Candidate Positions

Original source: http://conservativetimes.org/?p=361

Tommy Thompson is hitching his candidacy to the idea of school vouchers, which some movement conservatives take as a panacea for all the ills with public education.

Original source: http://freedomfolks.blogspot.com/2007/04/tom-tancredo-one-trick-pony.html

Education: He supports parental control over the education of their children, not government control. He advocates school vouchers and school choice. A parent should be the one who decides on what is the best educational path for their child.

Original source: http://www.heartland.org/Article.cfm?artId=17647

Refreshing breezes are difficult to come by on Capitol Hill in midsummer, but Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS) created an invigorating stir in late June when he broached the idea of expanding the federally funded Washington, DC school voucher experiment.

The senator proposed lifting the $7,500 annual per-student cap on vouchers and allowing needy children to use their scholarships at private schools outside the District of Columbia.

Original source:

Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani was booed with gusto yesterday by educators packing a ballroom in Brooklyn as he called for vouchers and charter schools but not pay increases that would put New York City teachers’ salaries on a par with those in the suburbs.

Original source: http://www.smallgovtimes.com/story/07mar12.paul.official/index.html

[Ron Paul] strongly believes in local control of education and voted against a federal government grant that provides Black and Hispanic colleges $84 million dollars. He supports school choice and favors the use of vouchers that parents can use for private & parochial schools. In 2000, Paul supported a Republican Liberty Caucus (RLC) resolution to abolish the Department of Education and return education control to states, cities and communities.

Original source: http://myclob.pbwiki.com/Education

In 1994 Romney, as a candidate for US Senate, pledged to vote to establish a means-tested school voucher program to allow students to attend the public or private school of their choice. He also supported abolishing the federal Department of education and favored keeping control of educational reform at the lowest level, closest to parents, teachers, and the community (Boston Globe review of 1994 campaign issues Mar 21, 2002)

Original source: http://www.clubforgrowth.org/2007/01/a_report_on_mike_huckabees_fis.php

On the other hand, Governor Huckabee is on record opposing the most important element of genuine school choice-voucher programs that allow poor students in failing public schools to attend private schools and inject much needed competition into a decrepit public education system-because of a concern about government control of parochial schools (Arkansas Times 09/22/05).

Original source: http://www.quickoverview.com/election2008/mike-gravel-overview.html

During his first term in the Senate, Gravel authored a book titled Citizen Power. In it, he advocated the implementation of numerous populist ideas, including a guaranteed annual income (dubbed the “Citizen’s Wage”), public financing of elections, a progressive tax with no deductions or exemptions, steps against the military-industrial complex (which he calls the “Warfare State”), a national law to do away with voter registration and other barriers to voting, abolition of the death penalty, universal health care, school vouchers, a drastic reduction in government secrecy, and an end to what he viewed as an imperialistic foreign policy. The book also contained the complete text of the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, and the complete platform adopted by the Populist Party during the 1892 presidential election.

Original source: http://world-poli-ticker.blogspot.com/2007/02/election-2008-joe-biden-d.html

Education: Education is key if America wants to compete globally. Every American should have access to higher education. Opposes school vouchers. Increase tax deductions for tuition. Expand government grants and student loan accessibility. Start high school students early applying and saving for college. Utilize technology to improve the systems. Favors education over corporations. Favors smaller class sizes. Opposes private tutors. Favors national education standards.

Original source: http://www.ndol.org/ndol_ci.cfm?kaid=106&subid=122&contentid=251080

The president continues to tout private school vouchers. I oppose them because they divert resources and energy from reform and divert students into the only schools that don’t have to meet high standards. Proponents advocate two things — competition and parental choice — but misleadingly suggest these are only possible with private school vouchers.

Competition is good for schools, and parental choice is good for kids. But we can give kids competition and choice within our accountable, public system.

Today, many public school choice programs are having trouble because there aren’t enough schools or parents involved. We shouldn’t give up on these programs; we should make them work by making a billion-dollar investment in public school choice. We’ll say to districts that need it most: If you’ll provide universal public school choice for your students, we’ll help you pay for it.

You should give every parent a choice where to send their kids to school; provide transportation within the district; encourage charter schools, making sure they meet the same standards as other schools, and shutting down the ones that don’t; and make the new funds portable so that a student brings money to the school he chooses and takes money from the school he leaves. These policies will help fulfill the promise of public school choice.