2008 CAUCUSES!!!!

So far there has been 2 Democratic Caucuses, and 3 Republican Caucuses.

The Democratic ones were in Iowa and New Hampshire, and the Republicans were in Iowa, New Hampshire and Wyoming.

So far the the Democratic Candidates to drop out include: Joe Biden, Chris Dodd, and Bill Richardson.

In order to win the Democratic Ticket a Candidate must receive 2, 025 Delegate votes.
The Leaders are: Hilary Clinton w/ 183, Barack Obama w/ 78, John Edwards w/52, and Dennis Kucinich w/ 1.

The Republicans also had a drop out after the first few caucuses, Tom Tancredo.

The Republican Candidates need atleast 1,191 delegate votes to win the Republican ticket. So far the leaders are as follows: Mitt Romney w/ 30, Mike Huckabee w/ 21, John McCain w/ 10, Fred Thompson w/ 6, Ron Paul w/2, Rudy Guiliani w/ 1, Duncan Hunter w/1.

There are caucuses in every state, so watch out because Clinton and Romney don't have it in the bag yet!!!

THE WAR iN iRAQ!!!

Since the September 11th attacks, the war on terrorism has been a big deal. Since then we have sent troops over to Iraq, and reshaped the nation of Iraq. Now, with no real government the U.S. has troops there helping to re-establish a new government, a democracy.

With all this going on Iraq is a big topic when discussing the 2008 election, and who is the best candidate for the job.

Each candidate in the presidential race has a plan of how to handle the situation in Iraq.

Democrats

Hilary Clinton's views on the Iraq War...
She first voted for the use of military forces in Iraq, but now she says that she should have voted differently, and would have "if we knew then what we know now."
She supports the de-authorization of war.

She voted yes on the war spending bill that would have withdrawn most of the U.S. troops from Iraq by March of 2008.

• She was against Bush's plan to increase the number of American troops in Iraq.
• She also supports a phased redeployment and a cap on the number of troops we send over to Iraq.

Barack Obama's view on the War in Iraq...

• Opposed the use of military force in Iraq.
• He voted yes on a war spending bill that would have withdrawn most U.S. troops by March 2008.
• He supports the phased redeployment of U.S. troops.
• He opposes Bush's plan to send additional troops to Iraq.
• At one point he had called for troop withdrawal to begin by the end of 2006.
  

Republicans

Mitt Romney's plan for Iraq...


Supported Bush's veto of Iraq war spending bill that would have pulled U.S. troops out of Iraq by March 2008.
Is against troop withdrawal from Iraq.
He is supportive of the President's plan for more troops in Iraq.




John McCain's ideas for Iraq...

• Voted for the use of military force in Iraq.
• Was supportive of Bush's veto on the Bill that would have withdrawn most U.S. troops by March of 2008.
• Was an early supporter of sending additional U.S. troops to Iraq.
  

Republican Mike Huckabee's plan of action in Iraq...

He has offered strong support for the Bush Iraq policy, saying the president has access to military and diplomatic information that is not publicly available.

Is against congressional resolutions that express opposition to the president's plan to increase the number of American troops in Iraq.

He is against any proposals to cut the funding to the war.

HEALTH CARE!!

Health Care is a major issue that millions of Americans consider when deciding on a candidate for President of the U.S. They all want to know how the new President will change/improve the health care for everyone while in office?

Most Democrats are proposing to institute a Universal Coverage plan, so that those who do not have jobs are still covered by some form of health insurance. While Republicans simply suggest a decrease in the cost of insurance for those who are unemployed and can not afford to pay for their own personal health insurance.

Leading Democratic Candidates Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton have to similar but yet different plans for how they would "improve" the Health System in America.

Senator Hillary Clinton's plan will include the following:

• Coverage for all Americans.
• Federal help for those who can not afford Health Coverage.
• Plan requires insurance companies to offer their benefits to all who apply.
• Can not higher their premiums for those who have pre-existing conditions.
• Large businesses will be required to provide or help with health care coverage for their employees.
• Will expand Medicaid and children's health care programs.
• The plan will cost an estimated $110 Billion annually.

Democratic Candidate Barack Obama's plan includes:

• National Health care for Individuals who do not have health care through their employers.
• Individuals choose between private and public insurance plans.
• Employers who don't provide coverage for their employees must pay into a National Health Insurance Program.
• Requires Health Coverage for all Children.
• Individuals under 25 years of age may be covered through their parents Health Insurance.
• Estimated cost is between $50 & $65 Billion a year.

Leading Republican Candidates Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, and John McCain also have proposed plans on how to change the health insurance programs in the U.S.


Republican Candidate Mitt Romney's plan will include:

• Covering the uninsured with out creating higher taxes or a government controlled system.
• Supports the idea of states developing their own coverage plans for the uninsured using market based approaches.
• Supports providing greater financial assistance to uninsured Americans to buy private insurance.

• Side Note: As governor, signed into law a universal health care plan that requires all residents to have health insurance, with premiums tied to income and subsidies for the poor.

Mike Huckabee's plan for health insurance reform includes:

• Believes that the "current system is broken".
• Opposes federally mandated universal coverage.
• Encourages private sector innovation to reduce private health care costs.
• Supports market based approaches at the state level.
• Would make health care more affordable by: reforming medical liability, improving electronic record-keeping, promoting portable health plans, expanding health savings accounts, making health insurance tax deductible, and offering tax credits to low income families.

John McCain proposes to change health care by:

• Increasing awareness and promoting the use of the existing children's health care programs.
• Opposes federally mandated universal coverage.
• Expansion of community health centers.
• He supports: health care tax dividends for low-income Americans, medical malpractice reform, improving electronic record-keeping, expanding health savings accounts, and encouraging small businesses to band together to negotiate lower rates with health care providers.

These proposed plans are viewed by many voters, and play a key role in the upcoming 2008 presidential election.

THE CANDIDATES & ISSUES!

The Democratic Candidates are:

• Joe Biden
• Hilary Rodham Clinton
• Chris Dodd
• John Edwards
• Mike Gravel
• Dennis Kucinich
• Barack Obama
• Bill Richardson

The Republican Candidates are:

• Sam Brownback
• Rudy Giuliani
• Mike Huckabee
• Duncan Hunter
• John McCain
• Ron Paul
• Mitt Romney
• Tom Tancredo
• Fred Thompson

Some Major Issues: (This blog is to cover some of these issues, and how they relate to the 2008 presidential election.)

• Iraq War/Terrorism
• Health Care
• Social Security
• National Debt
• National Security
• Gay Rights
• Censorship
• Domestic Spying (FISA-phonetapping)
• Global Warming
• Gender and Race in Politics
• Global USA Image
• Foreign Oil
• Middle East Peace
• Education
• Immigration
  

The Project!!

We are students at Spanaway Lake High School in an AP Govt. and Politics Class. Our assignment is to create a political blog in which we discuss the 2008 election and the issues surrounding it. Many of the issues surrounding the 2008 election affect the country, and since we will be able to vote in the upcoming 2008 election it is important for us be educated on the issues in order to make a responsible decision on election day.