2016 presidential candidates on federalism
- ️Tue Nov 06 2001
This page was current as of the 2016 election.
Democratic candidate
Hillary Clinton
| CANDIDATE SUMMARY |
Judiciary
- Hillary Clinton applauded President Barack Obama’s nomination of federal judge Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court on March 16, 2016. She said in a statement, "He has chosen a nominee with considerable experience on the bench and in public service, a brilliant legal mind, and a long history of bipartisan support and admiration. Now, it's up to members of the Senate to meet their own, and perform the Constitutional duty they swore to undertake. … This Senate has almost a full year to consider and confirm Judge Garland. It should begin that work immediately by giving Judge Garland a full and fair hearing followed by a vote.”[1]
- On February 18, 2016, Clinton participated in a televised town hall on MSNBC where she defended her votes against former President George W. Bush’s Supreme Court nominees Samuel Alito and John Roberts. She said, “I voted against [Alito]. We had a process. The nomination was made and we went through the process. What the Republicans today are saying is you can't vote on anything. We don't want the president to send us a nominee. I think that is very different." Her comments come after Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia passed away on February 13, 2016. Senate Republicans have said that the seat should be filled by the next president, not President Obama.[2]
- During a campaign event in Iowa on January 26, 2016, a voter asked Clinton if she would consider appointing President Obama to the U.S. Supreme Court. She said, "Wow, what a great idea. No one has ever suggested that to me, I love that, wow. He may have a few other things to do but I tell you that's a great idea. I would certainly take that under advisement. I mean he’s brilliant, and he can set forth an argument, and he was a law professor, so he’s got all the credentials. Now we do have to get a Democratic Senate to get him confirmed so you’re going to have to help me on that, OK?"[3]
- In a January 8, 2016 op-ed in The Boston Globe, Clinton said, as president, she would appoint justices to the Supreme Court that would "protect the constitutional principles of liberty and equality for all, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation or political viewpoint; make sure the scales of justice aren’t tipped away from individuals toward corporations and special interests; and protect citizens’ right to vote, rather than billionaires’ right to buy elections." Clinton said that on "Election Day, three of the current justices will be over 80 years old, which is past the court’s average retirement age. The next president could easily appoint more than one justice. That makes this a make-or-break moment — for the court and our country." She added that Republicans have been vocal about packing the court with conservative justices. "After years of accusing liberals of judicial activism, conservatives are wholeheartedly relying on Republican-appointed judges to undo progressive achievements. They’re using radical legal strategies to accomplish through the courts what they’ve failed to do through legislation, like dismembering the Voting Rights Act or attacking unions. A Republican president would support those efforts. I will oppose them," Clinton said.[4]::See also: 2016 presidential candidates on the Religious Freedom Restoration Act
- On August 10, 2016, Clinton published an op-ed in the Utah newspaper Deseret News in which she sought to appeal to Mormon voters in the state by highlighting her record on religious freedom. “I’ve been fighting to defend religious freedom for years. As secretary of state, I made it a cornerstone of our foreign policy to protect the rights of religious minorities around the world — from Coptic Christians in Egypt to Buddhists in Tibet. And along with Jon Huntsman, our then-ambassador in Beijing, I stood in solidarity with Chinese Christians facing persecution from their government,” wrote Clinton.[5]
- In a video played at Netroots, a convention for progressive activists, Hillary Clinton pledged to introduce a constitutional amendment that would overturn Citizens United in the first 30 days of her administration. She also said she would push for stricter requirements for the disclosure of political spending.[6]
- On April 1, 2015, Hillary Clinton posted the following tweet in response to Arkansas' SB 975, a bill similar to Indiana's Religious Freedom Restoration Act:
Hillary Clinton's tweet from April 1, 2015
- In July 2014, Clinton said she would consider an amendment to overturn the Citizens United decision by the Supreme Court. She explained, "I would consider supporting an amendment along these lines. That would prevent the abuse of our political system by excessive amounts of money if there is no other way to deal with the Citizens United decision."[7]
- Clinton disagreed with the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Hobby Lobby case. She said, “It’s the first time that our court has said that a closely held corporation has the rights of a person when it comes to religious freedom, which means the corporation’s … [‘closely held’] employers can impose their religious beliefs on their employees, and, of course, denying women the right to contraceptives as part of a health care plan is exactly that. I find it deeply disturbing that we are going in that direction.”[8]
Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- In an interview with The Huffington Post on June 15, 2016, Hillary Clinton discussed the Orlando shooter and restricting access to guns for individuals on the no-fly list. Clinton said, “He was investigated three times by the FBI, and it is important that we take into account the easy access to these weapons of war. They should not be on our street. And it is something that we have got to address. And it is not only blocking suspected terrorists from buying guns. It is clear that if you are too dangerous to fly on a plane, you are too dangerous to buy a gun. And we have got to tighten up our provisions.”[9]
- During a speech at the Cleveland Industrial Innovation Center on June 13, 2016, Clinton said that there should be tighter regulations governing who can purchase guns. “I believe weapons of war have no place on our streets and we may have our disagreements about gun safety regulations, but we should all be able to agree on a few essential things. If the FBI is watching you for a suspected terrorist link, you shouldn’t be able to just go buy a gun with no questions asked,” she said.[10][11]
- Clinton participated in a panel discussion of gun violence in New York on April 11, 2016. She challenged Bernie Sanders’ position on gun control and gun safety in rural Vermont. She said, “Most of the guns that are used in crimes and violence and killings in New York come from out of state. And the state that has the highest per capita number of those guns that end up committing crimes in New York come from Vermont.” She continued, “So this is not, 'Oh, you know, I live in a rural state, we don’t have these problems. … It’s easy to cross borders. Criminals, domestic abusers, traffickers, people who are dangerously mentally ill — they cross borders, too. And sometimes they do it to get the guns they use. This has to become a voting issue for those of us who want to save lives.”[12]
- On March 27, 2016, The New York Daily News published an op-ed by Clinton on gun control reform. In addition to calling for the repeal of gun industry liability protections, implementing comprehensive background checks, and closing the Charleston loophole, Clinton also addressed Donald Trump’s and Ted Cruz’s positions on gun control.[13]
- At the seventh Democratic debate on March 6, 2016, Clinton discussed holding firearms distributors legally responsible for how their product is used: “I also believe, so strongly Gene (ph), that giving immunity to gunmakers and sellers was a terrible mistake. Because it removed any accountability from the makers and the sellers. And it also disrupted what was a very promising legal theory, to try to get makers to do more to make guns safer for example. To try to give sellers more accountability for selling guns when they shouldn’t have. So that is an issue that Senator Sanders and I differ on, I voted against giving them immunity, but I think we should very seriously move to repeal that and go back to making sure gun makers and sellers are like any other business. They can be held accountable.”[14]
Campaign finance reform
- Hillary Clinton released her campaign finance reform plan in September 2015. The Huffington Post reported, “Clinton’s proposals include a handful of actions she could influence immediately if she won the White House. She promised to issue an executive order requiring all government contractors to disclose their campaign contributions, including to outside groups that currently do not disclose donors. She said she also would advocate for the Securities and Exchange Commission to issue a rule requiring all publicly traded companies to disclose their political spending, including undisclosed outside spending, to their shareholders.”[15]
Voting rights
- In an op-ed about democracy and voting accessibility posted to CNN.com on January 21, 2016, Hillary Clinton said that she planned to fight for a constitutional amendment to repeal Citizens United, if necessary. She added that if elected she would restore and expand the Voting Rights Act. “All Americans should be automatically registered to vote on their 18th birthdays, unless they opt out. Every state should have at least 20 days of early in-person voting. And no one should ever have to wait more than 30 minutes to cast a ballot,” she wrote.[16]
- In November 2000, Clinton argued that the electoral college should be eliminated and replaced with the national popular vote. She said, "We are a very different country than we were 200 years ago. I believe strongly that in a democracy, we should respect the will of the people and to me, that means it's time to do away with the Electoral College and move to the popular election of our president."[17]
Executive powers
- According to The New York Times, as secretary of state, Clinton advocated for the State Department to have an increased role in global economic issues and an increased diplomatic presence.[18]
Republican candidate
Donald Trump
| CANDIDATE SUMMARY |
Judiciary
- At a town hall on December 12, 2015, Donald Trump criticized Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts for upholding the Affordable Care Act. Trump said, “What he did to Obamacare was disgraceful and I think he did it because he wanted to be popular in the beltway or something, because he did it the first time, and should have never done it and that would have killed it.” Trump added that Justice Clarence Thomas was “highly underrated.”[19]
- In July 2012, Trump called the Supreme Court's decision maintaining the constitutionality of Obamacare "a disaster." Trump added Chief Justice John Roberts, who authored the opinion, was "extremely disloyal" and "wanted to be loved by the Washington establishment."[20]
- In April 2012, Trump criticized President Barack Obama for suggesting it would be unprecedented if the Supreme Court overturned Obamacare, saying, "I think he paid great disrespect to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court is the Supreme Court for a reason. And it almost is as though he didn't care what they said and they shouldn't be making the decision, and this decision is above them, and they don't exist. And I would think it would be very insulting to go to the Supreme Court with what he said."[21]
Statements in response to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg
- In an interview with Maggie Haberman of The New York Times published July 12, 2016, Trump made the following remarks regarding Justice Ginsburg's comments about his possibly becoming president: "I think it's highly inappropriate that a United States Supreme Court judge gets involved in a political campaign, frankly ... I think it's a disgrace to the court and I think she should apologize to the court. I couldn't believe it when I saw it .. That she should be saying that? It's so beneath the court for her to be making statements like that. It only energizes my base even more. And I would hope that she would get off the court as soon as possible."[22]
- In a posted tweet on July 13, Trump called for Justice Ginsburg's resignation, saying that she "has embarrassed all by making very dumb political statements about me. Her mind is shot - resign!"[23]
First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- When asked by Fox Business’ Stuart Varney on October 21, 2015, if the U.S. should adopt the British proposal to close mosques to combat Islamic extremism, Donald Trump said, “Absolutely. I think it’s great.” Varney then questioned if such a policy would be possible in the U.S. due to “religious freedom.” Trump said, “Well, I don’t know. I mean, I haven’t heard about the closing of the mosque. It depends, if the mosque is, you know, loaded for bear, I don’t know. You’re going to have to certainly look at it.”[24]
- In September 2015, Trump called the detention of Kim Davis, a Kentucky county clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, a “messy situation.” He said, “I hated that and now she’s out. But I must tell you that, you know, we are a land of laws — I would like to see her get a different job or at least let the clerks do that particular work. We are…in a position that’s been a terrible situation that’s taken place out there, and I understand both sides of the argument. And I embrace both sides of the argument. … You can embrace both sides of an argument.”[25]
- Trump claimed in a May 2015 interview that if he were elected president, he would "be the greatest representative of the Christians they've had in a long time."[26]
- In May 2015, Trump denounced the "Draw the Prophet" contest Pamela Geller organized, saying, "This is taunting. And all it does is cause trouble."[27]
Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- Donald Trump tweeted on June 15, 2016, that he planned to meet with the National Rifle Association (NRA) to discuss “not allowing people on the terrorist watch list, or the no fly list, to buy guns.” The NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action responded in a statement that it would be “happy to meet with Donald Trump” and that it “believes that terrorists should not be allowed to purchase or possess firearms, period.”[28][29]
- The National Rifle Association (NRA) endorsed Donald Trump on May 20, 2016. Chris Cox, executive director of the NRA, said in a statement, “If Hillary Clinton gets the opportunity to replace Antonin Scalia with an anti-gun Supreme Court justice, we will lose the individual right to keep a gun in the home for self-defense. … So the choice for gun owners in this election is clear. And that choice is Donald Trump.” During his speech at the NRA-ILA forum in Kentucky on May 20, 2016, Trump made a similar allegation, stating that Clinton “wants to abolish the Second Amendment.”[30]
- Clinton responded to Trump on May 21, 2016, calling his policy to eliminate gun-free zones in schools “dangerous.” She continued, “Parents, teachers and schools should have the right to keep guns out of classrooms. Just like Donald Trump does at many of his hotels by the way.”[31]
- Trump partially denied the charge on May 22, 2016, during an interview. “I don’t want to have guns in classrooms. Although, in some cases, teachers should have guns in classrooms,” he said.[32]
- Trump clarified on May 23, 2016, that he supported “school resource officers” and trained teachers carrying guns in schools. He said, “The problem with gun-free zones is it's like offering up candy to bad people. They hear gun-free zones and they go in there with their guns blazing." He maintained his criticism of gun-free zones, but backed away from his call to eliminate all gun-free zones in schools. Instead he said, they would only be eliminated "in some cases."[33]
- During the sixth Republican presidential primary debate, on January 14, 2016, Donald Trump discussed his position on the Second Amendment. He said “I am a Second amendment person. If we had guns in California on the other side where the bullets went in the different direction, you wouldn't have 14 or 15 people dead right now. If even in Paris, if they had guns on the other side, going in the opposite direction, you wouldn't have 130 people plus dead. So the answer is no and what Jeb said is absolutely correct. We have a huge mental health problem in this country. We're closing hospitals, we're closing wards, we're closing so many because the states want to save money. We have to get back into looking at what's causing it. The guns don't pull the trigger. It's the people that pull the trigger and we have to find out what is going on. We have to protect our 2nd amendment and you cannot do this and certainly what Barack Obama was doing with the executive order. He doesn't want to get people together, the old-fashioned way, where you get Congress. You get the Congress, you get the Senate, you get together, you do legislation. He just writes out an executive order. Not supposed to happen that way.”[34]
- Trump said during a campaign rally in Vermont on the night of January 7, 2016, that he would end gun-free zones at schools and military sites. "I will get rid of gun-free zones on schools — you have to — and on military bases on my first day. It gets signed my first day,” Trump pledged. He added, "You know what a gun-free zone is to a sicko? That's bait."[35]
- In an interview on CNN on January 4, 2016, Trump said of President Obama’s use of executive authority to expand background checks on gun buyers, “Pretty soon you won't be able to get guns. It's another step in the way of not getting guns.”[36]
Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- Donald Trump called for a boycott of Apple on February 19, 2016, to put pressure on the company to cooperate with the government, which wanted Apple's help to hack into the iPhone of one of the San Bernardino, Calif., shooters. "Boycott Apple until such time as they give that information," Trump said at a campaign event in South Carolina. "Apple ought to give the security for that phone, OK. What I think you ought to do is boycott Apple until such a time as they give that security number. How do you like that? I just thought of it. Boycott Apple," Trump said. Apple argued against cooperating with the government in a February 16, 2016, open letter citing concerns that the move would render all iPhones vulnerable by creating a master key that would be able to open other phones.[37]
- Trump said on February 17, 2016, that Apple should follow the court order requiring it to aid the U.S. government in hacking the iPhone of one of the San Bernardino, Calif., shooters. “To think that Apple won't allow us to get into her cell phone -- who do they think they are? No, we have to open it up,” he said. Apple argued that giving the government the ability to access the phone would render all iPhones vulnerable. "The implications of the government’s demands are chilling," Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a statement. "The government suggests this tool could only be used once, on one phone. But that’s simply not true. Once created, the technique could be used over and over again, on any number of devices. In the physical world, it would be the equivalent of a master key, capable of opening hundreds of millions of locks -- from restaurants and banks to stores and homes."[38]
- According to a May 2015 article in The Daily Signal, Trump suggested the National Security Agency (NSA) should be allowed to continue its surveillance with "proper oversight." Trump said, "I support legislation which allows the NSA to hold the bulk metadata. For oversight, I propose that a court, which is available any time on any day, is created to issue individual rulings on when this metadata can be accessed."[39]
- Although Trump criticized Edward Snowden for leaking information on the National Security Agency's surveillance program in a June 2013 interview with CNN's Piers Morgan, he acknowledged people want both privacy and national security. Trump questioned, "You know, where do they stop? How far do they go? What kind of power do they have? So it is a point of view and some very conservative people feel that way and some, frankly, very liberal people. I mean, we're looking at a lot of people are concerned about how far are they going to go."[40]
Libertarian candidate
Gary Johnson
| CANDIDATE SUMMARY |
Legislature
- On Gary Johnson's 2016 presidential campaign website, Johnson was described as "a strong advocate of term limits."[41] He also expressed support for term limits in a Facebook post on July 6, 2011, writing, "I'm proud to support term limits -- we've seen what career politicians can do for us."[42]
- As governor of New Mexico from 1995 to 2003, Johnson vetoed 750 bills. "Those 750 vetoes didn't include line-item vetoes in state budgets, which I raised to an art form," Johnson wrote in Seven Principles of Good Government in 2012. He continued, "It was safe to say that I had the most contentious relationship with my legislature of any governor in the country. ... I believe that every time you pass a law you take a little bite out of freedom. Although I do not believe that government is ill-intentioned, I strongly believe in less government. I vetoed 750 bills as governor because I abhor the government spending money on programs that show no improvement in our lives and criminalize actions that do not warrant criminalization."[43]
First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- On August 2, 2016, Gary Johnson apologized for a comment he made about violence in early Mormon history. When asked about the government’s role in an individual’s right to religious freedom during the previous week, Johnson said that “religious freedom was a ‘black hole’ that can lead to more discrimination than the world needs,” according to Deseret News. Johnson added, “I think what you're going to end up doing is open up a plethora of discrimination that you never dreamed could even exist. And it'll start with Muslims. … I mean under the guise of religious freedom, anybody can do anything. Back to Mormonism. Why shouldn't somebody be able to shoot somebody else because their freedom of religion says that God has spoken to them and that they can shoot somebody dead?" Johnson apologized for the comments in the following statement: “My reference to the LDS church, made during an impromptu conversation, was an admittedly very imprecise reference to the violence that accompanied the Mormon’s early history in the 1800s– violence that was prompted by the persecution of the Mormons themselves by both the federal government and others. Absolutely no offense was intended, and I regret any that has resulted. My point, made with an unfortunate example, is that religion has been used too many times to justify discrimination, persecution and, yes, violence. Acts of violence and aggression can not be excused by religion and all people must be held accountable for their own actions. Few in America have experienced that persecution more than Mormons, and I understand and respect that. The LDS church and its historical struggles with the government are perfect examples of the need for true religious freedom, not selective freedoms legislated and created by politicians. I consider many of the LDS faith to be my closest of friends including National Campaign Manager Ron Nielson.”[44][45]
- During a Libertarian candidate forum that aired on the Fox Business Network on April 1, 2016, Gary Johnson said, “I think that if you discriminate on the basis of religion, I think that is a black hole.” Johnson continued, “I think you should be able to discriminate for stink or you’re not wearing shoes or whatever. If we discriminate on the basis of religion, to me, that’s doing harm to a big class of people.”[46]
- In an interview with Reason in January 2016, Gary Johnson said he supported banning burqas in the U.S. as a way of "protecting [Muslim women] from harm under a brutal ideology under which women have nothing resembling equal rights." The following day, Johnson amended his position, stating, "While the law must provide protection for women from abuse, it is clear that banning face veils wouldn’t work, and would be impossible to enforce without infringing on basic rights." He added, "Sharia law is incompatible with the freedoms upon which America is founded, and it must not be overlooked that, under Sharia ideology, women have no rights, and are certainly not free to dress as they wish. Imposing such a system on women under some guise of freedom of religion or expression is not acceptable under any notion of liberty. On that point I am firm. But a government ban on an item of clothing might well have the consequence of restricting, not protecting, freedom."[47]
- Johnson expressed support for the separation of church and state during an interview in February 2012. He said, "As much as I hate the fact that the ACLU would tell a community that they can’t hang a Christmas tree in the lobby and play Christmas music in a public building, isn’t that why we became the United States of America? Isn’t that why we broke away from England?"[48]
Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- During an interview on June 27, 2016, with WIBC’s Tony Katz, Gary Johnson discussed a proposal backed by Democrats to prohibit individuals on the No-Fly List from purchasing firearms. Johnson said, “Well, they’re wrong because that list contains active members of Congress. That’s a list that contains you and I; it’s a list prone to error. If this is a conversation about improving the quality of that list, then ‘yes.’ Is it a conversation on how the appeals process might be (improved)—meaning you’re on the list, and you want to appeal that list because you have a need for self-protection? Self-protection doesn’t mean you’re going to buy the gun and use it, it means you’re going to buy the gun—and your ex-spouse who’s abusive knows that – and all of a sudden that’s a huge deterrent. Johnson also discussed the failures of Congress. He said, “First of all, Congress should be engaged. Congress wants to abdicate every responsibility that they’re supposed to have, and because of that, they never come under the scrutiny that should go along with their offices. They don’t do anything; they don’t submit any budgets. They just want to hold office.”[49]
- In an interview with Reason on June 14, 2016, Johnson said that he believed the outcome of the Orlando shooting would have been “less horrific” if some of the clubgoers were armed. “I understand how so many people can believe that if you restrict this kind of weapon you can prevent this kind of incident. But there's just no evidence whatsoever to suggest that it makes us any safer, and in fact restricting guns makes things less safe, that's the camp that I'm in,” Johnson said.[50]
- On January 19, 2016, in an interview with The Telegraph, Johnson discussed guns. He said, “I am in the camp that if you outlaw guns only the criminals are going to have guns. I supported permitting the concealed carry of handguns in New Mexico. I believe there is a lot less violence in the parking lot, as they say, because the potential perpetrator of a theft or an assault is thinking twice because someone might be carrying a gun. Restrictions on gun ownership will only encourage outlaws to have heavy ammunition and high caliber weapons."[51]
- In May 2013, Johnson opposed a Colorado law restricting ammunition magazines. He said in a press release, "Placing an arbitrary limit on the capacity of a gun magazine is an unacceptable restriction on the rights of gun owners, manufacturers and sellers, and I am anxious to help give voters an opportunity to restore those rights. … Restricting the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens does not make anyone safer. Rather, it simply empowers those who have no regard for the law and who wish to do us harm."[52]
- Johnson wrote an op-ed in The Daily Caller on February 6, 2013, to defend gun ownership under the Constitution. He argued, "Whether it is the First Amendment right to speech or the religious freedoms granted in the Constitution, we may all find the exercise of rights to be uncomfortable, painful, and occasionally even harmful. But our nation is founded — uniquely so — on the idea that individual rights are to be protected and shielded from government control. And just like the rest of the Bill of Rights, the Second Amendment doesn’t give anyone permission to commit murder. That is covered by a lot of other, perfectly constitutional, laws. Let us hope, and let us work, to make sure that the politicians don’t decide to make us 'safer' from gun violence by taking away even more of our freedoms."[53]
Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- Gary Johnson advocated for the creation of a "Liberty Czar" in October 2014 in a blog post for the nonprofit organization, Our America Initiative. He wrote, "Where is the liberty czar? Where is the high-level 'liberty' advocate who is in the room when the Department of Justice, the NSA or the IRS are planning their next invasion of our 4th Amendment protections, raising a hand and objecting? Who is asking the tough questions when someone comes up with the idea to give armored military vehicles and grenades to local police departments?" He concluded that every government official should be a "liberty czar."[54]
- In an April 2012 op-ed in The Huffington Post criticizing the Supreme Court decision in Florence v. Board of Chosen Freeholders, Johnson advocated for stronger protection of the right to privacy. He wrote, "There are a lot of us in America who still would like to believe that woven through the Constitution and the Bill of Rights is a fundamental right to individual privacy. And I don't recall that we agreed to forfeit that right just because technology has outgrown the law or because the police need 'substantial discretion' to make us take our clothes off. Expecting the government to willingly constrain itself when it comes to violating our privacy is not just foolhardy; it defies everything we know about the very nature of government. Until privacy is restored as a fundamental American value and right that government is required to protect, rather than destroy, this erosion of our freedom -- and dignity -- will continue."[55]
Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- In August 2010, Johnson wrote an op-ed for the Tenth Amendment Center in the wake of Arizona's efforts at immigration reform, arguing that states' rights should be protected. He wrote, "Every state is different, and is presented with its own challenges and opportunities related to immigration – and countless other issues. Rather than trying, as the Obama administration is doing, to stop Arizona from implementing its own approach, we should be encouraging the states to be the policy laboratories they were intended to be in our federal system."[56]
Green candidate
Jill Stein
| CANDIDATE SUMMARY |
Judiciary
- According to a 2012 Huffington Post profile of Jill Stein, "she would appoint Supreme Court justices who believe corporations are corporations, not people, and fight to get corporate money and influence out of the political process."[57]
Second Amendment
- In a December 2013 interview with RT, Jill Stein discussed the connection between gun violence and culture. She said, "We have about 100 times the rate of gun homicides and violent gun crimes relative to many countries of Western Europe and we should not be in the business of normalizing violence."[58]
- Stein added, "It’s clear there is a relationship between gun violence and economic violence and poverty, and racial disparities and economic disparities. And the more we become an unjust society, the more we are at risk for continuing gun violence and potentially growing gun violence."[58]
- Stein also criticized the involvement of the National Rifle Association (NRA) in politics. She said, "People don’t trust government because government has been bought and paid for by powerful special interests like the NRA. And the NRA is actually doing a disservice and fails to represent the interests of ordinary gun owners because it has become dominated by big industry. And its policies essentially reflect a marketing strategy to keep selling guns."[58]
- In a third party presidential debate in October 2012, Stein said, "We certainly need an assault weapons ban, but we need more than that. There are some 260 people every day who are injured or killed by gun violence, so it's very important that we ban assault weapons, for starters, but there are other steps that need to be taken quickly. Local communities need to be able to regulate guns, as needed, to deal with their violence. So, we need to keep guns out of the hands of criminals. We need background checks, so that the mentally ill are not possessing and using guns. And we need to end the gun show loopholes, as well, because there's far too much violence from guns, which is not needed."[59]
Fourth Amendment
- In a January 2012 interview with Steve Horn of Truthout, Jill Stein supported the repeal of the Patriot Act. Stein said, "The Patriot Act symbolizes the death of the Fourth Amendment and the right to judicial review, and the right to a trial has just been sabotaged by Obama. It is as if a coup has occurred. Any one of these alone is bad enough, but when you add them all up, we are on some pretty thin ice right now as a free society. Our freedom is hanging in thin air right now. There is now a legal basis for curtailing that freedom."[60]
Withdrawn candidates
Democratic
Lincoln Chafee
Judiciary
- Lincoln Chafee voted against the nomination of Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court. Chafee cited his concerns with Alito’s positions on using the commerce clause, the expansion of executive power, women’s reproductive rights, and warrantless wiretapping. Chafee was the only Republican to vote against Alito’s confirmation.[61][62][63]
- Chafee voted against President George W. Bush’s nomination of William Pryor to the Eleventh Circuit and Priscilla Owen to the Fifth Circuit.[64][65]
First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- Lincoln Chafee has expressed support for a clear separation between church and state. In an op-ed in The Huffington Post, Chafee questioned the decision by several 2008 presidential candidates to attend a megachurch forum. He argued, “It's hypocritical for the religious right to be hyperventilating over state-sponsored religion by the Taliban and Islamic extremists while ever so gradually allowing the state to encroach on our ‘full liberty in religious concernments.'"[66]
- In 2006, Chafee voted against prohibiting flag desecration.[67]
Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- In an interview with The Brown Political Review, Lincoln Chafee expressed support for an "assault gun" ban and closing the gun show loophole. He said, “Truly, what hunter needs an assault gun or a large magazine clip? I just think [Second Amendment advocates are] treating it as a step. First they take away my assault weapon, and then they take another. So we just have to fight back against that. This isn’t a progressive step of taking away guns. It’s just common sense; nobody needs an assault gun with a large magazine clip. You’re not allowed to hunt with them, so what do you need them for?”[68]
- In 2013, Chafee introduced a package of gun control legislation that would include stricter regulation of firearms with obliterated serial codes and enable Rhode Island to use mental illness and substance abuse records in addition to traditional background checks as a potential bar to gun ownership.[69]
Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- At the first Democratic debate on October 13, 2015, Lincoln Chafee was asked if Edward Snowden —the one-time CIA employee who leaked classified information, and who is now a privacy activist in exile — is a hero or a traitor. Chafee said he judged Snowden more hero than traitor. "No, I would bring him home. The courts have ruled that what he did -- what he did was say the American...the American government was acting illegally. That's what the federal courts have said; what Snowden did showed that the American government was acting illegally for the Fourth Amendment. So I would bring him home," Chafee said.[70]
- Although Chafee supported the Patriot Act in 2001 and 2006, he has raised concerns that the government has violated the Fourth Amendment. At the first Democratic debate on October 13, 2015, Chafee said "As long as you're getting a warrant, I believe that under the Fourth Amendment, you should be able to do surveillance, but you need a warrant. That's what the Fourth Amendment says. And in the Patriot Act, section 215 started to get broadened too far. So I would be in favor of addressing and reforming section 215 of the Patriot Act.”[71] He made a similar point in an April 10, 2015 interview with U.S. News & World Report Chafee said, “I don't believe it granted any power to tap phones or any other surveillance without a warrant. That’s a definite stretch.”[72]
- In a 2015 interview with Huff Post Live, Chafee stated, ”I’m definitely against warrantless wiretapping, and I wasn’t in the Senate when they voted to give retroactive immunity to the telephone companies that did allow warrantless wiretapping. I would have never voted for that.”[73]
Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- In 2011, Lincoln Chafee denied a request to transfer a murder suspect from Rhode Island state custody to federal custody. Under federal law and contrary to Rhode Island state law, the suspect would be eligible for the death penalty. Chafee argued the Interstate Agreement on Detainers gave him the right to make this refusal as it would be against the state’s interest to expose the suspect to the death penalty. The First Circuit ruled the suspect must be tried in a federal court, and the Supreme Court declined to review the case.[74][75][76]
Crime and justice
- Chafee put out a Facebook message against drones and militarized police on August 28, 2015. He posted, "I say 'no' to drones. They're bad enough abroad. We need to demilitarize our police, not do the opposite. #NoDrones."[77]
- When Lincoln Chafee was asked in a 2006 senatorial debate if he would support the death penalty for Osama bin Laden, he stated, “I oppose the death penalty.” To support his stance, Chafee cited the history of a wrongly convicted man put to death in Rhode Island and evidence that capital punishment is a weak deterrent.[78]
Lincoln Chafee discusses the death penalty in 2006
- In 2004, Chafee voted against HR 1997 - Unborn Victims of Violence Act of 2004, which criminalized the injury or death of a fetus when a pregnant woman is injured or killed.[79]
- In 2001, Chafee co-sponsored S 486 - Innocence Protection Act which would allow individuals convicted of a federal crime to apply for DNA testing for the purposes of exoneration. A version of the bill was included as part of HR 5107 - Justice for All Act of 2004, which became law on October 30, 2004.[80][81]
- In 2000, Chafee co-sponsored S Amdt 3473, which expanded the definition of hate crime to include gender, sexual orientation and disability, and appropriated $5 million to enable states to prosecute hate crimes.[82]
Lawrence Lessig
Judiciary
- In 2010, Lawrence Lessig supported Elena Kagan's nomination to the Supreme Court. "I think that from the experience I’ve had with Elena, which is now more than twenty years, I think that she has exactly the right values and exactly the right skill that this justice will need. This is the fourth justice in the non-conservative or non-right-wing bloc of this right-wing court. And what that means is she needs to have the ability to persuade the fifth, so that we can get five votes for values and positions that we believe in. And I think what she’s demonstrated more than anything else is she has exactly that skill," he said.[83]
- Lessig clerked for Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and Judge Richard Posner of the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit between 1989 and 1991.[84]
First Amendment
- in response to Citizens United, Lawrence Lessig wrote an op-ed in New Republic in 2010 suggesting the decision could be combatted by remembering that corporations were not American citizens, regardless of whether they were considered "persons." Lessig encouraged the establishment of a new constitution amendment: "Nothing in this Constitution shall be construed to restrict the power to limit, though not to ban, campaign expenditures of non-citizens of the United States during the last 60 days before an election."[85]
Fourth Amendment
- In June 2015, Lawrence Lessig said there was a false dichotomy between protecting privacy and guarding the nation in an interview with WGBH News. He explained, "[M]ost Americans have a false choice in their mind. Either we protect privacy, or we are facing terrorists. ... It isn't an either or a choice. There are ways that we can be building the infrastructure of surveillance that actually would be protecting privacy in a very fundamental way but give the government a better opportunity to identify risks that they need to go after. And we need to be pushing the government to do that, rather than this very simple binary choice of well, we're either going to have terrorists or we're going to have protection of privacy."[86]
Crime and justice
- In 2008, Lawrence Lessig said regardless of a person's theoretical position on the death penalty, he "cannot support the death penalty once [he sees] how the system actually works." He referenced his experience handling capital punishment litigation as a Supreme Court clerk to Justice Antonin Scalia as the premise for this belief.[87]
Black Lives Matter movement
- Prior to declaring his candidacy for president, Lawrence Lessig held a press conference on August 31, 2015, with community advocates and racial justice activists in Ferguson, Missouri.[88] Lessig's campaign described the city as "ground zero" of the Black Lives Matter movement in a press release.[89]
- Surrounded by local activists from the Lost Voices group, Lessig said, "It’s important to me that the very first campaign event we’ve held is in Ferguson, Missouri. Ferguson is ground zero for an idea that we as a nation have to rally to achieve, and that is the idea of equality. It shouldn’t be controversial in America that citizens are equal. Yet we have a system where there are second class citizens everywhere – we have business class citizens and the rest of us.”[89]
- He added, "We are going to fight to make this election about getting our democracy back. ... Black lives matter and this idea will make it so all lives in America celebrate the diversity and strength that is our past and will be our future."[90]
Martin O'Malley
Judiciary
- In an interview with The Des Moines Register's editorial board on October, 29, 2015, Martin O'Malley said that capital punishment is "inconsistent with our principles as a nation. It's very hard to have any sympathy for mass murderers, for people like the Boston bomber or any of these individuals. But the principle is this: Capital punishment is not a deterrent."[91]
- In June 2014, O'Malley "said he was disappointed with a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that said some public employees could not be required to contribute to unions," according to The Capital Gazette.[92]
- After the 2014 Supreme Court ruling in the Burwell v. Hobby Lobby case was released, O’Malley tweeted: "No woman should have her health care decisions made by her boss. Period. This decision is wrong and a setback for women’s health."[93]
- O'Malley appointed Mary Ellen Barbera to the Maryland Court of Appeals, 7th Appellate Circuit (Montgomery County) on August 7, 2008.[94]
- O'Malley appointed Sally Adkins to the Maryland Court of Appeals on May 27, 2008.[95]
Article Two of the U.S. Constitution
- On July 29, 2015, Martin O'Malley suggested he supports a constitutional amendment to abolish the electoral college. He said, “Well, as a matter of fact, our state — my state, became the first state to sign on to the popular vote movement, which says all of our electoral votes go toward whoever the winner was of the popular vote. So our state, Maryland, actually led in that movement.”[96]
First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- On October 1, 2015, Martin O'Malley presented his campaign finance reform platform. In addition to fighting for Citizens United to be overturned, O’Malley would seek to establish “publicly financed congressional elections within five years” and bipartisan redistricting commissions. O’Malley also called for an overhaul of the Federal Election Commission and its disclosure requirements.[97][98]
Religious Freedom Restoration Act
- During a speech in New Hampshire on April 1, Martin O'Malley criticized Indiana's Religious Freedom Restoration Act. He said, "I think the wave of anti-gay and anti-lesbian legislation that's sweeping across many states is reprehensible and it's counter to everything that we stand for as a people. It's wrong, it is a thinly veiled–well, it's not even thinly veiled, I think the gig is up. Look, when you have people like Apple and all other sorts of businesses and leaders stepping up and saying not only is this wrong, not only does this run counter to who we are as Americans, it's also really bad for business. In our state, we adopted policies of inclusion, respect, and anti-discrimination laws to protect trans-gender people, as well as making marriage equality a civil right that’s enjoyed equally in our state. There’s a reason, and I think some of those things contributed to why the United States Chamber of Commerce, hardly a mouthpiece for the Maryland Democratic Party, named our state three years in a row number one state in America for innovation and entrepreneurship. Because economic inclusion, yes part of that is making wages go up so that workers earn more and can be better customers for businesses. But part of that is about also creating an open society where the talents of all are respected, needed and welcomed and where people can feel at home and contribute to the innovative and creative life of an economy and a state. So, let’s hope, my mom’s from Indiana. I know there’s a lot of really good people in Indiana, and this sort of ugly legislation is not consistent with the truer spirit of the people our nation or the people of Indiana."[99]
Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- Martin O'Malley tweeted on January 4, 2016, that he supported President Obama’s executive action on gun control given Republicans’ “refusal to act.”
