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Books by and about 2024 presidential candidates |
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Hillbilly Elegy,
by JD Vance (2017) |
Crippled America,
by Donald J. Trump (2015) |
Fire and Fury,
by Michael Wolff (2018) |
Trump Revealed,
by Michael Kranish and Marc Fisher (2016) |
The Making of Donald Trump,
by David Cay Johnston (2016) |
Promise Me, Dad ,
by Joe Biden (2017) |
The Book of Joe ,
by Jeff Wilser (2019; biography of Joe Biden) |
The Truths We Hold,
by Kamala Harris (2019) |
Smart on Crime,
by Kamala Harris (2010) |
Becoming,
by Michelle Obama (2018) |
Higher Loyalty,
by James Comey (2018) |
The Making of Donald Trump,
by David Cay Johnston (2017) |
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Book Reviews |
(from Amazon.com) |
(click a book cover for a review or other books by or about the presidency from Amazon.com)
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| OnTheIssues.org excerpts: (click on issues for details)
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Abortion
Bud Pierce: Accessible contraceptives & family planning services.
Jennifer Granholm: Religious political discussions turn to reproductive rights.
John Kitzhaber: Abortions always legally available, & government funded.
Julian Bell: Strongly supports a woman's right to choose.
Knute Buehler: Pro-choice: wants abortions rare, safe and legal.
Tina Kotek: Worked to ensure full access to reproductive health care.
Betsy Johnson: I am pro-choice--it is a bedrock value for me.
Betsy Johnson: History as a Planned Parenthood board member.
Christine Drazan: Against abortion, but would only enforce existing laws.
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Budget & Economy
Bob Niemeyer: Cut the size of government and jobs will follow.
Bud Pierce: Cut growth in state budget by half.
Bud Pierce: Cut government workforce instead of raising taxes.
Christine Drazan: Identify and prosecute waste, fraud and abuse in government.
Julian Bell: Invest in urgently needed affordable workforce housing.
Knute Buehler: Boost economy via spending controls and cutting regulations.
Betsy Johnson: Would veto any budget that did not have bipartisan support.
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Civil Rights
Bud Pierce: Same-sex marriage is a "settled" issue.
John Kitzhaber: Recognize same-sex marriages.
John Kitzhaber: Maintain affirmative action in colleges & state hiring.
Kate Brown: Family Fairness Act to protect LGBT rights.
Tina Kotek: Came out in early 20s; been with wife for 17 years.
Betsy Johnson: Fight bigotry and protect marriage equality in Oregon.
Tina Kotek: Won't tolerate cut to education funding over DEI policies.
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Corporations
Kate Brown: Grow Our Own: develop existing Oregon businesses.
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Crime
Bob Niemeyer: Death penalty is less cruel to families of victims.
Bud Pierce: Says successful women not subject to abuse, then apologizes.
Christine Drazan: End treating police like criminals, criminals like victims.
John Kitzhaber: Oppose the death penalty.
John Kitzhaber: End parole for repeat violent felons.
Knute Buehler: A crime victim himself, vows to make citizen's lives safer.
Nicholas Kristof: Violence in Portland due to Feds more than protestors.
Tina Kotek: Police not trained to deal with a mental health crisis.
Betsy Johnson: Won't defund or demonize our police; demand accountability.
Betsy Johnson: I will enforce Oregon's twice-approved death penalty.
Christine Drazan: Supported Trump's sending troops to Oregon due to protests.
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Drugs
Casey Kulla: Added marijuana crop to his organic vegetable farm.
John Kitzhaber: Decriminalize medicinal marijuana.
Knute Buehler: Federal government needs to respect state laws on marijuana.
Nicholas Kristof: War on drugs one of America's greatest mistakes.
Nicholas Kristof: Decriminalize to steer addicted people into treatment.
Tobias Read: Led bipartisan coalition for cannabis industry banking.
