[lead]Do you enjoy recycled gossip, unreliable narrators, debunked lies and Trump-esque conspiracy theories? Then do we have the book for you! [/lead]

Today, Gary Byrne’s Crisis of Character comes out. Written by a low-ranking Secret Service agent with almost no direct access to the First Family, this book is the latest right-wing attack on Hillary Clinton. Throughout this fabulist work of historical fiction, Byrne makes extravagant and increasingly fantastical claims about what he saw in the Clinton White House.

Unfortunately, the early reviews are not good! The Association of Former Agents of the U.S. Secret Service told readers that “one must question the veracity and content of any book which implies that its author played such an integral part of so many [claimed] incidents.” BuzzFeed found major discrepancies between the allegations in Byrne’s book and sworn testimony he gave in the 1990s. The New York Times’ Gail Collins said that Byrne’s “juiciest anecdotes are just a rehash of old rumors.”

Still interested? Last week, we released eight things you need to know about Crisis of Character—now, we give you nine:

1. Gary Byrne was Not Charged with Directly Protecting the President, Which Makes the Claims of What He Saw Highly Suspect

Gary Byrne proudly declared in the introduction to his book that he fulfilled his dream of being in the Secret Service’s Uniformed Division and that he was, “The last barrier before anyone saw Bill Clinton.” The problem with Byrne’s claim about his proximity to the President is that it does not match his job description. The Presidential Protective Division (PPD) is tasked with protecting the President and their immediate family, not the Uniformed Division (UD). UD officers stand at static posts to protect buildings, while the PPD travels with the principals and protects people. This makes Byrne’s “Crisis of Character” all the more suspect.

Gary Byrne Highlighted his Close Proximity to the Clintons While he was in the Secret Service…

Gary Byrne said he witnessed firsthand the Clintons’ personal lives. “I witnessed firsthand the Clintons’ personal and professional dysfunction: So consumed were they by scandal, so intent on destroying their real or imagined enemies, that governing became an afterthought.”

Gary Byrne said people “didn’t hear and see what we did around the Executive Mansion.” “Nobody knew everything that was going on at the Clinton White House. Not even President Clinton’s press guru, George Stephanopoulos. He wasn’t there at night, and some of the best (or worst) moments happened after hours. People like George didn’t hear and see what we did around the Executive Mansion, so my guess is they didn’t know how Hillary battled her husband in the West Wing.”

But Gary Byrne was a Rank and File Member of the Uniformed Division…

Gary Byrne said he was a member of the Secret Service Uniformed Division. “I dreamed of becoming an elite White House Secret Service officer, a member of its Uniformed Division. Nothing more — and certainly nothing less. My dream came true. I stood guard, a pistol at my hip, outside the Oval Office, the last barrier before anyone saw Bill Clinton.”

Gary Byrne was posted at Secret Service Post E-6, which was outside the Oval Office. “One morning in late summer 1995, I entered the White House to assume my post just outside the Oval Office – officially Secret Service Post E-6. Things were stirring, and I wanted to know why. Everyone on post that night, Secret Service agents (SAs), Secret Service Uniformed Division officers like myself…”

And the Uniformed Division Did not Protect the President Directly

The Secret Service’s Office of Protection Operations included the Presidential Protective Division and the Uniformed Division. “Office of Protection Operations (OPO): The Office of Protective Operations plans, directs, coordinates, and implements protective policies, programs, and operations of the Secret Service. The OPO ensures that all protected persons, places, and events receive the most appropriate level of protection, based upon a thorough assessment of associated threats and vulnerabilities, to reduce the risk of harm to the protectee and includes the following divisions: Presidential Protective Division (PPD) […] [and] Uniformed Division (UD).”

• Presidential Protective Division protected the President and members of the immediate family. “Presidential Protective Division (PPD): This division protects the President of the United States and members of his immediate family at all times; conducts protective security surveys and performs numerous special projects pertinent to Presidential and First Family protection.”
• Former supervisor of the Presidential Protective Division said the inner perimeter was “100 percent” controlled by the PPD.“‘The inner perimeter is 100 percent controlled by the presidential protective division,’ said a former supervisor of the presidential protective division, who asked not to be identified by name.”
• Uniformed Division protected the White House complex, foreign embassies, and consulates. “Uniformed Division (UD): This division is responsible for protecting the White House Complex and foreign embassies and consulates in and around the Washington, D.C. area.”

Secret Service veterans took issue with Gary Byrne inflating his role, who as a uniformed officer was “the lowest level of protection within the White House.” “The book has rankled current and former members of the Secret Service, who don’t like anyone airing business in public — but who also take issue with Byrne inflating his role. Byrne was a uniformed officer in Bill Clinton’s White House. But that’s the lowest level of protection within the White House and around their the president.”

Gary Byrne claims to have walked in on Bill Clinton in the Map Room with Eleanor Mondale. Gary Byrne would have been stopped by the Secret Service presidential detail if he had tried to get near the door. “People familiar with West Wing security laugh at the idea that Byrne or any uniformed officer ever would have walked in on Bill Clinton anywhere, whether in a meeting or, as a New York Post article over the weekend claims, in the middle of a make-out session in the Map Room with the late daughter of former Vice President Walter Mondale. The Secret Service presidential detail would have stopped him. (That affair was a well-worn rumor during the Clinton years, though strongly denied by Eleanor Mondale, who died of brain cancer in 2011.)”

Association of Former Agents of the United States Secret Service president said some of Gary Byrne’s statements do not coincide with the Secret Service operational plan. ‘“Operationally, one who has the working knowledge of how things are done there would realize that certain of those statements do not coincide with the operational plan,’ said Jan Gilhooly, AFAUSSS president and a 29-year Secret Service veteran.”

Secret Service veterans said before word of Gary Byrne’s book, they had never heard of him. “Gilhooly said he doesn’t remember ever meeting Byrne, or knowing who he was before word of the book started circulating. The former supervisor of the presidential protective division also said Byrne didn’t ring a bell.”

2. Secret Service Veterans Blasted Gary Byrne for Having “Underlying Motives”

Gary Byrne’s “Crisis of Character” is a hit piece short on facts that attempts to smear the Clintons. And you don’t even need to take our word for it. Secret Service veterans said Gary Byrne’s book had an “underlying motive” and said there was “no way” he saw the events the way he claimed he saw them. These concerning characterizations further prove that Gary Byrne is not a trustworthy source and his book should be discarded like the Clinton hit pieces that came before it.

Secret Service Veterans Denounced “Crisis of Character”

The nonpartisan Association of Former Agents of the United States Secret Service (AFAUSSS) issued a rare statement strongly denouncing “Crisis of Character.” “On Tuesday, AFAUSSS, which is strictly nonpartisan, is set to release a statement blasting Gary Byrne author of ‘Crisis in Character,’ saying members ‘strongly denounce’ the book, which they add has made security harder by eroding the trust between agents and the people they protect. […] AFAUSSS rarely issues public statements of any kind.”

AFAUSSS said Gary Byrne’s “Crisis of Character” had an “underlying motive.” “‘There is no place for any self-moralizing narratives, particularly those with an underlying motive,’ reads the statement from the group’s board of directors, which says Byrne has politics and profit on his mind.”

AFAUSSS questioned the “veracity and content” of “Crisis of Character.” “The group’s statement, which POLITICO obtained in advance of its release, very carefully calls Byrne a liar. ‘One must question the veracity and content of any book which implies that its author played such an integral part of so many [claimed] incidents. Any critique of management by one who has never managed personnel or programs resounds hollow. Additionally, why would an employee wait in excess of ten years after terminating his employment with the Service to make his allegations public?’ it reads.”

Secret Service Veterans said There was “No Way” Gary Byrne saw Events The Way he Claimed he Saw Them

Former supervisor of the Presidential Protective Division said there was “no way” Gary Byrne saw events the way he’s purporting to have seen it.“The former supervisor of the presidential protective division said that at best Byrne is working from office rumors that he’s cinematically written himself into. People spend decades on presidential details and don’t rack up the number of amazing scenes Byrne claims to have witnessed in just a few years as a uniformed officer. ‘Did Gary Byrne hear an anecdotal story being told by a couple of agents? Maybe. But did Gary Byrne see it the way he’s purporting to have seen it? No way. That’s a lifetime worth of events this individual saw in a very short amount of time,” the former supervisor said.”

Secret Service veterans said Gary Byrne did not have the intimate access needed to see what he claimed he saw. “The closest contact that Byrne could have had, according to Gilhooly and others, is seeing the president or the first lady pass in the hallway — far from the intimate access he would have needed to catch Bill Clinton in the act or see Hillary Clinton fly into the cursing rages he now writes have convinced him that she doesn’t have the ‘integrity and temperament’ to be president.”

If any uniformed officer, like Gary Byrne, had been posted near a room Bill Clinton entered, he would have been moved. “And if Byrne or any uniformed officer had been posted near a room the president entered, he would have been moved at least 15 yards away, to the outer edges of the security bubble — not quite what Byrne describes in his book: ‘I stood guard, pistol at my hip, outside the Oval Office, the last barrier before anyone saw Bill Clinton,’ according to the Post, which has been teasing excerpts of the book.”

Former Secret Service agents insisted that Gary Byrne’s low-level post did not give him regular contact with the Clintons. “Byrne, who was unavailable for comment but joined Twitter this month to promote his book, spent three years of Bill Clinton’s presidency stationed outside the Oval Office — a low-level post that is not part of the elite protective detail. Former agents insist it would not have put him in regular contact with the Clintons, but Byrne claims that it gave him intimate access to the first couple and their sometimes alarming personal quirks.”

3. Conservatives with No Credibility Created “Crisis of Character”

Gary Byrne’s “Crisis of Character” is like a who’s who of conservative backers. From the ghostwriter’s anti-Hillary bias, to help from a conservative historian who wanted to hear more about Benghazi, to Ted Cruz’s literary agent, this hit piece should be discarded and put in the fantasy section next to Ed Klein’s “novels.”

4. Gary Byrne’s Suspect Credibility Called Into Question as he Contradicts Sworn Testimony That Also Included Gossip and Rumors

Gary Byrne is hardly a credibly character. His testimony from the 1990s is full of gossip, rumors, and inconsistencies. “Crisis of Character” even contradicts some of his sworn testimony. The book reads more like a gossip column and should be taken as seriously as the latest edition of the National Enquirer.

Gary Byrne’s Testimony Included Innuendos and “Little Tidbit Rumors”

Gary Byrne admitted his testimony to Ken Starr’s independent investigation involved, “innuendoes and accusations, little tidbit rumors.”

Gary Byrne’s “Crisis of Character” Contradicted His Sworn Testimony

Gary Byrne claimed he told steward Bayani Nelvis that he would throw out the lipstick-stained towels himself. “I calmed Nel, reassuring him that I’d take care of this myself. Wouldn’t have to worry about it. He brought me the rest of the linens.  From a nearby trash can, under the liner, I knew there was a roll of more trash can liners. I grabbed a new one as I scanned the hallway, already preparing an excuse should another officer ask what I was doing. I placed the offending linens in the trash bag and hid them in a furniture drawer near my post. I didn’t let that drawer out of my sight until my very long day was done. Getting the trash bag to my gym bag to my car involved some risky moments, but I made it. In D.C. traffic I worried, Have I just illegally destroyed evidence?” [Gary Byrne, Crisis of Character, p. 115]

Gary Byrne claimed he saw Bill Clinton and Eleanor Mondale in a compromising position in the Map Room. “There before us was E! Network host Eleanor Mondale – former vice president Walter Mondale’s daughter—and President Clinton in a compromising position, that is, making out on the Map Room table.” [Gary Byrne, Crisis of Character, p. 112]

Gary Byrne claimed he heard an officer or staffer walked in on Eleanor Mondale and Bill Clinton in a movie theater. “I corroborated what I (among many others) had heard of how an officer or a staff person had walked in on Eleanor and the president in the White House movie theater.” [Gary Byrne, Crisis of Character, p. 161]

5. Recycles Old, Already Reported Material

“Crisis of Character” recycles old, already reported material and treats it like breaking news. These previously reported tales should be regarded as yawn-worthy old news that tells us nothing new.

6. Repeats Debunked and Discredited Allegations About the Clintons

Facts seem to be optional for Gary Byrne. Sound like someone else we know? Gary Byrne’s Donald Trump-esque attacks on the Clintons show that he values rumors and titillating tales over the truth.

Cynically Refers to Widely Debunked Conspiracy Theories About Vince Foster’s Tragic Suicide

Gary Byrne wondered if the Clintons had killed Vince Foster. “I saw firsthand how the First Couple had lied, demeaned, and manipulated in such an arrogant and gutless fashion. But could they actually be behind so many of the suspicious –or merely coincidental – deaths surrounding their activities? Had they really killed Vince Foster? Was it even possibly? It weighed on me.” [Gary Byrne, Crisis of Character, p. 153]

Gary Byrne called the Vince Foster suicide “spooky,” and cited carpet fibers found on his suit coat. “Foster eventually took his own life in Fort Marcy Park. […] But that, along with many other public details of the case (carpet fibers on his suit coat, etc.), made his case spooky.” [Gary Byrne, Crisis of Character, p. 66-7]

Gary Byrne compared himself to Vince Foster. “Suddenly, I realized, This must be what Vince Foster felt like – no escape except one. I never felt as if I had no way out, nor did suicide ever cross my mind. But I was overcome by desperation.” [Gary Byrne, Crisis of Character, p. 150]

Repeats Discredited Claims About Bill Clinton

Gary Byrne said he saw Bill Clinton and Eleanor Mondale together.“Another complete lie. The gall! He was seeing Eleanor, the B-list media star. I’d surprised them in the Map Room and had testified about it!” [Gary Byrne, Crisis of Character, p. 186]

Repeats Debunked Attacks on Whitewater

Gary Byrne tied the Clintons to Whitewater and described it as “a lot of money moving around in unethical ways.” “And then there was Whitewater, with a lot of money moving around in unethical ways. The Clintons had invested about $200,000 in Arkansas’s Whitewater Development Corporation losing $67,000 of it when the feds shuttered Whitewater for cooking its books and acting as a money-laundering front for local politicians and favor-seeking businesses. How the Clintons could invest so much money while wallowing in $50,000 of campaign debt still mystifies me.” [Gary Byrne, Crisis of Character, p. 80]

7. Gary Byrne’s “Crisis of Character” Has Striking Similarities to Already Discredited Clinton Hit Pieces

There’s a whole cottage industry dedicated to attacking the Clintons, and it looks like Gary Byrne wants in. He can join the likes of Donald Trump super-fan and notorious Clinton hater Roger Stone, Ronald Kessler, and many more! “Crisis of Character” is full of similarities to these old, discredited reads and should be treated as nothing more than fantasy.

8. Gary Byrne Lives in Same Conspiracy Theory Fantasyland as Donald Trump

Gary Byrne shows his true colors as a Trumpian, Clinton conspiracy theorist, and his tall tales show striking similarities to Donald Trump’s wildly inaccurate claims he’s made throughout his campaign. Donald Trump has made it known he plans to dredge up discredited conspiracy theories, and it looks like he’ll have some help from Gary Byrne’s Clinton fantasy novel.

9. Gary Byrne Peddled Discredited Personal Attacks and Rumors About The Clintons

Gary Byrne’s clear ulterior motives became painfully obvious as he delved into debunked, rumor-loaded falsities that read like the daydream of a low-ranking ex-employee. His credibility should be called into question as he repeats unsubstantiated rumors and personal attacks about the Clintons.