Given GOP refusal to act, @POTUS is right to take exec action on gun safety—here are 7 actions I'd take as President https://t.co/MZIVQsDJ7C
— Martin O'Malley (@MartinOMalley) January 4, 2016
- At the third Democratic primary debate on December 19, 2015, O'Malley accused Hillary Clinton of switching her position on gun control: “Secretary Clinton changes her position on this every election year, it seems, having one position in 2000 and then campaigning against President Obama and saying we don't need federal standards. Look, what we need on this issue is not more polls. We need more principle. When ISIL does training videos that say the easiest way to get a combat assault weapon in the United States of America is at a gun show, then we should all be waking up. We need comprehensive gun safety legislation and a ban on assault weapons.”[100]
- At a meeting of the Somersworth Democratic Committee in New Hampshire on November 30, 2015, Martin O'Malley said he would not be “passive” in fighting the National Rifle Association in the wake of the November 27, 2015, Colorado Planned Parenthood shooting. He said, “One day it is Planned Parenthood, another day it is a church basement, then a school shooting. Can you imagine what we would be doing as a nation if it was [ISIS] carrying out these attacks, rather than our own people? … We’ve become passive as if we are going to have to deal with this particular congress and the NRA’s clout forever. I don’t think the NRA is as strong as the rest of us. So I intend to take them on.”[101]
- On November 3, 2015, O'Malley unveiled seven executive orders that he would issue to control gun violence, which included the following: “Using procurement contracts to advance gun safety by requiring manufacturers that seek federal contracts to make design changes;” ending the enforcement of a federal law that protects gun manufacturers when a gun made by that company is used in a violent act; enforcing “existing bans on gun ownership for domestic abusers and stalkers;” “banning so-called ‘cop killer’ ammunition;” “creating an ‘electronic alert system’ to inform local law enforcement officials when those who are prohibited from purchasing firearms attempt to do so;” “requiring the safe storage of firearms in homes by issuing and enforcing federal rules that make clear safety standards for gun locks and safes;” and “strengthening enforcement and audits of licensed dealers to ensure that they are in compliance with the law.”[102] [103]
- O'Malley held a press conference October 28, 2015, near the University of Colorado-Boulder, the site of the third Republican debate where he called on Republican presidential candidates to challenge the National Rifle Association (NRA). "In these beautiful mountains of Colorado, I am in search of a very elusive being. And that is a Republican candidate with the backbone to take on the NRA," O'Malley said. He also criticized his Democratic rivals, saying, “Once Secretary Clinton and Sen. Sanders get done bickering about 'shouting' and who's sexist and who's not, I hope they come back to the main issue here, which is that we need common-sense gun legislation.”[104]
- On September 14, 2015, O'Malley published an op-ed about gun violence prevention on CNN. He said he would change federal procurement policies of firearms to prevent trafficking and revoke the licenses of dealers who “routinely” sell guns that are used by criminals.[105]
- O'Malley announced a gun violence prevention plan on September 14, 2015, targeting youth gun ownership. Under O’Malley’s plan, possession of a handgun or ammunition by anyone under the age of 21 would be illegal.[106]
- O'Malley published an op-ed in The Boston Globe on July 25, 2015, calling for stricter gun control laws. In addition to regulating who can sell guns, O’Malley’s policy vision included “banning the sale of assault weapons, increasing inspections, and establishing a national gun registry to help law enforcement track down dangerous criminals.”[107]
- In an email describing his gun control platform on June 19, 2015, O'Malley declared, "I proudly hold an F rating from the NRA, and when I worked to pass gun control in Maryland, the NRA threatened me with legal action, but I never backed down." After calling the string of mass shootings in America "a national crisis," O'Malley stated he wanted to institute a ban against assault weapons, make background checks more stringent and limit straw-buying.[108]
- O'Malley signed Senate Bill 281 - Firearm Safety Act of 2013, which, among other measures, defined and placed restrictions on "assault weapons" and ammunition and required gun owners to report the loss or theft of a firearm.[109]
Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- During the fourth Democratic presidential primary debate on January 17, 2016, Martin O'Malley talked about government surveillance, privacy and security: “I believe whether it's a back door or a front door that the American principle of law should still hold that our federal government should have to get a warrant, whether they want to come through the back door or your front door. And I also agree, Lester, with Benjamin Franklin, who said, no people should ever give up their privacy or their freedoms in a promise for security. So we're a collaborative people. We need collaborative leadership here with Silicon Valley and other bright people in my own state of Maryland and around the NSA that can actually figure this out. But there are certain immutable principles that will not become antique things in our country so long as we defend our country and its values and its freedoms. And one of those things is our right to be secure in our homes, and our right to expect that our federal government should have to get a warrant. I also want to the say that while we've made some progress on the Patriot Act, I do believe that we need an adversarial court system there. We need a public advocate. We need to develop jurisprudence so that we can develop a body of law that protects the privacy of Americans in the information and digital age.”[110]
- Speaking at an Iowa Caucus Consortium event on July 24, 2015, O'Malley said law enforcement officers should get a warrant before accessing digital evidence.[111]
Crime and justice
- On December 3, 2015, Martin O'Malley said he supported an independent inquiry into how the Chicago Police Department handled the shooting death of Laquan McDonald. "One of the most important things that we have in any society is the relationship and trust that must exist between people and their government, between people and especially their police departments, and so I think that given the questions that have arisen, that yes, indeed, an independent investigation is called for,” O’Malley said.[112]
- O'Malley sought to distinguish himself from Ben Carson and Bernie Sanders who all appeared at a forum on criminal justice and race relations on November 21, 2015, saying, “While the other two candidates will talk about things we should do in criminal justice reform, I have actually done them. Every day we worked to improve policing-community relations and, in fact, we did. When we found things that work like drug treatment and civilian review, we have made them stronger and did more of it. When we found things that did not work like the death penalty that did not work, we stopped doing it and abolished it.”[113]
- On August 4, 2015, O'Malley said he wanted to abolish the death penalty at the federal level, but declined to directly comment on calls to execute Dylann Roof, the alleged perpetrator of the Charleston church shooting. “I don’t for a second pretend that this is an easy issue. It’s not. But I do know that there’s a difference between criminal justice policies that work to save lives and redeem lives, and policies that don’t work,” O’Malley said.[114]
Black Lives Matter movement
Netroots Nation
- At the debate, on October 13, 2015,Martin O'Malley praised Black Lives Matter. O'Malley said, "[T]he point that the Black Lives Matter movement is making is a very, very legitimate and serious point, and that is that as a nation we have undervalued the lives of black lives, people of color. When I ran for Mayor of Baltimore -- and we were burying over 350 young men ever single year, mostly young, and poor, and black, and I said to our legislature, at the time when I appeared in front of them as a mayor, that if we were burying white, young, poor men in these number we would be marching in the streets and there would be a different reaction. Black lives matter, and we have a lot of work to do to reform our criminal justice system, and to address race relations in our country.”[116]
- While speaking at the 2015 Netroots Nation conference on July 18, 2015, O'Malley was interrupted by activists from the Black Lives Matter movement.[117] Tia Oso, a national organizer for Black Alliance for Just Immigration, took to the stage and demanded a microphone to "shift the focus of the program" from immigration to racial justice.[118] Oso said, "We are going to hold this space and acknowledge the names of black women who have died in police custody, and then Governor O’Malley we do have questions for you! As leader of this country will you advance an agenda that will dismantle structural racism in this country?”
- Demonstrators began to chant the names of black victims who died in police custody. O'Malley responded, "This issue is so important. Black lives matter. White lives matter. All lives matter."
- Activists reacted negatively to O'Malley's statement and heckled him. One proclaimed, "Do not generalize this!"[117]
- Before leaving the stage, O'Malley attempted to offer at least one policy proposal. "I believe every police department in America should have to report in an open and transparent and timely way all police-involved shootings, all discourtesy complaints and all brutality complaints," O'Malley said.[117]
Apology
- Later in the day, O'Malley participated in an interview on "This Week in Blackness" where he addressed his response to the protesters. "That was a mistake on my part and I meant no disrespect. I did not mean to be insensitive in any way or to communicate that I did not understand the tremendous passion, commitment and feeling and depth of feeling that all of us should be attaching to this issue," he said.[119][120]
Territories
- While campaigning in Puerto Rico on August 1, 2015, Martin O'Malley said of the island's debt crisis, "Right now, the people of Puerto Rico ... are being treated very unjustly by forces on the mainland, forces on Wall Street and the intransigence of this Republican Congress in taking action to restore simple bankruptcy protections," he said. While O’Malley did not comment on the question of Puerto Rican statehood, the Associated Press reported that “he would fight for equal treatment for the territory, which he noted receives lower Medicaid and Medicare reimbursement rates compared with the mainland.”[121]
Bernie Sanders
| CANDIDATE SUMMARY |
Judiciary
- On March 16, 2016, Bernie Sanders issued a statement on the nomination of Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court. “Judge Garland is a strong nominee with decades of experience on the bench. My Republican colleagues have called Judge Garland a ‘consensus nominee’ and said that there is ‘no question’ he could be confirmed. Refusing to hold hearings on the president’s nominee would be unprecedented. President Obama has done his job. It’s time for Republicans to do theirs. I call on Sen. Grassley to hold confirmation hearings immediately and for Leader McConnell to bring the nomination to floor of the Senate if Judge Garland is approved by the Judiciary Committee,” he said.[122]
- Bernie Sanders released the following statement on Scalia's death on February 13, 2016: "While I differed with Justice Scalia’s views and jurisprudence, he was a brilliant, colorful and outspoken member of the Supreme Court. My thoughts and prayers are with his family and his colleagues on the court who mourn his passing."[123]
- In response to oral arguments earlier this week in the Supreme Court case, Evenwel v. Abbott, Sanders' campaign released a December 9, 2015 statement: “We need to preserve a fair system of representation in this country that does not disadvantage communities of color and our children. Evenwel tragically makes invisible a large segment of the American people, including young people under 18. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, Latinos are the nation’s youngest ethnic group. As a result, areas with large Latino populations will be adversely impacted when it comes to representation in state legislatures. Evenwel could result in 55 percent of the Latino population nationwide being underrepresented. Once again, we have people trying to rig the electoral system to try to dictate an outcome in favor of the right wing.”[124]
- On September 28, 2015, Sanders said that one measure for a potential Supreme Court nominee would be whether he or she would prioritize overturning Citizens United. "I do not exaggerate when I tell you that the foundations of American democracy are being undermined," Sanders said. "American democracy is not supposed to be about billionaires buying elections."[125]
- In December 2011, Sanders said, "In my view, history will record that the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision is one of the worst decisions ever made by a Supreme Court in the history of our country."[126]
- In August 2010, Sanders voted to confirm Elena Kagan as a United States Supreme Court Justice.[127]
First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- On July 28, 2015, Bernie Sanders said he supported unionization and neutrality checks for the media. “It is hard to have a vibrant democracy, where people are hearing all kinds of ideas from different perspectives, when you have a handful of multinational corporations controlling the flow of information. And to a very significant degree, that is the case right now. For example, there have been studies out there taking a hard look at how the Trans-Pacific Partnership was covered and to the degree that it was covered. And the result is there was almost no coverage on network news about the most important trade agreement in the history of this country. Is that an accident? Who determined that the TPP, covering 40 percent of the world’s economy, was not a significant issue? So I very much worry about media consolidation. I think all workers in whatever area — it’s not just the media — do have a right to form a union without harassment on the part of their employers,” Sanders said.[128]
- In December 2011, Sanders "proposed an amendment to the Constitution to exclude corporations from First Amendment rights to spend money on political campaigns," according to The Hill. Sanders said, "In my view, corporations should not be able to go into their treasuries and spend millions and millions of dollars on a campaign in order to buy elections. I do not believe that is what American democracy is supposed to be about."[126]
- In 1998, Sanders voted against H.J.Res.78 - Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States restoring religious freedom, which proposed securing "the people's right to acknowledge God according to the dictates of conscience, neither the United States nor any State shall establish any official religion, but the people's right to pray and to recognize their religious beliefs, heritage, or traditions on public property, including schools, shall not be infringed; and (2) neither the United States nor any State shall require any person to join in prayer or other religious activity, prescribe school prayers, discriminate against religion, or deny equal access to a benefit on account of religion."[129]
Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA)
- During an April 1 interview with Bloomberg Politics, Bernie Sanders criticized Indiana Governor Mike Pence and Indiana's Religious Freedom Restoration Act. He said, "I think that [Pence] is on the wrong side of history. This country has made huge progress in ending discrimination toward the gay community. Legislation like what he’s supporting is outrageous."[99]
Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- On April 6, 2016, Bernie Sanders campaign spokesman Michael Briggs issued a statement on Sanders’ gun control policy after the candidate received sharp criticism from a family member of a Sandy Hook school shooting victim and others for saying that Sandy Hook families should not be permitted to sue gun manufacturers. Erica Smegielski, the daughter of the school’s principal, requested that Sanders offer an “apology for putting the gun lobby above our families.” Briggs said that Sanders “supports President Obama's efforts to end gun violence. He voted for the legislation considered by the Senate after Sandy Hook. He has a clear and consistent record on the issue.”[130]
- Hillary Clinton commented in an interview on CNN, “When it comes to guns we have a really serious difference and I was appalled that Sen. Sanders said he really didn't see any reason for the parents children massacred at Sandy Hook in Connecticut to try and be able to sue the gun makers.”[131]
- In response, Sanders told reporters that “maybe Sec. Clinton might want to apologize to the families who lost their loved ones in Iraq or to the massive levels of destabilization we’re seeing in that region.”[132]
- At the seventh Democratic debate on March 6, 2016, Sanders discussed whether firearms distributors should be held legally responsible for how their product is used. He said, “Well, this is what I say, if I understand it — and correct me if I’m wrong. If you go to a gun store and you legally purchase a gun, and then, three days later, if you go out and start killing people, is the point of this lawsuit to hold the gun shop owner or the manufacturer of that gun liable? If that is the point, I have to tell you I disagree. I disagree because you hold people — in terms of this liability thing, where you hold manufacturers’ liability is if they understand that they’re selling guns into an area that — it’s getting into the hands of criminals, of course they should be held liable. But if they are selling a product to a person who buys it legally, what you’re really talking about is ending gun manufacturing in America. I don’t agree with that.” [133] On March 7, 2016, the National Rifle Association sent out a tweet praising Sanders' stance on this issue, saying, “Sen. Sanders was spot-on in his comments about gun manufacturer liability/PLCAA.”[134]
- During the fourth Democratic presidential primary debate on January 17, 2016, Bernie Sanders reacted to Hillary Clinton calling him "a pretty reliable vote for the gun lobby” and his record on guns: “Well, I think Secretary Clinton knows that what she says is very disingenuous. I have a D-minus voting record from the NRA. I was in 1988, there were three candidates running for congress in the state of Vermont, I stood up to the gun lobby and came out and maintained the position that in this country we should not be selling military style assault weapons. I have supported from day one and instant background check to make certain that people who should have guns do not have guns. And that includes people of criminal backgrounds, people who are mentally unstable. I support what President Obama is doing in terms of trying to close the gun show loop holes and I think it should be a federal crime if people act as dormant.(ph) We have seen in this city a horrendous tragedy of a crazed person praying with people in the coming up and shooting nine people. This should not be a political issue. What we should be doing is working together. And by the way, as a senator from a rural state that has virtually no gun control, I believe that I am in an excellent position to bring people together to fight the sensible. … What I have said, is that gun manufacturer's liability bill has some good provisions among other things, we've prohibited ammunition that would've killed cops who had protection on. We have child safety protection work on guns in that legislation. And what we also said, ‘is a small mom and pop gun shop who sells a gun legally to somebody should not be held liable if somebody does something terrible with that gun.’ So what I said is, ‘I would re-look at it.’ We are going to re- look at it and I will support stronger provisions.”[135]
- On January 11, 2016, Sanders’ campaign manager Jeff Weaver dismissed Clinton’s criticism of Sanders’ record on gun control because she “has been all over the map on guns.” He said, “I think her argument would be much more compelling if she had a consistent record on this issue."[136]
Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- Bernie Sanders said on February 18, 2016, that there has to be a “middle ground” between the government and Apple on the issue of gaining access to a San Bernardino, Calif. terrorist’s iPhone data. “I am very fearful in America about big brother. And that means not only the federal government getting into your emails or knowing what books you're taking out of the library, or private corporations knowing everything there is to know about you in terms of your health records, your banking records, your consumer practices. … Clearly all of us would be very dismayed if we learned that we could've picked up information about a potential terrorist act and we didn't do that. … But count me in as somebody who is a very strong civil libertarian, who believes that we can fight terrorism without undermining our constitutional rights and our privacy rights,” Sanders said during a televised town hall on MSNBC.[137] Apple argued against cooperating with the government in a February 16, 2016, open letter citing concerns that the move would render all iPhones vulnerable by creating a master key that would be able to open other phones.[138]
- A spokesman for Sanders' campaign raised concerns about government surveillance of private citizens, including “the lack of privacy consumers have, and how their information is often unwittingly collected, shared, and sold,” Vice reporter October 20, 2015.[139]
USA FREEDOM Act of 2015
On June 2, 2015, the Senate passed HR 2048 - the Uniting and Strengthening America by Fulfilling Rights and Ensuring Effective Discipline Over Monitoring Act of 2015 or the USA FREEDOM Act of 2015 by a vote of 67-32. The legislation revised HR 3199 - the USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005 by terminating the bulk collection of metadata under Sec. 215 of the act, requiring increased reporting from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court and requiring the use of "a specific selection term as the basis for national security letters that request information from wire or electronic communication service providers, financial institutions, or consumer reporting agencies." Sanders voted with 30 Republicans and one Democrat against the legislation. It became law on June 2, 2015.[140][141]
Territories
- On May 20, 2016, Bernie Sanders criticized the U.S. House bill proposed last week to address the Puerto Rican debt crisis. “We cannot allow Senate Majority Leader McConnell and Speaker Ryan to determine the fate of Puerto Rico by handpicking a majority of the control board’s members, while the people of Puerto Rico would be in charge of choosing none. That may make sense to groups representing Wall Street, but it makes absolutely no sense to me. Among other efforts, what Congress should do is to act immediately to give Puerto Rico the same authority granted to every municipality in this country to restructure its debt under the supervision of a bankruptcy court,” he said in a statement.[142] [143]
- While campaigning in Puerto Rico on May 16, 2016, Sanders said that it was “unacceptable to me for the United States government to treat Puerto Rico like a colony during a time when its people are facing the worst fiscal and economic crisis in its history.” He said that he opposed calls from “the vulture capitalists on Wall Street” for more austerity. Sanders argued that the Federal Reserve should use its emergency authority to allow for the restructuring of Puerto Rico’s debt. “I believe that Congress should act immediately to give Puerto Rico the same authority granted to every municipality in this country to restructure its debt under the supervision of a bankruptcy court,” he added.[144]
- On March 15, 2016, Bernie Sanders released a policy paper on Puerto Rico and its debt crisis. “As president, Bernie would fight to empower the people of Puerto Rico to determine their own destiny. As president, Senator Sanders would fight for a US congressionally sanctioned and binding referendum where the Puerto Rican people would be able to decide on whether to become a state, an independent country, or to reform the current commonwealth agreement,” according to his campaign website. He also argued in favor of giving Puerto Rico access to Chapter 9 bankruptcy protections to restructure its debt.[145][146]
Crime and justice
- The Huffington Post reported on May 25, 2016, that Bernie Sanders objected to capital punishment for the accused South Carolina church shooter Dylann Roof. Sanders spokesman Michael Briggs wrote in an email, “Sen. Sanders opposes the death penalty. He believes those who are convicted of the most horrible crimes should be imprisoned for the rest of their lives without the possibility of parole.”[147]
- Sanders appeared to express support for the Adult Use of Marijuana Initiative Act during a rally in East Los Angeles on May 23, 2016. He said, “I have introduced legislation and will implement as president, taking marijuana out of the federal controlled substance act. Now all you know, all you know, that the legalization of marijuana, that decision is made on the statewide level. You know that four states plus D.C. have already made that decision. You all know there's going to be a ballot item on in California in November. And I think it makes sense to legalize marijuana at this particular point. So if I were here in your state, I would vote yes on that issue.”[148]
- During the ninth Democratic debate on April 14, 2016, NY1 political anchor Errol Louis asked Bernie Sanders how he will reduce the number of individuals who are incarcerated. Sanders responded, “We’re going to work with state governments all over this country. And you know what? In a very divided Congress, and a very divided politics in America, actually the one area where there is some common ground is conservatives understand that it’s insane to be spending $80 billion a year locking up 2.2 million people. With federal and presidential leadership, we will work with state governments to make sure that people are released from jail under strong supervision, that they get the kind of job training and education they need so they can return to their communities. On this one, Errol, actually I think you’re going to see progressive and conservative support. We can do it, if we’re prepared to be bold.”[149]
- While speaking at an event in Minneapolis, Minn. on February 12, 2016, hosted by Neighborhoods Organizing for Change, Bernie Sanders addressed problems facing the black community and the economically disadvantaged. A woman attending the event said to Sanders, “So the question, specifically, my black son—O.K. I know you’re scared to say ‘black.’ I know you’re scared to say ‘reparations.’ But it seems like every time we try to talk about black people and us getting something for the systematic oppression and the exploitation of our people, we have to include every other person of color, so today can we please talk about, specifically, black people and reparations?” Sanders replied, “What I just indicated in my view is that when you have—and you and I may have disagreements about this, because it’s not just black. It is Latino. There are areas of America, in poor rural areas, where it’s white. So I believe that in a country which has more income and wealth inequality than any other country, then yeah, the time is long overdue to start investing in poor [communities].” When someone yelled, “say black,” Sanders shot back, “I’ve said ‘black’ 50 times. All right, that’s the 51st time, but this is a national issue. What we want, and what I believe we should do is invest most heavily in those communities most in need.” Sanders also addressed allowing people who have served time in prison to regain their voting rights. He said, “This is just part of the whole business of voter suppression …my view is, people serve the time, that’s it. They have the right to vote, period.”[150][151]
- At the sixth Democratic presidential primary on February 11, 2016, Sanders talked about reducing the incarceration rate of black men: “This is one of the great tragedies in our country today. And we can no longer continue to sweep it under the rug. It has to be dealt with. Today a male African-American baby born today stands a one-in-four chance of ending up in jail. That is beyond unspeakable. So what we have to do is the radical reform of a broken criminal justice system. What we have to do is end over-policing in African- American neighborhoods. The reality is that both the African-American community and the white community do marijuana at about equal rates. The reality is four times as many blacks get arrested for marijuana. Truth is that far more blacks get stopped for traffic violations. The truth is that sentencing for blacks is higher than for whites. We need fundamental police reform, clearly, clearly, when we talk about a criminal justice system. I would hope that we could all agree that we are sick and tired of seeing videos on television of unarmed people, often African-Americans, shot by police officers. What we have got to do is make it clear that any police officer who breaks the law will, in fact, be held accountable.”[152]
Executive powers
- Bernie Sanders voted against S.Amdt.499 to S.679, which proposed ending "the appointments of presidential Czars who have not been subject to the advice and consent of the Senate and to prohibit funds for any salaries and expenses for appointed Czars."[153][154]
Jim Webb
- See also: Jim Webb presidential campaign, 2016
Judiciary
- In 2010, Jim Webb voted to confirm Elena Kagan as a United States Supreme Court Justice.[155]
Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution
- During the October 13, 2015, debate, Jim Webb said he favored some restrictions on gun ownership, but also stressed the need to allow law-abiding citizens to protect themselves. Webb said, “So we do need background checks. We need to keep the people who should not have guns away from them. But we have to respect the tradition in this country of people who want to defend themselves and their family from violence. ...There are people at high levels in this government who have bodyguards 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The average American does not have that, and deserves the right to be able to protect their family.”[156]
- Following the shooting at two Marine recruiting offices in Chattanooga, Tennessee, in July 2015, Webb argued military service members should be allowed to carry weapons at military facilities.[157]
- In 2009, Webbvoted in favor of an amendment to S 1390 - National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010, which proposed sought to allow individuals with concealed carry permits in one state to carry their firearms to any other state that granted concealed carry permits.[158][159]
- In 2007, after one of Webb's aides was arrested "for carrying a gun into one of the Senate office buildings," Webb expressed his support for Second Amendment rights. He said, "I’m a strong supporter of the Second Amendment; I have had a permit to carry a weapon in Virginia for a long time; I believe that it’s important; it’s important to me personally and to a lot of people in the situation that I’m in to be able to defend myself and my family."[160]
Tenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution
- In his book, "Born Fighting: How the Scots-Irish Shaped America," Jim Webb explained how the Confederacy interpreted the Tenth Amendment. He wrote, "The states that had joined the Union after the Revolution considered themselves independent political entities, much like the countries of Europe do today. The 10th Amendment to the Constitution reserved to the states all rights not specially granted to the federal government, and in their view the states had thus retained their right to dissolve the federal relationship."[161]
Executive powers
- In 2013, Jim Webb criticized President Barack Obama for using executive orders to bypass Congress. He wrote, "The Obama administration has proven itself to be acutely fond of executive orders designed to circumvent the legislative process in domestic politics. Thus, it is not surprising that this approach would be used also in foreign policy."[162]
- Webb voted against S.Amdt.499 to S.679, which proposed ending "the appointments of presidential Czars who have not been subject to the advice and consent of the Senate and to prohibit funds for any salaries and expenses for appointed Czars."[163]
Crime and justice
- Webb co-sponsored S.1789 - the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010, which "Amends the Controlled Substances Act and the Controlled Substances Import and Export Act to: (1) increase the amount of a controlled substance or mixture containing a cocaine base (i.e., crack cocaine) required for the imposition of mandatory minimum prison terms for trafficking; and (2) increase monetary penalties for drug trafficking and for the importation and exportation of controlled substances." It became law on August 3, 2010.[165]
- While serving in the Senate, Webb focused on reforming the criminal justice system. He sponsored S.306 - National Criminal Justice Commission Act of 2011, which proposed creating a commission to reform the criminal justice system.[166]
- During a September 2011 interview with Newsweek, Webb said, "Once a kid is incarcerated, that’s it for him. We need smarter ways of dealing with people at apprehension, and even whether you decide to arrest. The types of courts they go into—drug courts, as opposed to regular courts. How long you sentence them. How you get them ready to return home."[167]
Republican
Jeb Bush
Judiciary
- Bush said on February 18, 2016, that he would nominate a new Supreme Court justice if he were in President Obama’s position, but said that in this “divisive” political climate, it would be “unlikely that the Senate would provide the necessary consent for that nomination.” He added that his own Supreme Court pick would “not aspire to legislate from the bench.” His comments come after Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia passed away on February 13, 2016. Senate Republicans have said that the seat should be filled by the next president, not President Obama.[168]
- Jeb Bush said during the Republican presidential debate on February 13, 2016, that President Barack Obama "has every right to nominate Supreme Court justices. I'm an Article II guy in the Constitution. ... We want a strong executive for sure. But in return for that, there should be a consensus orientation on that nomination, and there's no doubt in my mind that Barack Obama will not have a consensus pick when he submits that person to the Senate." Commenting on what type of nominee should be put forward, Bush described "someone with a proven conservative record, similar to Justice Scalia, that is a lover of liberty, that believes in limited government, that consistently applied that kind of philosophy, that didn't try to legislator from the bench, that was respectful of the Constitution."[169]
