John McCain in The Los Angeles Times
On Budget & Economy:
$9B of pork in current budget bills; cut subsidies
McCain said he has found at least "$9 billion worth of pork and wasteful spending" in the appropriations bills now being considered by Congress that could fill the budget gaps. He specified subsidies for oil, ethanol and sugar as examples. "Congress has
found the funds to raise their own salaries but they can't find enough to help and lower and middle-income Americans," said McCain.
Source: Will Lester, AP/LA Times
Oct 1, 1999
On Civil Rights:
Supports CA Prop. 8: one-man-one-woman marriage
Presidential candidates can command instant national attention when they want it. But John McCain and Barack Obama each took a hushed approach to letting the world know where they stand on the California ballot measure to ban same-sex marriage.
The muted announcements--McCain supports the proposed ban, Obama opposes it--will have little if any bearing on the presidential contest in California, but the ramifications are serious elsewhere.
McCain announced his support last week for the
California ballot measure, known as Prop. 8. "I support the efforts of the people of California to recognize marriage as a unique institution between a man and a woman, just as we did in my home state of Arizona," he said.
McCain's case is a tricky one to make; he opposes the proposed federal constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, which Bush promoted in 2004. McCain's nuanced explanation is that it's up to the states to decide.
Source: By Michael Finnegan and Cathleen Decker, Los Angeles Times
Jul 2, 2008
On Gun Control:
Supports ban on certain assault weapons
McCain said he was open to voting for an assault weapon ban, depending on the details.
Source: Los Angeles Times, "McCain Calls for Hearings"
Aug 17, 1999
On Tax Reform:
Keep lump-sum earned income tax credit
McCain said that Congress shouldn't "tamper with a much-needed tax credit for working Americans" and suggested cutting special interest subsidies would be a better way to meet budget targets. McCain called the proposal an "accounting gimmick" to produce
$8 billion in savings by spreading the earned income tax credit over 12 monthly payments rather than the lump sum now paid with tax refunds. "If our goal is to have lower-income Americans lifted up into the middle class, this is the wrong way to do it."
Source: Will Lester, AP/LA Times
Oct 1, 1999
On War & Peace:
Distrust Milosevic, and Verify
Milosevic's word is not his bond. We will have to monitor his compliance with the terms of the agreement very closely. We should adhere to a variation of an old Reagan maxim: distrust and verify. NATO's leaders must retain the political will necessary to
resume full-scale operations should Milosevic revert to form and violate the terms of the agreement. NATO must be prepared to instantly punish even small violations of the accord or else risk losing in peace the goals we went to war to secure.
Source: Los Angeles Times "Distrust Milosevic"
Jun 6, 1999
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