Betsy Johnson: Repeal the failed experiment to legalize hard drugs.
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Education
Bob Niemeyer: Common Core creates a putrid educational system.
Bob Niemeyer: Charter schools are the answer; throw out Common Core.
Bud Pierce: We need motivated, well-trained teachers.
Christine Drazan: Expand access to school choice, stand up for parents' rights.
Kate Brown: Make it easier to opt out from Common Core testing.
Kate Brown: Seamless public education from cradle to career.
Kate Brown: Seamless system of education, from cradle to career.
Knute Buehler: Combat failing graduation; improve academic achievement.
Nicholas Kristof: Make education a priority; make sure kids don't drop out.
Nicholas Kristof: Companies won't invest here if schools aren't top-notch.
Tobias Read: Extend the school year so kids have year-round learning.
Betsy Johnson: Give parents more options for their children's education.
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Energy & Oil
Bud Pierce: End low-carbon fuel mandate: 19 cents-a-gallon hidden tax.
Bud Pierce: Democrats OpEd: He would undo measures on climate change.
Christine Drazan: Will repeal cap-and-trade climate scheme on my first day.
Julian Bell: Combat climate change and promote clean energy.
Julian Bell: Decarbonize at state level; hold corporations responsible.
Kate Brown: Angered environmentalists via compromise transportation bill.
Knute Buehler: May 2017: tax carbon; Oct.2017: oppose clean-energy jobs.
Tina Kotek: State on its way to meet renewable energy goal by 2040.
Tobias Read: Investing in clean energy and green jobs a top priority.
Tobias Read: Supports smart regulations that address climate change.
Betsy Johnson: Support green energy but don't destroy good paying jobs.
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Environment
Bud Pierce: Maintain forestlands through proper forest management.
Casey Kulla: Increase business regulations to limit environmental harm.
Knute Buehler: Wants to combat wildfire damage to forests with new policies.
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Families & Children
Bud Pierce: Alleviate the scourge of sex trafficking.
Bud Pierce: Partially support hospice/respite centers.
Kate Brown: Child advocate with Juvenile Rights Project.
Knute Buehler: Early supporter of marriage equality for all citizens.
Knute Buehler: Create a "rapid-improvement team" for foster care.
Tobias Read: Measure our progress by how well Oregon's children are doing.
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Free Trade
Kate Brown: International trade supports a half million Oregon jobs.
Christine Drazan: We need to let federal tariff policies continue to evolve.
Tina Kotek: Worried about having blanket tariffs which impact Oregon.
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Government Reform
Bob Niemeyer: Go back to voting in person, with verified photo ID.
Christine Drazan: Get the government off the backs of our small businesses.
Christine Drazan: Establish a permanent task force on election integrity.
John Kitzhaber: Limit individual campaign donations; require full disclosure.
Kate Brown: Oregon sees high turnout because of vote-by-mail.
Kate Brown: 15 million ballots via vote-by-mail with only 9 fraud cases.
Kate Brown: Disclose lobbyist info & pay, on public website.
Knute Buehler: End pay-to-play politics, to restore confidence.
Tina Kotek: Supported gerrymandered Congressional map.
Betsy Johnson: Get regulations out of the way to fast-track construction .
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Gun Control
Bud Pierce: Oppose background checks; they won't reduce gun violence.
Bud Pierce: Surveillance of schools & social media, to curb gun violence.
Casey Kulla: Not our job to make county 2nd Amendment sanctuary.
Christine Drazan: If a gun ban bill comes my way, I'll veto that.
John Kitzhaber: Increase restrictions on gun purchase and possession.
Nicholas Kristof: No strong evidence that assault weapons ban saved lives.
Nicholas Kristof: Use executive action to crack down on ghost guns.
Betsy Johnson: Don't disarm law abiding citizens; strong background checks.
Betsy Johnson: Opposes bans on bump-stocks, high-capacity magazines.