- Bush also released the following statement, in part, on February 13, 2016: "Justice Scalia was a brilliant defender of the rule of law–his logic and wit were unparalleled, and his decisions were models of clarity and good sense. I often said he was my favorite justice, because he took the Constitution, and the responsibility of judges to interpret it correctly, with the utmost seriousness. Now it is up to all of us to fight for the principles Justice Scalia espoused and carry forth his legacy."[170]
- At the ninth Republican presidential primary debate on February 13, 2016, Bush discussed whether he would have a litmus test for a U.S. Supreme Court nominee: “Not on specific issues, not at all. I think the next president -- if I'm president, I will appoint people -- I'll nominate people that have a proven record in the judiciary. The problem in the past has been we have appointed people thinking you can get it through the Senate because they didn't have a record. And the problem is that sometimes we're surprised. The simple fact is the next president needs to appoint someone with a proven conservative record, similar to Justice Scalia, that is a lover of liberty, that believes in limited government, that consistently applied that kind of philosophy, that didn't try to legislator from the bench, that was respectful of the Constitution. And then fight and fight, and fight for that nomination to make sure that that nomination passes. Of course, the president, by the way, has every right to nominate Supreme Court justices. I'm an Article II guy in the Constitution. We're running for the president of the United States. We want a strong executive for sure. But in return for that, there should be a consensus orientation on that nomination, and there's no doubt in my mind that Barack Obama will not have a consensus pick when he submits that person to the Senate.”[171]
- On January 24, 2016, Bush detailed his commitment to appointing conservative federal judges. He wrote, “In my view, the federal courts have a vital but limited role in our national life. Their job is not to second-guess laws or to substitute their own judgment for the provisions of the Constitution. It is to apply the laws as written, and follow the Constitution above all. … As president, I will search for nominees who agree with this job description—nominees in the mold of such Justices as Samuel Alito, Antonin Scalia, and Clarence Thomas—and I will fight for their confirmation.”[172]
- Bush wrote an op-ed for Fox News.com on December 9, 2015, detailing his proposal to restore states’ rights. He pledged to veto legislation that “exceeds federal authority,” nominate judges who believe in “the Constitution’s limits on federal authority,” reform the regulatory process to return power to the states, and permit states “to enforce laws that promote the goals of federal immigration law without allowing states to create their own immigration regimes.”[173]
- When asked at a December 1, 2015, campaign event in Iowa about his effort as governor to save Terri Schiavo’s life, Bush said, "I can assure you, this was a very, very difficult time and it breaks my heart I was not successful.” He added that he did everything that he could legally do, noting the importance of respecting the Constitution. He said, "You better be serious about that. Rule of law in this country continues to be something that keeps us extraordinary and exceptional."[174]
First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- In a radio interview in September 2015, Jeb Bush said the Washington Redskins should not be required to change their name. “I don’t think politicians ought to be having any say about that, to be honest with you. I don’t find it offensive. Native American tribes generally don’t find it offensive,” Bush added. Daniel Snyder, the team’s owner, contributed $100,000 to a super PAC backing Bush in July 2015.[175]
- Speaking of the Kentucky county clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, Bush said on September 3, 2015, “[She] is sworn to uphold the law and it seems to me there ought to be common ground, there ought to be big enough space for her to act on her conscience and for, now that the law is the law of the land, for a gay couple to be married in whatever jurisdiction that is.”[176]
- During a July 2015 campaign stop in South Carolina, Bush said decisions regarding Confederacy-related names and symbols, like changing the name of a local high school sports team from the Rebels, “ought to be sorted out at the local level.”[177]
Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA)
- During a March 30 interview on The Hugh Hewitt Show, Jeb Bush commented on Indiana's Religious Freedom Restoration Act. He said, "I think if you, if they actually got briefed on the law that they wouldn’t be blasting this law. I think Governor Pence has done the right thing. Florida has a law like this. Bill Clinton signed a law like this at the federal level. This is simply allowing people of faith space to be able to express their beliefs, to have, to be able to be people of conscience. I just think once the facts are established, people aren’t going to see this as discriminatory at all."[178]
Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- On February 16, 2016, Jeb Bush tweeted a photo of a gun with his name engraved on it. The tweet said: "America." Bush later explained the tweet, saying, "The purpose was we went to a gun manufacturing facility where lots of jobs are created, high-wage jobs. And I received a gun and I was honored to have it." Bush visited “FN Manufacturing, a high-security firearm company in Columbia, South Carolina,” according to CNN.[179]
- During the sixth Republican presidential primary debate, on January 14, 2016, Jeb Bush discussed how to help prevent mass shootings. He said, “The first impulse of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton is to take rights away from law- abiding citizens. That's what they do, whether it's the San Bernardino, Calif. attack or if it's these tragedies that take place, I think we need to focus on what the bigger issue is. It isn't law-abiding gun owners. Look, I have an A plus rating in the NRA [National Rifle Association] and we also have a reduction in gun violence because in Florida, if you commit a crime with a gun, you're going away. You're going away for a long, long while. And that's what we should focus on is the violence in our communities. Target the efforts for people that are committing crimes with guns, and if you do that, and get it right, you're going to be much better off than creating a political argument where there's a big divide. The other issue is mental health. That's a serious issue that we could work on. Republicans and Democrats alike believe this. The president's first impulse is do this by executive order, power he doesn't have. Why not go to Congress and in a bipartisan way, begin to deal with the process of mental health issues so that people that are spiraling out of control because of mental health challenges don't have access to guns.”[180]
- On January 12, 2016, Bush announced his “Sportsmen's Coalition" advisory committee. According to a statement from Bush’s campaign, the group, which is made up of officials from government, agriculture, and wildlife departments, “will help spread Jeb’s message about the importance of hunting and fishing traditions and protecting the second Amendment for law-abiding citizens."[181]
- Speaking about President Obama's “call for enhanced background checks,” Bush said January 5, 2016, that Obama’s plan to prevent gun violence "shows an utter disregard for the Second Amendment as well as the proper constitutional process for making laws in our nation."[182]
- On January 3, 2016, Bush told Fox News' Fox News Sunday, that he opposed Obama’s proposed executive action regarding gun control. He said, “His first impulse always is to take rights away from law-abiding citizens, and it’s wrong. And to use executive powers he doesn’t have is a pattern that is quite dangerous.”[183]
Crime and justice
- In an interview with The Des Moines Register editorial board on January 13, 2016, Jeb Bush expressed support for Justice Department investigations of police conduct where there was “overt discrimination,” but noted that such investigations can increase tensions between police officers and community members.[184]
- Bush, who appeared at a drug addiction and prevention forum in New Hampshire on January 5, 2016, announced the day before that he would seek to limit “pill mills” offering excessive prescriptions for pain medication and increase access to drug courts. Bush also called for increasing penalties against drug traffickers and violent drug offenders, increasing security along the U.S.-Mexico border and ending duplication of treatment programs across federal agencies.[185] He also talked about his daughter’s drug addiction. He said, “What I learned was that the pain that you feel when you have a loved one who has addiction challenges and kind of spirals out of control is something that is shared with a whole lot of people.” He added, “For dealers, they ought to be put away forever as far as I’m concerned. But users — I think we have to be a second-chance country.”[186]
- In an interview with Christianity Today published on December 2, 2015, Bush admitted it was a “struggle” to balance his Catholic faith and his support for capital punishment. “I’ve tried to explain it but sometimes in life it’s not an either/or—it’s not so simple. We’re always confronted with challenges where one’s values come into conflict and this was a perfect case of that. I was very uncomfortable signing death warrants, but I think it was because it was the law, number one. Number two, I think because I met families that, in their minds, justice was being denied by the delays. They could not get closure in their lives until the death penalty was complete and was executed.”[187]
- According to the American Bar Association, after former President George W. Bush "launched his Faith-Based and Community Initiatives in 2001," Bush "opened faith-based prisons" in Florida.[188]
Territories
- During the seventh Republican presidential primary debate on January 28, 2016, Jeb Bush discussed whether Americans should bail out Puerto Rico: “No, they shouldn't. And I believe that Puerto Rico ought to have the right of self-determination. If I was a Puerto Rican, I'd vote for statehood so that they have full citizenship. They serve in the military. They would have to pay federal taxes. They would -- they would accept the responsibilities of full U.S. citizenship. But they should have the right of determine -- self-determination. Before you get to that, though, Puerto Rico is going to have to deal with the structural problems they face. You know, it's -- it's a fact that if you can pay for a $79 one-way ticket to Orlando, and you can escape the challenges of a declining economy and high crime rates, you move to Orlando. And a lot of people are doing that. And the spiraling out-of- control requires Puerto Rico to make structural reforms. The federal government can play a role in allowing them to do that, but they should not -- the process of statehood or the status of Puerto Rico won't be solved until we get to the bigger issue of how you deal with the structural economic problems they're facing right now.”[189]
- On July 27, 2015, Jeb Bush advocated for debt relief for Puerto Rico. "I think we ought to have structured recasting of their debt and structured recasting of their social obligations," Bush said. He also noted he supported statehood for the island but only after its financial crisis had beeb been resolved.[190]
Ben Carson
Judiciary
- During an interview on WRNN radio on February 16, 2016, Ben Carson discussed the politics surrounding the process for nominating a Supreme Court justice to replace former Justice Antonin Scalia. Referring to the ninth Republican primary debate, Carson said, "Do you think the same six people on stage would say the same thing if there were a Republican president in the White House right now, for them to wait until the next president is selected? No, they wouldn't. But then again, recognize that the two picks that the president has selected are ideologues, so there's really no reason to believe that his next pick wouldn't be an ideologue also. … I think we need to relook at the whole Supreme Court issue because it has become something completely different than was intended.”[191]
- Carson said during the Republican presidential debate on February 13, 2016, that the continued lifetime appointment of Supreme Court justices "needs to be looked at pretty carefully at some point." He added that no nominee should be put forward by President Obama.[169]
- Earlier on February 13, 2016, Carson said of Antonin Scalia in a statement, "Time and again, he ruled based on where the black letter of the law led him, not according to the politics of the moment. For that reason, he has angered Americans on both the left and the right, but he has never wavered in his dedication to the Constitution." Carson also commented on the political ramifications of Scalia's death, saying, "It is imperative that the Senate not allow President Obama to diminish his legacy by trying to nominate an individual who would carry on his wishes to subvert the will of the People. Given the dire condition our democracy currently finds itself under Obama's ideological agenda, I call on the Senate to stop any attempts to fill this crucial seat until We The People elect a strong Constitutionalist this November."[192]
- Ben Carson said on December 2, 2015, that he would consider potential judicial nominees’ position on abortion when making an appointment. “As far as abortion is concerned, I would very much look at appointing judges who have a record of honoring life,” he said during a town hall in South Carolina.[193]
- During a July 2014 speech at the Western Conservative Summit, Carson said, "If we get another progressive president in place and they get a chance to appoint three more Supreme Court Justices that's the end of the United States as we know it."[194]
Government accountability
- In a May 2014 op-ed in The National Review Ben Carson wrote, "We also should be concerned about the attempt by some to ignore or downgrade the significance of the Internal Revenue Service scandal. The fact that something this contrary to the concept of freedom can happen in a country based on constitutional values and be characterized as a ‘phony scandal’ by people who supposedly have the best interests of this country at heart again points to the danger of placing partisan politics above truth and honesty."[195]
- In an op-ed which appeared in The Washington Times on April 8, 2014, Ben Carson wrote, "Putting the Internal Revenue Service in charge of enforcement of components of Obamacare establishes a situation where the most feared government agency is empowered to wreak havoc on the lives of citizens who express dissent."[196]
- In a February 2014 op-ed, Ben Carson wrote, "It is obvious that our God-given rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are jeopardized in today’s environment of overt deceit by high officials and blatant disregard of our Constitution. When those in power pick and choose the laws they wish to enforce and grant waivers and exemptions to their favored groups, it is clear we are moving away from the principles of fairness and equality that once characterized our nation. When the president can change laws with the stroke of his pen or a phone call and not be challenged by the other branches of government or by the media, we are in dire straits."[197]
- During a February 2014 interview with Newsmax, Carson explained that he, his family and his friends had been targeted by the Internal Revenue Service since his 2013 speech at the National Prayer Breakfast. He said, "We live in a Gestapo age, people don’t realize it. But what I say is the Congress has to, at some point, step up to the plate. The reason we have divided government is if one branch of the government gets out of control, starts thinking they’re too big for their britches, you need to be able to have control."[198]
First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- Ben Carson said on September 28, 2015, that NASCAR fans, who frequently fly the Confederate flag, should be allowed to do so “if it’s private property and that’s what they want to do.” He compared the Confederate flag to swastikas, describing them as a “symbol of hate for some people, too,” but noting “they still exist in museums and places like that.”[199]
- On September 20, 2015, Carson stated he did not believe Islam was “consistent with the Constitution.” He said, “I would not advocate that we put a Muslim in charge of this nation. I absolutely would not agree with that.” He noted, however, that Congress was a “different story” and he would consider voting for a Muslim legislator.[200]
- On September 22, 2015, Carson clarified his comments against a Muslim taking office as president. “I said I would support anyone regardless of their background if in fact they embrace American values and our Constitution and are willing to place that above their beliefs," Carson clarified. On Monday night he also posted on Facebook, “I could never support a candidate for president of the United States that was Muslim and had not renounced the central (tenet) of Islam: Sharia Law… I know that there are many peaceful Muslims who do not adhere to these beliefs. But until these tenets are fully renounced ... I cannot advocate any Muslim candidate for President." Carson maintained that his position was consistent throughout his comments on the issue.[201][202]
- On September 25, 2015, Carson said he never claimed it was illegal for a Muslim to be president. “Not advocating they run for president in no way precludes them from running. … Anybody from any faith, from any belief system, who comes to America, becomes an American citizen, embraces our American values and principles and is willing to subjugate their beliefs for our Constitution is somebody I have no problem with,” Carson said. He added that he hoped the media would “mature.”[203]
- Speaking of Kim Davis, the Kentucky county clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples because of her religious beliefs, Carson said in September 2015, “When she took the job, the Supreme Court hadn't made this ruling. If they had, she might not have taken this job. So, I think they have a responsibility to accommodate her.”[204]
Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA)
- During a March 30 interview with Breitbart, Ben Carson commented on Indiana's Religious Freedom Restoration Act. He said, "It is absolutely vital that we do all we can to allow Americans to practice their religious ways, while simultaneously ensuring that no one’s beliefs infringe upon those of others. We should also serve as champions of freedom of religion throughout the world. As Americans, we have an obligation to denounce these acts of persecution. For when we stand up to such intolerance, we are defending the root of our freedom, both at home and abroad."[205]
Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- When asked what he thought of President Obama’s plan to leave a seat empty for the victims of gun violence during his final State of the Union address, Ben Carson said on January 11, 2016, “I wonder if the American people are concerned about that kind of symbolism, or are they concerned about the safety of their family members when they sit around the table at nighttime to eat dinner?" He continued to say that the U.S. was too concerned with “fancy symbolisms” rather than the “the number of infiltrations particularly at our Southern border” by terrorist cells.[206]
- Carson took to Twitter on January 5, 2016, to criticize President Obama’s executive actions on gun control. He wrote, “The President's actions have everything to do with advancing his political agenda & little to do with actually protecting American citizens.”[207]
- On December 8, 2015, at the Cobb Energy Center in Atlanta, Carson discussed gun control, saying, “The concept of gun free zones is stupid.”[208]
- ABC’s George Stephanopoulos asked Carson on November 22, 2015, whether individuals named on the terror watch list should be barred from purchasing guns. He responded, “There are a lot of people on that watch list and they have no idea of why they're on that list, they have been trying to get their names off of it and no one will give them information. I am a big supporter of the Second Amendment and I don't want to deprive people unnecessarily of that. There needs to be better due process."[209]
Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- In July 2014, Ben Carson argued that health savings accounts uphold "privacy and freedom" because they allow individuals to make decisions with their healthcare providers without the "involvement of anyone else."[210]
Executive powers
- While campaigning in western Iowa in June 2015, Ben Carson suggested the president should only be allowed to serve one six-year term rather than the potential two four-year terms. Carson said, "Why should you have a president who's running for re-election the minute he gets elected? It makes no sense."[211]
- Carson argued that President Barack Obama has failed to respect the legislative branch in a July 3, 2014, op-ed in The Washington Times. He wrote, "In order for a divided government to work, each branch must respect the other two branches. There always have been and always will be squabbles between the branches, but the big problem now is that the executive branch has decided to ignore anyone with whom it disagrees, including Congress. Nowhere was this blatant disregard of Congress more clearly manifested than in President Obama’s inappropriate 'recess' appointments of three people to the National Labor Relations Board. He redefined the word 'recess' in order to appoint individuals who might have a difficult time obtaining congressional approval."[212]
Crime and justice
- During a discussion of Sandra Bland, a black woman who died in police custody, Ben Carson said on December 27, 2015, “I think we also have a tendency to inject race into everything anytime that there are people of different races involved in a conflict." He added, “Having said that, there's no question we need to be looking at some of the things going on in the justice department to make it more sensitive to people."[213]
- After meeting with religious leaders in Chicago on December 10, 2015, Carson declined to say if Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel should be forced to resign. He said, “I think that's a decision for the people here in Chicago. He is their mayor. I do not vote in Chicago, and therefore I'm not going to weigh in on that." He condemned, however, the Chicago Police Department for the shooting death of Laquan McDonald, saying, "I felt it was an abominable act. I think we have a very inappropriate action by a police officer, and it's despicable and it disturbs me that it was hidden for such a long period of time.”[214]
- Appearing at a forum on criminal justice and race on November 21, 2015, in Columbia, S.C., Carson said he did not believe there were a substantial number of incidents of racial bias by law enforcement. “I'm not aware of a lot of cases where a police officer just comes up to somebody like you and says, 'Hey, I don't like you. I'm going to shoot you. I'm still waiting for the evidence,” he said.[215]
- In a speech at the University of New Hampshire on September 30, 2015, Carson recounted stories from his youth where he taunted police officers. “That was back in the day before they would shoot you. I'm just kidding, you know they wouldn't do that,” he said before expressing his respect for police officers.[216]
Chris Christie
Judiciary
- Chris Christie denied supporting Sonia Sotomayor’s confirmation to the U.S. Supreme Court on January 10, 2016. In July 2009, it was reported he said, “After watching and listening to Judge Sotomayor’s performance at the confirmation hearings this week, I am confident that she is qualified for the position of Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.” Christie told CBS “I didn’t voice support for Sonia Sotomayor,” when asked about the comment.[217]
- On August 20, 2015, Christie pledged that his first nominee to the Supreme Court would not be a graduate of Harvard Law School or Yale Law School. “You need folks who have real life experiences, who have had real struggles, and who have made a difference in their communities in ways that are different than just going to an Ivy League school,” Christie said.[218]
- In 2010, Christie made the unprecedented move of refusing to reappoint a justice to the New Jersey Supreme Court. He replaced Justice John Wallace, the only African American justice on the court at the time, with Anne Patterson.[219] Christie and other Republicans had previously criticized the court for "judicial activism" and "legislating from the bench." Christie's decision angered many Democrats, but Christie explained, "I expressed over and over again my significant concern regarding the direction of the Supreme Court over the last nearly 30 years, that there were not the appropriate constitutional balances being struck by the court, that the court over the course of this time, in my view, had inappropriately encroached on both the executive and legislative function, and that if elected governor, I would take steps through the decisions I made regarding the court to bring back an appropriate constitutional balance to the court."[220]
First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- Speaking of the Kentucky county clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, Chris Christie said in September 2015, “[W]hat I would do with this woman is to move her to another job where this is not an objection for her. Because you have to follow the law. And the law has to be these licenses have to be issued. If she has a religious objection, we should move her to another job inside the government.”[221]
- The archbishop of Newark, John J. Myers, condemned Christie’s administration for barring the archdiocese from selling headstones and private mausoleums at Catholic cemeteries. Myers and lawyers from the Institute for Justice called the law “unconstitutional” and “one of the most egregious examples of economic protectionism anywhere in the country.”[222]
- In response to a question at a town hall meeting in 2014, Christie stated that campaign contributions should be unlimited, with the stipulation that information about the donation must be disclosed and posted to the Internet within 48 hours of the donation.[223] Christie gave an example, saying, "If somebody wants to write me a $100,000 check to my campaign, great. Forty-eight hours later, everybody who has access to the internet will know that Mr. Smith gave the $100,000. And if all of sudden, I start talking in a way after that's really favorable to Mr. Smith's business, well then you're going to know that my price was $100,000."[224]
- In 2010, Christie proposed an ethics reform plan that altered campaign finance law in New Jersey. Among other things, the legislation sought to "make labor unions subject to the same contribution requirements which apply to other entities doing business with the state" and to restrict the process of "wheeling," which was defined as moving "political contributions from committee to committee, allowing political parties, particularly at the local level, to mask the sources of their money."[225][226]
Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA)
- On April 1, 2015, Chris Christie defended Indiana Governor Mike Pence, who received significant criticism for Indiana's Religious Freedom Restoration Act. He said, "Well, we should not have a situation where people perceive that anybody will be denied service. But, I can tell you this, I know Mike Pence, and he's got nothing but love in his heart for people and I just do not believe that in any way Mike Pence would intend for anything that happen in his state on his watch to be discriminatory towards any person. And so, my guess is that he'll fix the problem and move on. Because that's the kind of guy he is. I will tell you, amongst the governors, there is nobody that I've met amongst the governors who is more sincere in his faith and in his love for people than Mike Pence. So, I just don't believe any of this stuff is true and to the extent that something needs to be fixed to clarify that no one will be denied service for discriminatory reasons, I'm sure that's exactly what Mike will do."[227]
Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- Chris Christie pocket vetoed a bill requiring gun sellers to carry at least one smart gun. “Having the legislature pass more than 100 bills in such a hasty and scrambled way, praying for them to be rubber stamped, is never a good formula for effectively doing public business,” Joelle Farrell, a spokeswoman for Christie, said of his decision not to sign the bill.[228] [229]
- On January 16, 2016, when asked by a voter if he supports universal background checks to purchase a gun, Christie said, "I don't support background checks for every gun sale. There's a lot of gun sales that shouldn't have to require background checks. Family members selling to other family members or friends. I don't know why those folks need to have a background check. Criminals don't go through background checks.” When asked about the “private sales loophole,” Christie said, "Listen, I don't believe that that's what's causing gun violence in this country. I don't believe putting the government more and more in between the American people and their Second Amendment rights is going to make this country safer."[230]
- During the sixth Republican presidential primary debate, on January 14, 2016, Christie discussed how he would protect the Second Amendment: “See, here's the thing. I don't think the founders put the Second Amendment as number two by accident. I don't think they dropped all the amendments into a hat and picked them out of a hat. I think they made the Second Amendment the second amendment because they thought it was just that important. The fact is in New Jersey, what we have done is to make it easier now to get a conceal and carry permit. We have made it easier to do that, not harder. And the way we've done it properly through regulatory action, not buy signing unconstitutional executive orders. This guy is a petulant child. That's what he is.”[231]
- During an interview on FOX News’ Sean Hannity on January 6, 2016, Christie explained why he had shifted from supporting an “assault weapons” ban in 1995 to loosening gun regulations in 2015. He said, “Listen, in 1995, Sean, I was 32 years old and I've changed my mind. The biggest reason that I changed my mind was my seven years as a federal prosecutor. What I learned in those seven years was we that were spending much too much time talking about gun laws against law abiding citizens and not nearly enough time about enforcing the gun laws strongly against criminals.”[232]
Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- On December 3, 2015, at Republican Jewish Coalition’s presidential forum, Chris Christie accused critics of the National Security Agency’s surveillance program of engaging in a “false debate” for political “theater.” He said, “The idea that anything that was going on during the eight years of the Bush administration was either illegal or extra-constitutional is absolutely false. This is the debate for theater. This is a debate to raise money, to cut their little speeches from Capitol Hill, put it on the Internet, and then raise money by scaring people into thinking the government’s listening to your phone calls or reading your emails.”[233]
Crime and justice
- At the eighth Republican presidential primary debate on February 6, 2016, Chris Christie discussed the regulation of drugs and drug rehabilitation: "We are working with the folks in New Hampshire in their legislature right now to show them how we're helping to solve this problem in New Jersey. Not just for this campaign -- three years ago, I proposed a law that we signed into effect, which said that anyone who was a non-violent, non-dealing, first-time drug offender no longer goes to prison in New Jersey. They go to mandatory, in-patient drug treatment. What has happened is, crime has gone down 20 percent in those years. The prison population has gone down 10 percent. We've now closed the state prison -- closed a state prison, and we're turning it into a drug rehabilitation facility, so people can get the tools they need. Listen, everyone out there knows this in New Hampshire. This is a disease. It's not a moral failing, it's a disease. And we need to get people the treatment they need. And let me tell you why. Because I'm pro-life. And I'm pro-life not just for the nine months in the womb, I'm pro-life for when they get out and it's a lot more complicated. Sixteen-year-old, heroin-addicted drug girl on the floor of the county lockup, I'm pro-life for her life. The 42-year-old lawyer who is taking Oxycontin and can't get out of bed and support his family -- I'm pro-life for his life. Everyone [sic] of those lives is an individual gift from God. And the last thing is this. These efforts we've taken over the last three years, 2015 in New Jersey, for the first time in four years, drug overdose deaths have gone down, not up. I'll bring the same solutions to the country."[234]
- During his State of the State address on January 12, 2016, Christie unveiled plans to help battle drug addiction. He said that “a closing state prison will be transformed into a drug abuse treatment facility for prison inmates.” He said, “The victims of addiction deserve treatment, whether they’re in the community or they are incarcerated. Next year, [the prison] will re-open for its new mission. We are doing this because every life, every life, is a precious gift from God.” He also announced that $1.7 million will be allocated for “the expansion of the state’s recovery coach program” and $100 million will be allocated to “increase access to mental health care and substance abuse treatments.” He said, “For someone going through a mental health crisis, they’re going to get better care in a treatment facility, not in a prison. If we can help people get access to coordinated care, not just for their physical conditions, but for their mental health, addiction issues or both, we can deliver more effective treatment and lower the long-term cost to the state.”[235]
- While visiting a drug treatment center in Florida on December 7, 2015, Christie outlined his plan to combat substance abuse. He said, “First, you have to change the mindset of prosecutors. Sometimes justice means prosecuting and sometimes it doesn’t.” Second, Christie argued that money saved from sending more addicts to drug courts than prison could be used to fund drug treatment programs. He said ultimately people in the U.S. need “to think differently about this in our country. It’s also how we talk about it and treat each other.”[236]
"Chris Christie's plea to New Hampshire voters that America reevaluate it's approach to drugs.," November 4, 2015.
