Sunday Political Talk Show interviews during 2014, interviewing presidential hopefuls for 2016

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

Abortion     Mike Huckabee: If GOP capitulates on life, they lose voters like me.     Rand Paul: Supports "Plan B" morning-after contraception.     Bobby Jindal: Human life amendment: define "person" from conception.     Bobby Jindal: Offering contraception is dangerous federal overreach.     Marco Rubio: Consensus that life begins at conception; so no abortion.

Budget & Economy     Chris Christie: Five balanced budgets in a row, without tax increases.     Paul Ryan: Attach policies to debt limit increase which decrease debt.     Martin O`Malley: Closed $1.7 billion budget deficit in 7 years.     Martin O`Malley: Middle-out economics instead of trickle-down economics.

Civil Rights     Rand Paul: Don't register guns federally, nor marriages.     Jeb Bush: Don't-ask-don't-tell ok if it doesn't affect policy.     Mike Huckabee: If GOP abdicates on gay marriage, they lose guys like me.     Mike Huckabee: Supreme Court can't allow gay marriage all by itself.     Scott Walker: Supreme Court has spoken; preventing gay marriage is over.     Ted Cruz: Overturn Supreme Court with anti-gay marriage Amendment.     James Webb: Evolution on gay marriage has been good for the country.     Chris Christie: Gay marriage is settled in NJ, but keep debating nationally.     Carly Fiorina: Women professionals are not treated the same as men.     Bobby Jindal: Find common ground on gay marriage even when we disagree.     Rand Paul: Voter ID laws offend African Americans.     Marco Rubio: Balance gay anti-discrimination with religious rights.     Rand Paul: Women won the "war on women": they're no longer downtrodden.     Martin O`Malley: Respect dignity of individuals & support same-sex marriage.

Corporations     Scott Walker: Put power into hands of job creators, and job growth results.     James Webb: If you've got capital, you're feeling pretty good.     Bernie Sanders: Americans want change: corporations get rich & people don't.     Elizabeth Warren: In 1980s, cops were taken off the beat in financial services.

Crime     Ben Carson: Arrests for "Driving While Black" is common.     Ben Carson: Equip police with body cameras to avoid abusiveness.     Deval Patrick: Police & black people often don't understand each other.     Ben Carson: Develop inner city resources to build alternatives to crime.     Rand Paul: Blacks look who's in prison & conclude cops out to get them.     Rand Paul: Death penalty is a state issue.     Rand Paul: Let convicted felons regain the right to vote.     Rick Perry: Death penalty is appropriate for those who kill cops or kids.     Rick Perry: Don't apply one-size-fits-all to state's death penalties.     Bobby Jindal: Open to method of execution but lethal injection ok.     Rick Perry: International treaties shouldn't hinder Texas executions.

Drugs     Rand Paul: Jailing people for 10 years for marijuana is ridiculous.     Rick Perry: Indicted for defunding D.A. who got caught drunk-driving.     Rick Perry: They're not "cartels", they're narcoterrorists.     Rand Paul: Whites & blacks use drugs, but prisons are full of blacks.     Rand Paul: War on drugs has unintentionally had a racial outcome.     Bobby Jindal: No legalization; but focus on rehabilitation for addicts.     Marco Rubio: There is no responsible way to recreationally use marijuana.     Marco Rubio: Enforce federal laws even where states have legalized pot.     Marco Rubio: Enforce federal law even in states with legal pot.     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.

Education     Bobby Jindal: Teach kids the best science; but no comment on evolution.     Bobby Jindal: Local control instead of Common Core.     Bobby Jindal: I am for standards, but against Common Core.     Bobby Jindal: Supported Common Core initially; now opposes it.     Elizabeth Warren: Allow refinancing student loans; it's a crushing $1.2T.     Rahm Emanuel: Expanded graduation rate at city colleges from 7% to 14%.     Bobby Jindal: For school choice & tenure reform.     Ted Cruz: Facilitate school choice for poor Americans.     Marco Rubio: Turn over Head Start to states.

Energy & Oil     Ben Carson: EPA must work with business; warming or cooling not relevant.     Carly Fiorina: Pass the Keystone Pipeline even if Obama vetoes it.     Bobby Jindal: The left loves energy to be expensive and scarce.     Marco Rubio: Climate is always changing; it's not from human activity.     Marco Rubio: Human activity is not causing climate change.     Bobby Jindal: Keystone pipeline creates jobs without environmental damage.     Bobby Jindal: Cheap, affordable domestic energy is economically critical.