False Tales on Clintons’ Relationship with the Secret Service

Gary Byrne claimed Clintons charged the Secret Service for rent. “To protect the Clintons, Secret Service personnel were stationed at a former garage on the property, and I had the chance to spend some time there on protection details myself. Rumors have since swirled that the Clintons receive $1,100 per month rent from the Secret Service. That doesn’t appear to be the case. But what I heard from other Secret Service personnel on the scene was this: The Service paid $7,000 per month rent on an adjacent house to serve as their unit headquarters from a rental company. Again, nothing wrong there. But what was also well known and what I also heard was that-at least for a while-the Clintons were charging the identical amount for that small garage of theirs to the Secret Service to basically have the Service cover the cost of their mortgage as Hillary ran for office.” [Gary Byrne, Crisis of Character, p. 276]

Gary Byrne said the Clintons had a “very bad working relationship” with the Secret Service. “Even more, they suspected we would enact sabotage on behalf of President Bush. They even voiced those conspiracy theories around us! It all set the groundwork for a very bad working relationship between the Clintons and the Secret Service.” [Gary Byrne, Crisis of Character, p. 41]

Gary Byrne said the Clintons blamed the Secret Service for scheduling and other problems. “Sometimes it seemed as though the Clinton campaign staff could get nothing right, and they blamed us for many scheduling problems, among other issues.” [Gary Byrne, Crisis of Character, p. 40]

“Crisis of Character” Presented Rumors About the Clintons As Facts

Gary Byrne: “The Clintons directed others to lie for them.” “The Clintons directed others to lie for them, never in writing (as far as I knew), but I had seen lying firsthand. Their culture of corruption had pushed me out of my post and eventually from the White House. I feared it would push me from the Service as well. Many in the Service just said, ‘I don’t remember,’ ‘I’m not sure,’ ‘I don’t recall,’ or ‘I can neither confirm nor deny,’ or they obstructed justice by constantly standing by privileged information. The spirit was to protect the president and protect the Service.” [Gary Byrne, Crisis of Character, p. 146-7]

Gary Byrne said White House personnel who had limited finances did not challenge the Clintons accounts because they couldn’t afford it. “That’s part of the damage the Clintons callously inflicted on the men and women sworn to lay down their lives to protect them. The Clintons knew that on meager Secret Service salaries they could never legally afford to challenge them, to reveal their secrets. Financially strapped and fearful of retribution, White House personnel found it sensible to fall back on a convenient ‘I don’t recall.’” [Gary Byrne, Crisis of Character, p. 142-3]

Gary Byrne proudly declared in the introduction to his book that he fulfilled his dream of being in the Secret Service’s Uniformed Division and that he was, “The last barrier before anyone saw Bill Clinton.” The problem with Byrne’s claim about his proximity to the President is that it does not match his job description. The Presidential Protective Division (PPD) is tasked with protecting the President and their immediate family, not the Uniformed Division (UD). UD officers stand at static posts to protect buildings, while the PPD travels with the principals and protects people. This makes Byrne’s “Crisis of Character” all the more suspect.

Gary Byrne Highlighted his Close Proximity to the Clintons While he was in the Secret Service…

Gary Byrne said he witnessed firsthand the Clintons’ personal lives.

Gary Byrne said people “didn’t hear and see what we did around the Executive Mansion.”

But Gary Byrne was a Rank and File Member of the Uniformed Division…

Gary Byrne said he was a member of the Secret Service Uniformed Division.

Gary Byrne was posted at Secret Service Post E-6, which was outside the Oval Office.

And the Uniformed Division Did not Protect the President Directly

The Secret Service’s Office of Protection Operations included the Presidential Protective Division and the Uniformed Division.

Presidential Protective Division protected the President and members of the immediate family.

Former supervisor of the Presidential Protective Division said the inner perimeter was “100 percent” controlled by the PPD.

Uniformed Division protected the White House complex, foreign embassies, and consulates.

Secret Service veterans took issue with Gary Byrne inflating his role, who as a uniformed officer was “the lowest level of protection within the White House.”

Gary Byrne claims to have walked in on Bill Clinton in the Map Room with Eleanor Mondale. Gary Byrne would have been stopped by the Secret Service presidential detail if he had tried to get near the door. 

Association of Former Agents of the United States Secret Service president said some of Gary Byrne’s statements do not coincide with the Secret Service operational plan.

Secret Service veterans said before word of Gary Byrne’s book, they had never heard of him.

Interested Parties,

Stories out today from Politico and Buzzfeed on Crisis of Character, the latest book from the right wing attempting to smear Bill and Hillary Clinton, outline its total lack of credibility. The author, Gary Byrne, is a former Secret Service agent who worked at the White House during Bill Clinton’s presidency. While he claims he was “the last barrier before anyone saw Bill Clinton,” in fact, he had little to no access to the Clintons.

Byrne could not have seen what he claims he saw. As a member of the Uniformed Division, he would not have had access to the President and First Lady as he claims in his book. In fact, those who are familiar with Secret Service presidential detail “laugh[ed]” at his claims of walking in on Bill Clinton. Further undermining his credibility, in prior sworn testimony, Byrne said he had no direct knowledge of the things he is pretending to know now. This book is recycled gossip and presents nothing new.

Below are eight things you should know about Crisis of Character.

David Brock
Founder, Correct The Record

EIGHT THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT CRISIS OF CHARACTER

“As far as I was concerned, Secret Service meant secret, dammit. We were not in the business of telling anyone what we saw while on the job.”

–Gary Byrne, “Crisis of Character”

1. Gary Byrne was Not Charged with Directly Protecting the President, Which Makes the Claims of What He Saw Highly Suspect

Gary Byrne proudly declared in the introduction to his book that he fulfilled his dream of being in the Secret Service’s Uniformed Division and that he was, “The last barrier before anyone saw Bill Clinton.” The problem with Byrne’s claim about his proximity to the President is that it does not match his job description. The Presidential Protective Division (PPD) is tasked with protecting the President and their immediate family, not the Uniformed Division (UD). UD officers stand at static posts to protect buildings, while the PPD travels with the principals and protects people.This makes Byrne’s “Crisis of Character” all the more suspect.

Gary Byrne Highlighted his Close Proximity to the Clintons While he was in the Secret Service…

Gary Byrne said he witnessed firsthand the Clintons’ personal lives. “I witnessed firsthand the Clintons’ personal and professional dysfunction: So consumed were they by scandal, so intent on destroying their real or imagined enemies, that governing became an afterthought.” [Gary Byrne, Crisis of Character, p. XI]

Gary Byrne said people “didn’t hear and see what we did around the Executive Mansion.”“Nobody knew everything that was going on at the Clinton White House. Not even President Clinton’s press guru, George Stephanopoulos. He wasn’t there at night, and some of the best (or worst) moments happened after hours. People like George didn’t hear and see what we did around the Executive Mansion, so my guess is they didn’t know how Hillary battled her husband in the West Wing.” [Gary Byrne, Crisis of Character, p. 1]

But Gary Byrne was a Rank and File Member of the Uniformed Division…

Gary Byrne said he was a member of the Secret Service Uniformed Division. “I dreamed of becoming an elite White House Secret Service officer, a member of its Uniformed Division. Nothing more — and certainly nothing less. My dream came true. I stood guard, a pistol at my hip, outside the Oval Office, the last barrier before anyone saw Bill Clinton.” [Gary Byrne, Crisis of Character, p. IX]

Gary Byrne was posted at Secret Service Post E-6, which was outside the Oval Office. “One morning in late summer 1995, I entered the White House to assume my post just outside the Oval Office – officially Secret Service Post E-6. Things were stirring, and I wanted to know why. Everyone on post that night, Secret Service agents (SAs), Secret Service Uniformed Division officers like myself…” [Gary Byrne, Crisis of Character, p. IX]

And the Uniformed Division Did not Protect the President Directly

The Secret Service’s Office of Protection Operations included the Presidential Protective Division and the Uniformed Division. “Office of Protection Operations (OPO): The Office of Protective Operations plans, directs, coordinates, and implements protective policies, programs, and operations of the Secret Service. The OPO ensures that all protected persons, places, and events receive the most appropriate level of protection, based upon a thorough assessment of associated threats and vulnerabilities, to reduce the risk of harm to the protectee and includes the following divisions: Presidential Protective Division (PPD) […] [and] Uniformed Division (UD).”

• Presidential Protective Division protected the President and members of the immediate family. “Presidential Protective Division (PPD): This division protects the President of the United States and members of his immediate family at all times; conducts protective security surveys and performs numerous special projects pertinent to Presidential and First Family protection.”

• Former supervisor of the Presidential Protective Division said the inner perimeter was “100 percent” controlled by the PPD. “‘The inner perimeter is 100 percent controlled by the presidential protective division,’ said a former supervisor of the presidential protective division, who asked not to be identified by name.”

• Uniformed Division protected the White House complex, foreign embassies, and consulates. “Uniformed Division (UD): This division is responsible for protecting the White House Complex and foreign embassies and consulates in and around the Washington, D.C. area.”

Secret Service veterans took issue with Gary Byrne inflating his role, who as a uniformed officer was “the lowest level of protection within the White House.” “The book has rankled current and former members of the Secret Service, who don’t like anyone airing business in public — but who also take issue with Byrne inflating his role. Byrne was a uniformed officer in Bill Clinton’s White House. But that’s the lowest level of protection within the White House and around their the president.”

Gary Byrne claims to have walked in on Bill Clinton in the Map Room with Eleanor Mondale. Gary Byrne would have been stopped by the Secret Service presidential detail if he had tried to get near the door. “People familiar with West Wing security laugh at the idea that Byrne or any uniformed officer ever would have walked in on Bill Clinton anywhere, whether in a meeting or, as a New York Post article over the weekend claims, in the middle of a make-out session in the Map Room with the late daughter of former Vice President Walter Mondale. The Secret Service presidential detail would have stopped him. (That affair was a well-worn rumor during the Clinton years, though strongly denied by Eleanor Mondale, who died of brain cancer in 2011.)”

Association of Former Agents of the United States Secret Service president said some of Gary Byrne’s statements do not coincide with the Secret Service operational plan. ‘“Operationally, one who has the working knowledge of how things are done there would realize that certain of those statements do not coincide with the operational plan,’ said Jan Gilhooly, AFAUSSS president and a 29-year Secret Service veteran.”

Secret Service veterans said before word of Gary Byrne’s book, they had never heard of him.“Gilhooly said he doesn’t remember ever meeting Byrne, or knowing who he was before word of the book started circulating. The former supervisor of the presidential protective division also said Byrne didn’t ring a bell.”

2. Secret Service Veterans Blasted Gary Byrne for Having “Underlying Motives”

Gary Byrne’s “Crisis of Character” is a hit piece short on facts that attempts to smear the Clintons. And you don’t even need to take our word for it. Secret Service veterans said Gary Byrne’s book had an “underlying motive” and said there was “no way” he saw the events the way he claimed he saw them. These concerning characterizations further prove that Gary Byrne is not a trustworthy source and his book should be discarded like the Clinton hit pieces that came before it.

Secret Service Veterans Denounced “Crisis of Character”

The nonpartisan Association of Former Agents of the United States Secret Service (AFAUSSS) issued a rare statement strongly denouncing “Crisis of Character.” “On Tuesday, AFAUSSS, which is strictly nonpartisan, is set to release a statement blasting Gary Byrne author of ‘Crisis in Character,’ saying members ‘strongly denounce’ the book, which they add has made security harder by eroding the trust between agents and the people they protect. […] AFAUSSS rarely issues public statements of any kind.”

AFAUSSS said Gary Byrne’s “Crisis of Character” had an “underlying motive.” “‘There is no place for any self-moralizing narratives, particularly those with an underlying motive,’ reads the statement from the group’s board of directors, which says Byrne has politics and profit on his mind.”

AFAUSSS questioned the “veracity and content” of “Crisis of Character.” “The group’s statement, which POLITICO obtained in advance of its release, very carefully calls Byrne a liar. ‘One must question the veracity and content of any book which implies that its author played such an integral part of so many [claimed] incidents. Any critique of management by one who has never managed personnel or programs resounds hollow. Additionally, why would an employee wait in excess of ten years after terminating his employment with the Service to make his allegations public?’ it reads.”

Secret Service Veterans said There was “No Way” Gary Byrne saw Events The Way he Claimed he Saw Them

Former supervisor of the Presidential Protective Division said there was “no way” Gary Byrne saw events the way he’s purporting to have seen it. “The former supervisor of the presidential protective division said that at best Byrne is working from office rumors that he’s cinematically written himself into. People spend decades on presidential details and don’t rack up the number of amazing scenes Byrne claims to have witnessed in just a few years as a uniformed officer. ‘Did Gary Byrne hear an anecdotal story being told by a couple of agents? Maybe. But did Gary Byrne see it the way he’s purporting to have seen it? No way. That’s a lifetime worth of events this individual saw in a very short amount of time,” the former supervisor said.”

Secret Service veterans said Gary Byrne did not have the intimate access needed to see what he claimed he saw. “The closest contact that Byrne could have had, according to Gilhooly and others, is seeing the president or the first lady pass in the hallway — far from the intimate access he would have needed to catch Bill Clinton in the act or see Hillary Clinton fly into the cursing rages he now writes have convinced him that she doesn’t have the ‘integrity and temperament’ to be president.”

If any uniformed officer, like Gary Byrne, had been posted near a room Bill Clinton entered, he would have been moved. “And if Byrne or any uniformed officer had been posted near a room the president entered, he would have been moved at least 15 yards away, to the outer edges of the security bubble — not quite what Byrne describes in his book: ‘I stood guard, pistol at my hip, outside the Oval Office, the last barrier before anyone saw Bill Clinton,’ according to the Post, which has been teasing excerpts of the book.”

3. Conservatives with No Credibility Created “Crisis of Character”

Gary Byrne’s “Crisis of Character” is like a who’s who of conservative backers. From the ghostwriter’s anti-Hillary bias, to help from a conservative historian who wanted to hear more about Benghazi, to Ted Cruz’s literary agent, this hit piece should be discarded and put in the fantasy section next to Ed Klein’s “novels.”

Ghostwriter Grant Schmidt shared video titled “Hillary Clinton: A Career Criminal” on Facebook.

In “Crisis of Character” Acknowledgements, Gary Byrne thanked conservative historian David Pietrusza who criticized moderators of a Democratic presidential debate for failing to bring up Benghazi.  “This book would not be possible without others whose memory and example of heroism and sacrifice to country continues to inspire. A special thank you to Grand Schmidt of Film Films LLC, David Pietrusza, and the unnamed couple without whom this project would not have been possible.” “Historian David Pietrusza, author of the much-acclaimed book ‘1932’ on the presidential election that year, agreed. ‘Following the Sanders-Clinton data breech exchange,’ he told me, ‘O’Malley stole Chris Christie’s patented act of decrying ‘political exchanges’ that ‘no one cares about.’ […] ‘But while ABC’s moderators performed quite well concerning the topics under discussion, any number of issues were simply ignored: how to balance the budget, how to grow jobs, Benghazi, or the Clinton servers and Clinton Foundation controversies.”

Gary Byrne’s literary agent Javelin Group published books by Ted Cruz and Lou Dobbs. “Latimer and Urbahn had made their bones, and Washington was taking note. A string of high-profile projects followed—a big book by Fox’s Lou Dobbs, another by Washington private investigator Terry Lenzner. In April, Javelin took a memoir by Texas senator Ted Cruz to auction in New York, reportedly winning an advance of about $1.5 million. (Urbahn says it was ‘not [Javelin’s] place’ to discuss specific advance amounts.)”

Gary Byrne’s publisher Center Street has published books from Jim DeMint, Dana Loesch, and Bret Baier. According to Centerstreet.com, Center Street’s authors include James Rosebush, author of “True Reagan,” Bret Baier, author of “Special Heart,” Dana Loesch, author of “Hands Off My Gun,” Michael Savage, author of “Stop the Coming Civil War,” and Jim DeMint, author of “Now or Never. “

4. Gary Byrne’s Suspect Credibility Called Into Question as he Contradicts Sworn Testimony That Also Included Gossip and Rumors

Gary Byrne is hardly a credibly character. His testimony from the 1990s is full of gossip, rumors, and inconsistencies. “Crisis of Character” even contradicts some of his sworn testimony. The book reads more like a gossip column and should be taken as seriously as the latest edition of the National Enquirer.