- A video of Christie published November 4, 2015, appealing to New Hampshire voters for America to reevaluate it's approach to drugs and how addiction has touched his life went viral with 3 million views. “Christie isn't the first candidate to talk about treatment rather than incarceration -- his fellow Republican Rand Paul has long decried the disproportionate jailing of black drug offenders. Christie's just the first to get so much attention. It's become a safe topic now that the scourge is devastating the middle class,” wrote Margaret Carlson of Bloomberg View.[237]
Ted Cruz
Legislative
- In 2015, conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt began asking Republican candidates on his show if they would be willing to use the Senate "nuclear option" in order to get rid of the filibuster and repeal Obamacare. Ted Cruz is one of a few candidates who is in favor of keeping the filibuster.[238]
Judiciary
- On March 16, 2016, Ted Cruz released the following statement on the nomination of Chief Judge Merrick Garland to the United States Supreme Court: “Merrick Garland is exactly the type of Supreme Court nominee you get when you make deals in Washington D.C. A so-called ‘moderate’ Democrat nominee is precisely the kind of deal that Donald Trump has told us he would make – someone who would rule along with other liberals on the bench like Justices Ginsburg and Sotomayor. Make no mistake, if Garland were confirmed, he would side predictably with President Obama on critical issues such as undermining the Second Amendment, legalizing partial-birth abortion, and propping up overreaching bureaucratic agencies like the EPA and the IRS. We cannot afford to lose the Supreme Court for generations to come by nominating or confirming someone that a dealmaker like Donald Trump would support. Washington dealmakers cannot be trusted with such crucial lifetime appointments. I proudly stand with my Republican colleagues in our shared belief – our advice and consent – that we should not vote on any nominee until the next president is sworn into office. The People will decide. I commend Mitch McConnell and Chuck Grassley for holding the line and ensuring that We the People get to exercise our authority to decide the direction of the Supreme Court and the Bill of Rights.”[239]
- In a statement on March 16, 2016, Ted Cruz said that he opposed the nomination of federal judge Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court. “Make no mistake, if Garland were confirmed, he would side predictably with President Obama on critical issues such as undermining the Second Amendment, legalizing partial-birth abortion, and propping up overreaching bureaucratic agencies like the EPA and the IRS. We cannot afford to lose the Supreme Court for generations to come by nominating or confirming someone that a dealmaker like Donald Trump would support. Washington dealmakers cannot be trusted with such crucial lifetime appointments,” Cruz said.[240]
- On February 15, 2016, Ted Cruz said, "I intend to make 2016 a referendum on the Supreme Court. … I will have no more solemn responsibility than to name a replacement for Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court.” Cruz added that he believed Donald Trump, if elected president, would appoint liberal judges because he "has been liberal his entire adult life."[241]
- Cruz said in an interview on February 14, 2016, that the Senate does "not remotely" have an obligation to consider a nominee from President Barack Obama. He argued that "the Senate's duty is to advise and consent. You know what? The Senate is advising right now. We're advising that a lame-duck president in an election year is not going to be able to tip the balance of the Supreme Court." Cruz also commented on his presidential rivals' potential Supreme Court picks, saying, "If Donald Trump is the nominee, or if Hillary Clinton is the president, we will see unlimited abortion on demand throughout this country, partial-birth abortion, taxpayer funding, no parental notification. And we'll also see our religious liberty torn down, our basic rights."[242]
- During the Republican presidential debate on February 13, 2016, Cruz said Justice Antonin Scalia's death "underscore[d] the stakes of this election." He continued, "We are one justice away from a Supreme Court that will strike down every restriction on abortion adopted by the states. We are one justice away from a Supreme Court that will reverse the Heller decision, one of Justice Scalia's seminal decisions that upheld the Second Amendment right to keep and to bear arms. We are one justice away from a Supreme Court that would undermine the religious liberty of millions of Americans – and the stakes of this election, for this year, for the Senate, the Senate needs to stand strong and say, 'We're not going to give up the U.S. Supreme Court for a generation by allowing Barack Obama to make one more liberal appointee.'"[169]
- Cruz tweeted earlier on February 13, 2016, "Justice Scalia was an American hero. We owe it to him, & the Nation, for the Senate to ensure that the next President names his replacement."[243]
- During an interview February 9, 2016, Cruz discussed the future of the U.S. Supreme Court. He said, "We are one justice away from the Supreme Court ordering ten commandments monuments taken down at courthouses and city halls throughout this country. We are not far away from them ordering the chisels to come out to take off the crosses and the Stars of Davids on the tombstones of our fallen soldiers. … We are one justice away from the Supreme Court striking down every restriction on abortion and mandating unlimited abortion-on-demand up until the moment of birth, partial birth with taxpayer funding and no notification." According to The Hill, “He also said a liberal majority of justices would order ‘veterans’ memorials to be torn down over this country,’ give up America's national ‘sovereignty to the United Nations and the World Court,’ and nix the Second Amendment right to bear arms, as well as push a liberal agenda on abortion.”[244]
- Cruz sent a letter to Attorney General Loretta Lynch on November 2, 2015, that requested the Justice Department preserve documents related to the alleged targeting of conservative organizations by the IRS. “Given this Administration’s refusal to conduct itself appropriately, or take the issue of the potential illegal conduct of IRS employees seriously, any subsequent administration should reserve the right to reopen the matter, conduct its own investigation, or appoint a special prosecutor to conduct an investigation,” Cruz wrote.[245]
- At a campaign rally in Iowa on October 23, 2015, Cruz voiced concern with the future composition of the Supreme Court. He said, “One more liberal justice and our right to keep and bear arms is taken away from us by an activist court. One more liberal justice and they begin sandblasting and bulldozing veterans memorials throughout this country. One more liberal justice and we lose our sovereignty to the United Nations and the World Court.”[246]
- On September 19, 2015, Cruz said that “every” Democratic nominee to the Supreme Court had “put forward votes like a radical leftist nutcase.” He suggested Republican nominees were a mix of justices who “actually honor their oath to defend the Constitution” and “screaming trainwreck disasters.”[247]
- Cruz suggested on September 12, 2015, that Chief Justice John Roberts was not a conservative judge and Obamacare and same-sex marriage would not be law if he were not on the Court. Cruz argued Roberts was nominated because of his lack of time on the federal bench, making his nomination “easier” for former President George W. Bush. Cruz said, “Neither Souter nor Roberts had said much of anything. They didn’t have a paper trail, they wouldn’t have a fight. Whereas if you actually nominate a conservative, then you gotta spend some political capital. Then you gotta fight.”[248]
Government accountability
- During his 2012 Senate campaign, Cruz wrote, "Congress should pass Rep. Ron Paul’s bill to audit the Federal Reserve — so that it is subject to basic principles of accountability and transparency. We then should restrain the Fed’s 'quantitative easing' — a fancy term for printing money — so that our currency isn’t further debased. ...For long-term growth, we need sound money and a strong dollar."[249]
First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- Ted Cruz took to Facebook on September 2, 2015, to defend Kim Davis, a Kentucky county clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. “Our nation was founded by men and women fleeing religious oppression. They sought out a new world where they could worship God Almighty with all their heart, mind, and soul. Sadly, we’ve seen a war on faith break out across our nation, and we must be vigilant to protect the free exercise of religion – a value enshrined in our Constitution. We should make it possible for believers, such as Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis in Kentucky, to hold government jobs without having to violate their religious beliefs. We can work together to come up with alternative ways to ensure that government functions are accomplished without infringing on religious liberty,” Cruz wrote.[250]
- After Davis was jailed, Cruz called the order an act of “judicial tyranny” on September 3, 2015. Cruz said in a statement, “Today, judicial lawlessness crossed into judicial tyranny. Today, for the first time ever, the government arrested a Christian woman for living according to her faith. This is wrong. This is not America. I stand with Kim Davis. Unequivocally. I stand with every American that the Obama Administration is trying to force to choose between honoring his or her faith or complying with a lawless court opinion.”[251]
- Cruz sponsored S.2416 - the Free All Speech Act of 2014, which proposed requiring that "any law that restricts political speech of American citizens to apply with equal force to media corporations."[252]
- Cruz sponsored S.2415 - the SuperPAC Elimination Act of 2014, which proposed eliminating "the limitations on direct contributions to candidates in federal elections" and requiring "24-hour notification to the Secretary of the Senate, or the Federal Election Commission, and the Secretary of State, as appropriate, for all direct contributions to candidates in excess of $200."[253]
Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA)
- On March 30, 2015, Ted Cruz issued the following statement in support of Mike Pence and Indiana's Religious Freedom Restoration Act: "I want to commend Governor Mike Pence for his support of religious freedom, especially in the face of fierce opposition. There was a time, not too long ago, when defending religious liberty enjoyed strong bipartisan support. Alas, today we are facing a concerted assault on the First Amendment, on the right of every American to seek out and worship God according to the dictates of his or her conscience. Governor Pence is holding the line to protect religious liberty in the Hoosier State. Indiana is giving voice to millions of courageous conservatives across this country who are deeply concerned about the ongoing attacks upon our personal liberties. I’m proud to stand with Mike, and I urge Americans to do the same."[254]
Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- During the sixth Republican presidential primary debate, on January 14, 2016, Ted Cruz talked about preventing mass shootings and ending violent crime while protecting the Second Amendment: “You prosecute criminals. You target the bad guys. You know, a minute ago, [the moderator] asked: What has President Obama do -- done to illustrate that he wants to go after guns? Well, he appointed Eric Holder as attorney general. Eric Holder said he viewed his mission as brainwashing the American people against guns. He appointed Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court, someone who has been a radical against the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms. He launched Fast and Furious, illegally selling guns to Mexican drug lords that were then used to shoot law enforcement officials. And I'll tell you what Hillary Clinton has said: Hillary Clinton says she agrees with the dissenters -- the Supreme Court dissenters in the Heller case. There were four dissenters, and they said that they believe the Second Amendment protects no individual right to keep and bear arms whatsoever, which means, if their view prevailed and the next president's going to get one, two, three, maybe four Supreme Court justices, the court will rule that not a single person in this room has any right under the Second Amendment and the government could confiscate your guns.”[255]
- On December 7, 2015, Cruz challenged critics who said he was “insensitive” to hold events promoting the Second Amendment following the San Bernardino, Calif. shootings. Cruz said, “I don’t think it’s my job to be sensitive to radical Islamic terrorists. And you don’t stop the bad guys by taking away our guns. You stop the bad guys by using our guns, and a free and armed American citizenry is how we keep ourselves safe, and we need a president who can distinguish between law-abiding American citizens defending our families, and radical Islamic terrorism committing acts of jihad.”[256]
- In April 2013, Cruz voted against S.Amdt.711 to S.649, which proposed regulating "assault weapons."[257]
- In April 2013, Cruz voted against S.Amdt.714 to S.649, which proposed regulating "large capacity ammunition feeding devices."[258]
Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- At the tenth Republican debate on February 25, 2016, Cruz commented on whether Apple should comply with a court order to help the FBI in its investigation of a 2015 shooting in San Bernardino, saying, “Apple should be forced to comply with this court order. Why? Because under the Fourth Amendment, a search and seizure is reasonable if it has judicial authorization and probable cause. In this instance, the order is not put a back door in everyone's cell phone. If that was the order, that order would be problematic because it would compromise security and safety for everyone. I would agree with Apple on that broad policy question. But on the question of unlocking this cell phone of a terrorist, we should enforce the court order and find out everyone that terrorist at San Bernardino talked to on the phone, texted with, e-mailed. And absolutely, Apple doesn't have a right to defy a valid court order in a terrorism investigation.”[259]
USA FREEDOM Act of 2015
- At the fifth GOP primary debate on December 15, 2015, Ted Cruz defended his support for the USA Freedom Act, which opponents, like Marco Rubio, have said barred surveillance tools that make America less safe. Cruz said, “Well...the premise of your question is not accurate. I'm very proud to have joined with conservatives in both the Senate and the House to reform how we target bad guys. And what the USA Freedom Act did is it did two things. Number one, it ended the federal government's bulk collection of phone metadata of millions of law-abiding citizens. But number two in the second half of it that is critical. It strengthened the tools of national security and law enforcement to go after terrorists. It gave us greater tools and we are seeing those tools work right now in San Bernardino. And in particular, what it did is the prior program only covered a relatively narrow slice of phone calls. When you had a terrorist, you could only search a relatively narrow slice of numbers, primarily land lines. The USA Freedom Act expands that so now we have cell phones, now we have Internet phones, now we have the phones that terrorists are likely to use and the focus of law enforcement is on targeting the bad guys. You know what the Obama administration keeps getting wrong is whenever anything bad happens they focus on law-abiding citizens instead of focusing on the bad guys. We need to focus on radical Islamic terrorists and we need to stop them before they carry out acts of terror.”[260]
- In a speech at the Heritage Foundation on December 10, 2015, Cruz opposed “resurrecting the government’s bulk data collection that existed under the PATRIOT Act.” He said, “More data from millions of law-abiding Americans is not always better data. Hoarding tens of billions of records of ordinary citizens, it didn’t stop Fort Hood, it didn’t stop Boston, it didn’t stop Chattanooga, it didn’t stop Garland, and it failed to detect the San Bernardino plot.”[261]
- On December 7, 2015, Cruz defended his vote for the USA Freedom Act. He said, “I’m very proud of leading the way along with other strong conservatives in passing the USA Freedom Act. What it did was two things: Number one, it ended the federal government’s bulk collection of metadata. We are not made safer by having the Obama administration have access to all of our phones and all of our emails. We are not made safer by having Lois Lerner have the information of law abiding citizens. That is not making us safer. The USA Freedom Act ended the bulk collection of phone and metadata of law abiding citizens but then secondly what it did is it strengthened the ability to target the terrorists. It strengthened the ability, when there is evidence that an individual is associated with terrorism, it strengthened the ability to be able to get their phone records, their emails, their location, get everything about them. Under the old system, there was a relatively limited universe of phone records that could be searched. The USA Freedom Act markedly expanded the universe of phone records that could be searched. That’s what the intelligence agencies told Congress—the USA Freedom Act strengthens their ability to target terrorists. They’re now able to search many more records instead of just doing it in a blanket way where they had every law abiding citizen’s phone records, instead [under this bill] they do it with judicial authorization targeted at the bad guys.”[262]
Executive powers
- In a 2014 op-ed in The Wall Street Journal, Cruz criticized President Barack Obama for violating the Constitution by bypassing Congress. He wrote, "Of all the troubling aspects of the Obama presidency, none is more dangerous than the president's persistent pattern of lawlessness, his willingness to disregard the written law and instead enforce his own policies via executive fiat."[263]
Crime and Justice
- Speaking at a church in New Hampshire on February, Cruz shared the story of his half sister Miriam’s drug and alcohol addiction that led to her death. He said, “Her son found her in her bed. The coroner ruled it accidental. We’ll never know. We just got the call one day that Miriam was gone.” New Hampshire is at the center of a wave of heroin addiction and several candidates have addressed the crisis on the trail. But, after delivering his remarks, Cruz participated in a round-table discussion with the local police chief and addiction experts, where he said that, while he supported a Senate program to direct some funds to antidrug efforts, “it’s not going to be the government that solves this.” Cruz emphasized the importance of groups on the ground, including churches and charities.[264]
- While campaigning in Iowa on January 4, 2016, Cruz said that he hoped the armed occupation of a federal building in Oregon would end “peaceably.” Cruz said, “Every one of us has a constitutional right to protest, to speak our minds, but we don’t have a constitutional right to use force of violence or threaten force of violence on others.”[265]
- In 2014, Cruz co-sponsored S.1410 - the Smarter Sentencing Act of 2014, which proposed eliminating mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent drug offenders.[266]
- On January 30, 2014, Cruz praised Attorney General Eric Holder's decision to seek the death penalty against terrorist Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. He explained, "It is crucial that the United States send a message across the world that terrorists who seek to attack our homeland and bring harm to our citizens will be brought to justice and receive the severest punishment under our laws. My continued prayers are with the victims impacted by the attack at the Boston Marathon last year."[267]
Carly Fiorina
Legislative
- In 2015, conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt began asking Republican candidates on his show if they would be willing to use the Senate "nuclear option" in order to get rid of the filibuster and repeal Obamacare. Carly Fiorina is one of several candidates who said she would do so.[268]
Judiciary
- During an October 7, 2015, appearance on “The Federalist Radio Hour,” Carly Fiorina said “eminent domain has been abused . . . by the collusion between governments eager for revenue and businesses eager for competitive advantage. So I find the [Kelo v. City of New London] case—if ever there was a case for judicial engagement instead of judicial restraint, it's this set of issues.” Kelo was a 2005 Supreme Court interpreting what constituted “public use” for a legitimate taking of land by eminent domain. The comment was seen as directed toward Donald Trump who used the tool as a real estate developer.[269]
- According to The San Francisco Gate, Fiorina said she "probably would have voted for" Justice Sonia Sotomayor's nomination to the Supreme Court.[270]
First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- On April 1, 2015, Carly Fiorina posted the following comments on her Facebook page in response to the debate about Indiana's Religious Freedom Restoration Act: "It is frankly sad to me that politics has become a fact-free zone. It is sad that so many people on the left were quick to turn this into a divisive and destructive debate so they could further their own brand of identity politics. It is sad that CEOs took to Twitter before checking their facts, adding to the division instead of helping build tolerance. This debate represents what so many believe is wrong with our politics. It has taken an emotional issue for people on both sides and politicians have used it to divide and to score points with their team. It has been tough for some in the media to understand my position because I refuse to join the game of name calling and vitriol. Politics shouldn't be a game, however. We must find a way to respect one another, to celebrate a culture that protects religious freedom while condemning discrimination."[271] Click here for Fiorina's full statement.
Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- During the sixth Republican presidential primary debate, on January 14, 2016, Carly Fiorina criticized President Obama’s executive actions on gun control: “First of all, it is yet another lawless executive order. You see, he doesn't like the fact that Congress has rejected his ideas twice on a bipartisan basis, so he's decided he just gets to override them. Sorry, Mr. President, not the way ‘The Constitution’ works. Secondly, he basically admitted in that speech that he hasn't been paying much attention to enforcing the laws we have. He said, gee, we need a few more FBI agents. That would have helped, perhaps, stop a tragedy here in South Carolina with Dylann Roof, a guy who clearly never should have been sold a gun. In other words, Mr. President, you're right, we need to enforce the laws we have. Let's enforce the laws we have. There are criminals running around with guns who shouldn't have them. We don't prosecute any of them. Less than 1 percent.”[272]
- On December 3, 2015, Fiorina said she opposed barring individuals on terror watch lists from purchasing guns. "That's kind of a red herring, honestly. If somebody is a suspected terrorist on a watch list they can be indicted at any time. And once you are indicted you cannot own a firearm. So let's enforce the laws we have. Let's start with that,” she said. Fiorina added that some people were mistakenly placed on the terror watch list: "My best friend's husband was on the watch list for years, it was a complete mistake. He also happened to be a gun owner. If I had utter faith in the competence of government I might agree with that, but do you? I don't. The government screws up all the time."[273]
- On December 2, 2015, Fiorina criticized President Obama’s and Hillary Clinton’s responses to the mass shooting in San Bernardino, California. She said, “Without knowing any of the facts of what has happened there or why, President Obama and Hillary Clinton immediately came out and made a political statement for gun control. Instead of Mrs. Clinton calling for more laws, why don’t we enforce the laws that we have and, as well, enforce the Second Amendment?"[274]
- According to her 2010 Senate campaign website, "Carly is a strong proponent of protecting Americans’ Second Amendment rights. Carly believes the rights outlined in the Second Amendment are a critical part of our country’s founding principles and that it is the responsibility of our leaders in Sacramento and in Washington to uphold and defend these fundamental rights."[275]
Crime and justice
- Carly Fiorina shared the story of her stepdaughter’s struggle with drug addiction at the Addiction Policy Forum at Southern New Hampshire University on January 5, 2016. She said, “There’s an old saying. The eyes are the window to the soul. And as Lori grew progressively sicker, the sparkle, the potential, the possibilities that had once filled her life – disappeared from behind her eyes.” Fiorina called for treatment solutions to fight drug addiction rather than imprisonment. Speaking about her stepdaughter’s time in jail, she said, “I know that experience did not help because I saw her as she came out.”[276]
- According to her 2010 Senate campaign website, "Carly supports the death penalty for our nation’s worst murderers."[275]
Lindsey Graham
Legislative
- In 2015, conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt began asking Republican candidates on his show if they would be willing to use the Senate "nuclear option" in order to get rid of the filibuster and repeal Obamacare. Lindsey Graham is one of a few candidates who is in favor of keeping the filibuster.[277]
Judiciary
- In a discussion of Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis in September 2015, Lindsey Graham said the United States was “a constitutional democracy not a theocracy” and “the secular law of the land is the United States Constitution.” Graham expressed his sympathy for defenders of “traditional marriage,” but added, “I can not say as a conservative that the court’s decision does not apply because I dislike it. I can not say as a conservative there is not a judicial interpretation of the Constitution that is supreme when it comes to how the Constitution works.”[278]
- Graham served on the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary.[279]
- As a member of the Judiciary committee, Graham voted to approve Chief Justice John Roberts, Justice Samuel Alito, Justice Sonia Sotomayor and Justice Elena Kagan.[280][281][282][283]
- After the United States Supreme Court upheld the Affordable Care Act, Graham released the following statement: "No one should be angry at Chief Justice John Roberts for exposing the Obama tax for what it is and holding Obamacare is constitutional under the broad power of Congress. Public anger should be directed at the politicians who denied it was a tax to pass Obamacare and are responsible for creating this mess."[284]
- After the Supreme Court ruled against the Defense of Marriage Act, Graham said, "The main thing is that something like marriage and the bedrock of society should be decided by the population through the political process, not by unelected judges. This is an example of where something this fundamental to our society should be left in the hands of the people through their elected representatives."[285]
Government accountability
- Lindsey Graham co-sponsored S.202 - the Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2011, which proposed auditing the Federal Reserve.[286]
First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- In April 2011, in response to a pastor burning the Quran, Lindsey Graham said, "I wish we could find a way to hold people accountable. Free speech is a great idea, but we're in a war. During World War II, we had limits on what you could do if it inspired the enemy. (We should do) anything we can to push back here in America against acts like this that put our troops at risk."[287]
Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- Lindsey Graham was endorsed by the National Rifle Association in 2014. After receiving the endorsement, Graham said, "As an avid hunter and gun-owner, I am a longtime supporter of the constitutional right to keep and bear arms. I’m proud to have the support of the National Rifle Association and tens of thousands of gun-owners across South Carolina in my re-election campaign."[288]
- Graham voted against the 2013 Joe Manchin - Pat Toomey background checks proposal.[289]
- In 2013, Graham voted against S.Amdt.714 to S.649, which sought to "regulate large capacity ammunition feeding devices," also known as high-capacity magazines.[290]
- In 2013, Graham voted for S.Amdt.719 to S.649, which sought to allow citizens with concealed carry permits to carry in other states that allow concealed carry.[291]
- Graham co-sponsored S.397 - the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, which prohibits individuals from suing gun manufacturers and retailers as a result of "criminal or unlawful misuse of a firearm." It became law on October 26, 2005.[292]
Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- At the fifth GOP primary debate on December 15, 2015, Lindsey Graham discussed is support for National Security Agency data collection: “Senator Paul and Senator Cruz, are isolationists. They both want to restrict the ability of the NSA to do the following; find out if somebody overseas is calling into America and if somebody is on the other end of the phone, don't you want to know who their talking to? If a terrorist is calling into America and we can match up phone numbers we get a get a [sic] court order to find out what the content is. We're at war folks, they're not trying to steal your car, they're trying to kills us all. So yes, I would re-institute this program. There's four things you need to understand about this war, it's a religious war, them against the world, if you don't fight them over there, they're coming here. If you don't hit them first, they're going to hit us. If you're not determined to fight it as a ware, you're going to lose it. So if you're worried about somebody having your phone in the government, don't be. The only thing you need to worry about is if you're talking to terrorist and a judge gives an order to listen to what you're saying. That's all you need to worry about.”[293]
USA FREEDOM Act of 2015
On June 2, 2015, the Senate passed HR 2048 - the Uniting and Strengthening America by Fulfilling Rights and Ensuring Effective Discipline Over Monitoring Act of 2015 or the USA FREEDOM Act of 2015 by a vote of 67-32. The legislation revised HR 3199 - the USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005 by terminating the bulk collection of metadata under Sec. 215 of the act, requiring increased reporting from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court and requiring the use of "a specific selection term as the basis for national security letters that request information from wire or electronic communication service providers, financial institutions, or consumer reporting agencies." Graham did not vote. It became law on June 2, 2015.[294][295]
Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- According to Forbes, Lindsey Graham argued in a series of tweets "that nineteen-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev—suspected of being one of the Boston Marathon terrorists and taken into custody on Friday evening—should be treated as an enemy combatant and denied his due process rights under the Constitution."[296]
Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- Lindsey Graham opposes Common Core Standards. In 2014, he introduced S.Res.345, which would have allowed states to establish and define their own "academic standards and assessments."[297]
Crime and justice
- In August 2015, Lindsey Graham expressed disgust with a Connecticut Supreme Court decision holding the death penalty violated the state’s constitution, sparing the lives of two men who raped two girls before killing them and their mother. “If this doesn’t cry out for the death penalty nothing ever would and I don’t think you’re an indecent society when you take two men who broke into a family’s home, tortured two young girls, raped them, burned them alive — I don’t think that makes us indecent that they would be administered the death penalty … You know if I’m president of the United States, under my administration, my Attorney General - we’re going to prosecute people like this to the fullest extent of the law. I doubt if there’s any federal jurisdiction in a case like this, but it would be worth looking at,” Graham said.[298]
- Graham voted against S 47 - Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013. The purpose of the bill was to combat violence against women, from domestic violence to international trafficking in persons. It became law on March 7, 2013.[299]
- Graham co-sponsored S 1789 - Fair Sentencing Act of 2010, which "Amends the Controlled Substances Act and the Controlled Substances Import and Export Act to: (1) increase the amount of a controlled substance or mixture containing a cocaine base (i.e., crack cocaine) required for the imposition of mandatory minimum prison terms for trafficking; and (2) increase monetary penalties for drug trafficking and for the importation and exportation of controlled substances." It became law on August 3, 2012.[300]
- Graham co-sponsored HR 3633 - Controlled Substances Trafficking Prohibition Act, which "Amends the Controlled Substances Import and Export Act to prohibit U.S. residents from importing into the United States a non-schedule I controlled substance exceeding 50 dosage units if they: (1) enter the United States through an international land border; and (2) do not possess a valid prescription or documentation verifying such a prescription." It became law on November 10, 1998.[301]
Mike Huckabee
Legislature
- Mike Huckabee wrote an op-ed in The Reno Gazette-Journal on December 10, 2015, to advocate for states’ rights. “Why does the federal government still own and manage 84 percent of Nevada, 66 percent of Utah, and 53 percent of Oregon? When we deprive states and citizens the power to control their destiny, we undermine the essence of our Constitution,” Huckabee wrote.[302]
- Huckabee wrote an op-ed for Fox News on October 1, 2015, arguing for major reforms in how Congress operates. He called for term limits for legislators and judges, banning former members of Congress from becoming lobbyists, withholding pay if there was no budget and requiring members of Congress to resign if they were seeking a different elected office.[303]
- In 2015, conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt asked Republican candidates on his show if they would be willing to use the Senate "nuclear option" in order to get rid of the filibuster and repeal Obamacare. Mike Huckabee was one of several candidates who said he would do so.[304]
Judiciary
- During the September 2015 GOP debate, Mike Huckabee said he would absolutely have a litmus test for supreme justices. He then outlined the questions he would ask: “Number one, I’d ask do you think that the unborn child is a human being or is it just a blob of tissue? I’d want to know the answer to that. I’d want to know do you believe in the First Amendment, do you believe that religious liberty is the fundamental liberty around which all the other freedoms of this country are based? And I’d want to know do you really believe in the Second Amendment, do you believe that we have an individual right to bear arms to protect ourselves and our family and to protect our country? And do you believe in the Fifth and the 14th Amendment? Do you believe that a person, before they’re deprived of life and liberty, should in fact have due process and equal protection under the law? Because if you do, you’re going to do more than defund Planned Parenthood.” During the same debate, Huckabee also continued to stand with Kim Davis, a Kentucky clerck who refused to give out same-sex marriage licenses following the Obergefell v. Hodges Supreme Court decision to legalize same-sex marriage. Said Huckabee, “The courts can’t make a law. They can interpret one. They can review one. They can’t implement it. They can’t force it.” He later said, “If the court can just make a decision and we just all surrender to it, we have what Jefferson said was judicial tyranny.” [305]
- Huckabee suggested on September 10, 2015, that Dred Scott v. Sanford, a nineteenth century Supreme Court case declaring people of African descent could not be American citizens, was still the “law of the land.” Comparing Obergefell v. Hodges to Dred Scott, Huckabee said, “The Dred Scott decision of 1857 still remains to this day the law of the land which says that black people aren’t fully human. Does anybody still follow the Dred Scott Supreme Court decision?” Dred Scott was nullified in 1868 by the Fourteenth Amendment.[306][307]
- While visiting Arkansas on September 10, 2015, Huckabee said county clerks could also deny marriage licenses to same-sex couples because the Arkansas legislature had not changed its laws following the Obergefell decision in June 2015. Clerks should “follow the only law they have in front of them,” Huckabee said.[308]
- Huckabee reaffirmed his support for Supreme Court term limits on July 5, 2015, during an appearance on CNN's "State of the Union." Although Huckabee did not define what the length of the term limit should be, he said he doubted it was "a healthy thing" for a Supreme Court justice to "have outlived...six or seven presidents."[309]
- In June 2014, Huckabee argued that a decision made by the Supreme Court should not necessarily be the final outcome of an issue. He said, "And one of the things that I do not understand is why more Americans have not rallied in opposition to the notion that just because the Court says something that that is the final word. Have we not read our Constitution? Have we not reminded ourselves that we have three branches of government, not one, and all of those three branches are equal branches of government. One is them is not superior to either of the other two, and certainly not to both of the other two. This notion that when the Supreme Court says something it’s the last word is fundamentally unconstitutional and wrong. It is the Supreme Court, not the supreme branch."[310]
- In an email to supporters in June 2010, Huckabee said he was "not too happy about" Elena Kagan's nomination. He added, "With a conservative President, you're going to get strict constructionist judges like Scalia, an Alito or a Roberts - with a liberal President, you're going to judges like Sotomayor, a Breyer or eventually maybe a Kagan. Elections have consequences."[311]
- Huckabee opposed Sonia Sotomayor's nomination to the Supreme Court. In May 2009, Huckabee said in a statement, "The appointment of Sonia Sotomayor for the Supreme Court is the clearest indication yet that President Obama's campaign promises to be a centrist and think in a bi-partisan way were mere rhetoric. Sotomayor comes from the far left and will likely leave us with something akin to the 'Extreme Court' that could mark a major shift. The notion that appellate court decisions are to be interpreted by the "feelings" of the judge is a direct affront of the basic premise of our judicial system that is supposed to apply the law without personal emotion. If she is confirmed, then we need to take the blindfold off Lady Justice."
First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- On October 21, 2015, Mike Huckabee said the British proposal to close mosques ran the risk of running afoul of the U.S. because of the Constitution. “You better have hard evidence, and then, you better take it through the judicial process, you just can’t make that arbitrary, unilateral decision to close down a place of worship, even if you find that what’s going on in that place of worship is absolutely repulsive to you,” he said.[312]
- On October 2015, Huckabee criticized President Obama for not highlighting that Christians were targeted in a mass shooting at an Oregon community college. “The president always wants to be defensive and tell us there is no such thing as Islamic terrorism. These aren’t religious people even though we all know they are. But when it seems that the target is a Christian, he conveniently just ignores it, denies it or just moves on to something else. I do think it is incredibly significant that there was a religious intent and motive in this shooter’s attitude,” said Huckabee.[313]
- Huckabee expressed support for Kim Davis, the Kentucky county clerk refusing to issue licenses to same-sex couples, in a statement on September 2, 2015. “I spoke with Kim Davis this morning to offer my prayers and support. I let her know how proud I am of her for not abandoning her religious convictions and standing strong for religious liberty. She is showing more courage and humility than just about any federal office holder in Washington," he said.[314]
- Huckabee began a “Free Kim Davis Now” petition on his presidential campaign website after Davis was jailed on September 3, 2015. The petition read, “Dear President Obama, Attorney General Lynch, & Judge Bunning: Immediately release Kim Davis from federal custody. Exercising Religious Liberty should never be a crime in America. This is a direct attack on our God-given, constitutional rights."[315]
- On September 3, 2015, Huckabee tweeted, “What a world, where Hillary Clinton isn't in jail but #KimDavis is. #ImWithKim.”[316]
- On September 6, 2015, Huckabee questioned whether there was a double standard for liberals and conservatives engaging in civil disobedience. After suggesting President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder had ignored the Defense of Marriage Act, Huckabee said, “[D]id they get put in law for ignoring the law? They most certainly did not. So when do liberals get to choose which laws they support but a county clerk in Kentucky who, acting on her Christian faith, is criminalized, jailed without bail because she acted on her conscience and according to the only law in front of her.”[317]
- In an interview with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos on September 13, 2015, Huckabee argued that Davis denying marriage licenses to same-sex couples was different from a hypothetical clerk denying marriage licenses to interracial couples following Loving v. Virginia in 1967. “It’s not the same, George — not even close. Because in Loving, you still had a marriage which was between a man and a woman. It was equal protection, but it didn’t redefine marriage,” Huckabee said. He added, “It’s a very different equation altogether, because this is a redefinition. Marriage is not defined in the federal constitution at all — it’s a matter for the states. And applying the 14th Amendment to the equality…of men and women in their relationship in marriage is totally different than redefining marriage.”[318]
- In June 2014, Huckabee supported the Supreme Court's ruling in the Hobby Lobby case. In a Facebook post, Huckabe wrote, "Only in the la-la land of left would it sound reasonable that government has created not only a 'right' to take the life of a child, but the obligation of providing it, even when it violated the First Amendment rights of that employer. The government can't say, 'you can have some religion, but only what the government agrees is sufficient.' The Hobby Lobby ruling is yet another repudiation of the overreaching dictates of the Obama administration and a good day for freedom."[319]
- In 2013, Huckabee spoke out against the Internal Revenue Service monitoring churches to ensure that they did not engage political speech. He said, "I think we need to recognize that it may be time to quit worrying so much about the tax code and start thinking more about the truth of the living God, and if it means that we give up tax-exempt status and tax deductions for charitable contributions, I choose freedom more than I choose a deduction that the government gives me permission to say what God wants me to say."[320]
Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA)
"Huckabee on Indiana Law: 'This is a Manufactured Crisis By the Left'," April 1, 2015.
- During an April 1 interview on Fox News' "The Kelly File," Mike Huckabee responded to Governor of Connecticut Dan Malloy's "comments stating that none of the people who would defend the Religious Freedom Restoration Act are qualified to be president of the United States." Huckabee replied, "No one is qualified to be president if they don't respect the First Amendment and religious liberty. This is the most bizarre thing. This is a manufactured crisis by the left. If they manufactured as many products as they do crises, like this one, which is an utterly phony attempt to create some kind of division, 92 million Americans who are jobless would have jobs. ...There's nothing in the RFRA that in any way says a thing about homosexuality, gay marriage."[321]
Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- During the sixth Republican presidential primary debate, on January 14, 2016, Mike Huckabee discussed preventing gun violence: “Is there anything that can be done at the federal level to prevent guns from falling into the hands of criminals? Well, why don't we start by making sure the Justice Department never does an idiotic program like Fast and Furious where the U.S. Government put guns .in the hands of Mexican drug lords and end up killing one of our border agents. You know, they want to talk about law abiding citizens, I just find it amazing the President keeps saying the gun show loophole. There is no gun show loophole. I promise you I've been to more gun shows than President Obama. And, I've bought more weapons at them, and you fill out forms. … What the President keeps pushing are ideas that have never worked. … Of course, we want to stop gun violence, but the one common thing that has happened in most mass shootings is that they happened in gun- free zones where people who would have been law abiding citizens, who could have stood up and at least tried to stop it and we're not allowed to under the law.”[322]
- On January 5, 2016, Huckabee called President Obama’s gun control plan a "blatant, belligerent abuse of power." He said, "I will never bow down and surrender to Obama’s unconstitutional, radical, anti-gun agenda."[323]
- Following reports that President Obama would take executive action to create stricter gun regulations, Huckabee said on January 4, 2016, that Congress needs to “[g]row a spine” instead of passively resisting his policies. He added, “The common denominator with the mass shootings are gun-free zones and, in some cases, terrorism and mental health issues. It’s not that people who are law-abiding citizens have access to guns.”[324]
- On December 5, 2015, Huckabee compared restrictions on the Second Amendment to limitations on the First Amendment. “I’m wondering, would they [gun control advocates] be willing to accept some restrictions to the First Amendment, imposed on them by people like me. I don’t think so. This is absurd. Because it was not so much which weapon was used. It was the intent of the killer. … So, take away their assault weapons, look, a pencil is an assault weapon if you put it in the hand of somebody who wants to kill you.[325]
- On October 23, 2015, Huckabee called for the public to ignore any executive order requiring new background checks on gun buyers, or gun dealers should the White House issue one. "There should certainly be an absolute, unapologetic — just complete ignoring of such an order by those gun-shop owners, because the president can't make law. He just can't,” said Huckabee.[326]
- On Huckabee's 2016 presidential campaign website, he stated, "The Second Amendment is the last line of defense against tyranny and must be protected. I was the first governor in America to have a concealed handgun license, and I’m a lifetime member of the NRA." Huckaee added that, if president, he would "oppose new gun restrictions, registrations, regulations & mandates."[327]
- In his 2015 book, God, Guns, Grits, and Gravy, Huckabee said, "I’m a hunter. I hunt ducks, deer, and turkey and have also hunted antelope in Wyoming and pheasant in Iowa. But the Second Amendment isn’t about hunting. The Second Amendment is about preserving all the rights we possess as citizens.”[328]
- In 2006, Huckabee said he would support "castle doctrine" legislation in Arkansas allowing an individual to stand his ground and protect himself with deadly force.[329]
Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- In June 2015, Mike Huckabee questioned whether the holding in Obergefell v. Hodges on marriage equality should be accepted as "the law of the land because there's no enabling legislation."[330] Huckabee had previously argued against the "notion of judicial supremacy" over states' rights in January 2015.[331]
- According to a 2007 profile of Huckabee by FOX News, Huckabee "would have the federal government overrule state abortion and marriage laws."[332]
Crime and justice
- On his podcast, January 5, 2016, Mike Huckabee said that, although the individuals occupying a building in Oregon to protest the federal government’s control of land in the western United States are “extremists,” the issue that they are highlighting is important. He said, “Now I know the media and left are going to try and paint everyone who opposes overbearing federal land management as violent, right-wing crazies, but it’s funny how they didn’t dismiss protesters who occupied Wall Street as left-wing crazies. But don’t let the feds off the hook that easily. The actions of a handful of extremists don’t negate a very serious issue. ... With the rise of big government and the growing political power of the radical environmental movement, we now have land management bureaucrats who know, and care nothing, about farmin’ or ranchin’, but who gladly put the echo cause of the month ahead of the rights of those who have lived and worked on these lands for generations. I want to be clear, there’s no right to break the law. There’s no right to trespass or occupy government property. I’m not defending that tactic at all. It’s unlawful and counterproductive. But western state residents do have the right to be angry at the way the federal government denies their basic rights.”[333]
- During a December 2007 interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer, Huckabee was asked if it were true that he "oversaw 1,033 pardons and commutations of prisoners, including 12 murders?" Huckabee responded, "I actually carried out the death penalty 16 times more than any governor in my state’s history, and the crime rate in my state went down. If you look at the background of some of these, it meant that people who are 40 years old who had done a joyride or written a hot check when they were 18 had never been to prison. This wasn’t like I stood there with a key at the prison door and let people out. Background checks kept them from even so much as getting a job emptying the bedpans in a nursing home. And often the pardons were in order to let them get in the work force."[334]
- Attending the September 2007 All-American Presidential Forum at Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland, Huckabee was asked what he would do to increase fairness in the criminal justice system for black and Hispanic men. Huckabee answered, in part, "We've got to quit locking up all the people that we're mad at and lock up the people that we're really afraid of, the people who are sexual predators and violent offenders. But the nonsense of three strikes and you're out has created a system that is overrun with people, and the cost is choking us. I would go for more drug courts and for a lot less incarceration of drug-addicted people."[335]
- In his 2007 book, From Hope to Higher Ground, Huckabee wrote, "Whether we should even have a death penalty is a tough issue. I believe some crimes deserve it, but that does not mean I like it. . . . Carrying out the death penalty was unquestionably the worst part of my job as governor. Seventeen times I sat by a phone with an open line to the death chamber for the two hours before the scheduled moment and waited for either a court-ordered reprieve or the report from the correction director that the procedure was ready to be carried out. . . . I never slept well those nights. I did the job that the law prescribed for me to do, but I hated every minute of it. I always felt that it was not only an execution of a person who committed a terrible murder; it was a reminder that through years of trials and appeals, no alternative was determined to be more appropriate than to end a human life."[336]
- According to a 1992 report in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Huckabee supported the death penalty for "people who try to kill law enforcement officers, terrorists, major drug dealers and anyone who transmits a deadly virus, such as AIDS."[337]
Black Lives Matter movement
- On August 18, 2015, Mike Huckabee criticized the message of the Black Lives Matter movement and suggested Martin Luther King Jr. would have been "appalled by the notion that we're elevating some lives above others."[338] The following week, King's son, Martin Luther King III, questioned Huckabee's statement. He said, "I think dad would be very proud of young people standing up to promote truth, justice and equality. I was perplexed by the comments, but people attempt to use dad for everything."[339]
- Huckabee reiterated his opposition to Black Lives Matter in an op-ed published by the Daily Caller on September 3, 2015, calling the movement a "mob" and condemning the anti-police rhetoric used by some protesters.[340]
| “ | From Baltimore to Beverly Hills, this movement has incited violence, chaos and disrespect. It’s time for President Obama and the Democratic Party to stop pandering to a movement that riots and supports violence against police. How many law enforcement deaths will it take for the political class to stand with the people who put their lives on the line to keep us safe?[341] | ” |
| —Mike Huckabee[340] |
Bobby Jindal
- See also: Bobby Jindal presidential campaign, 2016
Federalism
Legislative
- Bobby Jindal wrote an op-ed on October 15, 2015, for Fox News to argue that that filibuster should be retired. “Now, the filibuster has turned into an everyday occurrence. It has been used 1,300 times since 1917, but nearly 900 of those came since 1990 and nearly 600 since 2003. This increase is not just a symptom of partisan gridlock, it is also a cause. When both sides have a veto, neither has an incentive to come to the table. You don’t have to have written 'The Art of the Deal' to figure that out,” Jindal wrote.[342]
- In 2015, conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt began asking Republican candidates on his show if they would be willing to use the Senate "nuclear option" in order to get rid of the filibuster and repeal Obamacare. Jindal is one of several candidates who said he would do so.[343]
First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- On September 2, 2015, Bobby Jindal defended a Kentucky county clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. He said, “I don't think anyone should have to choose between following their conscience and religious beliefs and giving up their job and facing financial sanctions. I think it's wrong to force Christian individuals or business owners. We are seeing government today discriminate against whether it's clerks, florists, musicians or others. I think that's wrong. I think you should be able to keep your job and follow your conscience. I absolutely do believe people have a First Amendment right, a constitutional right. I don't think the court can take that away."[344]
- On August 13, 2015, a spokesman for Jindal said the governor was trying to preserve four Confederate monuments in New Orleans. "Governor Jindal opposes the tearing down of these historical statues and he has instructed his staff to look into the Heritage Act to determine the legal authority he has as Governor to stop it,” the spokesman said.[345]
- In July 2015, Jindal issued an executive order to strictly enforce picketing buffer zones around the funerals of the two victims of the Lafayette theater shooting after the Westboro Baptist Church indicated they would stage a protest there.[346]
- In October 2014, Jindal signed an executive order ensuring the freedom of speech for teachers voicing opinions about Common Core.[347]
- Jindal supported the Supreme Court’s decision in the 2014 Burwell v. Hobby Lobby case. He explained, "With today's Hobby Lobby decision rejecting the arguments of President Obama's administration and affirming the rights of families to conduct their business according to their faith, the Supreme Court formally recognized what the overwhelming majority of Americans already know to be true: that religious liberty is a good thing."[348]
- In March 2006, Jindal voted for H.R.1606 - the Online Freedom of Speech Act, which proposed amending "the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to exclude communications over the Internet from the meaning of public communication subject to the Act."[349]
Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA)
- After HB 707 - the Marriage and Conscience Act failed in Louisiana's State Legislature, Bobby Jindal issued Executive Order BJ 15-8 and the following statement: "This Executive Order will prohibit the state from denying or revoking a tax exemption, tax deduction, contract, cooperative agreement, loan, professional license, certification, accreditation, or employment on the basis the person acts in accordance with a religious belief that marriage is between one man and one woman." The executive order went into effect on May 19, 2015.[350][351]
- During a March 5 interview on NBC's "Meet the Press," Chuck Todd asked Jindal if "Governor Pence and Governor Hutchinson in Arkansas and Indiana have essentially caved too much pressure?" Jindal replied, "Well, Chuck, I was very worried about the law in Indiana. I’m disappointed. Let’s remember what this debate was originally all about. This is about business owners that don’t want to have to choose between their Christian faith, their sincerely held religious beliefs, and being able to operate their businesses. Now, what they don’t want is the government to force them to participate in wedding ceremonies that contradict their beliefs. They simply want the right to say, 'We don’t want to be forced to participate in those ceremonies.' I was disappointed that you could see Christians and their businesses face discrimination in Indiana. I hope the legislators will fix that and rectify that. Chuck, there used to be a bipartisan consensus in this country around religious liberty saying that as Americans, we don’t all have to agree with each other but we should respect each other’s rights and freedoms. And that’s what this debate is really about. Are we going to use government to force people to contradict their own sincerely held beliefs?"[352]
Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- On October 17, 2015, Bobby Jindal criticized Hillary Clinton’s proposal to create a gun buyback program to curb gun violence. Jindal said, “Calling it gun control doesn't even do this justice — this is gun seizure. Secretary Clinton's comment is an example of the nanny state on display. She won't stop with just taking away our guns and our Second Amendment rights, she will come for everything else that she and her big government elitist colleagues think is bad for us dim-witted Americans.” After Jindal criticized Clinton’s proposal, Reuters noted that Jindal approved a gun buyback program in Louisiana. In response, Jindal’s press secretary Shannon Dirmann said, “Hillary Clinton was referring to confiscation at the federal level, which is why it is so concerning. The Louisiana buyback program is a voluntary, state level program and the NRA supports it. It lets gun collectors and people buy guns who legally can, rather than the police destroying them. It is important to note that Governor Jindal passed legislation to prohibit gun confiscation after Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana — and he wouldn't allow it at the federal level."[353]
- On October 11, 2015, Jindal said stricter gun regulation would not “stop the next massacre.” Instead, Jindal argued, the country needs a “renaissance of decency” and “spiritual revival.” To highlight the “moral decay going on in our culture,” Jindal said, “We’ve got graphic violence in our movies, our video games, our TV shows. We’ve got senseless violence depicted in our songs. We’ve got a culture that doesn’t value life. We’ve got millions of boys growing up without father figures, without that guidance at home. Too often, these shooters are often misguided young men.”[354]
- Following a deadly shooting at a movie theater in Lafayette, Louisiana, on July 23, 2015, Jindal traveled to Lafayette to provide support to the victims and their families. When asked about gun control, Jindal responded, “Let's focus on the victims right now. Let's focus on their recoveries. There'll be a time, I'm sure folks will want to jump into the politics of this. Now is not the time."[355]
- On July 26, 2015, Jindal broke his silence on the issue of gun control in the aftermath of the Lafayette shooting. “I think every state should strengthen their laws. Every state should make sure this information is being reported in the background system. We need to make sure that background system is working. Absolutely, in this instance, this man never should have been able to buy a gun,” Jindal said. He added that perpetrators of mass shootings often have “a history of mental illness” so the systems in place need to “actually work.”[356]