Environment     Chris Christie: Vetoes regulation of animal confinement for gestating sows.     Rahm Emanuel: Let every child have 10-minute walk to park or playground.     Rahm Emanuel: Gentrification can be done right, with active zooming laws.

Families & Children     Rand Paul: Revival of values depends on fusing freedom and virtue.     Rand Paul: Volunteer eye surgery for blind kids in Guatemala.     Rand Paul: Re-establish inter-country adoptions from Guatemala.     Bobby Jindal: Entered into "covenant marriage" with his wife.     Mitt Romney: Impact of same-sex marriage on kids won't be known for years.

Foreign Policy     Lindsey Graham: Condemn & isolate Cuba; they deserve no new engagement.     Lindsey Graham: Cuba is still a security threat to America; no aid.     Lindsey Graham: Sanctions on North Korea: terrorist list & China's help.     Marco Rubio: North Korea is a criminal syndicate, not a government.     Marco Rubio: Our policy should lead to more liberty for the Cuban people.     Marco Rubio: Cuba must improve on human rights for engagement to continue.     Marco Rubio: Engagement with Vietnam & China has not led to freedom.     Marco Rubio: Cuba embargo was designed to protect American companies.     Rand Paul: 50-year embargo with Cuba hasn't worked; lift it.     Rand Paul: Normalizing relations with Cuba can lead to positive change.     Jeb Bush: Strengthen the Cuban embargo instead of lifting it.     Jeb Bush: We are leader among equals in community of nations.     Jeb Bush: Words matter: presidents should mean it when they say it.     Rand Paul: No quarantine on returning Ebola doctors unless symptomatic.     Rand Paul: Temporary stop on elective travel to fight Ebola.     Rick Perry: Hasn't called for defense cuts; hasn't endorsed Bush's wars.     Rick Perry: Tolerating vicious ideas is weakness: condemn ISIS & Putin.     Rick Perry: Warsaw Pact failed & NATO survived: we keep our commitments.     Ted Cruz: Cuba is oppressive but never misses chance to propagandize.     James Webb: We need a clearly articulated doctrine for the Mideast.     James Webb: Arab Spring: stay out if no Americans at risk.     Chris Christie: Given who I am, Putin would not have invaded Crimea.     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.     Carly Fiorina: Lack of American leadership causes world trouble.     Lindsey Graham: America is the glue that holds the free world together.     Ted Cruz: Vigorous sanctions against Putin; help eastern Ukraine.     Rick Perry: We can't isolate ourselves within our shores; we must engage.     Marco Rubio: Provide more assistance to Jordan, to prepare against ISIS.     Marco Rubio: Stay involved against ISIS or Iran becomes regional hegemon.     Ted Cruz: America is indispensable; our allies need our leadership.     Rand Paul: GOP hawks fear my world view, but Americans support it.     Rand Paul: Neocons are neoisolationist: 'all should behave like us'.     Rand Paul: Eventually end all foreign aid, but unrealistic for now.     Marco Rubio: Press freedom is a universal human right, especially in Cuba.     Ben Carson: US is exceptional, with different values than rest of world.     Marco Rubio: Tough sanctions against Russia for Ukraine aggression.     Mitt Romney: Russia is our adversary but not our enemy.     Mitt Romney: World has been losing respect for America for last 5 years.     Rand Paul: We don't need grandstanding tough talk against Russia.     Russell Feingold: As special envoy to Congo, cajoled both sides of civil war.     Ted Cruz: Sanctions on Putin for Ukraine: tyrants respond to weakness.     Ted Cruz: US has a responsibility to defend our values abroad.     Lindsey Graham: Create a democratic noose around Putin's Russia.     Marco Rubio: Putin wants to reconstitute Russian power & Russian prestige.     Marco Rubio: The Russian government is a government of liars.     Mitt Romney: Russia & China waster $50B on Olympics; should be $3B.     Paul Ryan: Argentina has crony capitalism, based on exploitation.

Free Trade     Chris Christie: Trade mission to Mexico doubles as foreign policy tour.

Government Reform     Rick Santorum: Censure & lawsuit for too many executive actions.     Ted Cruz: Executive actions override Congress & the Constitution.     Mike Rounds: America is not broken, but Washington is.     Rand Paul: Supports early voting; but voter ID also ok.     Bernie Sanders: Citizens United opens up the road to oligarchy.     Elizabeth Warren: It's THEIR money & power against OUR voices & votes.     Newt Gingrich: Allow unlimited campaign contributions to anybody.     Rahm Emanuel: My position on term limits is called elections.     Bernie Sanders: Underclass see the political deck stacked; and don't vote.     Paul Ryan: Making law with executive orders circumvents Constitution.     Rand Paul: President should not bypass Congress with executive orders.     Ted Cruz: Debt ceiling limits "blank check" of federal spending.