Gary Byrne’s Testimony Included Innuendos and “Little Tidbit Rumors”

Gary Byrne admitted his testimony to Ken Starr’s independent investigation involved, “innuendoes and accusations, little tidbit rumors.”  “The testimony of Secret Service officers primarily involved gossip and rumor. Starr called 31 different officers and agents to the grand jury. […] The testimony seemed to focus on what officers had heard about or talked about. This rumor mill in the White House seemed to be a focus of the investigation. Questioning Secret Service officer about details of Clinton and Lewinsky’s relationship, the officer felt compelled to remind the prosecutors that he was merely relaying gossip he had heard. ‘It was based on other, other innuendoes and accusations, little tidbit rumors, that kind of stuff.’  said the officer, Gary Byrne.” [Associated Press, 10/3/98]

Gary Byrne testified that he may have incorporated gossip into his testimony because it had been almost 3 years since the incident.  “Q: Is it possible that some of this gossip has been incorporated by you into the original story that you heard from John Muskett? A I would say it’s possible, but, like I said, I don’t really recall it that way. I guess it is possible. Sure. You’re talking, like you said, two and a half, almost three years. But to the best of my recollection, that’s the way I remember it.”

Gary Byrne’s accounts “varied in different tellings.” “Officer Gary Byrne also testified about having seen Ms. Lewinsky in the Oval Office with the President, though some details of his account varied in different tellings.”

Gary Byrne’s testimony disputed by fellow Secret Service agent. “Byrne testified that agent John Muskett told him of discovering Clinton and Lewinsky in a compromising moment. Muskett denies it.”

Gary Byrne’s “Crisis of Character” Contradicted His Sworn Testimony

Gary Byrne claimed he told steward Bayani Nelvis that he would throw out the lipstick-stained towels himself. “I calmed Nel, reassuring him that I’d take care of this myself. Wouldn’t have to worry about it. He brought me the rest of the linens.  From a nearby trash can, under the liner, I knew there was a roll of more trash can liners. I grabbed a new one as I scanned the hallway, already preparing an excuse should another officer ask what I was doing. I placed the offending linens in the trash bag and hid them in a furniture drawer near my post. I didn’t let that drawer out of my sight until my very long day was done. Getting the trash bag to my gym bag to my car involved some risky moments, but I made it. In D.C. traffic I worried, Have I just illegally destroyed evidence?” [Gary Byrne, Crisis of Character, p. 115]

• Gary Byrne testified that he did not recall any conversation with White House steward Bayani Nelvis that “stands out.” “Q: What else do you remember about your discussions Mr. Nelvis about Ms. Lewinsky? A: I don’t remember anything that stands out, sir. I mean I don’t remember anything that really stands out. It’s not like we really discussed her a lot that I can recall. Nothing really that comes to mind, anything that’s significant, I mean, can even think of. Just give me a minute to get my thoughts together here.”

• Gary Byrne testified that he drew his own conclusions about the towels. “But in a deposition on June 25, 1998, Byrne described an encounter with the steward where little was discussed explicitly and he was left to draw his own conclusions. As he told it in the testimony, Byrne was not involved in disposing of the towels.”

• Gary Byrne testified that he could not see stains on the towels. “Q: And he had, you said, towels in his hand? Were they tissues or towels, or you—A: No. Terry-cloth. Q: Was there more than one? A: It’s hard for me to remember. I know there was one. Q: Are they white? A: Yes. A: Could you tell whether there was any stains on them? A: No, I couldn’t. I don’t recall.”

Gary Byrne claimed he saw Bill Clinton and Eleanor Mondale in a compromising position in the Map Room. “There before us was E! Network host Eleanor Mondale – former vice president Walter Mondale’s daughter—and President Clinton in a compromising position, that is, making out on the Map Room table.” [Gary Byrne, Crisis of Character, p. 112]

• Gary Byrne told investigators that the event was a rumor. “Another story Byrne tells in the book also contradicts what he told Starr’s team. Whereas he says in the book that he witnessed Bill Clinton kissing the E! Network host Eleanor Mondale with his own eyes, he told investigators that he had merely heard the event rumored.”

Gary Byrne claimed he heard an officer or staffer walked in on Eleanor Mondale and Bill Clinton in a movie theater. “I corroborated what I (among many others) had heard of how an officer or a staff person had walked in on Eleanor and the president in the White House movie theater.” [Gary Byrne, Crisis of Character, p. 161]

• Gary Byrne said his testimony about Eleanor Mondale in the movie theater with Bill Clinton was based on “other innuendos and accusations, little tidbit rumors, that kind of stuff.” “Q: Was it based on anything, or just a guess? A: It was based on other, other innuendos and accusations and, you know, little tidbit rumors, that kind of stuff.”

• Gary Byrne’s testimony said he heard the rumor in a group of Secret Service officers late at night. “By contrast, the notes from the May 1998 interview read, ‘Byrne advised that he had heard a rumor that the president had been seen by a staff employee in the West Wing movie theater, with a woman other than the first lady in a compromising position. Byrne believed that the woman mentioned was Eleanor Mondale. Byrne heard this rumor in a group of USSS officers late at night.”’

5. Recycles Old, Already Reported Material

“Crisis of Character” recycles old, already reported material and treats it like breaking news. These previously reported tales should be regarded as yawn-worthy old news that tells us nothing new.

6. Repeats Debunked and Discredited Allegations About the Clintons

Facts seem to be optional for Gary Byrne. Sound like someone else we know? Gary Byrne’s Donald Trump-esque attacks on the Clintons show that he values rumors and titillating tales over the truth.

Cynically Refers to Widely Debunked Conspiracy Theories About Vince Foster’s Tragic Suicide

Gary Byrne wondered if the Clintons had killed Vince Foster. “I saw firsthand how the First Couple had lied, demeaned, and manipulated in such an arrogant and gutless fashion. But could they actually be behind so many of the suspicious –or merely coincidental – deaths surrounding their activities? Had they really killed Vince Foster? Was it even possibly? It weighed on me.” [Gary Byrne, Crisis of Character, p. 153]

• Five official investigations deemed Vince Foster’s death a suicide, only a “fringe minority of people” question it. “Yes, there is a fringe minority of people who will believe in just about every conspiracy theory. There are hacks who believe that Foster died in the White House and that his body was moved. There was even a member of Congress who fired bullets into a cantaloupe (or was it a watermelon?) in an effort to prove that Foster was killed. But there were also five official investigations into Foster’s death, conducted by professional investigators, forensic experts, psychologists, doctors and independent prosecutors with unlimited resources.”

• Donald Trump earned Four Pinocchios for questioning Vince Foster’s death. “There is nothing fishy or mysterious about Foster’s tragic suicide. Anyone suggesting otherwise earns Four Pinocchios.”

• Vince Foster’s sister Sheila Foster Anthony said her brother’s “severe depression” caused him to commit suicide. “Five investigations, including by independent counsels Robert B. Fiske Jr. and Kenneth Starr, concluded that Vince suffered from severe depression that caused him to be unable to sleep, unable to work, unable to think straight, and finally to take his own life. I know this to be true because Vince lived with me when he came to Washington to serve as deputy counsel to the president.”

Gary Byrne called the Vince Foster suicide “spooky,” and cited carpet fibers found on his suit coat. “Foster eventually took his own life in Fort Marcy Park. […] But that, along with many other public details of the case (carpet fibers on his suit coat, etc.), made his case spooky.” [Gary Byrne, Crisis of Character, p. 66-7]

• The Washington Post Face Checker debunked the claim that carpet fibers found on Vince Foster showed nefarious activities. “Most of the many carpet fibers found on Foster’s clothing came from his home, office and his car, demonstrating that he had not been wrapped in a carpet and taken to the park, as some had claimed.”

Gary Byrne compared himself to Vince Foster. “Suddenly, I realized, This must be what Vince Foster felt like – no escape except one. I never felt as if I had no way out, nor did suicide ever cross my mind. But I was overcome by desperation.” [Gary Byrne, Crisis of Character, p. 150]

• Vince Foster’s sister Sheila Foster Anthony called it cruel for people to bring up her brother. “It is beyond contempt that a politician would use a family tragedy to further his candidacy, but such is the character of Donald Trump displayed in his recent comments to The Washington Post. In this interview, Trump cynically, crassly and recklessly insinuated that my brother, Vincent W. Foster Jr., may have been murdered because ‘he had intimate knowledge of what was going on’ and that Hillary Clinton may have somehow played a role in Vince’s death. How wrong. How irresponsible. How cruel.”

Repeats Discredited Claims About Bill Clinton

Gary Byrne said he saw Bill Clinton and Eleanor Mondale together. “Another complete lie. The gall! He was seeing Eleanor, the B-list media star. I’d surprised them in the Map Room and had testified about it!” [Gary Byrne, Crisis of Character, p. 186]

• Eleanor Mondale denied she had an affair with Bill Clinton. “THE daughter of former vice president Walter Mondale spent time with Bill in 1997 at the White House and in Los Angeles, where she miffed Barbra Streisand by taking up much of Bill’s time at a party in his presidential suite and then was seen jogging along the beach with him the next day! Eleanor denied any affair.” [National Enquirer, p. 26, 5/23/16]

• Gary Byrne was stationed outside the Oval Office, not the Map Room. “Gary Byrne, who was posted outside the Oval Office when Bill Clinton was president, portrays Hillary as too ‘erratic, uncontrollable and occasionally violent’ to become leader of the free world, according to advance promotional materials exclusively obtained by Page Six.”

• Former Secret Service inspector said he never once saw what he considered inappropriate behavior in the Clinton White House during his tenure. “Gilhooly, who served primarily in the details of Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, was also an inspector within the Secret Service from 1995 through 1997. During that time, he said, he was constantly in contact with people in the White House, and often with Hillary Clinton — professionally, as well as through the former first lady writing a letter on his behalf to an insurance company with which he was having a dispute after the death of his wife in 1993. ‘I never once saw any kind of what I would have considered inappropriate behavior,’ Gilhooly said.”

Repeats Debunked Attacks on Whitewater

Gary Byrne tied the Clintons to Whitewater and described it as “a lot of money moving around in unethical ways.” “And then there was Whitewater, with a lot of money moving around in unethical ways. The Clintons had invested about $200,000 in Arkansas’s Whitewater Development Corporation losing $67,000 of it when the feds shuttered Whitewater for cooking its books and acting as a money-laundering front for local politicians and favor-seeking businesses. How the Clintons could invest so much money while wallowing in $50,000 of campaign debt still mystifies me.” [Gary Byrne, Crisis of Character, p. 80]

• 1995 report found no evidence that the Clintons participated in fraud on Whitewater.“A December 1995 report [on Whitewater] by the independent law firm Pillsbury, Madison & Sutro report found no evidence of the Clintons’ and particularly Hillary Clinton’s participation in fraud. Pillsbury’s task was to assess whether federal regulators could justify a lawsuit legally and cost-effectively. The report found that they couldn’t, but the report and its authors didn’t and still don’t view their findings as exoneration.”

Gary Byrne noted Jim McDougal’s mysterious death after the FBI expanded their investigation on Whitewater. “Tripp had the affidavit document proving conspiracy, and Starr had his carter blanche. Janet Reno signed off on the Justice Department and FBI expanding their investigations from the Whitewater scandal – in which their main witness, Jim McDougal, mysteriously died – into conspiracy and perjury in Paula Jones’s sexual harassment case regarding a government employee.” [Gary Byrne, Crisis of Character, p. 147]

• Jim McDougal died of cardiac arrest. “Mr. McDougal, who was 57 but looked much older because of chronic circulatory problems, died of cardiac arrest, the Justice Department said.”

7. Gary Byrne’s “Crisis of Character” Has Striking Similarities to Already Discredited Clinton Hit Pieces

There’s a whole cottage industry dedicated to attacking the Clintons, and it looks like Gary Byrne wants in. He can join the likes of Donald Trump super-fan and notorious Clinton hater Roger Stone, Ronald Kessler, and many more! “Crisis of Character” is full of similarities to these old, discredited reads and should be treated as nothing more than fantasy.

8. Gary Byrne Lives in Same Conspiracy Theory Fantasyland as Donald Trump

Gary Byrne shows his true colors as a Trumpian Clinton conspiracy theorist, and his tall tales show striking similarities to Donald Trump’s wildly inaccurate claims he’s made throughout his campaign. Donald Trump has made it known he plans to dredge up discredited conspiracy theories, and it looks like he’ll have some help from Gary Byrne’s Clinton fantasy novel.

Here’s how the ACA is helping:

March 3, 2016: HHS Released Report That “Estimates that 20 Million Uninsured Adults Have Gained Health Insurance Because Of The Affordable Care Act As Of Early 2016.” [HHS, ASPE Issue Brief, 3/3/2016]

HHS: “Insurers Can No Longer Discriminate Based On Gender. An estimated 55 million women are also benefiting from preventive services coverage with no out-of-pocket costs. And health insurers can no longer discriminate based on gender, so being a woman is no longer a preexisting condition.” [HHS, ASPE, 6/24/2015]

HHS: “Health Care Coverage is now Affordable for Millions of Americans. Of the about 10.2 million consumers who had paid their premium and had active Marketplace coverage on March 31, 2015, nearly 8.7 million (85 percent) nationwide and 6.4 million in the 34 states with Federally-facilitated Marketplaces received an average premium tax credit of $272 per month. And in 2015, nearly 80 percent of Marketplace shoppers using HealthCare.gov could purchase coverage for $100 or less after tax credits. A recent Commonwealth Fund study found that in 2014, fewer Americans had problems paying medical bills or medical debt, and fewer went without care because they couldn’t afford it. This is the first decline and lowest level in these areas since 2005.” [HHS, ASPE, 6/24/2015]

HHS: “Health Care Cost Growth Has Slowed Sharply. Since the Affordable Care Act became law, the price of health care has risen at the slowest rate in 50 years. Medicare has paid out nearly $316 billion less through 2013 than it would have had previous trends continued. The average premium for employer-based family coverage rose just 3 percent in nominal terms in 2014. Just more than a decade ago, surveys by the Kaiser Family Foundation frequently registered double-digit premium increases for this type of coverage.” [HHS, ASPE, 6/24/2015]

HHS: “Improved Patient Safety. Since 2011, patient harms like hospital-acquired conditions, pressure ulcers, central line associated infections, falls and traumas have fallen by 17 percent, saving an estimated 50,000 lives and $12 billion dollars.” [HHS, ASPE, 6/24/2015]

HHS: “Higher Quality Coverage. After years of dropped coverage, flimsy plans and barriers to care, everyone’s coverage has improved because consumers have new protections, including those who get health insurance through their employers. They can’t be turned away because of pre-existing conditions; they can’t be dropped just because they get sick and insurance has to cover care that Americans count on like trips to the emergency room, prescriptions and preventive services.” [HHS, ASPE, 6/24/2015]

Hillary is a true leader in the fight to curb the damage of climate change and to expand renewable energy production. But what’s clear from the Republican Party’s record is that you don’t have to do very much at all to beat them on environmental and climate issues. Every single GOP candidate has refused to get tough on tackling climate change—most deny it even exists, and the rest refuse to lift a finger out of fear of offending their Koch Brother mega-donors. The Republican candidates are quick to stress that they’re “not scientists,” but they’re definitely not leaders, either.

