The Democratic Party Platform

Alexis Childs & Ella Beebe

Staff Writers 

"America, this is our moment. This is our time. Our time to turn the pages of the politics of the past,” That quote was delivered by our president, Barack Obama during a Democratic presidential nomination victory during June 2008. President Obama is a runner in the current presidential campaign. These are his stances on important issues presented in the race and by the public.

Fighting For Education
Currently President Obama has a program for families that cannot afford to pay for school/education. President Obama has a program, “Race to The Top” that helps improve students education. Just with this program, President Obama has made a difference to dozens of states. President Obama has helped approximately nine million students get an education with his programs.

Plans for Jobs and Economy
Seven hundred thousand jobs were diminishing each month, until President Obama started stabilizing the financial system, preventing a second Great Depression. Now, plenty of jobs are being filled. President Obama is trying to lower taxes so even more jobs will be available to more fellow Americans. One of his goals is to end all tax loopholes and strengthen the economy.

Civil Rights

Democrats have been fighting towards a discrimination free nation. They stand up for all Americans that encounter everyday discrimination. Democrats believe in same sex marriages. Approving a platform for marriage equality is a step towards their goal.

Energy Independence

President Obama is working towards developing all of America’s natural resources like domestic oil, gas, wind, solar and biofuels and encouraging fuel efficiency. The President has cut net oil and petroleum imports expanded domestic oil production. He is also working on doubling fuel efficiency and renewable wind, solar and geothermal energy.

Environment

President Obama is currently addressing environmental issues, like protecting endangered animals and ecosystems. This is part of the reason why he is investing in clean-energy. During President Obama’s last position in office the Department of Transportation had a new fuel efficiency standard. People have started regulating carbon dioxide emissions from coal-fired factories. For the first time the U.S will catalog green house gas emissions.

Health Care

Democrats have passed a comprehensive health reform so that by 2014 discrimination can be eliminated entirely. It has started to expand health coverage to thirty-two million more Americans and provide the largest middle class health care tax cut in history. The Affordable Care Act is trying to stop the worst companies’ abuses to the public in need of health care and policies about applying for and retrieving health care, while making tax cuts to small businesses. Tax credits that are given to families, businesses, and the federal government will reduce deficit by at least one trillion dollars in the next two decades and reduce fraud.

Immigration Reform 

The Democrats have been working toward hard about our immigration system. They have been trying to secure borders to reduce the flow of illegal traffic. They are also looking into unscrupulous businesses that exploit undocumented workers. And they think that those who are living in the US illegally will should admit it, pay taxes, and learn English before becoming an American citizen.

National Security

The Democrats believe national security is important so they are ensuring that troops have training and equipment. They also ensure that support for themselves and their families are provided. The Democrats are also trying to prevent terrorism across the globe. They are also keeping biological and nuclear weapons away from terrorists. Democrats have also been promoting and investing in intelligence and information sharing among allies. While rebuilding strategic allies with countries that share a common value and threat.

Open Government

The Democratic Party supports an open, transparent, and responsive government. They have implemented the most sweeping ethics and transparency requirements in history. They are also trying to limit the influence of special interest groups and to ensure the government is accountable and to provide information for citizens about the government and their actions. They are also interested in bringing accountability to federal spending and to rein the influence of lobbyists and shutting down the “Revolving Door” (allowed lobbyists to move freely from the government back to special interests). President Obama wants to open communication to the public and to increase cooperation with non-profit organizations, businesses and different levels of the government.

Science and Technology

The Democrats have been investing in technology and jobs of the future and increasing support for more advanced research, labs and classrooms. They believe that scientific research plays an important role in advancing science and technology in classrooms and labs. And to equip the next generation with the tools and skills that lead to technological innovations and scientific breakthroughs. For this reason Democrats have taken steps to expand educational opportunities and make college more affordable for all Americans. They have been working on improving the quality of schools and teachers. Democrats have lifted federal restrictions on stem cell research and new sources for doctors.

Retirement Security

President Obama is fighting to protect social security and fighting against privatizing social security. The Democrats have been working on strengthening Medicare. The health reform has strengthened the Medicare trust fund and expanding its life by more than a decade. President Obama and the Democrats have been helping Americans save for retirement.

Voting Rights

For a long time Democrats have been fighting for equal and just voting rights. They are fighting for voting rights because people are still having trouble voting, the minority, young, elderly, disabled, military members and veterans. They are having trouble voting because of lack of polling places, outdated voting machines and unnecessary complicated laws. They have been working on the progress that needs to be made for a system that is easily accessible, open and fair.

