The election is a few days away and I have no idea who I am going to vote for. I don't even know which political party I identify with. I am not a Republican nor am I strictly Democratic and with there being so many Independent Party candidates, it's really hard to decide where I belong in politics.There are four candidates: Trump (Republican, on the ballot in 50 states and D.C.), Clinton (Democrat,on the ballot in 50 states and D.C.), Johnson (Independent, on the ballot in 50 states and D.C.), and Stein (Green, on the ballot in 44 states, D.C. and three states can cast a write in vote). Which leaves a lot of choices on my ballot for presidency this year, except for Jill Stein because she isn't on Oklahoma's ballot. There are some stances that I support from each candidate when I look at the issues and the policies they plan to enact. I do not want to vote for someone just because of how they act, just because they are a woman, or worry about voting independent and my vote not making a difference.
I want to vote based on the candidates stances on the issues, on the candidates professionalism, and if the candidate I am voting for can be president.
Donald Trump:
Why I am considering:
He wants to allow working parents to be able to deduct child care expenses from their income tax.
He wants to give mothers six weeks of paid maternity leave and provide childcare in workplaces.
He will immediately add an additional federal investment of $20 billion towards school choice. This will be done by re-prioritizing existing federal dollars.
He will work with Congress on reforms to ensure universities are making a good faith effort to reduce the cost of college and student debt in exchange for the federal tax breaks and tax dollars.
Ensure that the opportunity to attend a two or four-year college, or to pursue a trade or a skill set through vocational and technical education, will be easier to access, pay for, and finish,
Ensure other countries take their people back when we order them deported.
Make clean water a high priority. Develop a long-term water infrastructure plan with city, state and federal leaders to upgrade aging water systems. Triple funding for state revolving loan fund programs to help states and local governments upgrade critical drinking water and wastewater infrastructure.
He wants to create millions of jobs through multiple opportunities
Ask all Department heads to submit a list of every wasteful and unnecessary regulation which kills jobs, and which does not improve public safety, and eliminate them.
Reduce taxes across-the-board, especially for working and middle-income Americans who will receive a massive tax reduction.
Support the whole veteran, not just their physical health care, but also by addressing their invisible wounds, investing in our service members' post-active duty success, transforming the VA to meet the needs of 21st-century service members, and better meeting the needs of our female veterans.
I see so many people I know support him I kind of question his stances on the issues to see if I agree, I hate to admit that there are stances on the issues that I agree with. I think that the Congress could keep him in line with his policies and acts as president and that maybe we could survive four years as a country if he won.
Why I am not considering:
He is pro-life (with the exception for rape, incest, and life of the mother).
He plans to defund plan parenthood.
He will have the possibility of placing four judges on the supreme court.
Begin working on an impenetrable physical wall on the southern border, on day one. Mexico will pay for the wall.
Donald J. Trump’s 10 Point Plan to Put America First*with the exception of number 7*
Donald J. Trump's 7 Point Plan To Rebuild the American Economy by Fighting for Free Trade
Does not support gay marriage
Does not support LGBT's having the same adoption rights as heterosexuals.
I don't think Trump could do the job.While the policies I don't not support is smaller than those that I do support, the small list is important to me personally. I can not support someone who has wants to build a wall around Mexico (if you want to control borders with that logic just wall up the entire United States), to keep the rapists and criminals out when not every Mexican immigrant are a rapist or criminal, and a lot are children. Trump is a racist, and as a country that has people of multiple races and ethnic backgrounds, should not support someone who has had a lawsuit filed on him for his discriminatory behavior. We are a country of illegal immigrants to begin with (unless you are a full blooded Native American) who wanted to escape religious persecution, the government and seek safety, and now we are forgetting that. Now no one is perfect and we might all have a little prejudice in us, but Trump is very outright in his thoughts. Trump was leaked stating how he has sexually assaulted women, WHICH IS NOT OKAY FOR ANYONE TO DO. Though he has tried to brush it off as "locker room" talk, it is clearly not, at least 10 women have come forward as victims. If this was a local election, I could see voting for a wealthy real-estate mogul, but this is the President, this isn't where you start getting involved in a political career.