The GOP on Climate

Jeb Bush

Jeb Bush said he was “tired” of the idea that “science has decided” that climate change is manmade. “It is not unanimous among scientists that it is disproportionately manmade. What I get a little tired of on the left is this idea that somehow science has decided all this so you can’t have a view.” [Huffington Post, 8/24/11]

Scott Walker

Scott Walker was “a key figure in the GOP’s battle against…proposed Environmental Protection Agency rules that are designed to reduce the carbon footprint of the nation’s electricity sector.” “Walker is a key figure in the GOP’s battle against President Barack Obama’s flagship climate policy—the proposed Environmental Protection Agency rules that are designed to reduce the carbon footprint of the nation’s electricity sector 30 percent by 2030. The rules will likely require states to retrofit or shutter some of their coal-fired power plants. That could be a big deal in Wisconsin, which gets 62 percent of its power from coal. […] In January he announced that his new attorney general was already preparing a lawsuit against the EPA, a move that was lauded by the Wisconsin director of the Koch Brothers-backed group Americans for Prosperity. Walker has also signed a pledge, devised by Americans for Prosperity, that he will oppose any legislation relating to climate change—presumably a cap-and-trade plan or a carbon tax—that would result in a ‘net increase in government revenue.’” [Mother Jones, 3/11/15]

Scott Walker signed onto the Koch brothers’ pledge to oppose any climate legislation that was not offset by tax cuts. “This pledge is called the ‘No Climate Tax Pledge,’ but it might as well be called the ‘Koch Brothers Protection Pledge,’ since it was devised by a group co-founded and backed by the billionaire brothers whose companies, according to the EPA, emitted over 24 million tons of carbon dioxide in 2011. Signers of the pledge, now numbering 411, promise to ‘oppose any legislation relating to climate change that includes a net increase in government revenue’ — in other words, no legislation on climate change without an equivalent amount of tax cuts. They include one U.S. senator from Wisconsin, three House members, four members of the state Senate, and four members of the Assembly — as well as Gov. Scott Walker and Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch.” [Cap Times, 7/3/13]

Donald Trump

Donald Trump: “The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese.” “The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive.” [@realDonaldTrump, 11/6/12, 2:25 p.m. EDT]

Marco Rubio

Marco Rubio denied that human activity was causing climate change. “Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, a GOP star and possible 2016 presidential contender, does not believe human activity is causing climate change, he said Sunday. ‘I do not believe that human activity is causing these dramatic changes to our climate the way these scientists are portraying it,’ Rubio said on ABC’s ‘This Week.’ ‘I do not believe that the laws that they propose we pass will do anything about it, except it will destroy our economy,’ he added.” [Los Angeles Times, 5/11/14]

Mike Huckabee

Mike Huckabee mocked the Obama Administration’s elevation of climate change as a critical issue. “Huckabee appeared before the Iowa Freedom Summit on Saturday to deliver a biting assessment of President Barack Obama’s policies and make a pitch for his potential candidacy. He recently left a cable news show and is on a book tour. The former Arkansas governor mocked Obama’s elevation of climate change as a critical issue. Huckabee says a greater threat is violent radical elements stoking fear around the world. He says America hasn’t done enough to strike those terror groups.” [Associated Press, 1/25/15]

Ben Carson

Ben Carson: The Earth “may be warming” or “may be cooling.” “Carson, a retired Johns Hopkins neurosurgeon, often talks about his medical background and science during his speeches. Pressed on the fact that the bulk of the scientific community believes the Earth is indeed warming, Carson pivoted. ‘You can ask it several different ways, but my answer is going to be the same,’ he said. ‘We may be warming. We may be cooling.’” [Bloomberg, 11/26/14]

Ted Cruz

Ted Cruz said people who believe global warming is real are “the equivalent of the flat-Earthers.” “Cruz, the red-meat Texas senator with an army of conservative followers, raised eyebrows on Tuesday when he told the Texas Tribune that people who believe global warming is real are ‘the equivalent of the flat-Earthers’. ‘It used to be it is accepted scientific wisdom the Earth is flat, and this heretic named Galileo was branded a denier,’ Cruz said.” [Guardian, 3/27/15]

Rand Paul

Rand Paul claimed that the science behind climate change was “not conclusive.” “Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said in a recent interview that the science behind climate change is ‘not conclusive,’ calling people who tie extreme weather to a changing climate ignorant.” [The Hill, 4/23/14]

Chris Christie

Chris Christie refused “to rejoin a regional cap-and trade program to combat climate change.” “Gov. Chris Christie is coming under fire for refusing to rejoin a regional cap-and trade program to combat climate change that his state withdrew from three years ago. The move — highlighted last week by The New York Times — has opponents charging that the Republican governor doesn’t want to alienate conservatives in advance of a potential 2016 presidential bid. ‘It’s all because of a four letter word: K-O-C-H,’ said Democratic state Sen. Bob Smith, the chairman of the state’s Environment and Energy Committee, referring to the billionaire Koch brothers who bankroll many GOP campaigns, and who favor conservative stances on environmental issues. ‘They don’t want to see any candidates for president who have the slightest green tint to them. If the governor was green at all, he would lose their support.’” [MSNBC, 9/23/14]

John Kasich

John Kasich said he was not “laying awake at night worrying” about climate change. “‘We are going to continue to work on cleaning coal, but I want to tell you, we are going to dig it, we are going to clean it, and we are going to burn it in Ohio, and we are not going to apologize for it,’ he said during wide-ranging remarks on energy at the conference. Ohio is a coal-producing state and home to American Electric Power, a major coal-burning utility. Asked in a subsequent interview if he was concerned about the GOP’s efforts to kill EPA rules, he said, ‘I believe there is something to [climate change], but to be unilaterally doing everything here while China and India are belching and putting us in a noncompetitive position isn’t good, but some of that is the presidential leadership,’ Kasich said. ‘I am just saying that I am concerned about it, but I am not laying awake at night worrying the sky is falling. I just have a concern about it,’ he added.” [The Hill, 5/2/12]

Rick Perry

Rick Perry called himself a climate change skeptic. “Texas Gov. Rick Perry reiterated his position on man-made global warming this weekend, telling New Hampshire voters that he’s ‘not afraid’ to call himself a climate change skeptic. ‘For us to take a snapshot in time and to say that what is going on in the country today, the climate change that is going on is man’s fault and we need to jeopardize America’s economy, I’m a skeptic about that,’ Perry told a man in Derry, N.H., Friday night who pressed him about his position on climate change. ‘I’m not afraid to say I’m a skeptic about that.’” [Huffington Post, 10/1/11]

Rick Perry: Climate change was “all one contrived phony mess.” “Never mind that, during his first term, Perry signed legislation to speed construction of 11 new coal plants for the state. Or that he has lead the charge to undermine the EPA’s right to limit greenhouse gas pollution. None of this matters. Because as Perry wrote in his new book, global warming is ‘all one contrived phony mess that is falling apart under its own weight.’” [Rolling Stone, 4/28/11]

Rick Santorum

Rick Santorum called the idea that humans are causing climate change “patently absurd.” “Appearing Wednesday on Rush Limbaugh’s radio show, the former Pennsylvania GOP senator jumped at the chance to distinguish himself from his Massachusetts rival by displaying his climate skeptic credentials. ‘I believe the earth gets warmer and I also believe the earth gets cooler,’ Santorum said. ‘And I think history points out that it does that and that the idea that man, through the production of CO2 — which is a trace gas in the atmosphere, and the man-made part of that trace gas is itself a trace gas — is somehow responsible for climate change is, I think, just patently absurd when you consider all the other factors, El Niño, La Niña, sunspots, moisture in the air. There’s a variety of factors that contribute to the Earth warming and cooling.’” [Politico, 6/9/11]

Bobby Jindal

Bobby Jindal took positions “directly at odds with environmentalists” on climate change. “On climate change, Mr. Jindal takes positions directly at odds with environmentalists—and, likely, with whoever becomes the Democratic presidential nominee—by questioning the role humans play in global warming and calling on the U.S. to withdraw from climate talks led by the United Nations.” [Wall Street Journal, 10/15/14]

Carly Fiorina

Carly Fiorina: “Companies shouldn’t cave in to the demands of climate-change scientists.” “‘Companies shouldn’t cave in to the demands of climate-change scientists,’ says Fiorina, probably hoping that nobody will point out that she nearly destroyed the last company she led.” [The Stranger, 6/3/15]

  Hillary Clinton: “I believe, and I have said for many, many years, that abortion should be safe, it should be rare, but it should be legal.” During floor remarks on the nomination of Judge Samuel Alito Sen. Clinton said, “Now, I believe, and I have said for many, many years, that abortion should be safe, it should be rare, but it should be legal. And I understand that it is a difficult and even tragic choice for many women. It is a decision of conscience and therefore, should be a constitutionally-protected decision made not by the government, not by the majority – whoever the majority might be – but between a woman, her doctor, and her faith in God.” [Senator Clinton floor speech on the nomination of Judge Samuel Alito, 1/25/06]

Hillary Clinton: Choosing whether to have an abortion is “a highly personal decision that that woman should make based on her own faith beliefs, her own personal situation, her medical condition.” “I’m pro-choice because I think that’s the best position. If someone chooses to have an abortion or chooses not to have an abortion, that is such a highly personal decision that that woman should make based on her own faith beliefs, her own personal situation, her medical condition. The fight is not over in the United States and we’re going to have to keep standing up for women’s rights and particularly reproductive health rights.” [Guardian interview, 7/4/14]

  Marriage Equality Carly Fiorina opposed marriage equality and supported California’s Proposition 8. “Carly Fiorina cited President Obama’s opposition to same-sex marriage to substantiate her belief that ‘marriage is between a man and a woman’ and moderate her support for Proposition 8: ‘I do believe that marriage is between a man and a woman, but also have been consistent and clear that I support civil unions for gay and lesbian couples. The Defense of Marriage Act had broad bipartisan support. And actually, the position I’ve consistently espoused is consistent with that of our President and a vast majority of senators in the U.S. Senate…The voters were quite clear about their views on this [Proposition 8] and this is now going through a legal process.’” [Think Progress, 9/1/10]

  Hillary Clinton: “I support marriage for lesbian and gay couples.” Secretary Hillary Clinton: “LGBT Americans are our colleagues, our teachers, our soldiers, our friends, our loved ones, and they are full and equal citizens and deserve the rights of citizenship. That includes marriage. That’s why I support marriage for lesbian and gay couples. I support it personally and as a matter of policy and law.” [Human Rights Campaign, 3/18/13]

  Minimum Wage Carly Fiorina opposed raising the minimum wage. “FIORINA: I think there’s no question that if you’re making minimum wage you think you want to make more. On the other hand, the sad truth is that raising the minimum wage will hurt those who are looking for entry-level jobs. It hurts women who are frequently last hired and first fired. It hurts African American youth who have very high unemployment rates. So the question is are we creating an economy where people have the opportunity to get a job and rise?” [Clinton Global Initiative event, 6/24/14]

  Hillary Clinton cosponsored the Fair Minimum Wage Act five times in the Senate. Hillary Clinton sponsored the Fair Minimum Wage Act five times in the Senate. Although she opposed the Iraq funding bill it was folded into, Clinton cosponsored the original version of the Fair Minimum Wage Act that increased the minimum wage for the first time in ten years, from $5.85 to $7.25 an hour. [S. 277, 2/7/01; S. 20, 1/7/03; S. 2370, 4/20/04; S. 1062, 5/18/05; S. 2, 1/4/07]

Hillary Clinton: “Raising the minimum wage is something that is long overdue.” “Raising the minimum wage is something that is long overdue. There are too many people that work full time and are below the poverty level, so there are things we can do right now, but then we’re going to have to look hard at what really would work.” [Clinton Global Initiative event, 9/24/14]

  Iran Nuclear Deal Carly Fiorina opposed the U.S. negotiations with Iran to limit Iranian nuclear capacity. In an op-ed for Fox News, Carly Fiorina wrote, “The Iranian government has repeatedly, flagrantly violated sanctions put in place by the United Nations. We know that they have flat-out lied about every nuclear facility they have built over the last three decades. This is not the behavior of a potential ally or of a partner. These are the actions of a country trying to bluff its way into persuading the United Nations, the United States, and its allies to allow it the freedom to develop a nuclear weapon for military purposes. Because of these facts, we cannot trust anything they sign. Until Iran is prepared to (and opens its nuclear facilities to) full and unfettered UN-sanctioned inspections and demonstrates that they are willing to halt uranium enrichment, we cannot place any trust in any deal that is made.” [Fiorina, Fox News, 4/2/15]

  Hillary Clinton said the nuclear deal with Iran was an “important step” toward strengthening security in the region. “Hillary Rodham Clinton called the framework for an Iran nuclear deal that was reached on Thursday an ‘important step,’ adding that while ‘the devil is always in the details’ in such negotiations, ‘diplomacy deserves a chance to succeed.’ […]’The understanding that the major world powers have reached with Iran is an important step toward a comprehensive agreement that would prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon and strengthen the security of the United States, Israel and the region,’ Mrs. Clinton said.” [New York Times, 4/2/15]

  Unemployment Insurance Carly Fiorina flip-flopped on extending unemployment insurance, opposing it before shifting to say she would “probably” vote for extension after facing criticism for her comments. “Republican Senate candidate Carly Fiorina on Tuesday shifted her position on extending unemployment benefits, saying she would ‘probably’ support the extension if she were in the Senate. […] Earlier this month, the former Hewlett Packard chief executive said she opposed the extension because it would worsen the national deficit. Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer had been using Fiorina’s position to attack her as out of touch with average workers.” [Associated Press, 7/20/10]

  Hillary Clinton consistently and continuously fought to extend unemployment insurance for U.S. workers. Hillary Clinton repeatedly supported legislative efforts to extend unemployment assistance for out-of-work Americans throughout her Senate career. [S. 3009, 9/26/02; S. 225, 1/28/03; S. 1708, 10/2/03; S. 2006, 1/20/04; S. 2544, 1/22/08; S. 3507, 9/17/08]

  Gun Control Carly Fiorina opposed a federal ban on assault weapons. “Republican Senate candidate Carly Fiorina said Tuesday that she opposes a ban on assault weapons and supports a U.S. Supreme Court decision this week affirming a constitutional right to bear arms. In a 45-minute question-and-answer session with reporters here, the former Hewlett-Packard CEO also repeated her backing of Arizona’s controversial immigration law and said she would support efforts to repeal the federal health care reform measure.” [San Jose Mercury News, 6/29/10]

  Hillary Clinton voted to extend the Assault Weapons Ban and cosponsored legislation to require background checks at gun shows. Sen. Clinton voted for a ten-year extension of the ban on assault weapons. Senator Clinton cosponsored legislation requiring background checks for firearms purchases at gun shows and from unlicensed dealers. “Senator Clinton is an original co-sponsor of legislation introduced by Senator Jack Reed, to require criminal background checks on individuals who purchase firearms at gun shows from unlicensed dealers. Currently, unlicensed dealers at gun shows are able to skirt the background checks that are required of licensed gun dealers under the Brady Law. This law — which requires licensed gun dealers to conduct background checks of potential purchasers in order to prevent felons, fugitives and stalkers from buying firearms — has resulted in approximately 536,000 criminals or other prohibited purchasers being denied access to firearms.” [Senator Clinton press release, 4/24/01; S. 767,4/24/01; Senate roll call vote 24, 3/2/04]

  Net Neutrality Carly Fiorina opposed net neutrality. “California GOP Senate hopeful Carly Fiorina this week staked out her spot opposing tough Net neutrality rules. The former Hewlett-Packard CEO and telecommunications industry executive told POLITICO she opposes any federal requirement that Internet providers treat all Web traffic equally. ‘The principle sounds fantastic, but the principle is not the problem,’ Fiorina said in an interview at the Technology Policy Institute’s conference in Aspen, Colo. ‘The problem is how companies and regulatory bodies are trying to translate that principle into policy, which would have a bad effect.’ A spokeswoman later added that Fiorina ‘opposes Net neutrality and thinks government intervention and more regulation will not be helpful where the Internet is concerned.’” [Politico, 8/27/10]