Works Cited

 Barack Obama on Education." Education.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2012. <http://www.education.com/magazine/article/Barack_Obama/>.

Democracy 2012 Your Voice Your Vote. 2012. Photograph. Http://logos.wikia.com/wiki/File:WXYZ-<TV's_7_Action_News'_Democracy_2012,_Your_Voice,_Your_Vote_Video_Open_From_Late_2012.jpg, n.p.>

"Democrats.org." Democrats.org. Democratic National Committee, 2012. Web. 01 Nov. 2012. <http://www.democrats.org/>.

The Republican Party Platform

Ella Beebe & Alexis Childs  

Staff Writers

The Republican Party’s Mitt Romney is a runner in the current presidential race. These are his stances of issues presented by the public.

Economy
Mitt Romney wants to promote confidence in the public about the economy. He is pro-businesses and he supports America’s free-market economy.

National Defense
Mitt Romney and the Republican Party support President Ronald Reagan's stance on national defense, which is peace through strength. They believe in protecting America’s homeland and confronting global terrorism. They will maintain defense against threats from nuclear proliferation.

Health Care
Romney and Republicans support reforms that will lower costs of of healthcare, ensure quality healthcare and lawsuit abuse. He also opposes government run healthcare providers.

Education
Romney supports a world-class system of of primary and secondary schools. This system has high standards and encourages all students to meet their full potential. They also believe parents should choose where to put their kids in the school system.

Energy
Romney  and the Republicans believe in energy independence. They support nuclear, clean coal, solar wind, geothermal, hydropower, drilling for oil and natural gases for power. Romney is against the cap-and-trade legislation. The cap-and-trade legislation will cause people to pay national energy taxes and it might kill jobs and raise utility prices.

Court
The Republicans believe that judges shouldn’t make the law, only interpret it. Romney wants to demonstrate fidelity to the US Constitution by trusting the judicial system to base rulings on law and only law.

Gay Rights
Romney is strongly against gay marriage. If elected he will write into the constitution that marriage is between a man and a women only. Romney opposes gay marriage but is also opposed to unjust discrimination, such as racial, religious and sexual discrimination. Romney wants to recognize domestic partnerships by giving them shared health benefits and rights of survivorship. He also believes that every child deserves a mother and father.

Abortion
Romney supports a law that will prevent women from getting abortions if she becomes pregnant. Todd Akin, a republican Congressman, also says that when a woman or girl is raped then her body shuts down and prevents her from becoming pregnant. This is part of the reason they support this law and thinks it should be legalized.

Works Cited

"Our Party." GOP. Republican National Committee, 2012. Web. 31 Oct. 2012. <http://www.gop.com/our-party/>

Republican Party Platform Has a Lot to Say About Science. 2012. Photograph. Http://news.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2012/08/republican-party-platform-has-a-.html?ref=hp, N.p., n.p.

Joe Biden

Kevin Sosa                                                                            

Staff Writer

  
Joe Biden was born on November 20, 1942, in Scranton, Pennsylvania. He graduated from the University of Delaware and Syracuse Law School and served on the New Castle County Council.

At the age of 29, he became one of the youngest people to be ever elected to the Senate of the United States. A couple of weeks after this honor, a tragedy happened to his family.  Biden’s wife, Nelia, and their one year old daughter, Naomi, were killed. Their two young sons were also injured in the car accident.  In 1977, he remarried a woman named Jill Jacobs.

As a senator from Delaware for 36 years, Biden established himself as a leader on some of our nation’s most important domestic and international challenges.
Joe Biden was elected as Vice President  when Barack Obama got elected as United States President in 2008.   As the 47th Vice President of the United States, Vice President Biden has continued to face important issues of the nation.

 Works Cited

"Vice President Joe Biden." The White House. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Oct. 2012. <http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/vice-president-biden>.   
 
Flickr. Yahoo!, n.d. Web. 10 Oct. 2012. <http://www.flickr.com/search/?l=commderiv>.

President Obama

By Ella Beebe
Staff Writer

Barack Obama, Jr. was born on August 14, 1961 in Honolulu, Hawaii. He grew up in Hawaii then moved to Indonesia for a period of time, and  then moved back to Hawaii again. His mother’s name is Ann Dunham and his father is Barack Obama Sr. His parents married on February 2, 1961 and six months later President Obama was born. When President Obama was two his parents divorced. His father attended Harvard University and died in an accident in 1982 after only seeing President Obama once after the divorce. His mother remarried in 1966 and moved her family to Indonesia in 1967. There she had President Obama’s half sister, Maya Soetoro Ng.
   
