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Gary Bauer on Education

2000 Republican Primary Candidate for President

 


Allow Ten Commandments in schools & disallow Nazi salutes

The Columbine High School killers were giving each other the Nazi salute [every day]. Nobody said anything to them. But if a teacher at Columbine had hung up the Ten Commandments in her classroom, she would have been told take them down or lose your job. We’ve got things upside down in this country. When I’m president they’ll be no more Nazi salutes in the schools. And it’ll be OK to hang the Ten Commandments up again, not only there, but in the Oval Office.
Source: GOP Debate in Johnston, Iowa , Jan 16, 2000

Present both evolution & creationism and let students decide

Q: Do you agree that creationism is a science and evolution is a theory and they ought to be taught equitably? A: I agree that the majority of the American people believe that God had a hand in the creation of life on earth. Evolution is a theory; yet it’s taught in our schools as if it cannot be questioned. The American people want their children exposed to both of those ideas. That’s what an education ought to be about: presenting to young people a variety of choices and let them make the decision.
Source: Des Moines Iowa GOP Debate , Dec 13, 1999

If not prayer, recite Declaration

Bauer says if schoolchildren can’t begin their day with a prayer, then they should recite their Declaration of Independence. “It would accomplish the same thing,” said Bauer. He would select the passage that begins, “We hold these truths to be self-evident..” Bauer added, “It would remind all of our students that God is the author of our liberties and that nobody can take that liberty away. And since it is in the founding documents, I don’t see how the ACLU could object.”
Source: Boston Globe, p. A20, “Political Briefs” , Nov 25, 1999

College is a ticket to success; sacrificing for loans is OK

Higher education programs are extremely important. I want the federal role in education to be much less than it is now. But students are driven by a work ethic [despite the burden of student loans] - as I had to do that when I was in school - I think it’s actually part of the educational process. Getting a higher education in America is a ticket to great things later, and I think everybody that does it has to be willing to make some sacrifices.
Source: Republican Debate at Dartmouth College , Oct 29, 1999

Mixture of loans and grants for college

Q: Do we serve the college-age people of America by leaving them at graduation with thousands of dollars in debt? A: I’m not going to be a hypocrite about it; I used loans and grants to get through college myself. But if we tell the American taxpayer it is a loan program, then students have to be held responsible for paying it back. A mixture of loans and grants are appropriate. We need to keep the interest rate low, but I think most students will find that package to be a good package.
Source: Republican Debate at Dartmouth College , Oct 29, 1999

Education policy-making should devolve to states

Decentralize major education policy decisions, giving power to states and communities.
Source: www.Bauer2k.com , Jul 2, 1999

For school prayer & Ten Commandments in schools

[Bauer] said that having the Ten Commandments and prayer in school would help avoid tragedies such as the one in Littleton, Colorado. Saying church and state have been separated to a degree never intended by the founding fathers, Bauer pointed to an example of what he called “a tremendous hostility to men and women of faith” from the high school shooting.
Source: CNN AllPolitics , Apr 21, 1999

Gary Bauer on School Choice

Vouchers and local control will save our schools

Q: How much power do you think the federal government should have over state education? A: Washington DC is the problem, it’s not the answer.. I will block grant the money. It was $17 billion then; it’s $38 billion now. Only one dollar out of four gets to the classroom, to the pupils and to the teachers. I support vouchers, credits for all forms of education, including home schoolers. We can get the bureaucracy out of the way and begin to have some real good things happen in the classroom again.
Source: GOP Debate in Johnston, Iowa , Jan 16, 2000

School vouchers to reduce disparity of technology have-nots

Q: What would you do about the growing disparity between technological haves and have-nots? A: We’ve got a real disparity in American education. Many of the suburbs have a lot of resources. But in the inner cities, we’ve got schools that just aren’t working. [We should] provide educational choice for those parents. Vouchers will make real progress on this issue so that we don’t have another whole generation left behind on one of the most important advances that the country is experiencing.
Source: (Cross-ref Technology) Republican Debate at Dartmouth , Oct 29, 1999

Vouchers for home-schooling as well as private schools

Bauer favors voucher programs for private schools, but expanded that to include home schooling. He said parents could use the money for curriculum material, or to hire help in areas where they don’t feel competent to teach.
Source: Mike Glover, Associated Press , Jul 27, 1999

Supports parental choice and home schooling

I favor parental choice in education. I support Educational Savings Accounts. I oppose national government testing and other centrally-driven curriculum revisions. Parents should make educational decisions, not bureaucrats in Washington, D.C. I support home schooling and applaud its increasingly recognized academic excellence. The right of parents to pursue this choice must be recognized and vigilantly protected.
Source: www.bauer2k.com/html/indepthissues.html 5/24/99 , May 24, 1999

Other candidates on Education: Gary Bauer on other issues:
Former Presidents:
George W. Bush (R,2001-2009)
Bill Clinton (D,1993-2001)
George Bush Sr. (R,1989-1993)
Ronald Reagan (R,1981-1989)
Jimmy Carter (D,1977-1981)
Gerald Ford (R,1974-1977)
Richard Nixon (R,1969-1974)
Lyndon Johnson (D,1963-1969)
John F. Kennedy (D,1961-1963)
Dwight Eisenhower (R,1953-1961)
Harry_S_TrumanHarry S Truman(D,1945-1953)

Former Contenders:
V.P.Al Gore
Pat Buchanan
V.P.Dick Cheney
Sen.Bob Dole
Ralph Nader
Gov.Sarah Palin

Political Thinkers:
Noam Chomsky
Milton Friedman
Arianna Huffington
Rush Limbaugh
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Ayn Rand
Secy.Robert Reich
Donald Trump
Gov.Jesse Ventura 		Abortion
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Page last updated: Jul 04, 2014