Carly Fiorina called net neutrality “crony capitalism.” “Crony capitalism is alive and well. If you need proof, look no further than the Federal Communication Commission’s new Title II regulations imposed in the name of ‘net neutrality’ under pressure from President Barack Obama, and the big businesses that benefit. Net neutrality proponents did a masterful job of marketing it with the help of late-night hosts and political spin, arguing that it would level the Internet playing field. The truth, however, is that it will insert Washington bureaucracy and control into the 21st century’s greatest success story. The Internet, which has empowered hundreds of millions of Americans in so many aspects of life, will now be subject to the same types of regulations that governed telephone service in the 20th century.” [CNN, 4/7/15]

  Hillary Clinton cosponsored legislation to protect net neutrality. Hillary Clinton repeatedly cosponsored the Internet Freedom Preservation Act, legislation that she stated would “ensure that open, unimpaired and unencumbered Internet access for both its users and content providers is preserved.” In a statement released announcing her support of the 2006 version of the bill, Hillary Clinton affirmed that efforts “to fundamentally alter the inherently democratic structure of the Internet must be rejected.” [S. 2917, 5/19/06; S. 215, 1/9/07]

Hillary Clinton: “I would vote for net neutrality.” “I would vote for net neutrality because as I understand it, it’s Title II with a lot of changes within it in order to avoid the worst of the utility regulation. So it’s a foot in the door. It’s a value statement.” [Watermark Lead On Conference, 2/24/15]

  Immigration Carly Fiorina did not support comprehensive immigration reform. “But [Fiorina] also broke with members in both parties who believe a comprehensive immigration package is needed to address the problem. ‘So then Barbara Boxer, President Obama, say, “oh my gosh, we have to have comprehensive immigration reform.” You don’t need comprehensive immigration reform to secure the border. And you don’t need comprehensive immigration reform to have a temporary worker program that works. Those are responsibilities of the federal government that they have today and they are failing at those responsibilities,’ she said.” [Politico, 5/1/10]

  Hillary Clinton said the U.S. needed comprehensive immigration reform. “We need comprehensive immigration reform in this country. I am committed to that and I believe that it’s imperative that we work toward it. Right now people are really worried about what’s happening to their friends, their neighbors, people that they even read about in the papers. There’s so much that is just not right.” [Senator Clinton speech at Latina Summit in Washington, 9/10/08]

  Hobby Lobby Carly Fiorina said the backlash to the Hobby Lobby ruling was “shameless, baseless propaganda.” “‘A lot women including me are sick of the “war on women”, and we saw it in spades on Monday after the Hobby Lobby case,’ Fiorina told a CNN panel. ‘Somehow this is the long arm of business and the Republican Party reaching into the body of women. It’s ridiculous.’ ‘The war on women is shameless, baseless propaganda, there’s no fact to it, and it’s worked because it’s scared women to death,’ she insisted. ‘Enough. Enough.’ […] ‘I — this is crazy to me,’ Fiorina stuttered. ‘Your arguments are so counter-factual. Twenty forms of birth control are mandated, by the way, not by Obamacare. They’re mandated by some HHS bureaucrats who go into the basement and write a regulation after Obamacare passes, and they decide. Elected by no one, accountable to no one.’” [Raw Story, 7/6/14]

  Hillary Clinton said the Hobby Lobby decision was “troubling.” In a tweet, Hillary Clinton wrote, “Hard-working women will pay the price for today’s two troubling #SCOTUS decisions — in wages, health care & dignity.” [6/30/14, 6:34 p.m. EDT]

  Indiana “Religious Liberty” Legislation Carly Fiorina defended the Indiana discrimination law. “Former Hewlett-Packard chief Carly Fiorina on Thursday blasted Apple CEO Tim Cook’s opposition to Indiana’s religious freedom law as ‘hypocrisy.’ Fiorina, a potential 2016 GOP presidential contender, said Cook had a double standard and cited Apple’s operations in other countries with controversial laws about gays and women in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. ‘When Tim Cook is upset about all the places that he does business because of the way they treat gays and women, he needs to withdraw from 90% of the markets that he’s in, including China and Saudi Arabia,’ Fiorina argued. ‘But I don’t hear him being upset about that.’ Fiorina said his stance exposed a ‘level of hypocrisy here that is really unfortunate.’ She added that Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act contained ‘nothing objectionable’ and that Cook’s criticism stemmed from ‘narrow special interests’ rather than reality. ‘I think this is a ginned-up controversy by people who play identity politics that has divided the nation in a way that is really unhelpful,’ Fiorina added.” [The Hill, 4/3/15]

  Hillary Clinton immediately came out decisively against the Indiana discrimination law. In a tweet, Hillary Clinton said, “Sad this new Indiana law can happen in America today. We shouldn’t discriminate against [people because] of who they love #LGBT.” [3/26/15, 9:32 p.m. EDT]

Hillary Clinton derided “personhood” legislation as efforts to “outlaw common forms of birth control and ban abortions even in cases of rape or incest.” “Clinton also hit hard on raising the minimum wage, saying it’s a ‘pro-family’ issue — and offered a full-throated defense of legal abortion. ‘Women’s rights are the canary in the mine. If you don’t protect women’s rights here at home and around the world, everybody’s rights are lost,’ she said. ‘You have to ask yourself, do you want a senator who will always defend a woman’s right to make her own healthcare decisions and won’t ever shame or judge a woman for decisions that are complex and deeply personal, or do you want a senator who will push so-called ‘personhood’ laws that would outlaw common forms of birth control and ban abortions even in cases of rape or incest?’” [The Hill, 10/25/15]

  Iran Letter Mike Huckabee supported the Senate GOP’s open letter to Iranian leadership warning against a potential nuclear deal. “Mike Huckabee on Monday slammed Secretary of State John Kerry as offensive and hypocritical for his criticism of an open letter to Iran issued by 47 Republican senators. In a scathing letter to Kerry shared with the Washington Examiner, the former Arkansas governor and likely 2016 presidential candidate said Senate Republicans were exercising their constitutional authority to provide oversight of President Obama’s foreign policy. The letter, authored by Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., cautioned Tehran that any deal with the administration to limit its nuclear weapons program must be approved by Congress in order to be legally binding.” [Washington Examiner, 3/16/15]  Hillary Clinton slammed Republican senators for undermining American leadership by sending an open letter to Iran’s leaders. In a tweet, Hillary Clinton wrote, “GOP letter to Iranian clerics undermines American leadership. No one considering running for commander-in-chief should be signing on.” [3/11/15, 3:11 p.m. EDT]  Gun Control Mike Huckabee compared expanding gun control laws to Nazism. “The ongoing push to legislate universal background checks for gun purchases has parallels to policies of the Third Reich, former Gov. Mike Huckabee (R-Ark.) said Wednesday in an exchange first caught by Media Matters. A woman called in to Huckabee’s radio show Wednesday to claim that Americans are not historically informed as to what caused Germany’s slide into Nazism. ‘It was a democracy, then turned into a dictatorship by everyone having to register their guns and then they went door to door and collected them,’ the caller said. Huckabee emphatically agreed with the caller’s comparison. ‘When you bring that up you get people who get crazy on us,’ he said. ‘And they’ll start saying, ‘Oh there you go comparing to the Nazis.’ And I understand the reaction, but it’s the truth.’” [Huffington Post, 4/4/13]  Hillary Clinton voted to extend the Assault Weapons Ban and cosponsored legislation to require background checks at gun shows. Sen. Clinton voted for a ten-year extension of the ban on assault weapons. Senator Clinton cosponsored legislation requiring background checks for firearms purchases at gun shows and from unlicensed dealers. “Senator Clinton is an original co-sponsor of legislation introduced by Senator Jack Reed, to require criminal background checks on individuals who purchase firearms at gun shows from unlicensed dealers. Currently, unlicensed dealers at gun shows are able to skirt the background checks that are required of licensed gun dealers under the Brady Law. This law — which requires licensed gun dealers to conduct background checks of potential purchasers in order to prevent felons, fugitives and stalkers from buying firearms — has resulted in approximately 536,000 criminals or other prohibited purchasers being denied access to firearms.” [Senator Clinton press release, 4/24/01; S. 767, 4/24/01; Senate roll call vote 24, 3/2/04]  Automotive Industry Rescue Package Mike Huckabee opposed the federal government’s investment to rescue the U.S. automotive industry. “Romney called for letting Detroit ‘go bankrupt’ in a New York Times op-ed, writing that ‘if General Motors, Ford and Chrysler get the bailout that their chief executives asked for yesterday, you can kiss the American automotive industry goodbye.’ Tim Pawlenty called the bailout ‘misguided,’ and Newt Gingrich called it ‘irresponsible and dangerous.’ Jon Huntsman, Huckabee, Michele Bachmann and Ron Paul also opposed the plan.” [Politico, 5/14/11]  Hillary Clinton praised emergency assistance for the automotive industry. “The American auto industry is the backbone of our nation’s manufacturing base and directly and indirectly employs millions of Americans, including more than 230,000 New Yorkers. As we grapple with a deepening recession, continuing turmoil in the financial markets, and a potentially devastating new wave of home foreclosures, a bankruptcy by any of our U.S. automakers would further destabilize our economy. The emergency assistance announced today is necessary to prevent an immediate economic catastrophe and will help pave the way for the stabilization of our automakers.” [Senator Clinton press release, 12/19/08]  Minimum Wage Mike Huckabee did not support raising the minimum wage. “In his opening remarks last night, Mike Huckabee said proposals to raise the minimum wage in several states will not bring prosperity and independence to entry-level workers. Huckabee called for workers to not be satisfied with minimum wage, but instead aim to achieve their maximum wage through education, training and experience. ‘If you get suckered into believing some politician is looking out for you because he wants to keep you locked into a low minimum wage, tell him you’ve got a better idea,’ Huckabee suggested.” [Fox News, 11/2/14]  Hillary Clinton cosponsored the Fair Minimum Wage Act five times in the Senate. Hillary Clinton sponsored the Fair Minimum Wage Act five times in the Senate. Although she opposed the Iraq funding bill it was folded into, Clinton cosponsored the original version of the Fair Minimum Wage Act that increased the minimum wage for the first time in ten years, from $5.85 to $7.25 an hour. [S. 277, 2/7/01; S. 20, 1/7/03; S. 2370, 4/20/04; S. 1062, 5/18/05; S. 2, 1/4/07] 

Hillary Clinton: “Raising the minimum wage is something that is long overdue.” “Raising the minimum wage is something that is long overdue. There are too many people that work full time and are below the poverty level, so there are things we can do right now, but then we’re going to have to look hard at what really would work.” [Clinton Global Initiative event, 9/24/14]

  Cuba Mike Huckabee opposed normalizing diplomatic relations with Cuba. “GOP presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee gave the Obama administration a kick in the pants over Cuba — and warned the Castro regime would do a lot worse. […] ‘I think we ought to quit pretending that Cuba is some wonderful nation with whom we can sit down and visit with. … They’re not,’ the former Arkansas governor declared.” [New York Daily News, 3/7/15]  Hillary Clinton was “the main architect of the new policy” that restored diplomatic ties with Cuba. “Although President Barack Obama is taking the credit for Wednesday’s historic deal to reverse decades of U.S. policy toward Cuba, when Hillary Clinton was secretary of state, she was the main architect of the new policy and pushed far harder for a deal than the Obama White House. From 2009 until her departure in early 2013, Clinton and her top aides took the lead on the sometimes public, often private interactions with the Cuban government. According to current and former White House and State Department officials and several Cuba policy experts who were involved in the discussions, Clinton was also the top advocate inside the government for ending travel and trade restrictions on Cuba and reversing 50 years of U.S. policy to isolate the Communist island nation. Repeatedly, she pressed the White House to move faster and faced opposition from cautious high-ranking White House officials.” [Bloomberg, 12/18/14]  Indiana “Religious Liberty” Legislation Mike Huckabee supported the Indiana discrimination law and claimed that backlash to the legislation came from “the militant gay community.” “Mike Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas who is considering a second run for president in 2016, has blamed ‘the militant gay community’ for the pressure brought to bear this week on Indiana and Arkansas, after those states passed religious freedom laws that critics say encourage discrimination against LGBT people.” [The Guardian, 4/4/15]  Hillary Clinton immediately came out decisively against the Indiana discrimination law. In a tweet, Hillary Clinton said, “Sad this new Indiana law can happen in America today. We shouldn’t discriminate against [people because] of who they love #LGBT.” [3/26/15, 9:32 p.m. EDT]  Iran Nuclear Deal Mike Huckabee claimed that the deal to increase international oversight of Iran’s nuclear program was like giving matches to “a pyromaniac.” “Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, a potential 2016 GOP presidential candidate, said President Obama’s leaked draft nuclear deal with Iran is ‘terrible’ and can be compared to giving a book of matches to ‘a pyromaniac in our neighborhood.’ ‘It’s a terrible deal,’ Huckabee told Newsmax TV, referring to a draft of the nuclear-limits deal by the Obama administration that would lift economic sanctions on Tehran if it cuts its nuclear centrifuge supply by 40 percent, as reported by The Associated Press.” [Christian Post, 3/21/15]  Hillary Clinton said the nuclear deal with Iran was an “important step” toward strengthening security in the region. “Hillary Rodham Clinton called the framework for an Iran nuclear deal that was reached on Thursday an ‘important step,’ adding that while ‘the devil is always in the details’ in such negotiations, ‘diplomacy deserves a chance to succeed.’ […]’The understanding that the major world powers have reached with Iran is an important step toward a comprehensive agreement that would prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon and strengthen the security of the United States, Israel and the region,’ Mrs. Clinton said.” [New York Times, 4/2/15]  LGBT Adoptions Mike Huckabee supported laws banning same-sex couples from adopting children. “During a conversation with the College of New Jersey’s student publication, the Perspective, Huckabee reiterated his support for an Arkansas law that would ban same-sex couples from adopting children. ‘I think this is not about trying to create statements for people who want to change the basic fundamental definitions of family,’ Huckabee, a Southern Baptist minister, said. ‘Children are not puppies,’ he continued. ‘This is not a time to see if we can experiment and find out, how does this work?’” [Huffington Post, 6/12/10]  Hillary Clinton pledged to ensure that LGBT Americans have equal benefits and adoption rights. “America deserves a president who appeals to the best in each of us, not the worst; a president who values and respects all Americans, gay and straight; a president who treats all Americans equally no matter who they are or who they love. I’m proud of my record standing up for the LGBT community during my years as First Lady and as a U.S. Senator. But when I take office in January 2009, we’ll finally be able to define success by more than the bigotry we stopped and the bad decisions we prevented. America will finally have a president who moves this country forward. When I am president, we will work together to make sure that all Americans in committed relationships have equal benefits and that nothing stands in the way of loving couples who want to adopt children in need.” [Senator Clinton campaign press release, 6/1/07]  Planned Parenthood Mike Huckabee supported fully defunding Planned Parenthood. “My fight to defund Planned Parenthood continues. With Democrats in the House vowing to block Republican attempts to defund Planned Parenthood. We must make clear to Republican Leaders that pushing to fully eliminate all funding for Planned Parenthood is a grassroots priority for millions of Conservatives across the nation.” [Mike Huckabee Facebook page, 8/15/13]  Hillary Clinton believed that the “overarching mission of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America…is as relevant in our world now as it was 100 years ago.” “It was a great privilege when I was told that I would receive this award,” said U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, in accepting the award. “It’s part of a movement which is about economic and political progress for all women and girls. It’s about making sure that every woman and girl everywhere has the opportunity she deserves to fulfill her potential, the potential as a mother, worker and human being. The overarching mission of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, the cause of reproductive freedom that you continue to advance today is as relevant in our world now as it was 100 years ago. So, I thank you.” [Planned Parenthood news release, 5/14/14]  Hobby Lobby Mike Huckabee supported Hobby Lobby in its legal crusade to deny contraception coverage to its employees. “The Hobby Lobby case has been closely watched by religious groups because it is likely to set the course for how Obamacare regulations will be applied to non-religious businesses with religious owners who claim that the law violates their conscience. […] It has also quickly become a cause célèbre for conservative evangelicals, from rank-and-file consumers to Mike Huckabee, who on Thursday compared Hobby Lobby’s plight to that of the biblical Daniel, who was thrown into the lion’s den for refusing to eat meat sacrificed to idols.” [Daily Beast, 1/4/13]  Hillary Clinton said the Supreme Court decision in favor of Hobby Lobby was “troubling.” In a tweet, Hillary Clinton said, “Hard-working women will pay the price for today’s two troubling #SCOTUS decisions — in wages, health care & dignity.” [6/30/14, 6:34 p.m. EDT]  Stem Cell Research Mike Huckabee praised Pres. Bush for blocking federal funding for embryonic stem cell research. “Huckabee praised President Bush for blocking federal funding for research that destroys embryos, saying he rightfully stood up to pressure to cave. ‘The president was right,’ said Huckabee, an ordained Baptist minister and former Arkansas governor. ‘He was bold and he was courageous.’” [Wall Street Journal, 12/21/07] Hillary Clinton called for the national government to make smart investments in stem cell research. During a speech to the Democratic Leadership Council Sen. Clinton said, “The national government needs a strategy to create an economic climate in which the private sector can generate jobs, raise incomes and increase wealth. To unleash the power of innovation and enterprise, we need to restore fiscal responsibility, open new markets, enforce trade laws, and make smart economic investments such as in broadband, scientific research including stem cell research – alternative fuels and an advanced research project agency for energy that will spur the creation of new highways, and jobs, and exports from America to the rest of the world.” [Senator Clinton Speech to the Democratic Leadership Council, 7/24/06]  Employment Non-Discrimination Act Mike Huckabee indicated that he would veto the Employment Non-Discrimination Act as president to allow employers to discriminate against employees on the basis of sexual orientation. “TIM BONO, ARLINGTON VIRGINIA: Good evening. My name is Tim Bono. I own a motion picture film lab that came under fire by the Arlington Human Rights Commission because I refused to duplicate objectionable pro-homosexual material. If elected president, would you protect business owners like me from being forced to violate our moral conscience by vetoing the so-called ‘Employment Non-Discrimination Act’ and any other legislation that would add the phrase ‘sexual orientation’ into federal law? HUCKABEE: GREEN (yes)” [Republican presidential primary debate, 9/17/07]  Hillary Clinton repeatedly cosponsored the Employment Non-Discrimination Act to prevent employment discrimination based on sexual orientation. In the Senate, Hillary Clinton was an original cosponsor of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2002 and 2003 to prevent employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Hillary Clinton has said it is “inconceivable to me that people who work hard and do a good job every day can still be fired because of who they love. It’s unfair, it’s un-American, and I will put a stop to it once and for all.” [S.1284, 7/31/01; S.1705, 10/2/03; Human Rights Campaign 2008 Presidential Questionnaire] Collective Bargaining Mike Huckabee supported scaling back the right of public employees to collectively bargain. “Asked if he believes collective bargaining should be eliminated for public employee unions, Huckabee said: ‘If it’s not eliminated I think it has to be certainly somehow be contained in a reasonable and responsible way and I don’t have a specific proposal other than just to recognize that is not the same to have collective bargaining at a public employee level as it is private sector level.’” [Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, 2/23/11] 