When President Obama was ten his mother decided to send him to live with his grandparents in Hawaii. She later moved back with Maya. While President Obama lived with his grandparents he was enrolled in Punahou Academy and excelled in basketball. He graduated in 1979 as one of three black students in his entire class. Due to this, he became conscious of racism and would feel like something was wrong with him. He later saw that he was wrong.

After President Obama graduated, he studied at Occidental College in Los Angeles for two years. President Obama then transferred to Columbia University in New York. He graduated in 1985 with a degree in political science. He moved to Chicago in 1985 and worked in a community organizer group. He went to Harvard Law school in 1988 and in 1989 he met Michelle Robinson through her internship, they soon started dating. President Obama decided to move back to Chicago and be a civil rights lawyer. He also helped Bill Clinton with his 1992 campaign.

On October 3, 1992 President Obama and Michelle got married in Kenwood. Michelle had their first daughter, Malia, in 1998. In 2001 their second daughter, Sasha, was born.
President Obama first published his book, Dreams from my Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance in 1995. It is now published in ten languages.
In 1996 President Obama ran for Illinois state senator and won. As state senator he expanded the drafting of legislation on ethnic minorities for health care and early childhood education.

In 2000, President Obama was part of the U.S house of Representatives race. But he was unsuccessful. In 2004 he ran again and won. In 2001 he opposed Bush’s request to declare the Iraq war.

President Obama published another book in 2006. This book is titled The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream.

On January 20, 2009 President Obama was made the forty-fourth and first African-American president of the United States.

Works Cited

“Barack Obama Biography” Bio.com. A&E Networks Television,  2012. Web. 28 Sept. 2012 <http://www.biography.com/people/barack-obama-12782369?page=1>
Barak Obama. N.d. Photograph. Boomers Life. Web. 3 Oct. 2012. <http://www.boomerslife.org/barack_obama_early_days_career_bio.htm>.

Mitt Romney, a Biography

By Renae Paraiso

Editor in Chief

Born on March 12, 1947 in the city of Detroit Michigan, Willard Mitt Romney is the son of former Michigan Governor George Romney. Though he was born in Detroit, Romney was raised in Bloomfield, Michigan. He attended the prestigious Cranbrook School before getting an undergraduate degree from Brigham Young University. He then attended Harvard Law School and Harvard Business School, receiving a degree in law and a Master of Business Administration degree, in 1975. In 1969, Romney married Ann Davies and they had five sons: Tagg, Matt, Josh, Ben, and Craig. A year before that, his father had run for the Republican Party’s presidential nomination.

Mitt Romney

Before his presidential run, Romney worked in the management consulting firm, Brian and Company. Later on he founded Brim Capital in 1984. In the year 1994, he ran for a seat in the US Senate in Massachusetts, but was beaten by Ted Kennedy.  In 1999 he took over as president of the Salt Lake Organization  Committee. Two thousand two, he helped rescue the Winter Olympics from financial and ethical worries.

In 2003 Romney was elected as governor of Massachusetts. During his term, he oversaw the reduction of a $3 billion, deficit, and signed into law a new health care reform program that gave the residents of Massachusetts a practically universal health care. Once his term was finished, Romney declined a reelection, taking his bid for U.S. President in 2008 instead.

He made it past Super Tuesday, winning primaries in the states of Massachusetts, Alaska, Minnesota, Colorado, and Utah. But alas, Romney lost to U.S. Senator John McCain for the Republican nomination. However he still kept his options open for a possible future presidential run, maintaining many of his political staff and action committees, as he raised funds for other Republican candidates.

On June 2, 2011, Romney announced his official start for his 2012 campaign, taking in many standard Republican positions on taxes, economy, and the war on terrorists. His critics charged him with changing his position on other key issues like abortion, which he opposes, and the health care reform. Strangely enough, he publicly opposed President Obama’s health care reform program that was similar to the Massachusetts plan Romney supported in his term as governor.

From the start of the run, Romney emerged as a shoo-in for the Republican nomination and got a decisive victory in the primary with more than 39% of the votes. Far ahead of his competitors, which included Ron Paul and Jon Huntsman, his biggest competition was Rick Santorum. But Romney was able to secure a big lead in the number of delegates that were needed to seize the nomination.