- When asked on July 29, 2015, if he believed people should be permitted to carry guns into theaters, Jindal answered, “I’m a big believer that where you are legally allowed to be, you should be able to have your Second Amendment rights as well. There are private property rights issues, I understand that. Somebody has a right to say what they want to do with their private property, but I think the fewer restrictions on law abiding citizens, the better for them and the better for our country.”[357][358]
- On July 17, 2015, a day after the Chattanooga shooting at two Marine recruitment offices, Jindal issued an executive order to permit some national guard personnel at military facilities to be armed.[359]
- In 2013, Jindal signed several gun bills into law.[360]
- Jindal signed HB 8, which "Prohibits the release of information associated with concealed handgun permits or applications for such permits."[361]
- Jindal signed HB 717, which "Provides with respect to the reporting of certain judicial proceedings regarding the possession of firearms," and SB135, which "Provides relative to possession of weapons and certain judicial proceedings and reports." The bills require that the Supreme Court of Louisiana be notified when a citizen loses the right to own or purchase a firearm due to criminal activity or mental incapacity.[362][363]
- Jindal signed HB 6, which "Provides that the crime of carrying a firearm or dangerous weapon on school property shall not apply to off-duty law enforcement officers."[364]
- Jindal signed SB 178, which "Allows the placement of voter registration application forms at certain retailers selling firearms."[366]
Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- In 2014, Bobby Jindal signed HB340, which "Creates the Personal Online Account Privacy Protection Act." The law protects employees from having their personal online accounts accessed by employers.[367]
- Jindal voted for H.R.3199 - the USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005.[368]
Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- In August 2014, Bobby Jindal accused the Obama administration of violating the Tenth Amendment with its implementation of Common Core.[369]
Crime and justice
- During a February 2014 interview with Candy Crowley, Bobby Jindal said he would consider "lowering the criminal justice penalties in Louisiana for minor, nonviolent drug offenses." He explained, "I agree with the president. We don't need to be locking up people who aren't the dealers, who aren't committing other crimes, especially who aren't committing other violent crimes. I think there are better uses of our dollars."[370]
- In 2013, Jindal signed HB442, which "Provides relative to sentencing and treatment of certain offenders convicted of certain violations of the Uniform Controlled Dangerous Substances Law." The bill allows for nonviolent drug offenders to enter rehabilitation programs, rather than serve time in jail. Jindal said, "There are a number of low-risk, nonviolent drug offenders in our prisons who can still turn things around and become productive members of society instead of repeat offenders. This common sense piece of legislation will provide these offenders with the treatment they need to recover and safely re-enter our communities."[371][372]
- In June 2008, Bobby Jindal signed SB 144, the Sex Offender Chemical Castration Bill, which authorized "the castration of convicted sex offenders." Jindal said, "The Sex Offender Chemical Castration Bill is a good bill, and I am especially glad to sign it into Louisiana law today, on the same day the Supreme Court has made an atrocious ruling against our state’s ability to sentence those who sexually assault our children to the fullest extent. Those who prey on our children are among the very worst criminals imaginable."[373]
John Kasich
Judiciary
- John Kasich said that Senate Republicans should meet with Chief Judge Merrick Garland. He said, "I never thought the president should send it because I knew nothing was going to happen. Frankly, they probably ought to all sit down and meet with the guy. ... My feeling is, at the end of the day, whoever gets elected president should be in a position to be able to pick, you know, who they want and the American people will either decide by voting for a Republican or Democrat what the makeup of the court is." Kasich also said that he would consider nominating Garland, if he is elected president. Kasich said, "Well, you know, he received, you know, overwhelming support, I think even from Sen. Hatch, so of course we'd think about it. The way we do it, John [Dickerson], is we look at a person's record. I want a conservative who's not going to make the law but who will interpret the law and somebody of high standing. I don't care about their peccadilloes, you know, 30 years ago."[374]
- During an interview on March 19, 2016, Kasich said that he would have considered nominating federal judge Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court. “Well, you know, he received overwhelming support, I think even from Senator Hatch. So, of course we'd think about it. The way we do it, John, is, we look at a person's record. I want a conservative who is not going to make the law, but who will interpret the law, and somebody of high standing. I don't care about their peccadillos 30 years ago,” said Kasich.[375] He clarified his comments on Garland while speaking to reporters later that same day. “In an effort to be polite today, I've created little bit of a situation. Look, you know, Garland is — I'm gonna have my own picks for the Supreme Court. You know, the fact is, I said that they ought to meet him and talk to him and, you know, I'm not gonna pick somebody who's, you know, obviously not a respecter of the Second Amendment. I don't want people making law and so, nobody should be confused, worked up or upset. He's not gonna be my pick for the Supreme Court,” he said.[376]
- During a campaign event on March 16, 2016, Kasich commented on President Obama nominating Chief Judge Merrick Garland to the United States Supreme Court, saying, "I didn’t think the president should send anybody up now, because it’s not going to happen. It’s just more division."[377]
- Although he said on February 14, 2016, that President Obama should not nominate anyone to the U.S. Supreme Court, John Kasich conceded that he would if he were president. “Of course I would send somebody. But it would probably be a different situation,” Kasich said, before noting that the “polarized” nature of Washington, D.C., will make the confirmation process contentious.[378]
- During the Republican presidential debate on February 13, 2016, Kasich said that he wished Antonin Scalia's death would not be politicized and recommended that President Obama either nominate a universally appealing judge or defer to the next president. He said, "The country is so divided right now, and now we're going to see another partisan fight take place. I really wish the president would think about not nominating somebody. If you were to nominate somebody, let's have him pick somebody that's going to have unanimous approval, and such wide spread approval across the country that this could happen without a lot of recrimination. I don't think that's going to happen, and I would like the President just to for once here put the country first. We're going to have an election for President very soon, and the people will understand what is at stake in that election."[169]
- Kasich also released the following statement on February 13, 2016, prior to the debate: "I am deeply saddened by the passing of Justice Scalia and send my prayers out for his family in this difficult time. His death is a serious loss to our nation and the Court. He was an essential, principled force for conservative thought and is a model for others to follow. His dedication to the Constitution and love for and service to our country will be deeply missed."[192]
- John Kasich appointed Appellate Judge Judith French to the Ohio Supreme Court in 2012. French "served as chief legal counsel for former Gov. Bob Taft from 2002 to 2004 and burnished her conservative credentials by arguing a landmark case defending Ohio's school voucher program before the U.S. Supreme Court," according to Cleveland.com.[379]
First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- John Kasich suggested on September 8, 2015, that “dust-ups” like the jailing of Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis could drive young people away from religion. “In this case, when young people, or people who are looking at what is religion all about, what is faith all about -- when they see dust-ups like this, my concern is they would go the other way and say, 'Look, I don't want anything to do with that,’” Kasich said. He added that although he believes in “traditional marriage,” there are “bigger fish to fry in terms of the whole issue of faith.”[380]
- On September 6, 2015, Kasich said the Kentucky county clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples on religious grounds “should follow the law.” He said, “Now, I respect the fact that this lady doesn't agree, but she's also a government employee. She's not running a church. I wouldn't force this on a church, but in terms of her responsibility I think she has to comply. I don't think – I don't like the fact that she's sitting in a jail, that's just absurd as well. But I think she should follow the law."[381]
- In 1999, Kasich voted for an amendment to HR 1501, which proposed allowing the "States to decide whether or not to display the Ten Commandments on or within publicly owned property."[382]
- In 1998, Kasich voted for HJ Res 78, which proposed securing "the people's right to pray and to recognize their religious beliefs, heritage, or traditions on public property, including schools" and preventing individuals from being discriminated against because of religious beliefs.[383]
Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA)
- On April 10, 2015, John Kasich commented on whether Ohio needed a bill similar to Indiana's Religious Freedom Restoration Act. He said, "I think we’re doing fine in Ohio. Everbody’s opinion has to be respected in all of this and we have to strike a balance...I don’t see a reason to do any more," according to The Columbus Dispatch.[384]
Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- On January 5, 2016, John Kasich commented on President Obama’s executive actions on gun control. He said, “You don’t just shove these things down their throat. All you’re doing is further poisoning the well. You have got to be able to get along with people who are the lawmakers and not just take it into your own hands, no matter how frustrated you get.”[385] [386]
- While speaking at an editorial board meeting of The Des Moines Register on December 17, 2015, Kasich said he opposed banning “assault weapons” and favored, instead, greater enforcement of existing gun laws. “The governor also said he would ‘scrub’ a no-fly list and give people on the list due process, but he would then not permit them to purchase guns.”[387]
- On December 6, 2015, Kasich said he was supportive of individuals on terror watch lists being barred from purchasing guns if it does not “tip somebody off that they’re under review.” He explained, “We want to make sure that we can exploit all the information that we possibly can get. So if all of a sudden you tell everybody who’s on the watch list that you can’t do this or that, then guess what happens. Then we lose our ability to track, we lose our ability to gather information, so I think we have to be careful.”[388]
- On December 3, 2015, night, Kasich argued that the San Bernardino, Calif., mass shooting was an act of terrorism, saying, “The FBI hasn’t said it, but I’m convinced it was a terrorist attack, that these people were inspired by ISIS, that they planned this over a long period of time and this was not about a distraught worker.” He added that “you’re not going to fix that problem by some kind of gun control.”[389]
Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- At the fifth GOP primary debate on December 15, 2015, John Kasich talked about his support for collecting metadata on U.S. phone calls: “We know we have to hold this data for a longer period of time. ... Look, what a president has to do is take a position. We don't want to err on the side of having less. We want to err on the side of having more. That's good for our families. In addition to that ... there is a big problem. It's called encryption. And the people in San Bernardino were communicating with people who the FBI had been watching. But because their phone was encrypted, because the intelligence officials could not see who they were talking to, it was lost. We have to solve the encryption problem. It is not easy. A president of the United States, again, has to bring people together, have a position. We need to be able to penetrate these people when they are involved in these plots and these plans. And we have to give the local authorities the ability to penetrate to disrupt. That's what we need to do. Encryption is a major problem, and Congress has got to deal with this and so does the president to keep us safe.”[390]
Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- On the road in Michigan on September 1, 2015, John Kasich put forth his views on infrastructure and government regulation. “Let's keep our own money in our own states to do what we want with our own regulations, not with them scooping stuff off the top,” Kasich said. After the speech, Kasich stated in an interview with MLive, “You've got to maintain the interstate, but look that's a (federal) committee, they play a lot of pork. Why would we send our money there so they can send less back?”[391]
- In 1996, Kasich voted against H Amdt 1286 to HR 3396, which proposed allowing a state's definition of marriage to take precedence over the federal government's definition.[392]
Crime and justice
- After it was announced on December 28, 2015, that a grand jury did not indict two Cleveland police officer for the shooting death of 12-year-old Tamir Rice, John Kasich issued a statement urging residents “to turn frustration into progress.” He said, “Tamir Rice’s death was a heartbreaking tragedy and I understand how this decision will leave many people asking themselves if justice was served. We all lose, however, if we give in to anger and frustration and let it divide us. We have made progress to improve the way communities and police work together in our state, and we’re beginning to see a path to positive change so everyone shares in the safety and success they deserve.”[393]
- In 2011, Kasich signed a bill that allowed judges "to send non-violent fourth- and fifth-degree felons to community-based halfway-house facilities instead of prison" and increased "the earned credit system so that inmates can more quickly shave days off of their sentences," according to Cleveland.com. After signing the bill, Kasich said, "I don't want anyone to think we've lost discipline. You do bad. . . We're locking you up. But for someone that wants to do better, we're giving you a chance."[394]
George Pataki
First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- George Pataki said on September 10, 2015, he would have fired Kim Davis, the Kentucky county clerk who refused to issue same-sex marriage licenses on religious grounds. “You take an oath when you go into public office -- that you are going to uphold the laws and enforce the laws. And it's not the laws you agree with. It's not the laws you don't have an objection to. It is all the laws. ... I don't think she should have been put in jail. But to stand up there and say I'm going to refuse to do perform my duty because I disagree with the law? Suppose it was a Muslim ... Would we be seeing this outpouring if he had said Sharia law doesn't allow me to provide for a gay wedding, a gay marriage certificate? You have to obey the law. ... You cannot have a clerk that refuses to follow the Supreme Court,” said Pataki.[395]
- Pataki posthumously pardoned comedian Lenny Bruce for his obscenity conviction in 2003. Speaking on the only pardon he ever granted, Pataki said, "Freedom of speech is one of the greatest American liberties, and I hope this pardon serves as a reminder of the precious freedoms we are fighting to preserve as we continue to wage the war on terror."[396][397]
- In a 2010 interview with Chris Matthews of MSNBC regarding Pataki's opposition to the construction of a mosque near Ground Zero, Pataki explained, "We believe in freedom of religion. In New York City, there are over 100 mosques. In New York State, there are over 300 mosques. We believe that religious tolerance is an important part of our Bill of Rights and of our country. But that doesn't mean that we have to tolerate building a center with questionable sources of funds, questionable leadership so close to Ground Zero. It is the wrong thing to do at the wrong site."[398]
Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA)
- George Pataki criticized Indiana's Religious Freedom Restoration Act in April 2015. Pataki said, "No private sector business should be allowed to deny service, to discriminate, on the basis of sexual orientation. I urge Governor Pence and the Indiana Legislature to amend the bill to ensure these protections are made.”[399]
Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- In a 2015 interview with The New York Post, George Pataki said, "I think the federal gun laws are fine. There are those on the left who don’t understand that the Second Amendment matters." Pataki singled out efforts to ban armor-piercing ammunition as particularly concerning.[400]
- As governor of New York, Pataki signed into law bipartisan gun control legislation in 2000. In addition to banning large-capacity ammunition clips already banned under federal law, the new law increased the age for handgun ownership to 21, required background checks for purchases at gun shows and mandated new guns for sale have trigger locks.[401] According to The New York Times, the National Rifle Association saw the law "as infringing on the rights of gun owners, while the firearms industry has dismissed it as meaningless posturing that will have no real effect on violence."[402]
Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- At the fifth GOP primary debate on December 15, 2015, George Pataki discussed his position on surveillance programs: “You know, I think it's very important that we do everything in our power to prevent radicalization of Americans right here. And it is happening, not just overseas, but it's happening here from Mosques on social media. ... New York police department had a very active group, aggressively monitoring and using intelligence to—in certain Muslim communities, consistent with our constitution, consistent of our civil rights, so they could have the intelligence as to where these sermons are being given, and who is being radicalized. And, they stopped and prevented dozens, and dozens of attacks in New York. You know, I'm a great believer in the First Amendment, of Freedom of Speech. I wish we had more of it on our college campuses, but you can't shout fire in a crowded theater. Calling on Americans to engage in violence against their fellow Americans in the name of jihad is crying fire in a crowded theater. It is not constitutionally protected speech, it should be shut down. And, by the way, the two murders who went to Garland, Texas to massacre many Americans before the Texas police officer courageously killed them, had been radicalized here. Getting to that metadata question, one of those terrorists, the day before the attacks, had sent 109 message to a known terrorist overseas. We could not read those messages, we can not read those today. We have got to do far better.”[403]
Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- In an April 2015 interview, George Pataki called himself "a great believer in the 10th Amendment."[404] Pataki illustrated this belief in an interview with Girard at Large in April 2015 when he applied it to the Common Core. Pataki said, "Education has always been a state and local issue. It's not a Washington issue, and the idea that we're going to have one national testing system imposed on students in every community across America is wrong."[405]
Crime and justice
- George Pataki has been a consistent supporter of capital punishment. After signing a bill into law that reinstated the death penalty in New York in 1995, Pataki said, "What demeans society is when too many police officers respond to a call risking their lives to protect us and we as a society don't do everything in our power to protect them and save their lives. This bill is going to save lives."[406] After a state court suspended the law in 2004 and the New York state legislature refused to reinstate it in again 2005, Pataki condemned them. Pataki said, "The Assembly leadership's 'so what?' attitude toward criminals, whether they're sex offenders, deadly drivers or heinous murderers, is simply shameful. They need to stop protecting criminals and start protecting New Yorkers."[407]
- In 1998, Pataki "eliminated parole release for all violent felony offenders" in New York.[408]
Rand Paul
- See also: Rand Paul presidential campaign, 2016
Judiciary
- On February 6, 2015, Rand Paul expressed his opposition for Loretta Lynch's nomination as attorney general. Paul said, "Mrs. Lynch has a track-record of violating the individual freedoms granted to us by our Constitution. She considers civil asset forfeiture to be a 'useful tool,' while I consider it to be an infringement on the Fifth Amendment. She remains non-committal on the legality of drone strikes against American citizens, while I believe such strikes unequivocally violate rights granted to us by the Sixth Amendment. Mrs. Lynch also supports President Obama's calls for executive amnesty, which I vehemently oppose. The Attorney General must operate independent of politics, independent of the president and under the direction of the Constitution. I cannot support a nominee, like Mrs. Lynch, who rides roughshod on our Constitutional rights."[409]
- In January 2015, Paul stated he was in favor of judicial activism, "I’m a judicial activist when it comes to Lochner. I’m a judicial activist when it comes to the New Deal. But I’m also a judicial activist when it comes to Brown [v. Board of Education]. I think the [Supreme Court] was right to overturn state governments that were saying separate but equal is fine.” Paul added, "There is a role for the Supreme Court to mete out justice."[410][411]
- Paul opposed President Barack Obama's appointment of David Barron to the United States Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit. To support his opposition, Paul cited a memo written by Barron "thought to be the basis for the killing of Americans overseas."[412]
Legislature
- On September 19, 2015, Rand Paul called for congressional term limits. “We should term limit them all, fumigate the place and bring them home,” he said.[413]
Government accountability
- In January 2015, Rand Paul reintroduced the REINS Act, a bill that would grant Congress "final say over any major rule with an annual economic impact of $100 million or more." Speaking on the bill, which had previous passed in the House of Representatives in 2011 and 2013, Paul said, "If the Obama administration wants to impose regulations that effectively operate as laws on U.S. citizens, it is important that those citizens are made aware of how the laws come to be. Cutting red tape and opening the regulatory process to scrutiny is an important first step in holding government accountable."[414][415]
- In March 2014, Paul cosponsored S 2118 - ENFORCE the Law Act of 2014, which proposed allowing Congress to take civil action against the president for not enforcing federal law. After endorsing the bill on FOX News, Paul said, "We write laws and [Barack Obama]'s just deciding willy-nilly if he likes it he enforces it, if he doesn't he won't enforce it. And we really think he needs to be chastened, rebuked and told he needs to obey the Constitution."[416][417]
First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- On September 3, 2015, Rand Paul suggested the jailing of a Kentucky county clerk who refused for religious reasons to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples was a form of “bullying.” He said, “If society is going to change its opinion on what marriage is, I think it'd probably be better through persuasion than through sort of an aggressive tactic where we federalize everything and force people to do things they don't want to do. Ultimately, I think it would be better to probably let people make their own decisions. … I think persuasion is a much better way than sort of bullying people to believe in what you believe in.”[418]
Paul discusses First Amendment with Glenn Beck on May 8, 2015.
- In May 2015, Glenn Beck asked Paul for his perspective on Pamela Geller's incendiary comments regarding Islam. Paul responded, "I like the pundits or the constitutional critics that say the First Amendment really isn’t about easy speech. It’s about speech you find despicable. It’s about speech you find offensive. That’s the hard thing to allow that to happen in a free society. And I agree with you. I think it doesn’t serve any purpose. You can talk about the First Amendment without doing things that are really offensive to other people’s religion. But in our country, that’s part of one of our basic freedoms is the right to be wrong. The right to be offensive. And the right to say things that people find despicable. Now, you don’t you have to pay for them. You don’t have to have them in your building, if it’s your building."[419]
- In 2011, Paul stated, "[I]f someone is attending speeches from someone who is promoting the violent overthrow of our government, that’s really an offense that we should be going after—they should be deported or put in prison."[420]
- On November 3, 2014, Paul posted the following comments on his Facebook page: "The First Amendment is clear, and its intent is not to keep religious people out of government, but rather to keep government out of religion. I'll continue to stand for religious freedom."[421]
- In March 2014, Paul commented on the pending Hobby Lobby decision before the Supreme Court. Paul said, "Most of us, whether you’re Republican or Democrat, believe … in free exercise of your religion. But if they’re telling you that your tax dollars have to go to something you find morally reprehensible, I think that’s not free exercise of religion." Paul later affirmed this belief in August 2014, stating the case was about religious not reproductive rights, adding, "It's about whether a business should be able to choose what sort of insurance they buy."[422][423]
- Paul cosponsored S 1204 - Health Care Conscience Rights Act in 2013, which proposed amending the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, to exempt individuals and organizations from purchasing or providing insurance coverage that included abortion services or any "other item or service to which the individual has a moral or religious objection."[424]
Paul discusses Citizens United at the University of Chicago in April 2014.
- Paul advocated for the protection of paid speech in April 2014 while speaking at the University of Chicago's Institute of Politics. Paul said, "I do, however, agree with Citizens United in the sense that I think speech, whether you pay for it or not, is speech. And the thing is that, let's say I own The Chicago Tribune. I've got a much bigger voice than millions of people, and yet no one is proposing that we restrict how much The Chicago Tribune, what articles they write and where their bias is. So I think paid speech really has to be protected."[425] Paul added that he supported campaign finance reform as applied to government contractors and unions. Paul explained, "I think there is campaign finance reform–this is campaign finance reform that I support that would be held constitutional–what I would do is I would take all government contracts and I would put a clause in them that says: 'If you want to do work with the government, if you're going to get this 10 billion dollar contract if you're a defense contractor, or if you're a big union and you're going to get a big contract, you sign the contract, but part of the clause of the contract says your contract is only valid if you don’t participate in the donation to candidates.'"[426]
Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA)
- During an interview on April 7, 2015 for FOX News, Sean Hannity asked Rand Paul to comment on Indiana's Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Paul said, "I think what’s amazing to me is that it’s [RFRA] necessary…I think our Founders would be aghast that anyone would think that they could tell you to do something, to perform a ceremony or be part of a ceremony, that’s against your religious beliefs. That being said, though, I think the law ought to be neutral, and I don’t think we ought to treat people unfairly."[427]
Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- On January 23, 2016, Rand Paul dismissed the significance of reports that former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R) might launch an independent presidential campaign. He described Bloomberg as “[a]nother gun control advocate who doesn’t have much respect for he [sic] Bill of the Rights in the race, but we already have Hillary Clinton and Sanders who don’t have any respect for the Second Amendment either.” He continued, “I am not sure he would get a whole lot of votes really. I don’t know that what he offers is really that distinctive.”[428]
- Speaking at the New England College New Hampshire Student Convention on January 5, 2016, Paul was critical of President Obama’s executive actions on gun control. Paul said, “He needs to come to Capitol Hill and ask us to write a law. But he can’t declare law, otherwise he would be a king. I think what he’s done is going to be found unconstitutional.”[429]
- On December 21, 2015, Paul introduced the Separation of Powers Restoration and Second Amendment Protection Act, “which would void and prohibit funding for any of President Obama’s executive orders on gun control that undermines the powers reserved for Congress under the Constitution.”[430]
- Paul wrote an op-ed in TIME on December 9, 2015, to defend the Second Amendment in the wake of global terrorism. He said to promote national security, the U.S. should be “advocating for more concealed carry ability for law-abiding Americans and an end to unconstitutional gun free zone” and “fully examine and reform our border security, including refugee and visa programs.”[431]
Paul speaks about the Second Amendment in April 2015.
- Gov. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire vetoed SB 116-FN, a bill designed to repeal legislation that required licensure to carry a concealed revolver or pistol, in July 2015. Paul encouraged the people of New Hampshire in September 2015 to ask state Sens. Andrew Hosmer (D), Donna Soucy (D) and Jeff Woodburn (D) to override the veto on Senate Bill 116. According to Paul, SB 116 “enables every law-abiding citizen to bear arms as the Constitution intended: without government permission.”[432][433]
- In a video released by his campaign in April 2015, Paul said, "There are too many in Washington who give lip service to the Second Amendment, but vote to restrict gun ownership. I do not support any proposed gun control which would limit the right to gun ownership. Washington needs leaders that not only understand the Second Amendment but the entire Bill of Rights. And, gun rights advocates need to know that the Second Amendment is only as good as the Fourth Amendment. If we are not free from unreasonable and warrantless searches, no one’s guns are safe."[434]
- During a question and answer session on KSBW in April 2015, Paul discussed what he would do to address gun violence in schools. Paul said, "What we've done in our society is we've put up signs on all of our schools saying 'there's no weapons here.' Well, that's like a sign to a crazy person, 'come and shoot our kids.' I think we should do the opposite. We should put a sign in every school saying we have an armed security guard, whether you do or don't, or our teachers may well have a gun locked in their desk. I think we should send the other message to crazy kids that you don't get a free shooting spree if you show up at a school. But above and beyond that, the Second Amendment's in our Bill of Rights and if people want it to be different, they have to change the Constitution."[435]
- In July 2014, Paul sponsored an amendment to minimize gun regulation in the District of Columbia. The Washington Post summarized the amendment as intending to "repeal the registration requirement, end the ban on semi-automatic rifles and high-capacity magazines, expand the right to carry guns outside the home and protect the right to carry guns on federal land in D.C. and elsewhere in the country. In essence, the bill would eliminate the District’s local gun laws, leaving only federal firearms law to regulate gun ownership and use in the city."[436][437]
- In an April 10, 2013 op-ed for CNN, Paul listed several potential laws he believed would undermine Second Amendment rights: "Potentially on the table are new laws that would outlaw firearms and magazines that hold more than 10 rounds as well as require universal background checks, which effectively restrict the right of law-abiding citizens to buy guns at gun shows and give or sell them to friends and family without having to get the government's permission. One version of the legislation pending before the Senate goes so far as to empower the attorney general to tax gun transactions and creates a new felony crime for knowingly failing to report for more than 24 hours that a gun has been lost or stolen."[438]
- On March 29, 2013, in an op-ed in the Washington Times, Paul wrote, "When Congress reconvenes next month, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is expected to bring gun control back to the Senate floor. If this occurs, I will oppose any legislation that undermines Americans’ constitutional right to bear arms or their ability to exercise this right without being subject to government surveillance."[439]
- In March 2013, Paul voted for S Amdt 139, which sought "[t]o uphold Second Amendment rights and prevent the United States from entering into the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty."[440][441]
- In 2013, Paul voted against several bills restricting the rights of gun ownership. These bills included S Amdt 711, which sought to limit the sale of "assault weapons," and S Amdt 714, which would have limited the magazine capacity of firearms.[442][443]
Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- Rand Paul wrote an op-ed in the New Hampshire Union Leader on January 5, 2016, on the balance between national security interests and personal liberty. “Sweeping bulk data collection simply doesn’t work. Spying on Americans failed to stop the underwear bomber or the Boston Marathon attack. In both circumstances, the FBI and other officials received tips of suspicious activity, but with billions of innocent Americans’ phone calls to worry about, they did not have the time or the resources to sift through the data that was actually important, and real threats went undetected. … Let’s spy on more terrorists and not on innocent Americans. I reject the premise that our Constitution does not work as it is written and that we must choose between having the Bill of Rights and national security,” he wrote.[444]
- At the fifth GOP primary debate on December 15, 2015, Paul discussed government surveillance and immigration: “We are not any safer through the bulk collection of all Americans' records. In fact, I think we're less safe. We get so distracted by all of the information, we're not spending enough time getting specific immigration - specific information on terrorists. The other thing is, is the one thing that might have stopped San Bernardino, Calif., that might have stopped 9/11 would have been stricter controls on those who came here. And Marco has opposed at every point increased security - border security for those who come to our country. On his Gang of Eight bill, he would have liberalized immigration, but he did not - and he steadfastly opposed any new border security requirements for refugees or students. Last week, I introduced another bill saying we need more security, we need more scrutiny. Once again, Marco opposed this. So Marco can't have it both ways. He thinks he wants to be this, "Oh, I'm great and strong on national defense." But he's the weakest of all the candidates on immigration. He is the one for an open border that is leaving us defenseless. If we want to defend the country, we have to defend against who's coming in, and Marco is - has more of an allegiance to Chuck Schumer and to the liberals than he does to conservative policy.”[445]
- The Senate rejected on October 22, 2015, Paul’s amendment to the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act which would have removed liability immunity for companies that break user or privacy agreements.[446]
- On August 29, 2015, Paul said he would convert the National Security Agency’s data center in Utah "into a Constitutional Center to study the Fourth Amendment" and reiterated his opposition to bulk data collection.[447]
- In August 2015, Paul introduced several amendments to S 754 - Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act to better protect the privacy of Americans’ records, including those held by third parties.[448]
- On May 20, 2015, Paul took control of the Senate floor to argue against the reauthorization of the Patriot Act.[449][450] Prior to beginning his speech, Paul posted on his official Facebook page, "I have taken to the U.S. Senate floor to launch my filibuster to stop ANY extension or reauthorization of the 'PATRIOT Act's' unconstitutional and illegal domestic spying programs. I will not rest. I will not back down. I will not yield one inch in this fight so long as my legs can stand."[451] Paul spoke for nearly 11 hours, arguing against the mass collection of metadata by the National Security Agency and warrantless wiretapping. Paul's filibuster effectively delayed the vote on HR 2048 - USA Freedom Act of 2015 until May 23, 2015.[452]
- In a speech at Bowie State University in March 2015, Paul invoked the targeting of Civil Rights activities with wiretapping as one reason the Fourth Amendment must be protected. Paul said, "Think about what happened in the 1960s. Think about how Martin Luther King’s phone was tapped. Think about how hundreds of people involved in the Civil Rights Movement had their phones tapped. Think about how many people who protested against the war had their phones tapped. You have to have these protections not because there is one particularly bad person in government, but because there is the potential for bad people some day to take charge of government.”[453]
- In November 2014, Paul voted against cloture on S 2685 - USA FREEDOM Act of 2014, a bill that would have extended the Patriot Act and reformed regulations regarding the government's collection of electronic information. Paul said, “In the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Americans were eager to catch and punish the terrorists who attacked us. I, like most Americans, demanded justice. But one common misconception is that the Patriot Act applies only to foreigners—when in reality, the Patriot Act was instituted precisely to widen the surveillance laws to include U.S. citizens. As Benjamin Franklin put it, ‘those who trade their liberty for security may wind up with neither.’ Today’s vote to oppose further consideration of the Patriot Act extension proves that we are one step closer to restoring civil liberties in America.”[454][455]
Paul discusses the Fourth Amendment in February 2014.
