PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES AND RELIGION:
Year 2000 election
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The next president and vice president of the U.S. will probably be
either a Democrat or a Republican. Minor parties (Constitution, Green,
Libertarian, Natural Law, Reform) have all fielded candidates, but each
will probably only receive a few percent of the votes. Votes for the minor
parties will sway total votes to and away from the main parties. However,
their chance of gaining power in 2000 is miniscule.
Listed below are Bush's and Gore's support on a number of religiously-related
matters. The table is derived from:
 | A chart by the People for the
American Way, who prepared the data from "publicly available
information such as campaign materials, speeches, news articles and voting
records." 1 |
 | A list by AREN Inc, Alternative Religions Educational Network. 3 |
Individual: |
George Bush |
Al Gore |
Party |
Republican |
Democrat |
Current abortion access |
Opposed |
Favor |
Parental notification for minors |
Strongly favor |
Strongly oppose |
Banning late-term abortions |
Strongly favor |
Somewhat oppose |
Current affirmative action |
Opposed |
Favor |
Stem cell research * |
Opposed |
Favor |
Law banning employment discrimination against gays |
Opposed |
Favor |
Including gays in hate crime laws |
Opposed |
Favor |
Banning the Ten Commandments in public buildings |
Opposed |
Favor |
Organized prayer in public schools |
Strongly favor |
Somewhat oppose |
Increased gun control |
Opposed |
Favor |
Trigger lock requirement |
Strongly oppose |
Strongly favor |
Extend waiting period at gun shows |
Strongly oppose |
Strongly favor |
Require safety course |
Strongly oppose |
Strongly favor |
Require photo license |
Strongly oppose |
Strongly favor |
Model supreme court appointees after: |
Conservative justices: Scalia & Thomas |
Liberal justice: T. Marshall |
School vouchers |
Strongly favor |
Strongly oppose |
Death penalty |
Strongly favor |
Strongly favor |
Constitutional amendment to criminalize flag burning |
Strongly favor |
Strongly oppose |
Foreign economic aid |
Strongly oppose |
Strongly favor |
Flat income tax |
Somewhat favor |
Strongly oppose |
Reduce capital gains tax |
Strongly favor |
Somewhat favor |
Tax credits for stay-at-home parents |
Strongly favor |
Strongly favor |
Public financing of political campaigns |
Strongly oppose |
Somewhat favor |
Ban soft money contributions |
Somewhat favor |
Strongly favor |
* Stem cell research involves the extraction of special cells
from discarded human embryos. They may eventually have the potential to cure
Parkinson's, ALS, spinal cord injury, Huntington's, Alzheimer's and other
devastating diseases. 4
The two leading political parties provide American voters with a clear choice
on moral and religious issues, except on the death penalty
and tax credits for stay-at-home parents.

Is there a "religious" vote?
According to ReligionToday news summary for 2000-FEB-21:
"Born-again" voters still may play a key role in the
November election, pollster George Barna says. "Many vestiges of the
political unity and power of the born-again Christian population are gone,"
Barna said in a Feb. 17 report. "The Moral Majority has been disbanded.
The Christian Coalition has shifted gears and leaders. Pat Robertson has sold
his television network. Yet, the born-again constituency may emerge as a key
voting bloc in the November presidential election." 2
...There are just as many born-gain Democrats as Republicans registered to
vote, Barna found in a nationwide survey. Other findings: Born-again Christians
are more likely to be registered to vote, and they would back Republican George
W. Bush (56%) to over Democrat Al Gore (30%). In an election against Gore, Bush
would reap 55% of his votes from the born-again constituency, Barna said.

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Associated essay:

Reference:
- "Presidential chart on selected civil rights and constitutional
issues," People for the American Way, at: http://www.pfaw.org/issues/right/candidatechart-onepage.pdf
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at: http://www.ReligionToday.com.
These summaries are part of GOSHEN.net
- "Presidential Candidates," AREN at: http://www.aren.org/candidates.html
- M.J. Fox, "A crucial election for medical research," New
York Times, at: http://www.nytimes.com/2000/11/01/opinion/


Copyright © 2000
Originally written: 2000-FEB-17
Latest update: 2000-NOV-3
Author: B.A. Robinson

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