaying its implementation.
Mike Lee: ObamaCare gives far too much power to government.
Richard Carmona: Indignity of being poor patient in hospital sensitizes me.
Rick Berg: Advocates repeal of Obama's healthcare because too costly.
Terry McAuliffe: Supports ObamaCare's expanding the state's Medicaid program.
Tim Kaine: Inaction was not a solution for healthcare.
Tom Cotton: AdWatch: No, Cotton won't end Medicare guarantee.
John Kasich: Accepted ObamaCare's Medicaid expansion statewide.
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Homeland Security
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: Pay for 65% of Medicare with defense waste (FactCheck: 20%).
Bill Weld: Take on ISIS with FBI task forces, like we took on the Mafia.
Bill Weld: Pardon Snowden; no one was harmed by what he released.
Bill Weld: Phase down our nuclear stockpile.
Donald Trump: FactCheck: US spends more than NATO, but only 22% on NATO.
Gary Johnson: No-fly lists subject to error; use airport security instead.
Gary Johnson: Turn NSA satellites away from United States.
Gary Johnson: Pardon Snowden; no one was harmed by what he released.
Gary Johnson: Cut 20% of military bases in US and abroad.
Pope Francis: Vatican recognizes Palestinian statehood.
Tim Kaine: Repeal "Don't Ask Don't Tell": let gays serve in military.
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Immigration
Al Franken: Apologize for stripping citizenship for marrying foreigners.
Daniel Coats: Voted for amnesty 26 years ago; against a dozen times since.
Elizabeth Warren: Supports President Obama's immigration reform.
Gabriel Gomez: Make the Senate "Gang of Eight" a "Gang of Nine".
Jeff Flake: Secure the border; then comprehensive reform.
Jeff Flake: SB1070 was imprudent & unconstitutional, but let it stand.
John Sanchez: Combat employment of illegals, after caught doing so.
Ken Cuccinelli: Path to citizenship ok as part of compromise.
Marco Rubio: GOP DREAM Act: visas for going to college or military.
Neel Kashkari: Expand visa programs for highly skilled workers.
Pope Francis: End inhuman conditions when Mexican migrants come to U.S.
Richard Carmona: I was given an opportunity to succeed; so should others.
Richard Carmona: Vitriolic 'deport everybody' message loses Hispanics.
Terry McAuliffe: Support the DREAM Act for legalizing minors.
Tim Kaine: Make it easier for foreign students to get green cards.
Travis Childers: Signed anti-amnesty pledge: don't reward lawbreakers.
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Jobs
Barack Obama: FactCheck: Yes, 8M new jobs, but net 1.2M lost in recession.
Cathy McMorris-Rodgers: FactCheck: Workforce participation decline due to Baby Boom.
Cory Booker: $1,000 tax credit for job-training apprenticeships.
Gary Johnson: Why not $75? We can't afford minimum wage.
John Raese: My forte is creating jobs.
Tim Scott: $1,000 tax credit for job-training apprenticeships.
John Kasich: 2011: Public employee union reforms overturned by voters.
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Principles & Values
Bob McDonnell: Indicted on corruption charges days after leaving office.
Bobby Jindal: Parents accepted my conversion; but they are actively Hindu.
Colleen Hanabusa: OpEd: Too old to build seniority to steer pork to Hawaii.
David Alameel: Defeated LaRouche Democrat in primary.
Joe Manchin III: My forte is creating jobs; I'll bring spirit of capitalism.
Joe Manchin III: To Raese: Mr. Obama's name will not be on the ballot!
Joe Miller: I was beyond stupid to rig poll with colleagues' computers.
Richard Carmona: Seeks to earn the respect of disenfranchised populations.
Scott Brown: $1.3 million in 24 hours via Internet "Money Bomb" appeal.
Sean Haugh: YouTube-based campaign as Libertarian party nominee.
Terri Lynn Land: AdWatch: Grew up in a trailer park, then managed motels.
Thom Tillis: A self-made man who grew up in a trailer park.
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Social Security
Andrew Cuomo: Expose obscure formulas that cause automatic increases.
Brad Ellsworth: Don't raise the retirement age; put people to work instead.
Bruce Braley: Privatizing Social Security turns it over to Wall Street.
Daniel Coats: Save Social Security from itself; increase age & more.
Gary Johnson: Change eligibility rules for Medicare; and age for Soc.Sec.
George Allen: Raise retirement age & end benefits to wealthy.
Lee Fisher: No benefit cuts; don't raise retirement age.
Neel Kashkari: We must cut entitlements, to avoid national insolvency.
Neel Kashkari: Index for inflation; increase retirement age; means-testing.
Rick Berg: Against privatizing Social Security.
Rob Portman: Bush's proposal was sound, but I'm not for privatization.
Tim Kaine: Lift the payroll tax cap.
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Tax Reform
Ben Jealous: Tax the top 1% earners by 1% to pay for free college.
Bob McDonnell: Use general funds for transportation bill, not new taxes.
Creigh Deeds: Dedicated funding for transportation, including new taxes.
Ed Gillespie: Believes in conservative ideas of lower taxes.
Ed Gillespie: Use 40% of projected revenue growth for tax relief.
Frank Wagner: More taxes to pay for chronic lack of transportation funding.
Joe Manchin III: Don't mess with or increase taxes during a time of turmoil.
John Raese: Make tax cuts permanent, even for earners over $250K.
Ken Cuccinelli: Cut taxes by $1.4 billion a year.
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Technology
Charles Schumer: $30B for NYC-NJ Gateway rail tunnel.
Chris Christie: $30B for NYC-NJ Gateway rail tunnel.
Creigh Deeds: Commission to craft a comprehensive transportation package.
Donald Trump: No to $30B for NYC-NJ Gateway rail tunnel.
Elaine Chao: NY-NJ Tunnel means less funding for other projects.
George Allen: No online sales tax for out-of-state websites.
Joe Manchin III: States depend on federal government for key infrastructure.
Richard Carmona: Criticized Bush for placing politics ahead of science.
Rodney Frelinghuysen: $30B for NYC-NJ Gateway rail tunnel.
Ted Budd: Don't make 48 other states pay $30B for NY-NJ Tunnel.
Tim Kaine: Force online retailers to collect sales taxes.
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War & Peace
Dan Crenshaw: We fight there so they don't bring it to us.
Ed Gillespie: As Bush spokesperson, defended Iraqi surge & al Qaeda link.
Gary Johnson: Leave Afghanistan now or Taliban comes back when we do leave.
Gary Johnson: North Korea has no conventional threat; China deal on ICBMs.
Pope Francis: Supports the Iran nuclear deal.
Rand Paul: Maintain ambiguous policy on containing nuclear Iran.
Scott Brown: Terrorists are not gone from Afghanistan.
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Welfare & Poverty
David Alameel: I don't see upward mobility for the middle class.
Jerry Brown: 1977: Visited tenement & prison to see 1st-hand.
Mike Lee: Poverty comes from cronyist privilege at the top.
Neel Kashkari: With $40 & no job, economy hasn't improved since 2011.
Paul LePage: Give people in need a hand up; don't give unneeded hand-outs.
Pope Francis: Politicians should be disturbed by the lives of the poor.
Richard Carmona: Experienced poverty and homelessness as child in Harlem.
Steve Stockman: 1990s: Homeless in Fort Worth's Water Gardens park.
Thom Tillis: No government assistance for those who can help themselves.
John Kasich: Reach out and help those who live in the shadows.
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