Health Care     Deval Patrick: ObamaCare is interconnected with debt and other problems.     Ted Cruz: Government shutdown on ObamaCare worked: GOP won in 2014.     Carly Fiorina: Repeal ObamaCare; it's vast legislative overreach.     Carly Fiorina: Competitive insurance market instead of crony capitalism.     Mike Rounds: Remove medical devices tax & payment advisory board.     Scott Walker: No Medicaid expansion means no waiting list for poor.     Chris Christie: Mandatory quarantine for travelers from Ebola areas.     Chris Christie: 3-week quarantine for Ebola medical workers.     Ted Cruz: Suspend commercial air travel to Ebola-infected areas.     Rick Perry: Ban air travel to Ebola-stricken countries, except doctors.     Lindsey Graham: US troops in Africa is the right way to fight Ebola.     Bobby Jindal: Ebola isn't the last epidemic; it's just a harbinger.     Ben Carson: ObamaCare robs you of your ability to control your own life.     Rick Santorum: ObamaCare wasted $500M setting up 4 failed state exchanges.     Rahm Emanuel: I was charged to produce ObamaCare; and it happened.     Rick Santorum: The Tea Party revolution was all about opposing ObamaCare.     Tea Party: The Tea Party revolution was all about opposing ObamaCare.     Ted Cruz: To repeal ObamaCare, show Dems they'd lose by supporting it.     Martin O`Malley: ObamaCare will get past the scare tactics and will work.     Ted Cruz: 5 million had health insurance canceled because of ObamaCare.     Marco Rubio: Medicaid expansion fails because funded only for a few years.     Martin O`Malley: ObamaCare website has problems, but we're enrolling citizens.     Scott Walker: To best benefit economy, replace ObamaCare.

Homeland Security     Lindsey Graham: Fill Guantanamo with more terrorists instead of closing it.     Marco Rubio: We need coherent interrogation policy, & keep it classified.     Rand Paul: Transparency is mostly good; we should not have torture.     Ted Cruz: Torture was rightly outlawed, but keep tactics classified.     Marco Rubio: We need NSA intel to fight emerging terrorist threats.     Rand Paul: Need NSA reform, but not the USA Freedom Act.     Lindsey Graham: Benghazi:Focus on talking points, not how intel was gathered.     Marco Rubio: Increased military investment demonstrates leadership.     Ted Cruz: Americans who join ISIS should be barred from coming home.     Rick Perry: Barbarism of 9/11 terrorists still threatens us today.     Marco Rubio: ISIL's goal is to drive us out of the region.     Marco Rubio: ISIL is a threat because many members have US passports.     Paul Ryan: We need strategy to defeat ISIS, before they come to America.     Rick Perry: NSA listening in on our phones breaches rule of law.     Rick Perry: Hamas uses civilians as shields; help Israel defend itself.     Marco Rubio: ISIS is a more serious threat than al Qaeda.     Rand Paul: Multiple requests for security at Benghazi were ignored.     Rand Paul: Benghazi disqualifies Hillary from the presidency.     Hillary Clinton: More Benghazi hearings ok only to learn what to do better.     Bernie Sanders: Don't let released terrorists get back onto the battlefield.     James Webb: President should consult Congress about POW exchanges.     Bernie Sanders: V.A. doesn't have resources to accommodate 2 million vets.     Marco Rubio: No one has been held accountable for Benghazi.     Rick Santorum: Getting out facts about Benghazi makes hearings successful.     Rand Paul: Don't let people who make money off weapons define policy.     Rand Paul: National defense is important, but no blank check.     Mitt Romney: No new cold war with Russia, just very different interests.     Peter King: US FBI should investigate when planes disappear abroad.     Rand Paul: Deploy missile defense in Eastern Europe but they pay for it.     Ted Cruz: Vital role for deploying military force abroad.     Lindsey Graham: More budget & more than 440,000 troops against North Korea.     Newt Gingrich: Snowden should be tried as a felon for releasing secrets.