For a full list on Trump's policies and where I found the ones I listed you can visit his website.
Hillary Clinton:
Why I am considering:
Restore basic fairness to our tax code.
Close corporate and Wall Street tax loopholes and invest in America.
Simplify and cut taxes for small businesses so they can hire and grow
Provide tax relief to working families from the rising costs they face.
Improve access to meaningful, gainful employment for people with disabilities.
Provide tax relief to help the millions of families caring for aging relatives or family members with chronic illnesses or disabilities.
LGBT equality and rights
End the epidemic of gun violence in our communities.
Protect immigrants’ rights and keep families together
Fight against environmental injustice.
Close the education achievement gap
Addiction and Substance abuse reforms and plans of actions.
Pro-Choice
I agree with most of Hillary's policies, stances and plans for president.
Why I am not considering:
She has the possibility of appointing four supreme court justices.
I don't think she is trust worthy. I am a believer of conspiracy theories and there are a lot about her and her husband. Even though her emails are a big scandal, and also could be blown out of proportion, but what if they aren't? She isn't consistent on where she stands on issues, which when voting for a president I don't want someone to say they support something and then implement laws and acts against it. She lies constantly, she lied about being attacked in Bosnia with her daughter. She defended a guilty rapist and smeared the victim during her time as a lawyer. She has threatened women who have accused her husband of sexual assault. She has received millions in donations from foreign governments through the Clinton Foundation. Also if she's for the middle class why does she charge 200,000 for speaking at an event?
Even though I agree with her stances now, I don't think I can vote for such a corrupt candidate that flip-flops her stances and doesn't stick to her word.
To see all of Hillary's position on the issues visit her website.
Gary Johnson:
Why I am considering:
A balanced budget
Governor Johnson advocates for the elimination of special interest tax loopholes, to get rid of the double-taxation on small businesses, and ultimately, the replacement of all income and payroll taxes with a single consumption tax that determines your tax burden by how much you spend, not how much you earn.
Setting Term Limits for congress.
Wants to create the conditions for companies to create jobs in the states.
Wants to protect our civil liberties.
He believes that people, not politicians, should make choices in their personal lives. Responsible adults should be free to marry whom they want, arm themselves if they want, and lead their personal lives as they see fit — as long as they aren’t harming anyone else in doing so.
Legalize marijuana
Pro-choice
As President, Gary Johnson will move quickly and decisively to cut off the funding on which violent extremist armies depend. He will repair relationships with our allies. And he will only send our brave soldiers to war when clearly authorized by Congress after meaningful, transparent deliberation and debate.
He wants to protect both LGBT rights and religious freedoms.
Military will not be asked to engage in nation-building or to somehow resolve conflicts on the other side of the globe that have defied resolution for hundreds of years. The men and women of our military will only be asked to protect and defend the United States – and to do so with a firm understanding of the objective.
Provide Veterans with the health care, support and transitional assistance they deserve – and rightfully expect.
Governors Johnson and Weld believe that, instead of appealing to emotions and demonizing immigrants, we should focus on creating a more efficient system of providing work visas, conducting background checks, and incentivizing non-citizens to pay their taxes, obtain proof of employment, and otherwise assimilate with our diverse society.
Governors Johnson and Weld strongly believe that the federal government should prevent future harm to the environment by focusing on regulations that protect us from real harm
Wants to eliminate Common Core and leave education to the states' decision.
He wants to take in Syrian Refugees.*
Why I am not considering:
He doesn't have much of a plan for criminal justice reform.
He doesn't have a plan to take in Syrian Refugees.*
He accepts climate change is happening and is man made but thinks the government should not get involved.*
He doesn't have a lot of ideas on college, student debt, and the economy.*
He doesn't support paid medical and family leave.*
He does not believe that vaccination should be mandatory.*
Gary Johnson is against a federal minimum wage, tuition-free college, gun restrictions, and the trans-pacific partnership, even though he fully doesn't understand it. Johnson is for big money in politics, and believes corporations should be able to spend as much they want, when they want and to whomever they want*. He also isn't against fracking and believes we should be doing more*, which living in Oklahoma I believe is affecting our environment. When Governor of New Mexico he increased the state's debt $2.8 million.*
*These were found while reading this Rolling Stone article.
