Sunday Political Talk Show interviews during 2013, interviewing presidential hopefuls for 2016

OnTheIssues.org excerpts:  (click on issues for details)

Abortion     Scott Walker: I'm proudly pro-life, but focus on fiscal issues.     Rick Perry: More restrictions on abortion clinics; 5-month limit.     Rand Paul: Personhood at conception, including embryonic stem cells.

Budget & Economy     Paul Ryan: Tea Party helps keep the taxpayer in the game.     Paul Ryan: My budget deal got Democrats to agree to long-term sequester.     Paul Ryan: When Fed "tapers", interest rates rise & hurts us fiscally.     Rand Paul: The sequester is the law of the land: can't compromise on it.     Paul Ryan: Sequester on discretionary spending yes; no on $1.2T savings.

Civil Rights     Mike Huckabee: Homosexuality is a sin the same as heterosexual lust.     Colin Powell: We have not yet fully accomplished MLK's dream.     Chris Christie: No legislating gay marriage; but referendum ok.     Paul Ryan: Supports DOMA; supports constitutional ban on gay marriage.     Rand Paul: Make federal benefits equal for gay couples.     Rand Paul: Let states decide same-sex marriage; don't federalize it.     Rob Portman: Change of heart: give gays the joy & stability of marriage.     Scott Walker: Perhaps leave gay marriage up to each church, not government.

Corporations     Mike Huckabee: Axis of evil exists between Washington and Wall Street.

Crime     Rick Perry: I think our justice system is color blind.

Drugs     Rand Paul: Don't promote marijuana but don't jail non-violent criminals.

Education     Jeb Bush: No Child Left Behind got states to start reforms.     Jeb Bush: Common core lets 1,000 different curriculum flowers bloom.     Jeb Bush: We test too much; focus on accountability instead.     Rand Paul: Federal student loans are ok, if within spending limits.

Energy & Oil     Jeb Bush: A "patriotic energy policy" will yield far more revenue.

Environment     Rand Paul: Hurricane Sandy relief ads were conflict of interest.     Rick Perry: Unsuccessfully had rural agency rebuild after Hurricane Ike.     Rand Paul: Hurricane recovery money is bankrupting the government.     Mike Bloomberg: Smoking ban has spread from NYC to every big city.

Foreign Policy     Chris Christie: America should be clear to world about what we stand for.     Rick Perry: Threats from nuclear North Korea should be treated as real.

Government Reform     Colin Powell: Voter ID laws unnecessarily make minority voting harder.

Gun Control     Marco Rubio: Has a concealed weapon permit, but does not carry a weapon.     Marco Rubio: New gun laws are ineffective, so don't pass them.     Mike Bloomberg: 80% of NRA members support background checks.     Mike Bloomberg: Background checks do work, and should be highest priority.     Rick Perry: Don't use school shootings to push gun control agenda.

Health Care     Barack Obama: FactCheck: 7M new Medicaid includes woodwork & normal churn.     Mike Huckabee: TEFRA model: subsidize extraordinary medical expenses.     Scott Walker: Didn't accept additional Medicaid money from ObamaCare.     Chris Christie: Expand Medicare, but no N.J. ObamaCare exchange.     Chris Christie: ObamaCare was a mistake; a failed policy from the start.     Rand Paul: ObamaCare cuts hundreds of choices down to just four.     Jeb Bush: Let ObamaCare fail due to its own dysfunction.     Ben Carson: ObamaCare is the worst thing since slavery.     Rob Portman: Repeal and replace ObamaCare.     Rand Paul: It's Congress' job to fight to change ObamaCare.     Jon Huntsman: Politics aside, let's see if ObamaCare works or not.     Bill Richardson: ObamaCare will be crowning achievement once we get it done.     Paul Ryan: Strategize to delay ObamaCare; don't try for repeal yet.     Mike Bloomberg: Obesity kills more people than smoking; limit portion size.     Paul Ryan: Call for repealing ObamaCare despite lack of votes to do so.     Mike Bloomberg: Large sugary drink rule is portion control, not a ban.     Paul Ryan: Don't expand Medicare & Medicaid; they don't work.     Paul Ryan: Medicare premium support harnesses the power of competition.

Homeland Security     Peter King: NSA needs secrecy, and has had no abuses.     Rand Paul: Allow challenges to NSA in open court, not FISA court.     Peter King: N.S.A. spying has saved thousands of lives.     Peter King: Problem with Snowden leak is lack of presidential leadership.     Paul Ryan: Restrict NSA and surveillance, but don't scrap PATRIOT Act.     Rand Paul: Give trials to Guantanamo detainees.     Rudy Giuliani: It's not ethnic profiling to focus on Muslims.     Rand Paul: Filibuster to establish no drones on citizens in America.     Newt Gingrich: Train women for combat, even if not formally in combat.

