Jacobin Magazine
Socialist perspectives on politics, economics, and culture


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

Budget & Economy     Kamala Harris: Prosecuted fewer foreclosure fraud cases than smaller states.     Tim Walz: Bipartisan compromise $48B budget to address 2017 crises.

Civil Rights     Howard Schultz: Starbucks did little to stop sexual harassment of employees.     Julian Castro: Protections for GLBTQ; benefits to same-sex partners.     Tulsi Gabbard: Against gay marriage but no government morality.

Corporations     Elizabeth Warren: Proposes new federal limits for corporations.     Julian Castro: Supported tax breaks to lure corporations.     Kamala Harris: Tough stance on mortgage lenders fell short.

Crime     Kamala Harris: Focus on helping non-violent young offenders.     Kamala Harris: Defied pressure for death penalty for cop killer.     Tim Walz: George Floyd protests: balance racial justice & public order.     Tim Walz: Police reforms: ban chokeholds; investigate misconduct.

Drugs     Joe Biden: 1989: Bush didn't go far enough in War on Drugs.     Joe Biden: Proud of backing tough drug laws & penalties.     Joe Biden: 1981: Militarized domestic police against drugs.

Education     Elizabeth Warren: Invest in education, but focus on results.     Elizabeth Warren: Supported all-voucher system for public schools in 2003 book.     Julian Castro: Extended Pre-K education for needy kids.

Energy & Oil     Cedric Richmond: Supported fracking, 76% Conservation Voters lifetime rating.     Julian Castro: Green Jobs Leadership Council: more solar; less coal.     Julian Castro: Supported both fossil fuel and green energy.     Noam Chomsky: Limited time on climate change; US going in wrong direction.     Noam Chomsky: Market can't solve climate change, structural changes needed.     Noam Chomsky: Task ahead enormous & there is not much time.

Environment     Kamala Harris: Prosecuted polluters for illegal dumping and air pollution.

Families & Children     Kamala Harris: Punish parents of chronically truant kids.

Foreign Policy     Kirsten Gillibrand: Opposes boycotts of businesses in Israel.     Noam Chomsky: Israel relies on support from reactionary fundamentalists.     Noam Chomsky: Establish a nuclear weapons free zone in Middle East.     Tulsi Gabbard: Skeptical of Iran nuclear deal.     Tulsi Gabbard: Supports Egyptian dictator in fight against terrorism.     Tulsi Gabbard: Against criticizing India's treatment of Muslims.

Health Care     Beto O`Rourke: Supports Medicare for America as public option.     Gina Raimondo: COVID: civil liability immunity for hospitals, nursing homes.     Gina Raimondo: Privatized & cut budgets for Medicaid.     Jerry Brown: How would we pay for single-payer?     Kamala Harris: Require pharmaceutical companies to allow generics.     John Hickenlooper: Too soon to make changes in Obamacare.     Michael Bennet: Single payer would lead to massive tax increase.     Nancy Pelosi: Single payer plans better handled by states.     Rahm Emanuel: Wrote op-ed "Medicare-for-All is a Pipe Dream".     Xavier Becerra: 2016: rescind patents for government funded medicine.     Barack Obama: 2009: preferred single-payer if were starting from scratch.     Gavin Newsom: Public option is not the right thing.     Robert F. Kennedy Jr.: Public option not right thing, unless part of single-payer.     Tim Walz: 2020 COVID restrictions resulted in lower death rates.

Homeland Security     Joe Biden: 1991: Favors government "back doors" into encryption.     Julian Castro: Supported military expansion into cybersecurity.

Immigration     Kirsten Gillibrand: 2007 SAVE Act: beef up border; oppose sanctuary cities.     Kirsten Gillibrand: 2010: moratorium on government immigration raids.     Tulsi Gabbard: 2015: Favor Christian over Islamic refugees.

Jobs     Julian Castro: Opposed unionizing city employees.     Rahm Emanuel: Raise minimum wage to $15/hour but allow states to opt out.

Principles & Values     Bernie Sanders: 2019 OpEd: Bernie is best chance to beat Biden.     Marty Walsh: Put an end to Boston's bid for summer Olympics.     Lee Carter: I'm a socialist, "democratic socialist" is redundant.

Social Security     Joe Biden: Freeze entitlements; don't favor special interests.

Tax Reform     Julian Castro: Senior/disabled property tax freeze favored wealthy.

War & Peace     Mike Gravel: Filibustered to end the military draft.     Noam Chomsky: No-nuke zone in Middle East would end military aid to Israel.     Tulsi Gabbard: Use military to fight terrorists, not for regime change.     Tulsi Gabbard: Opposes fighting in Afghanistan & Syria; end arms to Saudis.

Click for quotations from other sources by: Barack Obama Illinois Democratic President Bernie Sanders Democratic Presidential candidate Beto O`Rourke Texas Democratic candidate for Governor; U.S. Rep Cedric Richmond Louisiana Public Liaison Elizabeth Warren Massachusetts Senator Gavin Newsom California Democratic Challenger Gina Raimondo Rhode Island Secretary of Commerce Howard Schultz Starbucks CEO; independent for President (suspended) Jerry Brown California Democratic Governor Joe Biden Democratic President; former V.P.; former Senator John Hickenlooper Colorado Democratic Colorado Governor Julian Castro Texas Mayor of San Antonio; HUD Secretary Kamala Harris California Democratic Vice President; former California Senator Kirsten Gillibrand New York Democratic candidate for President; New York Senator Lee Carter Virginia Democratic Gubernatorial Challenger Marty Walsh Massachusetts Secretary of Labor Michael Bennet Colorado Democratic candidate for President; Colorado Senator Mike Gravel Democratic challenger for president Nancy Pelosi Democrat U.S. Rep California-12 Noam Chomsky Rahm Emanuel Ambassador to Japan Robert F. Kennedy Jr. District of Columbia Independent presidential Challenger Tim Walz Minnesota DFL Governor & V.P. nominee Tulsi Gabbard Hawaii Democratic candidate for President; U.S. Rep from HI-2 Xavier Becerra California HHS Secretary