Mike Huckabee campaigned in favor of a failed initiative to strip Ohio’s public employees of their collective bargaining rights. “On November 8, Ohioans will vote on Issue 2, a much-contested ballot referendum on whether to repeal Gov. John Kasich’s controversial anti-union legislation (known as SB 5) that curbed collective bargaining rights for his state’s public-sector unions. Recent polls have shown that a majority of Ohioans support repealing Kasich’s bill. Enter Huckabee. He has been stumping for voting yes on Issue 2—that is, to uphold Kasich’s anti-union bill—urging members of the audience to do the same, and to pray in support of the measure.” [Mother Jones, 10/17/11]

  Hillary Clinton cosponsored the Employee Free Choice Act of 2007 to “strengthen workers’ right to organize.” “Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton today joined thousands of workers in calling for passage of the Employee Free Choice Act. The bill, cosponsored by Senator Clinton, will strengthen workers’ right to organize. […] The Employee Free Choice Act would level the playing field between workers and employers by: Permitting workers to form a union through ‘majority sign-up,’ a process in which workers present signed authorization cards as demonstration of their choice to belong to a union; Requiring mediation and arbitration to help employers and employees reach a first contract in a reasonable period of time; and Strengthening penalties against employers who violate the labor laws.” [Senator Clinton campaign press release, 6/19/07; S.1041, 3/29/07]  Community College Mike Huckabee called a plan to offer U.S. high school graduates free community college tuition “irresponsible” and a “liberal giveaway.” “Huckabee, who recently left his Fox News show to consider running for president again, said Obama’s community college plan ‘sounds good in theory, but it’s entirely irresponsible.’ The White House estimates it will cost $60 billion over 10 years to implement the community college proposal. ‘Once again, he fails to recognize that hard-working taxpayers foot the bill for all of his liberal giveaways,’ Huckabee said.” [USA Today, 1/20/15]  Hillary Clinton: “I fully support President Obama’s plan to make community college free.” “Hillary Clinton said community college should be free during a roundtable with students in Iowa on Tuesday. ‘I fully support President Obama’s plan to make community college free,’ the newly announced presidential contender said at Kirkwood Community College, the first official stop of her campaign. Clinton, who is casting the first part of her campaign as a listening tour to get to know ‘everyday Americans,’ said she also wants to reduce peripheral higher education costs, such as books and room and board.” [Fusion, 4/14/15]  ]]> http://correct2016.wpengine.com/hillary-vs-gop/#perry Mon, 27 Apr 2015 21:00:53 +0000 http://correct2016.wpengine.com/?p=1219 Issue Rick Perry Hillary Clinton Social Security Rick Perry said Social Security was a “Ponzi scheme” and a “monstrous lie.” “Texas Gov. Rick Perry says Social Security is a ‘monstrous lie’ for younger Americans. ‘It is a monstrous lie. It is a Ponzi scheme to tell our kids that are 25 or 30 years old today, you’ve paid into a program that’s going to be there. Anybody that’s for the status quo with Social Security today is involved with a monstrous lie to our kids, and that’s not right.’” [Real Clear Politics, 9/7/11]Rick Perry suggested that Social Security was unconstitutional. “Perry, who referred to the justices as ‘nine oligarchs in robes,’ said he was not convinced that Social Security and Medicare were constitutional. ‘I don’t think our Founding Fathers, when they were putting the term ‘general welfare’ in there, were thinking about a federally operated program of pensions nor a federally operated program of healthcare,’ he said in a book interview with Newsweek last fall. ‘Whether it’s Social Security, whether it’s Medicaid, whether it’s Medicare … they’re bankrupt. They’re a Ponzi scheme. I challenge anybody to stand up and defend the Social Security program that we have today.’” [Los Angeles Times, 8/23/11]

  Hillary Clinton: “When I’m president, I will do everything to protect and preserve Social Security.” “I think that has to be what happens again, but with a president who is dedicated to Social Security, unlike our current president, who has never liked Social Security. You can go back and see when he first ran for Congress he was dissing Social Security. So when I’m president, I will do everything to protect and preserve Social Security so we can have that kind of bipartisanship.” [Democratic presidential debate, 9/26/07] Social Security Retirement Age Rick Perry supported raising the Social Security retirement age. “Many of [Perry’s] proposals, which include allowing younger workers to open individual savings accounts within Social Security and gradually raising the program’s retirement age, are more common and have been debated at great length in recent years.” [New York Times, 11/5/11] Hillary Clinton: “Raising the retirement age isn’t the answer” to preserving Social Security. “Let me start with calling for a renewed national commitment to Social Security, this is the most successful domestic program in the history of the United States. And you don’t have to worry, when I’m president, privatization is off the table, because it does not answer anything. From my perspective cutting benefits is not the answer, raising the retirement age isn’t the answer, we need to get back to the fiscal responsibilities that we had in the 1990s where we weren’t raiding the social security trust fund anymore. When my husband left office, we had a secure Social Security system until 2055, and now all of the sudden the Bush administration took us back into deficits we lost 14 years off the solvency of the Social Security trust fund in the last six and a half years.” [NBC News, 9/4/07] Medicare Rick Perry suggested that Medicare was unconstitutional and a “Ponzi scheme.” “Perry, who referred to the justices as ‘nine oligarchs in robes,’ said he was not convinced that Social Security and Medicare were constitutional. ‘I don’t think our Founding Fathers, when they were putting the term ‘general welfare’ in there, were thinking about a federally operated program of pensions nor a federally operated program of healthcare,’ he said in a book interview with Newsweek last fall. ‘Whether it’s Social Security, whether it’s Medicaid, whether it’s Medicare … they’re bankrupt. They’re a Ponzi scheme. I challenge anybody to stand up and defend the Social Security program that we have today.’” [Los Angeles Times, 8/23/11] Hillary Clinton believed that Medicare was “part of a fair deal that our country has established between working and retired Americans.” “Those of us who support Medicare believe it is part of a fair deal that our country has established between working and retired Americans. Now this Administration and the Republican Leadership want to abandon this tradition. They want to get rid of Medicare instead of making it stronger.” [Senator Clinton press release, 3/13/03 (via archive.org)] Marriage Equality Rick Perry criticized the legal decision that declared Texas’ ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional. “Texas Gov. Rick Perry criticized the ruling made Wednesday by a federal judge in his state striking down the ban on same-sex marriage. ‘This is yet another attempt to achieve via the courts what couldn’t be achieved at the ballot box,’ the Republican governor said in a statement. ‘We will continue to fight for the rights of Texans to self-determine the laws of our state.’ The state’s ban on same-sex marriage was deemed unconstitutional by Judge Orlando Garcia, who will continue to allow the ban to be enforced, pending an appeal. The ruling followed a lawsuit filed by two gay couples challenging a constitutional amendment and law, according to the Associated Press.” [Politico, 2/26/14] Hillary Clinton: “I support marriage for lesbian and gay couples.” Secretary Hillary Clinton: “LGBT Americans are our colleagues, our teachers, our soldiers, our friends, our loved ones, and they are full and equal citizens and deserve the rights of citizenship. That includes marriage. That’s why I support marriage for lesbian and gay couples. I support it personally and as a matter of policy and law.” [Human Rights Campaign, 3/18/13] LGBT Americans Rick Perry compared homosexuality to alcoholism. “Republican Texas Gov. Rick Perry reportedly compared gay people to alcoholism at an event in San Francisco on Wednesday. The moderator at the Commonwealth Club of California asked him if he considered homosexuality to be a disorder, according to an article in the San Francisco Chronicle. ‘Whether or not you feel compelled to follow a particular lifestyle or not, you have the ability to decide not to do that,’ Perry allegedly said. ‘I may have the genetic coding that I’m inclined to be an alcoholic, but I have the desire not to do that, and I look at the homosexual issue the same way.’” [MSNBC, 6/12/14] Hillary Clinton on LGBT Americans: “I want to be a president who can clearly say to the American people, you know, these are our friends, our children, our parents.” “I want to be a president who can clearly say to the American people, you know, these are our friends, our children, our parents; these are people who we want to support as they live the best lives they can. So it’s very personal for me. And we are not going to agree on everything, but I will be a president who will fight for you, will work to end discrimination in the employment area, end ‘don’t ask, don’t tell,’ finally get hate crimes through, do a lot of what we need to do on HIV/AIDS and so much more. And I really hope that we can be partners in trying to make our country a little bit better and a little more progressive for all of us.” [Democratic presidential debate, 8/9/07] Abortion Rick Perry opposed abortion in all instances, including in cases of rape and incest. “‘In a move that cements his stature on the Republican Party’s conservative wing, Texas Gov. Rick Perry confirmed to a pastor on Tuesday that he no longer supports abortion in any cases, including rape. […] ‘My view is that life begins at conception and the end of human life should be protected until human death. And that has guided me as governor of my home state,’ Perry said, explaining that his position was a product of studying both the Founding Fathers and the Bible. He pledged that on his first day in office he would reinstate the so-called ‘Mexico City policy,’ which requires all non-governmental organizations that receive federal funding not to perform abortions and has been a constant point of struggle between Democrats and Republicans in the abortion debate.” [CBS News, 12/28/11] Rick Perry signed into law controversial legislation that banned abortion after 20 weeks and shuttered family planning clinics across Texas. “Following weeks of heated protests at the state capitol, Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) signed into law on Thursday a package of abortion restrictions that is expected to drastically reduce access to abortion across the state. House Bill 2 bans abortions 20 weeks after fertilization, four weeks earlier than the standard set by Roe v. Wade. It may also lead to the closure of all but five abortion clinics in the state, since it requires all clinics to become ambulatory surgical centers, even if they do not provide surgical abortions. The bill mandates that abortion providers have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of the facility and requires them to administer the abortion-inducing medication RU-486 in person, rather than allow women to take it at home.” [Huffington Post, 7/18/13]

  Hillary Clinton: “I believe, and I have said for many, many years, that abortion should be safe, it should be rare, but it should be legal.” During floor remarks on the nomination of Judge Samuel Alito Sen. Clinton said, “Now, I believe, and I have said for many, many years, that abortion should be safe, it should be rare, but it should be legal. And I understand that it is a difficult and even tragic choice for many women. It is a decision of conscience and therefore, should be a constitutionally-protected decision made not by the government, not by the majority – whoever the majority might be – but between a woman, her doctor, and her faith in God.” [Senator Clinton floor speech on the nomination of Judge Samuel Alito, 1/25/06 (via archive.org)]Hillary Clinton: Choosing whether to have an abortion is “a highly personal decision that that woman should make based on her own faith beliefs, her own personal situation, her medical condition.” “I’m pro-choice because I think that’s the best position. If someone chooses to have an abortion or chooses not to have an abortion, that is such a highly personal decision that that woman should make based on her own faith beliefs, her own personal situation, her medical condition. The fight is not over in the United States and we’re going to have to keep standing up for women’s rights and particularly reproductive health rights.” [Guardian interview, 7/4/14]