- In February 2014, Paul filed a class action lawsuit against President Barack Obama's administration alleging it infringed citizens' privacy rights when the National Security Agency collected their phone data. The case, Paul v. Obama, was put on hold by Judge Richard Leon of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia in September 2014 pending similar metadata cases.[456][457][458]
- Paul introduced S 1121 - Fourth Amendment Restoration Act of 2013 to prevent government agencies from conducting warrantless searches of American's phone records.[459]
Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- On October 31, 2015, Rand Paul said he opposed the use of eminent domain to take land away from crop and livestock farmers for a pipeline running through North Dakota, South Dakota and Iowa. “There are times we have to use eminent domain for roads and things like that, but for this, if it is going to another private property owner, I don’t think the government should be taking property through eminent domain,” Paul said.[460]
- In an April 2015 interview with Sean Hannity on FOX News, Paul suggested minorities are disproportionately impacted by the improper application of the Fifth Amendment. Paul said, "The Fifth Amendment says you should get due process. The Sixth Amendment says you can get a speedy trial. There are many people in our country, particularly minorities, who aren't being treated fairly. They're not getting due process. They're not getting a speedy trial."[461]
- In July 2014, Paul introduced S 2644 - Fifth Amendment Integrity Restoration Act, which would have revised "the federal criminal code to increase the federal government's burden of proof in civil forfeiture proceedings to clear and convincing evidence." Paul co-wrote an op-ed for CNN with Tim Walberg that discussed instances where the Internal Revenue Service improperly seized property. In this article, Paul stated the FAIR Act "would bolster protections for property and property owners by raising the level of proof necessary for the federal government to prove a civil asset forfeiture case–requiring that the IRS and Department of Justice prove guilt, rather than the individual prove innocence."[462][463]
- In May 2014, Paul criticized the nomination of David Barron to the United States Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit because of Barron's interpretation of the Fifth Amendment. Paul questioned supporting a man who "has spoken openly about his role in crafting the Administration’s legal position that it can kill Americans abroad without due process."[464]
- Paul questioned President Barack Obama's use of drone strikes in May 2013. Paul said, "[T]here's still a question in my mind of what [Obama] thinks due process is. Due process, to most of us, is a court of law. It is a trial by jury, and, right now, their process is him looking at some flash cards and a PowerPoint presentation on 'Terror Tuesdays' in the White House. For a lot of us, that's not really due process."[465]
Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- Rand Paul advocated in favor of states’ rights in regard to crime and drug legalization at the September 2015 Republican debate. “I would let Colorado do what the Tenth Amendment says,” stated Paul. “This power — we were never intended to have crime dealing at the federal level. Crime was supposed to be left to the states. Colorado has made their decision. And I don’t want the federal government interfering and putting moms in jail, who are trying to get medicine for their kid.”[466]
- In June 2014, Paul questioned the fairness of a Kentucky state law that prohibits a candidate from running for two offices. Paul asked, "Can you really have equal application of federal law if someone like Paul Ryan or Joe Lieberman can run for two offices but in Kentucky you would be disallowed? It seems like it might not be equal application of the law to do that. But that means involving a court, and I don't think we've made a decision on that. I think the easier way is to clarify the law."[467]
- Paul cosponsored S 2473 - Federal Land Designation Requirements Act of 2011, which proposed prohibiting the federal government from designating an area for natural conservation or recreation without approval by the state legislature from the state in which the area is located.[468]
Separation of powers
Paul speaks during Senate Foreign Relations Committee on separation of powers in March 2015.
- In March 2015, Rand Paul attended a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing where he criticized President Barack Obama's administration for overstepping its authority. Paul said, "This is an administration who I believe has trampled the Constitution at many turns. This is an administration that seeks to legislate when that is not in their purview, whether it be immigration, whether it be health care or whether it now be a war that's been going for eight months without congressional authorization."[469]
- On September 12, 2014, Paul said, “I think the first executive order that I would issue would be to repeal all previous executive orders, We’ve done way too many things [the wrong way]: Signing statements, altering legislation by the president, are wrong and unconstitutional and shouldn’t happen. Executive orders shouldn’t either." Sergio Gor, a spokesperson for Paul explained Paul's comments. Gor said, "Senator Paul's statement was meant to emphasize this president's overt and unconstitutional executive orders, it was not meant to be taken literally."[470]
- In January 2013, Paul introduced S 82 - Separation of Powers Restoration and Second Amendment Protection Act of 2013, a bill that nullify executive actions that "infringe the powers and duties of Congress."[471] Paul condemned ceding legislative powers to the executive, stating, “It’s been a long battle that we’ve been losing gradually and even Republican presidents have also usurped their executive privilege to exert more authority than the Constitution gave them,” he said. “But, you know, our founders looked to Montesquieu, and Montesquieu wrote that there can be no liberty when you combine the executive and legislative powers.”[472]
Crime and justice
- During the seventh Republican presidential primary debate on January 28, 2016, Rand Paul talked about criminal justice reform and race: “You know, I've supported legislation to allow body cameras. I've been to Ferguson, Mo. I've been trying to look for solutions to our criminal justice problem. One thing I discovered in Ferguson was that a third of the budget for the city of Ferguson was being reaped by civil fines. People were just being fined to death. Now you and I and many of the people in this audience, if we get a $100 fine, we can survive it. If you're living on the edge of poverty and you get a $100 fine or your car towed, a lot of times you lose your job. I also think the war on drugs has disproportionately affected our African-American community, and what we need to do is make sure that the war on drugs is equal protection under the law and that we don't unfairly incarcerate another generation of young African-American males. In Ferguson, for every 100 African-American women, there are only 60 African-American men. Drug use is about equal between white and black, but our prisons -- three out of four people in prison are black or brown. I think something has to change. I think it's a big thing that our party needs to be part of, and I've been a leader in Congress on trying to bring about criminal justice reform.”[473]
- Speaking at the New England College New Hampshire Student Convention on January 5, 2016, Paul criticized politicians like Jeb Bush who have admitted to using marijuana. Paul said, “It’s a matter of do as I say but not as I do. I think it’s time we end the war on drugs.” Paul also called for criminal justice reform: “Criminal justice reform in general is something that should bring us together, both right and left. We shouldn’t have a system in which the wealthy are able to escape and the poor are caught up in a terrible situation. I’m not here to encourage (drug use). I’m just here to tell you we shouldn’t put people in jail for hurting themselves. And understand that there is a racial disparity in how we are putting people in jail for doing drugs.”[474]
- In response to the occupation of a federal refuge in Oregon, Paul said on January 4, 2016, “I’m sympathetic to the idea that the large collection of federal lands ought to be turned back to the states and the people, but I think the best way to bring about change is through politics. That's why I entered the electoral arena. I don’t support any violence or suggestion of violence toward changing policy."[475]
- On September 2, 2015, Paul suggested the heroin epidemic in New Hampshire could be addressed through increasing the employment rate. “People always come up to me and say, 'We got heroin problems and all these other problems.' You know what? If you work all day long, you don't have time to do heroin. … We need to attach work to everything. I don't think any able-bodied person in America should get a penny unless they work. No handouts, no gifts, no welfare. Everything should have work," Paul said.[476]
Interview with Paul on PBS NewsHour regarding the REDEEM Act in July 2014.
- Speaking at the Bipartisan Summit on Fair Justice in July 2015, Rand Paul pushed for criminal justice reforming, saying, “I think the biggest impediment to employment and to voting in our country is a criminal record.” Paul noted he worked with Senator Cory Booker (D) on a bill to expunge criminal records and end solitary confinement for young offenders.[477]
- On March 9, 2015, Paul sponsored S 675 - Record Expungement Designed to Enhance Employment Act of 2015, a reintroduction of a criminal justice reform bill Paul had developed with New Jersey Senator Cory Booker the previous year. Paul said in a press release, "It is my hope that the REDEEM Act will help many of these young people escape this trap by reforming our criminal justice system, expunging records after time served, and preventing non-violent crimes from becoming a permanent blot on one's record." Paul also noted the financial benefits of criminal justice reform given the increase in corrections expenditures over the past 30 years.[478][479]
- Paul previously sponsored bills in 2014 to eliminate minimum mandatory sentencing, allow some felons to vote, make some felonies misdemeanors and make it easier for individuals to expunge their records. Paul wrote an op-ed in USA Today on July 11, 2014, detailing some of these proposed changes for penalties of minor non-violent crimes. Paul explained, "The war on drugs has disproportionately affected men and women of color; minorities are nearly four times more likely to be arrested for certain nonviolent drug offenses, like drug possession, even though surveys show that white Americans use drugs at the similar rate. This is a travesty. I think that drugs are a scourge and are bad for young people, but a lifetime in prison as punishment is not the answer. The war on drugs has not lessened drug use. It has simply transformed a health problem into a prison problem, and ultimately an employment and voting rights problem."[480][481]
- On August 14, 2014, after the police shooting of Michael Brown and public rioting in Ferguson, Missouri, Paul argued against the militarization of local police forces and the erosion of civil liberties in the name of safety. He wrote, "When you couple this militarization of law enforcement with an erosion of civil liberties and due process that allows the police to become judge and jury—national security letters, no-knock searches, broad general warrants, pre-conviction forfeiture—we begin to have a very serious problem on our hands. Given these developments, it is almost impossible for many Americans not to feel like their government is targeting them. Given the racial disparities in our criminal justice system, it is impossible for African-Americans not to feel like their government is particularly targeting them. This is part of the anguish we are seeing in the tragic events outside of St. Louis, Missouri. It is what the citizens of Ferguson feel when there is an unfortunate and heartbreaking shooting like the incident with Michael Brown. Anyone who thinks that race does not still, even if inadvertently, skew the application of criminal justice in this country is just not paying close enough attention. Our prisons are full of black and brown men and women who are serving inappropriately long and harsh sentences for non-violent mistakes in their youth."[482]
- In July 2014, when asked about his stance on the death penalty, Paul said that it should be left to the states to decide, according to the Washington Times.[480]
Paul testifies to the House Natural Resources Committee on the FOCUS Act in 2012.
- In his 2012 book, Government Bullies, Paul criticized the Lacey Act which prohibits the trafficking of illegal fish, wildlife and plants. Paul called the Lacey Act “a frightening example of our government criminalizing activity that really shouldn't be criminal.” On February 2, 2012, Paul sponsored S 2062 - Freedom from Over-Criminalization and Unjust Seizures Act of 2012, which would have removed all references to foreign law in the Lacey Act and shifted penalties from the criminal to civil system. Paul reintroduced the bill in 2015 under S 1019 - Freedom from Over-Criminalization and Unjust Seizures Act of 2015.[483][484][485][486]
Rick Perry
- See also: Rick Perry presidential campaign, 2016
Legislative
- In 2015, conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt began asking Republican candidates on his show if they would be willing to use the Senate "nuclear option" in order to get rid of the filibuster and repeal Obamacare. Rick Perry is one of several candidates who said he would do so.[487]
Judiciary
- At a campaign stop in South Carolina in May 2015, Rick Perry highlighted the importance of the 2016 presidential election to the makeup of the Supreme Court. Before suggesting voters consider the type of judge Hillary Clinton might appoint, Perry said, "Something I want you all to think about is that the next president of the United States, whoever that individual may be, could choose up to three, maybe even four members of the Supreme Court. Now this isn't about who's going to be the president of the United States for just the next four years. This could be about individuals who have an impact on you, your children, and even our grandchildren. That's the weight of what this election is really about.”[488]
- In a December 2011 interview with the Des Moines Register, Perry called Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan "inarguably activist judges." Perry added, "I believe the Supreme Court should not be making legislative decisions and telling Americans how to live, whether it's about prayer in school, whether you can celebrate Christmas. Those are decisions that should be left to the states or to the individuals."[489]
- Perry participated in Mike Huckabee's Republican Presidential Forum in December 2011, where he advocated for a constitutional amendment to create term limits for Supreme Court justices and eliminate lifetime appointments. Perry also stated Justice Samuel Alito and Chief Justice John Roberts were the type of jurists he would appoint, saying they were representative of "a strict constructionist, not a legislator in a robe."
- When asked what "strict constructionist" meant to him, Perry pulled out a pocket U.S. Constitution and said, "It’s right there… That’s the Constitution. Read it. Exactly what it says. That’s what we’re talking about. Don’t read anything into it. Don’t add to it. Don't use these different clauses, whether it's the Commerce Clause or any of the other clauses, to try to change what our Founding Fathers were telling us."[490]
First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- On March 31, 2015, Rick Perry expressed his support for Mike Pence and Indiana's Religious Freedom Restoration Act in the following tweet:
Rick Perry's tweet from March 31, 2015
- Following the Supreme Court's ruling in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby in June 2014, Perry released this statement: "Today’s decision is further proof that Obamacare represents one of the greatest governmental overreaches in our nation’s history. Religious freedom is an intrinsic part of being American, and the Supreme Court’s decision reaffirms that the government cannot mandate that anyone operate in a fashion counter to their most deeply-felt principles."[491]
- In June 2013, Perry stated, "Religious freedom does not mean freedom from religion," while signing the "Merry Christmas Bill" to allow teachers and students to use symbols and expressions of "traditional winter holidays" in public schools. Perry pledged that he would work to protect religious expression.[492]
- In 2013, Perry vetoed a bill that would have required some 501(c)(4) organizations to disclose the identity of their donors. Explaining his veto in a press release, Perry stated he was afraid the law "would have a chilling effect" on "freedom of association and freedom of speech." Perry asserted, "At a time when our federal government is assaulting the rights of Americans by using the tools of government to squelch dissent it is unconscionable to expose more Texans to the risk of such harassment, regardless of political, organizational or party affiliation."[493][494]
- In 2007, Perry signed the Religious Viewpoints Anti-Discrimination Act, a bill that provides a model policy for school districts on how to protect students' rights to religious expression and freedom to organize religious groups. On signing the bill, Perry said, "For years, our children have not been able to share their faith and beliefs for fear that they'll end up in the principal's office. That's sure not the American way and that's sure not the Texas way."[495]
Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- Commenting on the theater shooting in Lafayette, Louisiana, on July 26, 2015, Rick Perry called gun-free zones, like movie theaters and churches, “a bad idea.” Perry explained, “I think that you allow the citizens of this country, who have appropriately trained, appropriately backgrounded, know how to handle and use firearms, to carry them. I believe that, with all my heart, that if you have the citizens who are well trained, and particularly in these places that are considered to be gun-free zones, that we can stop that type of activity, or stop it before there's as many people that are impacted as what we saw in Lafayette.”[496]
- In June 2013, Perry traveled to New York and Connecticut to encourage gun manufacturers to relocate to Texas. Prior to his trip, in a speech at the National Rifle Association (NRA) convention, Perry said, "We'll happily welcome any gun manufacturer who feels vilified and any of their employees who are in danger of losing their livelihoods due to this kind of hysteria. There's still a place that loves freedom in America, where people can pursue their dreams free from knee-jerk government regulation. That place is called Texas!"[497]
- In 2010, the NRA endorsed Perry, calling him "a champion and staunch defender of the Second Amendment freedoms of law-abiding Texas gun owners." As evidence of Perry's support for gun ownership rights, the NRA cited the following accomplishments: "extending the term of a concealed handgun license from four to five years; protecting shooting ranges from junk lawsuits; clarifying an individual's right to carry a handgun in a motor vehicle; preventing the confiscation of firearms and ammunition from law-abiding citizens during a state of emergency; and reducing fees by 50 percent and lowering the age from 21 to 18 on concealed handgun licenses for active-duty military and veterans."[498]
- In 2007, Perry signed a law that allowed Texans the protection of the "Castle Doctrine" "to use deadly force for means of self-defense, without retreat, in their home, vehicle or workplace."[499]
Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- In June 2015, Perry disagreed with Senator Rand Paul regarding National Security Agency surveillance. Perry said, "Since our country was founded, we balanced between our safety as a country and our privacy... I think it is very important, particularly with ISIS, particularly with this challenge that we've got from cybersecurity from some of these nations...and being able to track those individuals, know what they're doing. I don't think that anyone who is really thinking about how this technology has made us be able to make our country safer would try to restrict that in a way that allows us not to be able to do that."[500]
- According to the Des Moines Register in May 2015, Rick Perry spoke at a panel sponsored by Americans for Peace, Prosperity and Security, where he "indicated he would be willing to use more national security surveillance on American citizens to identify and track people who may have become radicalized or inspired by terrorist groups like ISIS."[501]
- In September 2013, Perry signed the Texas Privacy Act, a law "prohibiting drone operations over private property without the owner's permission."[502]
Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- In an August 2011 profile of Rick Perry, The New York Times reported that Perry received $17 billion in federal stimulus money over two years that enabled him to balance the Texas state budget, in spite of his vocal criticism of federal power.[503]
- In July 2011, following the legalization of gay marriage in New York, Perry commented that gay marriage is a states' rights issue. Perry said, "That's New York, and that's their business, and that's fine with me. That is their call. If you believe in the 10th Amendment, stay out of their business." Several days later, Perry amended his statement, saying, "I probably needed to add a few words after that 'it's fine with me,' and that it's fine with me that a state is using their sovereign rights to decide an issue. Obviously gay marriage is not fine with me. My stance hasn't changed."[504][505]
- In 2009, Perry backed a house concurrent resolution affirming Texas' dedication to the 10th Amendment and states' rights. Perry said, "I believe that our federal government has become oppressive in its size, its intrusion into the lives of our citizens, and its interference with the affairs of our state. That is why I am here today to express my unwavering support for efforts all across our country to reaffirm the states’ rights affirmed by the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. I believe that returning to the letter and spirit of the U.S. Constitution and its essential 10th Amendment will free our state from undue regulations, and ultimately strengthen our Union.”[508]
Sixteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- In Rick Perry's 2010 book, Fed Up!: Our Fight to Save America from Washington, he called the Sixteenth Amendment "the great milestone on the road to serfdom." Perry explained, "It gave Congress the authority to levy an income tax on American citizens and absolved the federal government from a previous requirement that any such taxes be returned to states proportionally to their collection. This was the birth of wealth redistribution in the United States."[509]
- Later in the book, Perry argued in favor of repealing the Sixteenth Amendment and adopting a national sales tax or the Fair Tax, instead.[510]
Seventeenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- In 2010, Rick Perry stated in his book, Fed Up!: Our Fight to Save America from Washington, that the Seventeenth Amendment, which allows for the direct election of senators, was adopted "during a fit of populist rage." When asked in 2011 if he supported repealing the Seventeenth Amendment, Perry responded, "It’s important to have that conversation."[511][512]
Crime and justice
Perry discusses criminal justice reform for nonviolent offenders in May 2015.
- In March 2015, Rick Perry joined the Texas Public Policy Foundation's "Right on Crime" initiative. Perry said he joined the campaign because it is "focused on helping people understand why a big, expensive prison system—one that offers no hope for second chances and redemption—isn’t conservative policy." Perry then highlighted his own efforts to reduce crime in Texas, stating, "During my leadership as governor, Texas shut down three prisons, and we saved taxpayers $2 billion. When I left office, Texas had the lowest crime rate in our state since 1968. My administration started treatment programs and drug courts for people who wouldn’t be served well by sitting behind bars. We made sure our parole and probation programs were strong. Most of all, we evaluated prisons based on whether they got results. Did an ex-offender get locked up again? Did he get a job? Is he paying restitution to his victims? In Texas, we believe in results."[513]
- According to a 2011 article in The New Republic, while governor of Texas, Perry "signed legislation to overhaul the agency and divert some child offenders to county-based programs" and "approved new standards for crime labs and compensation for the exonerated."[514]
- Perry expressed support for reforming mandatory minimum sentencing for drug offenders and promoted alternatives to prison as a penalty for drug use, stating, "You want to talk about real conservative governance? Shut prisons down. Save that money."[515]
- During a September 2011 debate at the Reagan Library in California, Perry voiced his support for capital punishment, which is legal in Texas. Perry said that he was not concerned that any innocent people had been killed, explaining, "I've never struggled with that at all. The state of Texas has a very thoughtful, a very clear process in place of which–when someone commits the most heinous of crimes against our citizens, they get a fair hearing, they go through an appellate process, they go up to the Supreme Court of the United States, if that's required."[516]
- In 2003, Perry reduced alternative treatment programs, set a caloric ceiling for inmates and advocated for the privatization of state jails in an effort to cut costs.[514]
Marco Rubio
Legislative
- Marco Rubio joined seven other U.S. senators in a letter, dated December 11, 2015, to the chair of the Federal Communications Commission to request that states be permitted to block municipal broadband service providers.[517]
- In 2015, conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt began asking Republican candidates on his show if they would be willing to use the Senate "nuclear option" in order to get rid of the filibuster and repeal Obamacare. Marco Rubio is one of a few candidates who was in favor of keeping the filibuster. His office said, "Senator Rubio is open to discussing all options to repeal Obamacare, but believes that the filibuster has been an important tool in stopping Democrats’ efforts to expand government."[518]
Judiciary
- Marco Rubio said on February 15, 2016, that Justice Scalia's death had “refocused” the presidential race. He continued, “It's like, hold on a second, this is not just about having somebody interesting there, about making a point or sending a message. This election is about electing someone who's going to replace Scalia with someone, and I think it kind of brought a little bit of seriousness and gravity to the decision before us."[519]
- Appearing on CBS News' Face the Nation on February 14, 2016, Rubio said that the Senate would not move forward on any nominee President Barack Obama put forward. When asked if he would accept such a moratorium if he were president, Rubio said he "would understand" it. In the interview, Rubio also described what qualities he thought a Supreme Court justice should have: "Does the justice – does this person that we're nominating have a consistent and proven record of interpreting the Constitution as initially meant? What did the society that wrote those words mean those words -- what did those words mean to that society at the time in which those words were written in the Constitution? ... I'm looking for people that are going to look at the Constitution and apply it and interpret it based on the original meaning of the words in that document."[520]
- During the Republican presidential debate on February 13, 2016, Rubio said the next Supreme Court justice should employ an originalist interpretation of the U.S. Constitution. He said, "I do not believe the president should appoint someone. And it's not unprecedented. In fact, it has been over 80 years since a lame duck president has appointed a Supreme Court justice. And it remind [sic] us of this, how important this election is. Someone on this stage will get to choose the balance of the Supreme Court, and it will begin by filling this vacancy that's there now. And we need to put people on the bench that understand that the Constitution is not a living and breathing document. It is to be interpreted as originally meant."[169]
- Rubio also released the following statement on February 13, 2016: "Today, our nation has suffered a deep loss. Justice Scalia was one of the most consequential Americans in our history and a brilliant legal mind who served with only one objective: to interpret and defend the Constitution as written. One of the greatest honors in my life was to attend oral arguments during Town of Greece v. Galloway and see Justice Scalia eloquently defend religious freedom. I will hold that memory forever. The next president must nominate a justice who will continue Justice Scalia's unwavering belief in the founding principles that we hold dear. Jeanette and I mourn the loss of Justice Scalia, and our thoughts and prayers are with his wife Maureen and his family."[521]
- On December 13, 2015, Marco Rubio argued that the Constitution does not give “the federal government the power to regulate marriage.” He said, “I don't believe any case law is settled law. Any future Supreme Court can change it. And ultimately, I will appoint Supreme Court justices that will interpret the Constitution as originally constructed,"[522]
- President Obama nominated Mary Barzee Flores for the judgeship of United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida in February 2015. Such posts are confirmed by the senators of the state, and as of August 2015, Rubio had not given his vote of approval. On August 25, 2015, members of the Why Courts Matter coalition held a demonstration in front of Rubio’s Orlando, Florida, office to protest Rubio’s six-month delay in confirming Barzee Flores to the federal judgeship. Staffers from Rubio's office told the protestors that Rubio was waiting for the Senate Committee to finish investigating the nominees.[523][524]
- In July 2015, Rubio called for Supreme Court justices to interpret the Constitution rather than write law. He said, "We apparently have five justices on the Supreme Court today that have forgotten the proper role of the Supreme Court. They view themselves as Super Legislators - basically the supervisors of the republic. They invent rights, they, they find and are basically writing law. The job of the Supreme Court is not to create law, it’s to interpret the Constitution as originally constructed and applied. The next president of the United States must nominate Supreme Court justices that believe in the original intent of the Constitution and apply that. We need more Scalias and less Sotomayors."[525]
- In January 2011, Rubio pledged "to support well-qualified judicial nominees who will interpret the laws of our land, not establish new policy from the bench as the Supreme Court did in Roe v. Wade 38 years ago."[526]
Government accountability
- In June 2012, Marco Rubio called for Attorney General Eric Holder to resign because of "the Justice Department’s handling of Operation 'Fast and Furious,'" according to the Washington Post. He said, "This was a major mistake made by the Justice Department and the folks who administered this program and I think one of the roles of Congress is to have oversight over decisions such as this. If you refuse to provide information to allow Congress to play that role, it really undermines the principles of our republic and the separation of powers and the role that Congress plays.”[527]
First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- In August 2013, Rubio "filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court regarding Town of Greece v. Galloway," in support of the town’s right to open town board meetings with prayer.[528]
Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA)
- On March 13, 2015, NPR's Steve Inskeep asked Marco Rubio about Indiana's Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Rubio responded, "I don't believe you can discriminate against people. So I don't believe it's right for a florist to say, I'm not going to provide you flowers because you're gay. I think there's a difference between not providing services to a person because of their identity, who they are or who they love, and saying, I'm not going to participate in an event, a same-sex wedding, because that violates my religious beliefs. There's a distinction between those two things. So, certainly, you can't not — it's immoral and wrong to say, I'm not going to allow someone who's gay or lesbian to use my restaurant, stay in my hotel, or provide photography service to them because they're gay. The difference here is, we're not talking about discriminating against a person because of who they are, we're talking about someone who's saying — what I'm talking about, anyway, is someone who's saying, I just don't want to participate as a vendor for an event, a specific event that violates the tenets of my faith."[529]
Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- On January 17, 2016, Rubio said he had bought a gun before Christmas to defend his family. “I’m a strong supporter of the Second Amendment. I have a right to protect my family if someone were to come after us, In fact, if ISIS were to visit us, or our communities, at any moment, the last line of defense between ISIS and my family is the ability that I have to protect my family from them, or from a criminal, or anyone else who seeks to do us harm. Millions of Americans feel that way,” Rubio said.[530]
- During the sixth Republican presidential primary debate, on January 14, 2016, Rubio discussed President Obama and the Second Amendment: “Look, the Second Amendment is not an option. It is not a suggestion. It is a constitutional right of every American to be able to protect themselves and their families. I am convinced that if this president could confiscate every gun in America, he would. I am convinced that this president, if he could get rid of the Second Amendment, he would. I am convinced because I see how he works with his attorney general, not to defend the Second Amendment, but to figure out ways to undermine it. I have seen him appoint people to our courts not to defend the Second Amendment, but to figure out ways to undermine it. Here's my second problem. None of these instances that the president points to as the reason why he's doing these things would have been preventive. You know why? Because criminals don't buy their guns from a gun show. They don't buy their guns from a collector. And they don't buy their guns from a gun store. They get -- they steal them. They get them on the black market. And let me tell you, ISIS and terrorists do not get their guns from a gun show.”[531]
- After President Obama discussed his executive actions to prevent gun violence, Rubio said January 5, 2016, that his plan is "part of a broader narrative. And that is that this president is obsessed with undermining the Constitution in general, but the Second Amendment in particular."[532]
- Rubio wrote an op-ed in The Sioux City Journal on December 18, 2015, to criticize Democratic calls for stricter gun control laws. “Since our nation’s founding, all 44 of our presidents have sworn to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States. Most have understood that this means the entire Constitution, not just the parts they like. But today, President Obama believes a key provision of our Constitution – the Second Amendment – does not apply to him. He believes the relevance of the right to bear arms has somehow changed since our founding, and that it is no longer his duty to uphold or defend it. This is not only a violation of his oath; it also represents a dangerous lack of judgment. If the relevance of the right to bear arms has changed in recent years, it has become more important rather than less,” Rubio wrote.[533]
Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- Commenting on whether Apple should design a program to crack the encrypted iPhone of one of the San Bernardino, Calif., shooters, Marco Rubio said at a campaign stop on February 17, 2016, that “being a good corporate citizen is important.” In a televised town hall later that night he said, "If we passed a law that required Apple and these companies to create a backdoor, one, criminals could figure that out and use it against you. And number two, there's already encrypted software that already exists, not only now but in the future created in other countries. We would not be able to stop that, so there would still be encryption capabilities — they just wouldn't be American encryption capabilities."[534]
- At the fifth GOP primary debate on December 15, 2015, Rubio talked about his opposition to the USA Freedom Act: “Here's the world we live in. This is a radical jihadist group that is increasingly sophisticated in its ability, for example, to radicalize American citizens, in its inability to exploit loopholes in our legal immigration system, in its ability to capture and hold territory in the Middle East, as I outlined earlier, in multiple countries. This is not just the most capable, it is the most sophisticated terror threat we have ever faced. We are now at a time when we need more tools, not less tools. And that took we lost, the metadata program, was a valuable tool that we no longer have at our disposal. ... There is nothing that we are allowed to do under this bill that we could not do before. This bill did, however, take away a valuable tool that allowed the National Security Agency and other law - and other intelligence agencies to quickly and rapidly access phone records and match them up with other phone records to see who terrorists have been calling. Because I promise you, the next time there is attack on - an attack on this country, the first thing people are going to want to know is, why didn't we know about it and why didn't we stop it? And the answer better not be because we didn't have access to records or information that would have allowed us to identify these killers before they attacked.”[535]
- On December 2, 2015, Rubio co-sponsored the Liberty Through Strength Act II to make permanent certain provisions of the Patriot Act and Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. “This bill will not fix the misguided and flawed USA Freedom Act that went into effect on December 1, nor will it reverse the dangerous, unilateral disarmament of portions of our intelligence collection apparatus undertaken by President Obama and his administration. However, passage of this bill will ensure that key tools used by the intelligence community and law enforcement to defend our cities and towns are permanently reauthorized and that the metadata already collected is not discarded until it no longer has any intelligence value,” said Rubio in a statement.[536]
USA FREEDOM Act of 2015
On June 2, 2015, the Senate passed HR 2048 - the Uniting and Strengthening America by Fulfilling Rights and Ensuring Effective Discipline Over Monitoring Act of 2015 or the USA FREEDOM Act of 2015 by a vote of 67-32. The legislation revised HR 3199 - the USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005 by terminating the bulk collection of metadata under Sec. 215 of the act, requiring increased reporting from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court and requiring the use of "a specific selection term as the basis for national security letters that request information from wire or electronic communication service providers, financial institutions, or consumer reporting agencies." Rubio voted with 29 Republicans, one Democrat and one independent against the legislation. It became law on June 2, 2015.[537][538]
Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- In an op-ed in USA Today on January 6, 2016, Marco Rubio wrote that he would “promote a convention of states to amend the Constitution and restore limited government.” Rubio continued, “This method of amending our Constitution has become necessary today because of Washington’s refusal to place restrictions on itself. The amendment process must be approached with caution, which is why I believe the agenda should be limited to ideas that reduce the size and scope of the federal government, such as imposing term limits on Congress and the Supreme Court and forcing fiscal responsibility through a balanced budget requirement. Limiting the agenda will prevent the convention from being overtaken by special interests.”[539]
- In June 2010, Marco Rubio defended Arizona’s immigration law, S.B. 1070, saying, “Arizona has a 10th Amendment right to provide for the security of its residents.”[540]
Territories
- On September 4, 2015, Marco Rubio published an op-ed on Medium stating his opposition to allowing Puerto Rico to reorganize its debts under Chapter 9 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. Rubio proposed improving the Puerto Rican economy by increasing tax credits for low-income workers and families with children.[541]
Crime and justice
- In 2008, Marco Rubio voted for a bill that "Requires life sentences for second or subsequent offenses of lewd or lascivious molestation against victim less than 12 years of age."[542]
Rick Santorum
Judiciary
- In July 2015, Rick Santorum debated MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow on whether Congress could pass a law banning same-sex marriage after the Supreme Court had ruled such a ban was unconstitutional. Santorum maintained Congress and the president have a “right to say what’s constitutional.” Maddow countered that “if there is a question as to the constitutionality of a law, it gets adjudicated.”[543][544]
- During his 2012 presidential campaign, Santorum said, "I would sign a bill tomorrow to eliminate the 9th Circuit [Court of Appeals]. That court is rogue. It's a pox on the western part of our country."[545]
- In a June 2009 op-ed, Santorum wrote, "I voted for Judge Sotomayor in 1998 for the circuit court. Given what is in the public record so far, I would not vote to put her on the Supreme Court." Santorum argued that her "high reversal rate by the Supreme Court" and controversial statements about race, gender and "out-of-court statements about her judicial philosophy" were the reasons he would not vote for her.[546]
First Amendment to the Constitution
- Santorum, who is CEO of the Christian production company Echolight Studios, released the film "One Generation Away." "In the film, scholars, activists and political leaders like former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee review America’s right to religious freedom and what it has meant to the nation’s founding and culture," according to The Washington Times.[547]
- Santorum co-sponsored S.2572 - the Workplace Religious Freedom Act of 2002, which proposed amending "the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to provide criteria to determine whether an employer has committed an unlawful employment practice by failing to provide a reasonable accommodation to the religious observance or practice of an employee."[548]
Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA)
"Rick Santorum defends 'religious freedom' laws," April 5, 2015.