Immigration     Marco Rubio: FactCheck: No MarcoPhones, and no executive DREAMers either.     Marco Rubio: Give kids of illegal immigrants in-state tuition rates.     Chris Christie: Path to citizenship in context of fixing broken system.     Paul Ryan: Step-by-step approach, not a big massive immigration bill.     Rick Perry: Why isn't D.C. talking with border states about the border?     Jeb Bush: FactCheck: Yes, immigrants are more fertile.     Marco Rubio: Compare reform to existing situation of 11 million illegals.     Marco Rubio: Green cards after 10 years; secure border; & e-Verify.     Marco Rubio: Border control: 90% apprehension and 100% surveillance.     Marco Rubio: Not amnesty: 15-year wait, plus fee, minus federal benefits.     Rand Paul: Legal status, but not citizenship, for illegal immigrants.     Jeb Bush: Reform must make it easier to come legally than illegally.     Jeb Bush: People come illegally because there's no legal path to come.     Jeb Bush: My plan is legalization, not self-deportation.     Jeb Bush: Path to citizenship or path to legalization: both could work.     Jeb Bush: Path to citizenship or path to legalization: both could work.     Paul Ryan: Earned legalization while respecting the rule of law.

Jobs     Paul Ryan: No more unemployment extension after 13th time since 2008.     Rand Paul: Extending unemployment benefits does disservice to workers.     Rand Paul: National Right-to-Work Act: no forced unionization.

Principles & Values     Chris Christie: Parties should become pragmatic when they are out of power.     Rand Paul: We don't need new principles, just to stand by those we have.     Jeb Bush: Obama divided into "them vs. us"; GOP needs alternatives.     Bobby Jindal: We've got to stop being the stupid party.     Jon Huntsman: No Labels--stop fighting, start fixing.

Social Security     Mike Bloomberg: To reduce the deficit we must cut entitlements.     Paul Ryan: Federal employees pension contributions like private sector.     Rob Portman: Payroll taxes don't pay for the benefits going out.     Paul Ryan: 60% of Americans get more benefits than they pay in taxes.

Tax Reform     Jeb Bush: Compromise on taxes ok, as part of a spending cut package.     Paul Ryan: Are we for more revenues? No, we're not.

Technology     Chris Christie: Bridgegate: Staff made some significant mistakes in judgment.     Chris Christie: Fired aides for Bridgegate: traffic jam as retribution.     Rand Paul: Bridgegate is unsettling; government should not bully people.     Rand Paul: 4th Amendment bans NSA from collecting everyone's phone data.

War & Peace     Chris Christie: Governors shouldn't offer opinions about Syria.     Peter King: Stop being so defensive about drones.     Rand Paul: No involvement in Syria, even if gas attack proven.     Rand Paul: No US interests in either side of Syrian war.     Marco Rubio: Syria: arm rebels last year; now just work with some.     Marco Rubio: New Iranian leader is more moderate but still supports nukes.     Peter King: Assad is evil, but arming rebels brings another dictator.     Rudy Giuliani: Al Qaeda isn't on the run; be more proactive.     Marco Rubio: Goal for Korea: denuclearize the peninsula and to unify it.     Jon Huntsman: North Korea manipulates world to get concessions.     Jeb Bush: Over time, people will respect our resolve in Iraq.

Welfare & Poverty     Chris Christie: Focus on income inequality drives America toward mediocrity.     Marco Rubio: Feds help deal with poverty; states can help escape it.     Rand Paul: Economic freedom zones in depressed inner cities.

Click for quotations from other sources by: Barack Obama Democratic President (elected 2008) Ben Carson HUD Secretary Bill Richardson New Mexico Former Democratic Governor (2002-2010) and Cabinet Sec'y Bobby Jindal Louisiana Republican 2016 Presidential candidate Chris Christie New Jersey N.J. Governor; Republican Presidential candidate Colin Powell Cabinet-2005 Jeb Bush Florida Former FL Governor; Republican Presidential candidate Jon Huntsman Utah Former GOP Governor (2005-2009); Ambassador to China Marco Rubio FL Senator; Republican Presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg New York Mayor of NYC Mike Huckabee Arkansas Republican Presidential candidate Newt Gingrich Republican Paul Ryan Republican Peter King Republican 2016 Primary Challenger Rand Paul Republican 2016 Primary Challenger Rick Perry Texas Secretary of Energy Rob Portman Republican 2016 Primary Challenger Rudy Giuliani New York Former Mayor of NYC Scott Walker Wisconsin WI Governor; Republican Presidential candidate