  Contraception Rick Perry and the Texas legislature cut funding for family planning clinics by two thirds in 2011, a move that a supporter in the state house characterized as a “war on birth control.” “This year, the Texas legislature and Gov. Perry cut funding for family planning clinics by two-thirds. Dr. Celia Neavel is director of adolescent health at the People’s Community Clinic in East Austin and says it is a devastating blow. ‘That particular funding was used obviously for birth control, but also Pap smears, breast cancer screening, for diabetes, thyroid disorders, anemia [and] high cholesterol,’ Neavel says. […] The goal is to get government money out of the abortion process, and if contraceptive services have to suffer a bit of collateral damage in the process, so be it. When The Texas Tribune asked state Rep. Wayne Christian (R-Nacogdoches), a supporter of the family planning cuts, if this was a war on birth control, he said ‘yes.’ ‘Well of course this is a war on birth control and abortions and everything — that’s what family planning is supposed to be about,’ Christian said.” [National Public Radio, 9/20/11] Hillary Clinton aggressively pursued legislation to ensure a woman’s right to contraceptives. “It’s also important that private insurance companies do their part to help reduce unwanted pregnancies. That is why I am a proud co-sponsor of the Equity in Prescription Insurance and Contraceptive Coverage — the so-called EPICC. The legislation would require private health plans to cover FDA-approved prescription contraceptives and related medical services to the same extent that they cover prescription drugs and other outpatient medical services. This bill simply seeks to establish parity for prescription contraception. Thanks to so many of the people in this room and the advocates, the EPICC law is now in effect in New York State having been passed and signed in 2002. It’s a real role model for the nation. And it’s about equal rights and simple justice. After all, if insurance companies can cover Viagra, they can certainly cover prescription contraceptives.” [S.104, 1/22/01; Senator Clinton speech to the NYS Family Planning Providers, 1/24/05 (via archive.org)] Gun Control Rick Perry opposed background checks for gun purchases and supported allowing concealed carry permit holders to carry weapons in any public spaces, including schools. “Texas Gov. Rick Perry says passing new gun control laws won’t stop criminals and would only make law-abiding citizens easy targets by depriving them of weapons to defend themselves. Perry spoke Friday at the National Rifle Association convention’s political rally. Perry said issues such as tighter background checks on guns sales would only hurt non-criminals who want to buy them. Perry says there are ‘no easy fixes’ to gun violence, but that limiting gun ownership is not the answer. […] Perry has also supported allowing permit holders to carry concealed weapons in any public place — including teachers in schools. Democrat Jim Himes — a Congressman in a district to Newtown, Connecticut — lit into Perry over the comments.” [CBS-DFW/AP, 5/3/13] Hillary Clinton voted to extend the Assault Weapons ban and cosponsored legislation to require background checks at gun shows. Sen. Clinton voted for a ten-year extension of the ban on assault weapons. Senator Clinton cosponsored legislation requiring background checks for firearms purchases at gun shows and from unlicensed dealers. “Senator Clinton is an original co-sponsor of legislation introduced by Senator Jack Reed, to require criminal background checks on individuals who purchase firearms at gun shows from unlicensed dealers. Currently, unlicensed dealers at gun shows are able to skirt the background checks that are required of licensed gun dealers under the Brady Law. This law — which requires licensed gun dealers to conduct background checks of potential purchasers in order to prevent felons, fugitives and stalkers from buying firearms — has resulted in approximately 536,000 criminals or other prohibited purchasers being denied access to firearms.” [Senator Clinton press release, 4/24/01 (via archive.org); S. 767,4/24/01; Senate roll call vote 24, 3/2/04] Iran Letter Rick Perry was the second governor to back the Senate GOP’s open letter to Iranian leadership attacking a potential nuclear deal with Iran. “Signed by 47 GOP Senators, including presidential contenders Marco Rubio, Lindsey Graham, Ted Cruz, and Rand Paul, the Monday letter warned the Iranian government that the next president would not be bound by the agreement. [Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal] was followed shortly after by former Texas Gov. Rick Perry.” [TIME, 3/10/15] Hillary Clinton slammed Republican Senators for undermining American leadership by sending an open letter to Iran’s leaders. In a tweet, Hillary Clinton wrote, “GOP letter to Iranian clerics undermines American leadership. No one considering running for commander-in-chief should be signing on.” [3/11/15, 3:11 p.m. EDT] Iran Nuclear Deal Rick Perry pledged to invalidate the U.S.’ multilateral deal with Iran to limit Iranian nuclear capacity as one of his first acts as president. “Declaring that the world is more dangerous than at any point in the past quarter-century, Rick Perry plans to say Monday that if elected president, he would immediately invalidate President Obama’s agreement with Iran because he believes the eventual deal would make the world even less safe. […] ‘Should I run for president, and be so fortunate to be elected, one of my first actions in office would be to invalidate the president’s Iran agreement, which jeopardizes the safety and security of the free world,’ Perry will say, according to his prepared remarks.” [Washington Post, 4/6/15] Hillary Clinton said the nuclear deal with Iran was an “important step” toward strengthening security in the region. “Hillary Rodham Clinton called the framework for an Iran nuclear deal that was reached on Thursday an ‘important step,’ adding that while ‘the devil is always in the details’ in such negotiations, ‘diplomacy deserves a chance to succeed.’ […]’The understanding that the major world powers have reached with Iran is an important step toward a comprehensive agreement that would prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon and strengthen the security of the United States, Israel and the region,’ Mrs. Clinton said.” [New York Times, 4/2/15] Voter ID Rick Perry signed legislation to make Texas voter ID laws stricter. “Gov. Rick Perry (R) signed Texas’ voter ID law in May 2011. The state already required an ID to vote; the new law requires a photo ID. Those who don’t have a valid photo ID can apply for a new ‘election identification certificate.’ As a state with a history of voter discrimination, Texas must get preclearance from the Department of Justice for changes in election law. The DOJ blocked Texas’ law under Section 5 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, declaring that it would disproportionately affect Hispanic voters.” [Washington Post, 7/9/12] Hillary Clinton condemned GOP voter ID laws as being tools for “voter suppression.” “Clinton said the Supreme Court in June had done serious damage with its landmark Voting Rights Act ruling, which cleared the way for states with a history of discrimination to tighten voting laws without federal approval. She also denounced voter ID laws pushed through by state legislatures controlled by the GOP, saying they were being justified as tools to fight the ‘phantom epidemic of voter fraud,’ but really just made it harder for minorities and the poor to exercise their voting rights. She referred to North Carolina’s new election rules, which were signed into law by Republican Gov. Pat McCrory this week, as the ‘greatest hits of voter suppression.’” [The Week, 8/13/13] Equal Pay Rick Perry called the push for wage equality “nonsense.” “Texas Gov. Rick Perry on Tuesday called the debate over equal pay for women that is lighting up the Texas governor’s race ‘nonsense,’ saying the Democrats should focus on ‘substantive issues.’ ‘If they want to talk about substantive issues in Texas in this governor’s race, let’s talk about tax policy, regulatory policy, legal policies. But to go focus on this issue of a piece of legislation that already — that we already have laws that protect it, is nonsense,’ Perry said on MSNBC’s ‘Morning Joe’ on Tuesday.” [Politico, 3/25/14]Rick Perry vetoed fair pay legislation in Texas. “Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) has vetoed a bill meant to prevent wage discrimination against women. An aide to state Rep. Senfronia Thompson (D), who authored the equal pay bill, HB 950, said Perry’s office called on Friday to say he had vetoed it. State Sen. Wendy Davis (D), who introduced the Senate version of the legislation, told the Texas Tribune that she had received the same call. In a statement, Thompson said she was ‘deeply disappointed’ and ‘heartbroken.’ ‘Women will still have to struggle to receive their equal pay for their equal work,’ she said. The bill would bring Texas state law in line with the federal Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which makes it easier for women to sue employers over wage discrimination.” [Huffington Post, 6/14/13]

  Hillary Clinton was an original co-sponsor of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. Senator Clinton co-sponsored the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, which became the first law signed by President Barack Obama on January 29, 2009. The Act, which expanded workers’ rights to take pay discrimination issues to court, was originally introduced in 2007 by Ted Kennedy as the Fair Pay Restoration Act. That version was co-sponsored by Clinton as well. [S. 181, 1/8/09; S. 1843, 7/20/07] Climate Change Rick Perry called himself a climate change skeptic. “Texas Gov. Rick Perry reiterated his position on man-made global warming this weekend, telling New Hampshire voters that he’s ‘not afraid’ to call himself a climate change skeptic. ‘For us to take a snapshot in time and to say that what is going on in the country today, the climate change that is going on is man’s fault and we need to jeopardize America’s economy, I’m a skeptic about that,’ Perry told a man in Derry, N.H., Friday night who pressed him about his position on climate change. ‘I’m not afraid to say I’m a skeptic about that.’” [Huffington Post, 10/1/11] Hillary Clinton called climate change the “most consequential, urgent, sweeping collection of challenges we face as a nation and world.” “Climate change is the ‘most consequential, urgent, sweeping collection of challenges we face as a nation and world,’ Clinton said at the National Clean Energy Summit 7.0 in Nevada. ‘The data is unforgiving no matter what the deniers try to assert.’” [The Hill, 9/4/14] Cuba Rick Perry opposed the normalization of relations with Cuba and claimed that the U.S. got “the way short end” of the deal to secure the release of imprisoned American aid worker Alan Gross. “Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry voiced his concerns about the Obama administration’s stance on trade with Cuba and China at the Iowa Ag Summit Saturday. ‘The administration basically empowered the Castro regime with no thought about helping the people,’ Perry said to summit host Bruce Rastetter. ‘I think we got a bad deal. The people of Cuba got a bad deal.’ The former Texas governor also conveyed his frustration over the 2014 prisoner exchange for USAID subcontractor Alan Gross, who had been sentenced to 15 years in prison by the Cuban government in 2011. ‘We traded Mr. Gross for three Cuban spies,’ the potential 2016 Republican candidate said. ‘In my opinion, we got the way short end of that deal.’” [CBS News, 3/7/15] Hillary Clinton was “the main architect of the new policy” that restored diplomatic ties with Cuba. “Although President Barack Obama is taking the credit for Wednesday’s historic deal to reverse decades of U.S. policy toward Cuba, when Hillary Clinton was secretary of state, she was the main architect of the new policy and pushed far harder for a deal than the Obama White House. From 2009 until her departure in early 2013, Clinton and her top aides took the lead on the sometimes public, often private interactions with the Cuban government. According to current and former White House and State Department officials and several Cuba policy experts who were involved in the discussions, Clinton was also the top advocate inside the government for ending travel and trade restrictions on Cuba and reversing 50 years of U.S. policy to isolate the Communist island nation. Repeatedly, she pressed the White House to move faster and faced opposition from cautious high-ranking White House officials.” [Bloomberg, 12/18/14]Washington Post: The release of Alan Gross “was the achievement of a goal that Clinton had sought in public and in private during her tenure at the State Department.” “Cuba’s release of Alan Gross, a U.S. Agency for International Development contractor who was imprisoned for five years, was the achievement of a goal that Clinton had sought in public and in private during her tenure at the State Department. In a statement Wednesday, Clinton said, ‘I am deeply relieved by Alan Gross’s safe return to the United States. . . . It is great news that Alan is finally home with his family, where he belongs.’” [Washington Post, 12/17/14]

  Unemployment Insurance Rick Perry rejected federal aid to expand unemployment benefits for out-of-work Texans. “Texas Gov. Rick Perry plans to turn down $555 million that would expand state unemployment benefits, saying the money would have required the state to keep funding the expanded benefits after the stimulus money ran out. Perry, an outspoken critic of President Barack Obama’s $787 billion stimulus bill, accepted most of the roughly $17 billion slated for Texas in the plan. But the governor turned down the unemployment benefits because he said they would require the state to increase the tax burden on Texas businesses.” [Associated Press, 3/12/09]  Hillary Clinton continuously fought to extend unemployment insurance for U.S. workers. Hillary Clinton repeatedly supported legislative efforts to extend unemployment assistance for out-of-work Americans throughout her Senate career. [S. 3009, 9/26/02; S. 225, 1/28/03;S. 1708, 10/2/03; S. 2006, 1/20/04; S. 2544, 1/22/08; S. 3507, 9/17/08] Indiana “Religious Liberty” Legislation Rick Perry supported the Indiana discrimination law. “A spokesman for Rick Perry said the former Texas governor supports the Indiana law. ‘Governor Perry has always fought to expand religious freedoms, which is why Texas became a beacon for liberty during his leadership,’ spokesman Travis Considine told the Washington Post. ‘He believes it’s up to the states and their leaders to determine what’s in the best interests of their citizens.’” [Talking Points Memo, 3/31/15] Hillary Clinton immediately came out decisively against the Indiana discrimination law. In a tweet, Hillary Clinton said, “Sad this new Indiana law can happen in America today. We shouldn’t discriminate against [people because] of who they love #LGBT.” [3/26/15, 9:32 p.m. EDT] Hobby Lobby Rick Perry praised the Supreme Court’s decision in the Hobby Lobby case. “Gov. Rick Perry today released the following statement following the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on Burwell v. Hobby Lobby. ‘Today’s decision is further proof that Obamacare represents one of the greatest governmental overreaches in our nation’s history. Religious freedom is an intrinsic part of being American, and the Supreme Court’s decision reaffirms that the government cannot mandate that anyone operate in a fashion counter to their most deeply-felt principles.’” [Rick Perry Facebook page, 6/30/14] Hillary Clinton said the Hobby Lobby decision was “troubling.” In a tweet, Hillary Clinton said, “Hard-working women will pay the price for today’s two troubling #SCOTUS decisions — in wages, health care & dignity.” [6/30/14, 6:34 p.m. EDT] Employee Free Choice Act Rick Perry called the Employee Free Choice Act “un-American.” ‘Six Republican governors, including a couple big ones, are publicly coming out against the Employee Free Choice Act today. South Carolina’s Mark Sanford, Mississippi’s Haley Barbour, Georgia’s Sonny Perdue, Idaho’s Butch Otter, South Dakota’s Mike Rounds and Texas’s Rick Perry will release a statement calling the labor-backed bill ‘absolutely unacceptable. […] Perry: ‘The secret ballot is sacred in America. Card check is just plain unfair and un-American.’” [Politico, 4/16/09] Hillary Clinton pledged to “be the president who signs the Employee Free Choice Act” and cosponsored the Employee Free Choice Act of 2007. “Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton today joined thousands of workers in calling for passage of the Employee Free Choice Act. The bill, cosponsored by Senator Clinton, will strengthen workers’ right to organize. […] The Employee Free Choice Act would level the playing field between workers and employers by: Permitting workers to form a union through ‘majority sign-up,’ a process in which workers present signed authorization cards as demonstration of their choice to belong to a union; Requiring mediation and arbitration to help employers and employees reach a first contract in a reasonable period of time; and Strengthening penalties against employers who violate the labor laws.” [Democratic presidential debate, 8/7/07; Senator Clinton campaign press release, 6/19/07 (via archive.org); S.1041, 3/29/07] Net Neutrality Rick Perry opposed net neutrality. “Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) became the latest potential GOP presidential candidate to blast President Obama’s proposal for open Internet rules. Perry on Wednesday described Obama’s proposal to reclassify broadband Internet as a utility as a ‘Great Depression’ era regulatory scheme. He said Texas owes a lot to regulatory certainty. ‘President Obama’s call to saddle 21st century technology with outdated, unnecessary regulations from the era of the Great Depression is alarming and will stifle innovation and growth,’ he said in a statement Wednesday evening.” [The Hill, 11/13/14] Hillary Clinton cosponsored legislation to protect net neutrality. Hillary Clinton repeatedly cosponsored the Internet Freedom Preservation Act, legislation that she stated would “ensure that open, unimpaired and unencumbered Internet access for both its users and content providers is preserved.” In a statement released announcing her support of the 2006 version of the bill, Hillary Clinton affirmed that efforts “to fundamentally alter the inherently democratic structure of the Internet must be rejected.” [S. 2917, 5/19/06; S. 215, 1/9/07]Hillary Clinton: “I would vote for net neutrality.” “I would vote for net neutrality because as I understand it, it’s Title II with a lot of changes within it in order to avoid the worst of the utility regulation. So it’s a foot in the door. It’s a value statement.” [Watermark Lead On Conference, 2/24/15]

  Automotive Industry Rescue Package Rick Perry supported allowing the U.S. auto industry to go bankrupt. “Gov. Rick Perry says the collapse of talks in the Senate on an auto industry bailout is good news. Perry says he’s not worried that the Big Three automakers might go into bankruptcy. He says right-to-work states in the South like Texas will benefit if automakers are forced to retool their industry and break ‘those onerous union contracts.’” [Dallas Morning News, 12/12/08] Hillary Clinton praised emergency assistance for the automotive industry. “The American auto industry is the backbone of our nation’s manufacturing base and directly and indirectly employs millions of Americans, including more than 230,000 New Yorkers. As we grapple with a deepening recession, continuing turmoil in the financial markets, and a potentially devastating new wave of home foreclosures, a bankruptcy by any of our U.S. automakers would further destabilize our economy. The emergency assistance announced today is necessary to prevent an immediate economic catastrophe and will help pave the way for the stabilization of our automakers.” [Senator Clinton press release, 12/19/08]