- On April 5, 2015, Rick Santorum discussed Indiana's Religious Freedom Restoration Act on CBS's "Face the Nation." He said, "The current language that the federal law is and now Indiana is has been held pretty much to have a pretty limited view of what religious liberty really is in the workplace. And I think we need to look at it as religious liberty is being pushed harder to provide more religious protections and that bill doesn't do that. ...We aren't for discrimination against any person. ...No business should discriminate against because of who you are, but it should have the ability to say we're not going to participate in certain activities that we disagree with from a religious point of view. ...Tolerance is a two-way street. If you’re a print shop and you are a gay man, should you be forced to print 'God Hates Fags' for the Westboro Baptist Church because they hold those signs up? Should the government, and this is really the case here, should the government force you to do that?"[549]
Second Amendment to the Constitution
- At the fifth GOP primary debate on December 15, 2015, Rick Santorum said he does not support preventing those on the terrorist watch list from getting guns: “I don't think we should be able to deny someone's constitutional rights based on a list kept by the government that nobody knows how they get on it, or how they get off of it. If you're going to make that list public, if you're going to put criteria out there as to how you're going to get on it, if you're going to deny someone's constitutional right, than I think there has to be more transparency. Let's just be honest, when someone applies for a gun, you do a background check. And, if you're on the terrorist watch list, guess what very well may happen? You may get denied that. That's a discretion of the people -- of the ATF in making that kind of decision. I want to leave that discretion -- as long as this list is not well known, as long as it's not transparent, we have to leave that discretion.”[550]
- During an interview on MSNBC on December 1, 2015, Santorum said that the man who murdered and injured individuals at a Planned Parenthood facility in Colorado on November 27, 2015. could have been stopped by the organization’s workers if they had guns. He said, "The problem is, the bad guys — the bad guys have guns. That's the problem. The more people that we have responsibly carrying, the less — the less violence we are going to have in this country.”[551]
- In October 2015, Santorum said that gun violence could be attributed to the “breakdown of morals and culture in America.” He continued, “The president’s not going to talk about that. He’s going to blame some inanimate object…and I think most Americans know that’s a bunch of baloney.”[552]
- Santorum co-sponsored S 397 - the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, which, among other things, "Prohibits a qualified civil liability action from being brought in any state or federal court against a manufacturer or seller of a firearm, ammunition, or a component of a firearm that has been shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce, or against a trade association of such manufacturers or sellers, for damages, punitive damages, injunctive or declaratory relief, abatement, restitution, fines, penalties, or other relief resulting from the criminal or unlawful misuse of a firearm." It became law on October 26, 2005.[553]
- In 1993, Santorum voted for H Amdt 390 to HR 1025, which proposed amending H.R. 1025 - the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act to provide "that a national system of instant background checks on handgun purchasers shall automatically replace the bill's five-day waiting period on handgun purchases five years after enactment of the bill."[554]
Fourth Amendment to the Constitution
- At the fifth GOP primary debate on December 15, 2015, Rick Santorum discussed collecting phone data: “Just because it couldn't have prevented San Bernardino, Calif. doesn't mean that we shouldn't have all tools available to us that doesn't impinge upon people's privacy. This sort of data collection is not collecting people's phones calls, their voices; they're not collecting information that's personal. There's no names attached to these numbers. They're simply numbers and times and relationships that throughout algorithms that computer technology can be able to sort through relationship about what numbers are calling what numbers and be able to track those down to see if there's any leakage's between someone who's potentially a terrorist. That is to me just fundamental that we have to have this type of data to be able to not impinge upon people's privacy. In fact, I would make the argument that the more data we can collect that's anonymous that we can through, through using algorithms, the less we need to involve people in and imposing themselves in people's privacy.”[555]
Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- In October 2015, Rick Santorum attended the Practical Federalism Forum in New Hampshire where he was asked to define “practical federalism.” Santorum said, “The idea that you can handle a problem at the individual, family, community level that is where we should put the burden. If it is too big of a problem for that area then move it up to a local government, then state government, and it is only when the problem becomes overwhelming that the federal government needs to weigh in.”[556]
- In July 2011, Santorum criticized Rick Perry for his belief that the states have the power to make decisions about gay marriage. Santorum said, "States do not have the right to destroy the American family. It is our business. It is not fine with me that New York has destroyed marriage. It is not fine with me that New York is setting a template that will cause great division in this country."[557]
Crime and justice
- During an interview in January 2012, Rick Santorum said, "When there is certainty, that's the case that capital punishment can be used. If there is not certainty, under the law, it shouldn't be used."[558]
- In 1998, Santorum voted against S.Amdt.1682 to S.Amdt.1676, which proposed creating "a national standard to prohibit the operation of motor vehicles by intoxicated individuals."[559]
- In 1995, Santorum voted against S.Amdt.1446 to S.440, which proposed requiring "the witholding of Federal highway funds if a State fails to provide that any minor in the State who operates a motor vehicle and has a blood alcohol concentration above a specified level shall be considered to be driving while intoxicated or driving under the influence of alcohol."[560]
Scott Walker
- See also: Scott Walker presidential campaign, 2016
Judiciary
- In June 2015, Scott Walker called the decision in Obergefell v. Hodges "judicial activism."[561]
- In 2013, Walker said, “I think, in general, that executives — be it a governor, be it a county executive or be it a president — if he or she wants to put people into the administration, my belief is deference should be given to the chief executive in terms of the appointments they make to executive positions. Where I understand there’s a larger concern about judicial appointments is obviously … there does warrant a larger level of scrutiny just because on the federal bench you have lifetime appointments.”[562]
Legislative
- In 2015, conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt began asking Republican candidates on his show if they would be willing to use the Senate "nuclear option" in order to get rid of the filibuster and repeal Obamacare. While Scott Walker didn't actually appear on the show, he is one of several candidates who said he would be in favor of invoking the "nuclear option."[563]
Term limits
- Scott Walker called for 12-year term limits for members of Congress and federal judges, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “I've self-imposed them myself. I've never been in an elected position more than 10 years," Walker said.[564]
First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- Speaking with The Blaze on September 3, 2015, Scott Walker said the Kentucky county clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples for religious reasons should be given “some sort of reasonable accommodation.” He added, “The bottom line in America is we are a nation of laws. But part of those laws — in fact, the most important of those laws — is the Constitution. The Constitution is very clear about protecting freedom of religion, and the freedom to be able to practice religious beliefs in this country. I think it’s incredibly important those rights be protected in today’s society.”[565]
- Walker drew criticism from the Council on American-Islamic Relations on August 21, 2015, for stating there is a “handful of reasonable and moderate followers of Islam.” A spokesman for the Council said, “These types of inaccurate statements reflect a lack of understanding of Islam and Muslims that is, frankly, not presidential. If Mr. Walker believes only a 'handful' of Muslims are moderate or reasonable, then he is ignoring the very clear reality that violent extremists murder more Muslims than they do people of any other faith."[566]
- Following the legalization of same-sex marriage in the United States under Obergefell v. Hodges, Walker released a statement saying, in part, "The First Amendment does not simply protect a narrow ‘right to worship,’ but provides broad protection to individuals and institutions to worship and act in accordance with their religious beliefs. In fact, the Wisconsin constitution explicitly protects the rights of conscience of our citizens. I can assure all Wisconsinites concerned about the impact of today’s decision that your conscience rights will be protected, and the government will not coerce you to act against your religious beliefs."[561]
- On April 1, 2015, Scott Walker commented on Indiana's Religious Freedom Restoration Act. He explained, "I just think this is people who are chronically looking for ways to be upset about things instead of really looking at what it is. ... I believe protecting religious freedom is inherent in our state constitution." Walker added, "Heck, it's inherent in our U.S. Constitution. And in Wisconsin we've done it and we're stronger for it."[567]
- In October 2013, Walker's administration settled a federal lawsuit brought by a protestor by paying $88,000 in attorneys' fees and eliminating the "hard-and-fast requirement that larger groups protesting in the Capitol receive a permit." The litigation arose from how the administration handled an uptick in the number of protests against Walker for his position on collective bargaining over the course of two years.[568]
- In 1999, Walker sponsored a bill that would prohibit any person who owns, operates or manages a casino or racetrack in any state from contributing to candidates in Wisconsin.[569]
Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- Scott Walker issued an executive order to allow members of the Wisconsin National Guard to carry weapons while on duty following the July 2015 shootings in Chattanooga, Tennessee at two Marine recruitment offices.[570]
- In June 2015, Walker signed "into law two bills that, respectively, get rid of the state’s 48-hour waiting period and let retired or off-duty law enforcement officials carry concealed firearms into public schools."[571]
- According to Politico in April 2015, Walker "[m]ade it harder for local officials to close shooting ranges" and "[o]pposed legislation in 2013 to expand background checks on firearm sales as a way to reduce gun violence, saying he preferred focusing on mental health efforts instead." In 2014, Walker also signed into law a bill "requiring people who are served with temporary restraining orders to be notified that they must surrender their firearms."[572]
- In 2011, Walker signed a concealed carry bill into law, making Wisconsin the 49th state to allow people to carry concealed weapons.[573]
- In 2001, Walker supported legislation that allowed the Department of Natural Resources to request background checks from the Department of Justice for anyone issued a hunting license that authorizes the use of a firearm.[574]
Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- After stating his support for the full reauthorization of the Patriot Act in June 2015, Scott Walker suggested he did not believe it invoked privacy concerns. Walker said, "It's not about eavesdropping. . . . It's a matter of collecting the data and accessing it under a very legal, constitutional process only when we’ve got clear evidence that someone is connected with an enemy combatant."[575]
Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
- In June 2015, in response to the decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, Scott Walker said marriage equality was a question for the states and not the courts. Walker wrote in a statement, "In 2006 I, like millions of Americans, voted to amend our state constitution to protect the institution of marriage from exactly this type of judicial activism. The states are the proper place for these decisions to be made, and as we have seen repeatedly over the last few days, we will need a conservative president who will appoint men and women to the Court who will faithfully interpret the Constitution and laws of our land without injecting their own political agendas. As a result of this decision, the only alternative left for the American people is to support an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to reaffirm the ability of the states to continue to define marriage."[561]
- In an interview with Rare in 2014, Walker said that the No Child Left Behind Act was an infringement on state's rights. He also said, the founders, "understood that government closest to the people, in many ways, is the most effective. And again, as I point out in the book, it’s one thing if you don’t like the city that you live in. You can move if you don’t like the people who are elected to run the state or the commonwealth. You can move. It’s awfully hard to move out of the country that you love, and we shouldn’t have to! Because we should be on limited focus. Federalism should be alive today. It should be something that isn’t necessarily pushed by one party or another. It’s a set of principles that were the founding base of this country, and we’d be a lot better off if more of the decisions whether it’s – one, I don’t think healthcare should be mandated by the federal or the state government – but even things like education and other things of that nature really are not appropriately addressed at the federal level, they should be pushed onto the states."[576]
Crime and justice
- In 2014, Scott Walker signed a bill expanding when strip searches may be conducted by county jailers.[577]
- According to Laurel Patrick, a Walker spokesperson, in 2014, "Governor Walker believes that the public — and most importantly victims — deserve to know at the time of sentencing how long a felon will serve in prison. Governor Walker was the author of truth-in-sentencing that eliminated parole because of that belief. He mentioned that when he ran in 2010, and he is keeping his promise to the people of Wisconsin."[578]
- When asked in 2010 if he supported changing Wisconsin law on the death penalty, Walker responded, "Years ago, I worked on legislation to end the statute of limitations for sexual assault crimes when the case involved DNA evidence. I spent a great deal of time working with prosecutors and experts. The accuracy of DNA convinced me to support the death penalty referendum in 2006 – and I support it today."[579]
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term 2016 + presidential + candidates + federalism
See also
Footnotes
- ↑ Politico, "Clinton, Sanders praise Obama's Supreme Court pick," March 16, 2016
- ↑ Talking Points Memo, "Clinton Defends Vote Against Alito: What GOP Is Doing Now Is 'Very Different'," February 18, 2016
- ↑ ABC News, "Hillary Clinton Would Consider Appointing President Obama to Supreme Court," January 26, 2016
- ↑ The Boston Globe, "A make-or-break moment for Supreme Court appointments," January 8, 2016
- ↑ Deseret News, "Exclusive: Hillary Clinton: What I have in common with Utah leaders — religious freedom and the Constitution," August 10, 2016
- ↑ The Wall Street Journal, "Hillary Clinton to Pledge Making Campaign-Finance Overhaul a Priority," July 16, 2016
- ↑ Newsmax, “Hillary Says She'd Consider Amendment to Overturn Citizens United," July 21, 2014
- ↑ Politico, "Hillary Clinton blasts Hobby Lobby ruling," accessed February 2, 2015
- ↑ The Huffington Post, "Transcript: Hillary Clinton’s Interview With The Huffington Post, " June 15, 2016
- ↑ ABC News, "Hillary Clinton: Those Under FBI Scrutiny ‘Shouldn’t Be Able to Just Go Buy a Gun’," June 13, 2016
- ↑ TIME, "Read Hillary Clinton’s Speech About the Orlando Shooting," June 13, 2016
- ↑ Politico, "Clinton blasts Sanders' 'rural state' explanation on guns," April 11, 2016
- ↑ New York Daily News, "Take dead aim against gun violence: Hillary Clinton urges closing loopholes that cost lives," March 27, 2016
- ↑ The New York Times, "Transcript of the Democratic Presidential Debate in Flint, Mich.," March 6, 2016
- ↑ The Huffington Post, "Hillary Clinton Releases Broad Campaign Finance Reform Plan," September 8, 2015
- ↑ CNN Politics, "Hillary Clinton: The cure for Citizens United is more democracy," January 21, 2016
- ↑ CBS News, “Hillary Calls For End To Electoral College," November 10, 2000
- ↑ New York Times, “Clinton Moves to Widen Role of State Dept.," December 22, 2008
- ↑ ABC News, December 12, 2015
- ↑ Politico, "Donald Trump: ‘Roberts wanted to be loved’," July 2, 2012
- ↑ FOX News, "Trump: President Obama's comments on Supreme Court's pending decision on health care law 'first grade stuff'," April 4, 2012
- ↑ The New York Times, "Donald Trump Rebukes Ruth Bader Ginsburg for Deriding His Candidacy," July 12, 2016
- ↑ Twitter, "Donald J. Trump," July 13, 2016
- ↑ TIME, "Donald Trump Says He Would Consider Shutting Down Radical Mosques," October 21, 2015
- ↑ The Washington Times, "Donald Trump: Kim Davis case a ‘messy situation,'" September 10, 2015
- ↑ CBN News, "Donald Trump Tells Brody File: As President 'I will be the greatest representative of the Christians they’ve had in a long time'," May 20, 2015
- ↑ FOX News, "Trump: Geller 'taunting' Muslims with Muhammad event," May 5, 2015
- ↑ Newsweek, "Donald Trump to Discuss Gun Control Changes with NRA," June 15, 2016
- ↑ NRA-ILA, "NRA Statement on Terror Watchlists," June 15, 2016
- ↑ Fox News, "Trump wins NRA endorsement, blasts Clinton on gun stance at forum," May 20, 2016
- ↑ ABC News, "Hillary Clinton Fires Back at Donald Trump for NRA Remarks," May 21, 2016
- ↑ The Huffington Post, "Donald Trump Doesn’t Want Guns In Classrooms, Except When He Does," May 22, 2016
- ↑ CNN, "Donald Trump clarifies position on guns in schools," May 23, 2016
- ↑ The Washington Post, "6th Republican debate transcript, annotated: Who said what and what it meant," January 14, 2016
- ↑ Business Insider, "TRUMP: 'I will get rid of gun-free zones on schools' my first day in the White House," January 7, 2016
- ↑ CNN Politics, "Donald Trump predicts 'you won't be able to get guns'," January 4, 2016
- ↑ CNN Politics, "Trump calls for Apple boycott," February 19, 2016
- ↑ ABC News, "Donald Trump Says Apple Should Hack San Bernardino Attacker Phone," February 17, 2016
- ↑ The Daily Signal, "Should the NSA ‘Spying’ Program Be Illegal? What 2016 Contenders Say.," May 20, 2015
- ↑ CNN, "Transcript: Piers Morgan Live," June 13, 2013
- ↑ Gary Johnson for President, "Issues," accessed January 8, 2016
- ↑ Facebook, "Gov. Gary Johnson," July 6, 2011
- ↑ Johnson, Gary. (2012). Seven Principles of Good Government. Aberdeen: Silver Lake Publishing. (pages 27-28)
- ↑ Deseret News, "Gary Johnson may have upset Utah Mormons, but here's how he still plans to win their votes," August 2, 2016
- ↑ Fox13Now.com, "Gary Johnson apologizes for comment on violence in early Mormon history," August 2, 2016
- ↑ Fox Business Network, "FBN’s John Stossel Hosts Libertarian Presidential Forum Featuring Johnson, McAfee & Petersen," March 31, 2016
- ↑ Reason, "Gov. Gary Johnson on Burqa Ban: 'My Response Was Wrong,'" January 7, 2016
- ↑ Examiner.com, "Gary Johnson on freedom of religion," February 23, 2012
- ↑ WIBC, "Gov. Gary Johnson Talks Guns, Congress, And The Debate Stage," June 27, 2016
- ↑ Reason, "Libertarian Candidate Gary Johnson Says Gun Restrictions Make Us Less Safe," June 14, 2016
- ↑ The Telegraph, "Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson says time is right for 'the party of principle' in the White House," January 19, 2016
- ↑ The Denver Post, "Former Gov. Gary Johnson joins effort to repeal Colorado gun law," May 30, 2013
- ↑ The Daily Caller, "In its pursuit of ‘safety,’ the government is sacrificing freedom," February 6, 2013
- ↑ Tumblr, "How About a Liberty Czar," October 22, 2014
- ↑ The Huffington Post, "Privacy: Ditch the Cell Phone or Prepare to Disrobe," April 5, 2012
- ↑ Tenth Amendment Center, "States’ rights should be encouraged, not punished," August 5, 2010
- ↑ Huffington Post, "President Jill Stein," September 13, 2012
- ↑ 58.0 58.1 58.2 RT, "Jill Stein: US faces ‘political problem’ in tackling violent gun crime," December 15, 2013
- ↑ Democracy Now, "Expanding the Debate with Third-Party Candidates Jill Stein, Virgil Goode, Rocky Anderson," October 17, 2012
- ↑ Truthout, "The Party of Our Discontent? An Interview With Green Party Candidate Jill Stein," January 29, 2012
- ↑ C-SPAN, “Rhode Island Republican Senate Primary Debate,” August 23, 2006
- ↑ The New York Times, “Alito Is Sworn In as Justice After 52-42 Vote to Confirm Him,” January 31, 2006
- ↑ Senate.gov, “Chafee Statement on Judge Alito Nomination,” January 30, 2006
- ↑ Congress.gov, “PN200 - William H. Pryor Jr.,” accessed May 5, 2015
- ↑ Congress.gov, “PN194 - Priscilla Richman Owen,” accessed May 5, 2015
- ↑ The Huffington Post, “Roger Williams, the First Amendment and the Presidential Campaign,” July 9, 2008
- ↑ Senate.gov, “S.J.Res.12 - A joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States authorizing Congress to prohibit the physical desecration of the flag of the United States.,” accessed May 5, 2015
- ↑ The Brown Political Review, “BPR Talks with Gov. Lincoln Chafee,” May 22, 2013
- ↑ Providence Journal, “Gun-control bills clear R.I. House Judiciary Committee,” June 25, 2013
- ↑ The Washington Post, "The CNN Democratic debate transcript, annotated," October 13, 2015
- ↑ The Washington Post, "The CNN Democratic debate transcript, annotated," October 13, 2015
- ↑ U.S. News & World Report, “Chafee Says He'll Push Hillary on Privacy, Hound Her on Iraq,” April 10, 2015
- ↑ Huff Post Live, “Chafee: 'In General, We Went In The Right Direction' With Patriot Act,” April 16, 2015
- ↑ The New York Times, “Gov. Chafee Declines,” December 29, 2011
- ↑ United States Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit, “U.S. v. Pleau, No. 11-1775,” May 7, 2012
- ↑ Providence Journal, “R.I. Gov. Chafee dismayed by U.S. Supreme Court's decision not to hear Pleau case,” January 14, 2013
- ↑ Facebook, "Lincoln Chafee," accessed September 1, 2015
- ↑ C-SPAN, “Rhode Island Republican Senate Primary Debate,” August 26, 2006
- ↑ Congress.gov, “H.R.1997 - Unborn Victims of Violence Act of 2004,” accessed May 5, 2015
- ↑ Congress.gov, “S.486 - Innocence Protection Act of 2002,” accessed May 5, 2015
- ↑ Congress.gov, “H.R.5107 - Justice for All Act of 2004,” accessed May 5, 2015
- ↑ Congress.gov, “S.Amdt.3473 to S.2549,” accessed May 5, 2015
- ↑ Democracy Now, "Glenn Greenwald v. Lawrence Lessig: A Debate on Elena Kagan’s Supreme Court Nomination," May 12, 2010
- ↑ Lessig.org, "CV," accessed September 22, 2015
- ↑ New Republic, "Citizens Unite," March 16, 2010
- ↑ WBGH News, "Lawrence Lessig On The Patriot Act And Campaign Finance Reform," June 2, 2015
- ↑ The Austin Chronicle, "The Death Penalty in Practice," August 1, 2008
- ↑ Lessig for President, "Democratic Presidential Candidate Larry Lessig Travels to Ferguson, Missouri Visiting “Ground Zero” of the #BlackLivesMatter Movement, to Listen and Support," August 28, 2015
- ↑ 89.0 89.1 Lessig for President, "Lessig Meets with Activists in Ferguson to Discuss Racial Justice and Citizen Equality," September 2, 2015
- ↑ Vimeo, "#Listen2Ferguson with @LostVoices14 and @Lessig," accessed September 9, 2015
- ↑ The Des Moines Register, "O'Malley hits Clinton on death penalty, changing views," October 30, 2015
- ↑ Capital Gazette, “O'Malley criticizes Supreme Court ruling against unions in home health care worker case," June 30, 2014
- ↑ Politico, “Hillary Clinton blasts Hobby Lobby ruling," July 2, 2014
- ↑ Maryland.gov, "Judge Barbera biography," accessed March 12, 2015
- ↑ Maryland.gov, "Official biography of Justice Adkins," accessed March 11, 2015
- ↑ Daily Caller, "Martin O’Malley Hints At Supporting Electoral College Abolishment," July 29, 2015
- ↑ The New York Times, "Martin O’Malley Urges Public Financing of Congressional Campaign," October 1, 2015
- ↑ Martin O'Malley for President, "Restoring Our Americna Democracy," accessed October 2, 2015
- ↑ 99.0 99.1 Bloomberg Politics, "Democrats Turn Against Religious Freedom Laws. Voters Don't Agree With Them," accessed April 15, 2015
- ↑ The Washington Post, "3rd Democratic debate transcript, annotated: Who said what and what it meant," December 19, 2015
- ↑ Foster's Daily Democrat, "Martin O'Malley says he'll take on NRA," November 30, 2015
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<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedWaPo - ↑ Jeb Bush for President, "Governor Jeb Bush’s Statement in Response to the Death of Justice Antonin Scalia," February 13, 2016
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<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedHuck - ↑ Politico, "Martin Luther King III 'perplexed' by Huckabee comments," August 24, 2015
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- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedNTYgun - ↑ The Washington Post, "Transcript: CNN undercard GOP debate," December 15, 2015
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