CNN "State of the Union" interviews during 2014
(Candy Crowley interviewing candidates for 2014 and 2016 races)

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

Abortion     Rand Paul: Supports "Plan B" morning-after contraception.

Budget & Economy     Martin O`Malley: Closed $1.7 billion budget deficit in 7 years.     Martin O`Malley: Middle-out economics instead of trickle-down economics.     Mitch McConnell: Supports sequester cuts: 2.4% out of $3.6 trillion budget.     Jack Reed: Postpone sequestration; then balanced taxes & cuts.     Lindsey Graham: Dollar-for-dollar offset: cut spending to raise debt ceiling.

Civil Rights     Martin O`Malley: Respect dignity of individuals & support same-sex marriage.

Crime     Bobby Jindal: Open to method of execution but lethal injection ok.     John Hickenlooper: $20M for mental health 24/7 call-in centers.

Drugs     Rand Paul: War on drugs has unintentionally had a racial outcome.     Bobby Jindal: We lock up too many people for casual drug use.     Martin O`Malley: Proportionality in marijuana arrests, but not legalization.     Martin O`Malley: Let Colorado experiment with legalization, not Maryland.

Energy & Oil     Bobby Jindal: Cheap, affordable domestic energy is economically critical.     Richard Durbin: Energy tax to fund infrastructure investment.

Foreign Policy     Rand Paul: No quarantine on returning Ebola doctors unless symptomatic.     Ted Cruz: Cuba is oppressive but never misses chance to propagandize.     Rick Perry: There shouldn't be any air between us & our best ally Israel.     Lindsey Graham: Without American leadership the world disintegrates rapidly.     Lindsey Graham: Sanctions against Putin; arm & train the Ukrainians.     Lindsey Graham: UN has become more anti- Israeli & anti-Semitic.     Michele Bachmann: Crack down on Boko Haram terrorists in northern Nigeria.     Lindsey Graham: Create a democratic noose around Putin's Russia.

Government Reform     Rick Santorum: Censure & lawsuit for too many executive actions.     Rand Paul: President should not bypass Congress with executive orders.     Susan Collins: Outrageous for IRS to target Tea Party groups.

Gun Control     John Hickenlooper: State Senate "Line item recall" about too-strict gun control.     John Hickenlooper: Universal background checks but no assault weapon ban.

Health Care     Ted Cruz: Suspend commercial air travel to Ebola-infected areas.     Lindsey Graham: US troops in Africa is the right way to fight Ebola.     Rick Santorum: ObamaCare wasted $500M setting up 4 failed state exchanges.     Martin O`Malley: ObamaCare website has problems, but we're enrolling citizens.     Scott Walker: To best benefit economy, replace ObamaCare.

Homeland Security     Lindsey Graham: Benghazi:Focus on talking points, not how intel was gathered.     Rick Perry: Hamas uses civilians as shields; help Israel defend itself.     James Webb: President should consult Congress about POW exchanges.     Bernie Sanders: V.A. doesn't have resources to accommodate 2 million vets.     Michele Bachmann: Benghazi was so appalling that we must have answers.     Rick Santorum: Getting out facts about Benghazi makes hearings successful.     Lindsey Graham: More budget & more than 440,000 troops against North Korea.     Susan Collins: Cuts in defense are very troubling to me personally.     Mark Udall: Reopen PATRIOT Act: stop gathering secret phone data.

Immigration     Lindsey Graham: Need comprehensive reform, not partial executive action.     Lindsey Graham: Driving out 11 million illegals impractical; fix the system.     Rick Santorum: Amnesty to unskilled illegals makes worker wages stagnate.     Rick Perry: Illegal immigrants have committed 3,000 homicides.     Bobby Jindal: We've got a backwards system: low walls and a narrow gate.     Bobby Jindal: A secure border means that border governors certify it.     Richard Durbin: Reform will increase coordination & reduce terrorism.     Richard Durbin: Extend partner immigration rights to gay couples.

Jobs     Rick Santorum: Raising the minimum wage a little is ok, if phased in slowly.     Martin O`Malley: Extend unemployment benefits for the long-term jobless.     Martin O`Malley: Raise minimum wage to $10 per hour.     Scott Walker: Link unemployment benefits to job search every week.     Scott Walker: Don't raise minimum wage; train for higher-wage jobs.

Principles & Values     John Walsh: AdWatch: "Where's Walsh-o" website: "Walsh is hard to find".     Scott Walker: Book "Unintimidated" isn't my biography, but about reforms.

Tax Reform     Martin O`Malley: Cut taxes on bottom 85% while raising taxes on top 15%.     Richard Durbin: Close tax loopholes and gain $1.2T from the wealthy.

War & Peace     Ted Cruz: Bomb ISIS back to the Stone Age.     Ted Cruz: Arm & aid the Peshmerga Kurds against ISIS.     Bernie Sanders: Get Saudis & regional powers involved with fighting ISIS.     Bernie Sanders: Arm the Peshmerga against ISIS, as international effort.     Lindsey Graham: U.S. ground troops to fight ISIL in Syria and Iraq.     Lindsey Graham: We should have left 10,000 US troops in Iraq.     Lindsey Graham: 2012: Arm the Syrian rebels & fight Assad's air force.     Lindsey Graham: ISIS plans to take Jordan; that throws Mideast into turmoil.     Lindsey Graham: OK for Iran to help in Iraq, but not to dominate.     Lindsey Graham: ISIS makes Iraq & Syria the staging area for the next 9/11.     Tom Cotton: Iraq War was just and noble.     Lindsey Graham: Slow Afghan withdrawal, with 15,000 US troops left behind.

Welfare & Poverty     Martin O`Malley: Anti-poverty programs grow our middle class.

Click for quotations from other sources by: Bernie Sanders Democratic Presidential candidate Bobby Jindal Louisiana Republican 2016 Presidential candidate Jack Reed Democratic Sr Senator Rhode Island James Webb Former Virginia Senator; Democratic Presidential candidate John Hickenlooper Colorado Democratic Governor John Walsh Democratic Senate Challenger Montana Lindsey Graham South Carolina S.C. Senator; Republican Presidential candidate Mark Udall Democratic Sr Senator; previously Representative Colorado Martin O`Malley Maryland Democratic Presidential candidate Michele Bachmann Republican Mitch McConnell Republican Sr Senator Kentucky Rand Paul Republican 2016 Primary Challenger Richard Durbin Democratic Sr Senator Illinois Rick Perry Texas Secretary of Energy Rick Santorum Republican Presidential candidate Scott Walker Wisconsin WI Governor; Republican Presidential candidate Susan Collins Republican Sr Senator Maine Ted Cruz Republican 2016 Primary Challenger Tom Cotton Republican Senate challenger Arkansas