Christine Drazan: Oppose Measure 114: we have enough gun laws already.
Tina Kotek: Endorses Measure 114: mandate permitting & safety training.
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Health Care
Bud Pierce: Subsidize "adequate" insurance for low-income Oregonians.
Bud Pierce: Fight any one-size-fits-all single-payer healthcare system.
Christine Drazan: Repeal COVID-19 mask and vaccine mandates.
Julian Bell: Obtain efficiencies through single payer or equivalent.
Kate Brown: Access to healthcare improving, but there is more we must do.
Knute Buehler: Single-payer health care as a qualified not absolute right.
Nicholas Kristof: Poor mental healthcare, wages, housing are major problems.
Tina Kotek: We will move the needle on more recovery services.
Tobias Read: Strongly supports vaccine mandates by businesses, schools.
Betsy Johnson: Expand mental health services, especially in schools.
Betsy Johnson: No to government take-over of the health care system.
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Homeland Security
Bud Pierce: State duty to honor the sacrifice of those who've served.
Bud Pierce: Enlisted in Marines to see if he was tough enough.
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Immigration
Casey Kulla: Oregon should welcome arrival of Afghan refugees.
Kate Brown: Oregon will accept refugees and help them rebuild lives.
Kate Brown: Open the doors of opportunity for Syrian refugees.
Kate Brown: Undocumented families hurt by fires deserve assistance.
Knute Buehler: Omit minor infractions from sanctuary state rules.
Nicholas Kristof: Oregon showed compassion for a refugee--my father.
Christine Drazan: Oregon's Sanctuary State law is extreme and out of touch.
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Jobs
Bud Pierce: Vigilance in enforcing Equal Pay laws for women.
Knute Buehler: More job training; less job-killing regulations.
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Principles & Values
Bob Niemeyer: Separating church & state doesn't pull God out of government.
Bud Pierce: Wife killed in tragic traffic accident.
Bud Pierce: From childhood, wanted to become a doctor.
Bud Pierce: Yanked Trump endorsement; history of working with Democrats.
Casey Kulla: Stop movement away from democracy & toward extremism.
Knute Buehler: Freedom and new opportunities are bedrock GOP principles.
Nicholas Kristof: At NY Times focused on human rights, global health issues.
Nicholas Kristof: Won two Pulitzers: for Tiananmen and genocide in Darfur.
Tina Kotek: A person of faith, I believe there's equality among us all.
Betsy Johnson: Confront prejudice and racism honestly and directly.
Betsy Johnson: Democracy needs to stop being so contentious.
Tina Kotek: Oregon is a state that has allowed me to be myself.
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Social Security
Bud Pierce: Require automatic enrollment with payroll deductions.
Kate Brown: More options & opportunities to save for retirement.
Tina Kotek: Reduced pension contribution for long-term solution.
Tobias Read: Created first opt-out retirement plan in the country.
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Tax Reform
Bud Pierce: Tax relief on mid-tier income earners, to create more jobs.
Bud Pierce: Reduce taxes and regulations on small businesses.
Christine Drazan: I will veto new taxes & repeal costly regulations.
John Kitzhaber: No state sales tax; no flat tax; increase gas tax.
Kate Brown: Need more taxes from business to support basic needs.
Knute Buehler: No new or higher taxes during booming economy.
Betsy Johnson: Reduce some taxes, say no to new taxes.
Tina Kotek: Increase gas tax, double the payroll tax funding transit.
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Technology
Bud Pierce: Public transit ok, but future is autonomous drive vehicles.
Kate Brown: Expand public transit to ease traffic congestion.
Knute Buehler: Funding transit by payroll tax is unfair and bad policy.
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Welfare & Poverty
Christine Drazan: Work with non-profits, faith community on homelessness.
Nicholas Kristof: More than a quarter of childhood friends are dead.
Tina Kotek: We need both homeless shelters and long-term solutions.
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