To me, after conducting this research I think Governor Johnson is just saying things to please those who don't support either candidate. He doesn't have a lot of information on important issues or what to do when he gets into office to start implementing his ideas. His political platform hasn't really changed since 2012 election and only .99 percent of the U.S. voted for him, and now with the population having to pick between "the lesser of two evils" he has been gaining popularity.
To view all of Governor Johnson's positions on the issues visit his website .
Jill Stein
Why I am considering:
She wants to work towards changing the path we on due to climate change.
She wants to end fracking.
She wants to end dependence on fossil fuels and focus on alternative energy.
Protect our public lands, water supplies, biological diversity, parks, and pollinators. Ban neonicotinoids and other pesticides that threaten the survival of bees, butterflies, and other pollinators.
Invest in clean air, water, food and soil for everyone.
She wants to help end poverty by creating living wage jobs, establish economic human rights.
Health care as a right, which would include mental health care, dental and vision.
Allow full access to contraceptive and reproductive care.
Expand women's access to "morning after" contraception by lifting the Obama Administration's ban.
Pro-Choice
Guarantee tuition-free, world-class public education from pre-school through university.
Abolish student debt to free a generation of Americans from debt servitude.
Replace Common Core with curriculum developed by educators, not corporations, with input from parents and communities.
Restore arts, music and recreation to school curriculums. Ensure racially inclusive, sensitive and relevant curriculums.
Ensure equal pay for equal work, ending discrimination based on race, gender, or generation.
Enact paid sick leave and family leave, strong overtime protections.
Protect LGBT, women, indeginous people and internet freedom.
Her immigration platform
Legalizing marijuna, removing non-violent drug offenders from prison, supports Black Lives Matter movement, supports the use of bodycams by police.
Freeze the bank accounts of countries that are funding terrorism, including the Saudi royal family.
Guarantee equal access to the debates to all ballot-qualified candidates.
Why I am not considering:
She is not on my ballot.
Most of her platform is based on impacting the environment and creating jobs to help the environment
Free universal child care (which I like the idea, however I question how would child care employees get paid by)
End paid leave or desk-duty for police officers being actively investigated for a civilian shooting or deadly force.
America's youth should not be put in jail for offenses they commit.
End discrimination against former offenders who have paid for their crimes and should get a fresh start.
Abolish the death penalty.
Repeal the Patriot Act that violates our constitutional right to privacy and protection against unreasonable search and seizure.
End use of assassination as an instrument of U.S. foreign policy, including collaborative assassination through intermediaries. Ban use of drone aircraft for assassination, bombing, and other offensive purposes.
Stein has no political experience, and has lost almost every election she has ran for at multiple levels of our government and they were not close losses. I don't think she has any clue on how to execute any of her platform. Which I find upsetting because I do support most of it. Her party isn't very successful and needs remodeling. Honestly if Jill Stein was more experienced and did seem to be running for office just as a "job" then I could see getting behind her. However if you supported Bernie, supporting Jill is not the same.
To view all of Jill Stein's platform visit her website.
I know I shouldn't have mainly gotten most of my election news watching Saturday Night Live skits; however writing this article I believe I have finally educated myself on where each candidates' stands on the issues, on the candidates' professionalism, and if the candidate I am voting for can be president. This is my first election and I want to fulfill my civic duty to vote. would I feel okay if I voted to leave this country in their hands, and honestly after doing the research I have no clue still. It's really frustrating because I thought this would help me, but it just made me more confused. I support a lot of the candidates' platforms, however I don't support their professionalism, and maybe it's just the way of a politician. I will see you all on November 28th
Having a hard time deciding who to vote for? Check out these links to see each candidates' stances on the issues and take a quiz to see who you agree most with!
http://www.theskimm.com/2016-election/issues
http://2016election.procon.org/view.source-summary...
https://www.isidewith.com/candidate-guide/
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