On April 2012, Romney benefited from the competition narrowing when Santorum suspended his campaign. This left only two opponents: Ron Paul and Newt Gingrich. However Gingrich threw in the towel in  May. With the nomination practically his, Romney and President Obama began their war of words in June.

President Obama’s campaign ran ads claiming that Romney was the head of Bain Capital until 2001, not 1999 as he had stated previously. At about the same time, reports on the news began circulating around the economy suppressing practices by Bain Capital. The reports had stated that Romney’s company had invested in businesses that relocated jobs overseas. Both this and the ads were a huge blow on Romney’s campaign. But in retaliation, his campaign sent out its own ads, which claimed Obama was more interested in helping his donors then the American people.

However in late July, Romney received negative attention while attending the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. During his stay, he had stated in an interview with NBC that London’s preparations for the upcoming Games were “disconcerting”. This outraged Londoners and viewers worldwide.

It was only hours after the interview had been broadcast that David Cameron reprimanded Romney’s remarks by stating; “We are holding an Olympic Games in one of the busiest, most active, bustling cities in the world. Of course its easier if you hold an Olympic Games in the middle of nowhere.”

Later on, Romney retracted his earlier statement by saying, “I am very delighted with the prospects of a highly successful Olympic Games. What I have seen shows imagination, forethought, and a lot of organization, and [ I ] expect the Games to be successful.”

In early August, the criticism around his Games remake started to falter when Romney announced 42-year-old U.S. Representative, Paul Ryan as his running mate for Vice-President. Almost instantly after the announcement, ending the eight month-long coverage of potential Vice-President candidates for 2012, the media around Romney’s Campaign now focused on Ryan.

August 28, 2012, Romney officially became the Republican Party’s nominee, on the first day of the 2012 Republican National Convention. Romney and Ryan received support from other Republican politicians, including his competitor in the 2008 Republican presidential primaries, John McCain. On the second day of the convention, McCain said, “For four years, we have drifted away. People don’t want less of America, they want more. What they want to know is whether we still have faith... Mitt Romney has that faith and I trust him to lead us.”

But in retrospect, exactly how much faith should we give to one single person?

Works Cited

"Mitt Romney Biography." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 28 Sept. 2012. <http://www.biography.com/people/mitt-romney-241055?page=1>.

For Picture - "Why Mitt Romney Won't Apologize." PARADE.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Oct. 2012. <http://www.parade.com/news/intelligence-report/archive/100221-why-mitt-romney-wont-apologize.html>.

Paul Ryan, Candidate for Republican Vice-President

By Alexia Garcia

Staff Writer

Paul Ryan was born on January 29,1970 in Janesville, Wisconsin. His dad was Paul Ryan, Sr. who worked as an attorney. His mom, Betty Ryan, was a stay at home mom. Paul Ryan had one sister named Janet Ryan. Paul also had 2 brothers, Tobin and Stan.

At age 16 Ryan found his father, only 55 years old, dead in his bed from a heart attack.

Ryan has been married to Janna Ryan since 2000. They have three kids, a daughter named Liza Ryan, and two sons, Sam and Charlie.

Ryan got a degree in economics and political science at Miami University in Ohio in 1992. In 1998, at age 28, Ryan was elected to the U.S House of Representatives, representing Wisconsin Congressional in District 1. While working in the U.S. House of Representatives, he has also worked on the House Budget Committee and also is a member of the House Ways and Means Committee.

Ryan has criticized several of President Obama’s political and spending plans, as well as his 2012 – 2013 federal budget proposal. Now Ryan is currently running for Vice-President of the United States of America.

Works Cited

"Paul Ryan Biography." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 27 Sept. 2012. <http://www.biography.com/people/paul-ryan-20828085>.

United States Congress. Official Portrait of U.S. Congressman Paul Ryan (R-WI). 2012. Photograph. Wikimedia Commons. United States Congress, 2012. Web. 2 Oct. 2012. <http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/51/Paul_Ryan_official_portrait.jpg&imgrefurl=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Paul_Ryan_official_portrait.jpg&usg=__IHfS8H1EoOF_qSVgjRpvqTRZmf8=&h=2557&w=2046&sz=2246&hl=en&start=2&zoom=1&tbnid=4pEiPWW7VwDzFM:&tbnh=150&tbnw=120&ei=myhrULyJJ4PUiwLln4CYBQ&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dpaul%2Bryan%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Dactive%26sa%3DX%26gbv%3D2%26tbs%3Disz:l%26tbm%3Disch&itbs=1>.