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.     Ted Cruz: End Obama's illegal amnesty via Congress' checks & balances.     Ted Cruz: Defund amnesty; and refuse any nominees until rescinded.     Carly Fiorina: Pass immigration reform in a series of bills.     Mitt Romney: Executive action on immigration is only a temporary solution.     Marco Rubio: Modernize immigration to win global competition for talent.     Rick Perry: Texas border "surge" reduced influx of unaccompanied kids.     Rick Perry: No comprehensive immigration reform until border is secure.     Marco Rubio: Human trafficking law & deferred action caused border crisis.     Rick Perry: Illegal immigrants have committed 3,000 homicides.     Paul Ryan: Send illegal immigrant kids back to Central America.     Lindsey Graham: Streamline and quicken deportations.     Rick Perry: I warned of crisis of Central American kids in 2012.     Rick Perry: Secure the border to end Central American kids' crisis.     Rick Perry: Boots on the ground and the border sends a visual message.     Rick Perry: Obama administration either inept or conspiring on illegals.     Rand Paul: Status quo is untenable; we must do some sort of reform.     Rand Paul: Move beyond amnesty, but eventually to path to citizenship.     Peter King: Secure border plus a pathway to citizenship.     Peter King: Don't reward illegal behavior, but can't deport 11 million.     Rand Paul: Illegals are not bad people, but we have to control border.     Bobby Jindal: We need a high walls and wide gate.     Paul Ryan: Immigration reform possible after the border is secure.     Paul Ryan: Not "trust but verify"; need "verify then trust" approach.     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.     Rick Santorum: Comprehensive bill is easier than consensus on components.

Jobs     Chris Christie: Don't raise minimum wage; create better-paying jobs instead.     Joe Biden: Labor unions have built the middle class and built America.     Rick Santorum: Raising the minimum wage a little is ok, if phased in slowly.     Rick Perry: Focus on maximizing wages, not the minimum wage.     Rob Portman: Opposed unemployment extension as unpaid-for, & needs reform.     Ted Cruz: Lowest labor force participation in over three decades.     Marco Rubio: Ok to extend unemployment if it's paid for.     Martin O`Malley: Extend unemployment benefits for the long-term jobless.     Martin O`Malley: Raise minimum wage to $10 per hour.     Rand Paul: Unemployment insurance ok if fully paid for & short-term.     Scott Walker: Link unemployment benefits to job search every week.     Scott Walker: Don't raise minimum wage; train for higher-wage jobs.

Principles & Values     Scott Walker: I won with independents' and young people's votes.     Rick Perry: Western ideology respects others; ISIS ideology does not.     Bobby Jindal: OpEd: Appeals to both Ivy League-coasts and Bible Belt.     Bobby Jindal: Washington is waging "silent war" against religious liberty.     Hillary Clinton: No lingering effects of concussion; will release records.     Bobby Jindal: Parents accepted my conversion; but they are actively Hindu.     Martin O`Malley: Fundraising via O'Say Can You See PAC.     Elizabeth Warren: Registered Independent & Republican in Pennsylvania in 1990s.     Rahm Emanuel: Politicians are usually gray; I am not.     Rahm Emanuel: Washington is not broken; the GOP is broken.     Chris Christie: Cleared of Bridgegate blame, but more investigations coming.     Bernie Sanders: My form of democratic socialism is not Communism.     Bernie Sanders: Corporate interests fund the Tea Party.     Ted Cruz: Washington would be better with more farmers & fewer lawyers.     Bobby Jindal: We can't just be the party of no.

Tax Reform     Martin O`Malley: Cut taxes on bottom 85% while raising taxes on top 15%.

Technology     Marco Rubio: Release anti-North Korea movie despite cyber-attack.     Marco Rubio: Net neutrality is government regulation of the Internet.     Rand Paul: Oppose net neutrality; Silicon Valley has no uniform support.     Ted Cruz: Net neutrality is ObamaCare for the Internet.     Rick Perry: Don't saddle Internet with Great Depression-era regulations.     Chris Christie: Focus on bipartisan reforms instead of Bridgegate.     Lindsey Graham: Ban online gambling (but not casino gambling).     Rick Perry: Time-out on online gambling at federal level.     Rand Paul: 5% tax on overseas profits & put it all into infrastructure.     Rand Paul: Generalized warrants for all cellphones is unconstitutional.     Rand Paul: Snowden revealed NSA abuses, but a fair prison term is ok.

War & Peace     Mitt Romney: Do whatever it takes to destroy ISIS-including ground troops.     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.     James Webb: Iraq invasion empowered Iran & led to sectarian violence.     James Webb: Anti-ISIS alliances are fluid; we've trained some ISIS.     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.     Peter King: Attacking ISIS in Syria is in our national interest.     Peter King: Don't let Iran participate in our fight against ISIS.     Marco Rubio: Confront and defeat ISIL now, or we will have to do so later.     Rand Paul: Arming Syrian rebels wades into another civil war.     Ted Cruz: Don't arm Syrian rebels without a clear plan to combat ISIS.     Marco Rubio: Airstrikes in Syria and Iraq to target ISIL.     Marco Rubio: Airstrikes to topple Syrian government are counterproductive.     Ted Cruz: Bomb ISIS back into the Stone Age, with Congress' approval.     Chris Christie: Syria: If we draw a red line, we must finish the job.     Rick Perry: Airstrike against Islamic State in Iraq avoids ISIS in Texas.     Rick Perry: Arm the Kurds, and send Special Ops to fight ISIS.     Lindsey Graham: Israel: stay as long as needed in Gaza to deal with Hamas.     Lindsey Graham: Arm Ukraine; sanction Russia; more NATO troops to region.     Rand Paul: How many Americans should die to defend Iraq?     Marco Rubio: Stay involved in Iraq to fight ISIS, not for nation-building.     Rand Paul: ISIS are nasty terrorists but no clear-cut American interest.     Rand Paul: Iraq War gave Iran regional hegemony & caused Mideast chaos.     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.     Mitt Romney: ISIS: bad things happen as a result of inaction.     Mitt Romney: Leave 20,000 US troops in Iraq as an ongoing presence.     Peter King: ISIS creates a privileged sanctuary from which to attack US.     Ted Cruz: Install Eastern European ABMs; stand up to Russia in Ukraine.     Rand Paul: Maintain ambiguous policy on containing nuclear Iran.     Rand Paul: Keep all options on the table, but don't declare war on Iran.     Rahm Emanuel: Israel/Palestine framework deal easier than a final deal.     Rand Paul: Don't get stuck in Cold War idea of tweaking Russia.     Marco Rubio: Timetable in Afghanistan emboldened Taliban to wait us out.     Marco Rubio: Lack of long-term US status in Iraq opens it for al Qaeda.     Marco Rubio: Assist Iraqi government in fighting ISIL.     Rick Santorum: Obama left Iraq because it was politically popular to do so.     Brian Schweitzer: No reason to stay in Afghanistan after 12 years of war.     Brian Schweitzer: Attacking Iraq was a mistake that empowered al Qaeda.

Welfare & Poverty     Joe Biden: Americans don't want handouts, just to be given a chance.     Paul Ryan: Switch from poverty management to get people out of poverty.     Paul Ryan: Customize benefits for each person, run by the states.     Paul Ryan: End dependency culture; end disincentives to work.     Paul Ryan: Let charities & community groups compete to fight poverty.     Paul Ryan: Opportunity plan: flexible funds with benchmarks & timeline.     Elizabeth Warren: Nobody should work full-time and still live in poverty.     Rand Paul: Tax cuts help the poor because local businesses will hire.     Rahm Emanuel: Expand the Earned Income Tax Credit.     Marco Rubio: Take next step in War on Poverty: provide opportunity.     Martin O`Malley: Anti-poverty programs grow our middle class.     Rand Paul: Economic freedom zones: low taxes in high unemployment areas.

Click for quotations from other sources by: Ben Carson HUD Secretary Bernie Sanders Democratic Presidential candidate Bobby Jindal Louisiana Republican 2016 Presidential candidate Brian Schweitzer Montana Previously Democratic Governor Carly Fiorina California SBA Director Chris Christie New Jersey N.J. Governor; Republican Presidential candidate Deval Patrick Massachusetts Democratic Governor Elizabeth Warren Massachusetts Senator; considered 2016 presidential run Hillary Clinton Democratic Presidential candidate James Webb Former Virginia Senator; Democratic Presidential candidate Jeb Bush Florida Former FL Governor; Republican Presidential candidate Joe Biden Democrat Lindsey Graham South Carolina S.C. Senator; Republican Presidential candidate Marco Rubio FL Senator; Republican Presidential candidate Martin O`Malley Maryland Democratic Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee Arkansas Republican Presidential candidate Mike Rounds South Dakota Former Republican Governor (2002-2010) Mitt Romney Massachusetts Former GOP Governor (2003-2006); Pres. candidate (2008) Newt Gingrich Republican Paul Ryan Republican Peter King Republican 2016 Primary Challenger Rahm Emanuel Cabinet Rand Paul Republican 2016 Primary Challenger Rick Perry Texas Secretary of Energy Rick Santorum Republican Presidential candidate Rob Portman Republican 2016 Primary Challenger Russell Feingold Democrat Scott Walker Wisconsin WI Governor; Republican Presidential candidate Tea Party Ted Cruz Republican 2016 Primary Challenger