Hillary Clinton: “Raising the minimum wage is something that is long overdue.” “Raising the minimum wage is something that is long overdue. There are too many people that work full time and are below the poverty level, so there are things we can do right now, but then we’re going to have to look hard at what really would work.” [Clinton Global Initiative event, 9/24/14]

Hillary Clinton: Choosing whether to have an abortion is “a highly personal decision that that woman should make based on her own faith beliefs, her own personal situation, her medical condition.” “I’m pro-choice because I think that’s the best position. If someone chooses to have an abortion or chooses not to have an abortion, that is such a highly personal decision that that woman should make based on her own faith beliefs, her own personal situation, her medical condition. The fight is not over in the United States and we’re going to have to keep standing up for women’s rights and particularly reproductive health rights.” [Guardian interview, 7/4/14]

  Marriage Equality Ben Carson said that “marriage is between a man and a woman” and compared supporters of marriage equality to “people who believe in bestiality.” In response to a question by Sean Hannity about his views on gay marriage, Ben Carson said, “Well, my thoughts are that marriage is between a man and a woman. It’s a well-established, fundamental pillar of society and no group, be they gays, be they NAMBLA, be they people who believe in bestiality. It doesn’t matter what they are. They don’t get to change the definition.” [Slate, 3/28/13] Hillary Clinton: “I support marriage for lesbian and gay couples.” Secretary Hillary Clinton: “LGBT Americans are our colleagues, our teachers, our soldiers, our friends, our loved ones, and they are full and equal citizens and deserve the rights of citizenship. That includes marriage. That’s why I support marriage for lesbian and gay couples. I support it personally and as a matter of policy and law.” [Human Rights Campaign, 3/18/13] Indiana “Religious Liberty” Legislation Ben Carson said it was “absolutely vital” that Americans support the Indiana Religious Freedom Restoration Act. “Dr. Ben Carson, a likely 2016 presidential contender, tells Breitbart News that it is ‘absolutely vital’ Americans stand up for Indiana Gov. Mike Pence’s new religious freedom law. Speaking about the Indiana Religious Freedom Restoration Act—which has drawn fire from the left—Carson said the First Amendment is one of the basic pillars and a founding principle of the nation. ‘It is absolutely vital that we do all we can to allow Americans to practice their religious ways, while simultaneously ensuring that no one’s beliefs infringe upon those of others. We should also serve as champions of freedom of religion throughout the world,’ Carson tells Breitbart News.” [Breitbart, 3/30/15] Hillary Clinton immediately came out decisively against the Indiana discrimination law. In a tweet, Hillary Clinton said, “Sad this new Indiana law can happen in America today. We shouldn’t discriminate against [people because] of who they love #LGBT.” [3/26/15, 9:32 p.m. EDT] Abortion Ben Carson likened abortion to “human sacrifice.” “Ben Carson, retired neurosurgeon-turned-conservative rock star — and an open follower of the Christian faith — likely ruffled liberal feathers with his most recent comment on abortion, during which he likened it to the biblical act of sacrificing humans. He made the remark during an appearance on the Christian broadcast outlet, DoveTV, after host Perry Atkinson suggested that America could receive great blessings from God by outlawing abortion. […] ‘It’s interesting,’ Mr. Carson said, Raw Story reported, ‘that we sit around and call other ancient civilizations ‘heathen’ because of human sacrifice, but aren’t we actually guilty of the same thing?’” [Washington Times, 7/2/14] Hillary Clinton: “I believe, and I have said for many, many years, that abortion should be safe, it should be rare, but it should be legal.” During floor remarks on the nomination of Judge Samuel Alito Sen. Clinton said, “Now, I believe, and I have said for many, many years, that abortion should be safe, it should be rare, but it should be legal. And I understand that it is a difficult and even tragic choice for many women. It is a decision of conscience and therefore, should be a constitutionally-protected decision made not by the government, not by the majority – whoever the majority might be – but between a woman, her doctor, and her faith in God.” [Senator Clinton floor speech on the nomination of Judge Samuel Alito, 1/25/06 (via archive.org)]Hillary Clinton: Choosing whether to have an abortion is “a highly personal decision that that woman should make based on her own faith beliefs, her own personal situation, her medical condition.” “I’m pro-choice because I think that’s the best position. If someone chooses to have an abortion or chooses not to have an abortion, that is such a highly personal decision that that woman should make based on her own faith beliefs, her own personal situation, her medical condition. The fight is not over in the United States and we’re going to have to keep standing up for women’s rights and particularly reproductive health rights.” [Guardian interview, 7/4/14]

  Gun Control Ben Carson opposed expanding background checks and banning assault weapons. “In an appearance on Wednesday at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., Dr. Ben Carson, author of the new book ‘One Nation: What We Can All Do to Save America’s Future’ discussed his views on the Second Amendment of the Constitution. Carson stated that in high-crime areas, ‘We should be able to engage in conversations about [the Second Amendment],’ and the discussion should center around ‘what can we agree on that doesn’t violate the Second Amendment?’ Carson did say that ‘the Second Amendment is the essential part of our Constitution,’ and clarified afterwards that expanded background checks and an assault weapons ban would be off the table in any discussions on the Second Amendment.” [Breitbart, 5/28/14] Hillary Clinton voted to extend the Assault Weapons Ban and cosponsored legislation to require background checks at gun shows. Sen. Clinton voted for a ten-year extension of the ban on assault weapons. Senator Clinton cosponsored legislation requiring background checks for firearms purchases at gun shows and from unlicensed dealers. “Senator Clinton is an original co-sponsor of legislation introduced by Senator Jack Reed, to require criminal background checks on individuals who purchase firearms at gun shows from unlicensed dealers. Currently, unlicensed dealers at gun shows are able to skirt the background checks that are required of licensed gun dealers under the Brady Law. This law — which requires licensed gun dealers to conduct background checks of potential purchasers in order to prevent felons, fugitives and stalkers from buying firearms — has resulted in approximately 536,000 criminals or other prohibited purchasers being denied access to firearms.” [Senator Clinton press release, 4/24/01 (via archive.org); S. 767,4/24/01; Senate roll call vote 24, 3/2/04] Iran Nuclear Deal Ben Carson believed the nuclear negotiations with Iran were “a slap in the face to the Founders.” “Dr. Ben Carson said Thursday that the Iran deal negotiated by President Barack Obama without input from the Congress was a ‘slap in the face to the Founders.’ […] ‘For the executive branch just to decide we’re going to do this our way, we don’t care that much what you guys have to say, really is a slap in the face to the Founders of this nation and to the way our government is set up.’” [Daily Caller, 4/9/15] Hillary Clinton said the nuclear deal with Iran was an “important step” toward strengthening security in the region. “Hillary Rodham Clinton called the framework for an Iran nuclear deal that was reached on Thursday an ‘important step,’ adding that while ‘the devil is always in the details’ in such negotiations, ‘diplomacy deserves a chance to succeed.’ […]’The understanding that the major world powers have reached with Iran is an important step toward a comprehensive agreement that would prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon and strengthen the security of the United States, Israel and the region,’ Mrs. Clinton said.” [New York Times, 4/2/15] Social Security Ben Carson supported raising the Social Security retirement age. “When Social Security was first enacted, the average age of death was about 63 years. It is now approaching 80 years and rising. Obviously we have to adjust to a changing situation. The age at which benefits are distributed should be gradually raised. I stress the word gradually because people must be given a chance to adjust their plans and expectations.” [Forbes, 1/29/15] Hillary Clinton: “Raising the retirement age isn’t the answer” to preserving Social Security. “Let me start with calling for a renewed national commitment to Social Security, this is the most successful domestic program in the history of the United States. And you don’t have to worry, when I’m president, privatization is off the table, because it does not answer anything. From my perspective cutting benefits is not the answer, raising the retirement age isn’t the answer, we need to get back to the fiscal responsibilities that we had in the 1990s where we weren’t raiding the social security trust fund anymore. When my husband left office, we had a secure Social Security system until 2055, and now all of the sudden the Bush administration took us back into deficits we lost 14 years off the solvency of the Social Security trust fund in the last six and a half years.” [NBC News, 9/4/07] Net Neutrality Ben Carson argued that net neutrality is a means of imposing “another level of secrecy and control in the private lives of citizens.” “Carson told Brody that President Obama and others want to ‘impose another level of secrecy and control in the private lives of citizens’ through net neutrality, arguing that officials should instead focus on ‘exploring ways to allow people to do what they want to do, they’ve been doing it for years, so why should we now impose a layer of government control.’” [Right Wing Watch, 3/3/15] Hillary Clinton cosponsored legislation to protect net neutrality. Hillary Clinton repeatedly cosponsored the Internet Freedom Preservation Act, legislation that she stated would “ensure that open, unimpaired and unencumbered Internet access for both its users and content providers is preserved.” In a statement released announcing her support of the 2006 version of the bill, Hillary Clinton affirmed that efforts “to fundamentally alter the inherently democratic structure of the Internet must be rejected.” [S. 2917, 5/19/06; S. 215, 1/9/07]Hillary Clinton: “I would vote for net neutrality.” “I would vote for net neutrality because as I understand it, it’s Title II with a lot of changes within it in order to avoid the worst of the utility regulation. So it’s a foot in the door. It’s a value statement.” [Watermark Lead On Conference, 2/24/15]

  Taxation Ben Carson supported a flat income tax, which would cut taxes for the wealthy while raising taxes on low-income Americans. “I believe we should have a proportional tax system that is applied to all American citizens. As an example, if we had a 10% flat tax, a person making $10 billion per year would pay $1 billion and a person making $100 a year would pay $10.” [Forbes, 1/29/15] Hillary Clinton supported “a fair and progressive tax system.” “I said that I’m in favor of doing something about the AMT. How we do it and how we put the package together, everybody knows, is extremely complicated. It’s not going to happen while George Bush is president; everybody knows that. I want to get to a fair and progressive tax system. The AMT has to be part of what we try to change when I’m president. And there are a lot of moving pieces here. You know, there are kinds of issues we’re going to deal with as the tax cuts expire. I want to freeze the estate tax at the 2009 level of 7 million (dollars) for a couple. There’s a lot of moving parts. So I’m not going to get committed to a specific approach, but I applaud Chairman Rangel for beginning the conversation.” [Democratic presidential debate, 10/30/07] LGBT Rights Ben Carson called homosexuality a sin comparable to murder that he would not “justify…in order to be politically correct.” In his book The Big Picture, Ben Carson wrote, “How I feel and what I think isn’t just my opinion. God in his Word says very clearly that he considers homosexual acts to be an ‘abomination.’ Whenever I point out that God calls homosexual behavior a sin, I am usually quick to add that the Bible just as clearly calls a lot of other things wrong — lying, cheating, adultery, murder, gluttony — and I am not going to try to justify any those things in order to be politically correct either.” [Salon, 4/1/13]Ben Carson believed that federal judges who rule in favor of marriage equality should be removed from the bench. “Federal judges had better make sure that their future rulings don’t conflict with the policy preferences of a President Ben Carson. Otherwise, despite a lifetime appointment, they might quickly find themselves out of a job. During an interview last week with conservative Iowa radio host Steve Deace, Carson, who is considering running for the GOP presidential nomination in 2016, discussed the wave of recent rulings by federal courts striking down same-sex marriage bans. He argued that statewide ballot initiative results should be the final word, saying it was ‘unconstitutional’ that judges have ruled in favor of equality despite these votes. The remarks were first reported by Right Wing Watch. Carson continued that, when federal judges make rulings like this, ‘our Congress actually has the right to reprimand or remove them.’” [Think Progress, 1/28/15]

  Hillary Clinton declared that “gay rights are human rights, and human rights are gay rights” to the international community. According to Sec. Clinton’s remarks in recognition of International Human Rights Day in Geneva, Switzerland, “I want to thank Director General Tokayev and Ms. Wyden along with other ministers, ambassadors, excellencies, and UN partners. This weekend, we will celebrate Human Rights Day, the anniversary of one of the great accomplishments of the last century. […] This recognition did not occur all at once. It evolved over time. And as it did, we understood that we were honoring rights that people always had, rather than creating new or special rights for them. Like being a woman, like being a racial, religious, tribal, or ethnic minority, being LGBT does not make you less human. And that is why gay rights are human rights, and human rights are gay rights.” [Remarks in Recognition of International Human Rights Day, state.gov, 12/6/11]Hillary Clinton pledged not to appoint any federal judges who were anti-gay. “MR. CAPEHART: Would you put someone on the bench who is known to be anti-gay? SEN. CLINTON: No. And that’s why we shouldn’t. (Cheers, applause). MS. CARLSON: Senator – SEN. CLINTON: It’s one of the reasons why I’m against Southwick for — (inaudible word) — judge.” [Democratic presidential debate, 8/9/07]

  Hobby Lobby Ben Carson supported the Hobby Lobby ruling. “It’s fortunate the Supreme Court of the United States saw fit last week to rule that corporations could not be coerced into covering religiously objectionable forms of birth control for their employees. This was a critical ruling because it indicates that the majority of the court still thinks that religious beliefs and personal choice have a valid place in American society.” [Carson, Washington Times, 7/8/14] Hillary Clinton said the Hobby Lobby decision was “troubling.” In a tweet, Hillary Clinton said, “Hard-working women will pay the price for today’s two troubling #SCOTUS decisions — in wages, health care & dignity.” [6/30/14, 6:34 p.m. EDT] Community College Ben Carson said a proposal to provide two years of higher education to American high school graduates was robbing “Peter to pay Paul.” “There has been much talk recently about providing free community college education. First of all, it is only free if no one has to pay for it. It is not free if we rob Peter to pay Paul. Secondly, Pell grants already exist to pay for community college expenses for needy students. For those who are not needy, there is an old-fashioned remedy that is very effective called work. In fact work might even be beneficial for those who are needy. It certainly provided some very valuable experiences for me.” [Ben Carson op-ed, Washington Times, 2/3/15] Hillary Clinton: “I fully support President Obama’s plan to make community college free.” “Hillary Clinton said community college should be free during a roundtable with students in Iowa on Tuesday. ‘I fully support President Obama’s plan to make community college free,’ the newly announced presidential contender said at Kirkwood Community College, the first official stop of her campaign. Clinton, who is casting the first part of her campaign as a listening tour to get to know ‘everyday Americans,’ said she also wants to reduce peripheral higher education costs, such as books and room and board.” [Fusion, 4/14/15] Medicaid Ben Carson said he would eliminate Medicaid. “Dr. Carson also advocates an alternative to the Affordable Care Act. Most people could pay most of their medical bills through health savings accounts, he said in his office. He would eliminate Medicaid and Medicare, and for the poor, government would make the contributions to their health accounts.” [New York Times, 3/20/13] Hillary Clinton believed Medicaid provided patients with access to “fundamental rights that all health care consumers should be able to rely on.” “These protections, as originally drafted, would guarantee Medicaid patients fundamental rights that all health care consumers should be able to rely on: access to emergency room care and women’s health services, health plans with an adequate amount of doctors, and the right to seek grievance if something goes wrong.” [Senator Clinton press release, 8/15/01 (via archive.org)] Poverty Ben Carson believed that the government had no responsibility to provide for the needy. “Dr. Ben Carson tested the political waters Saturday at the Conservative Political Action Conference, where many said he would be a popular Republican contender for the White House. […] Charities, he added, are better at providing for the needy than the government. ‘Nobody is starving on the streets. We’ve always taken care of them,’ Carson said. ‘We take care of our own; we always have. It is not the government’s responsibility.’” [Baltimore Sun, 3/17/13] Hillary Clinton believed the U.S. had an obligation “to maintain programs that are there to help people in need.” “But I think that what we want to do is have a little reality check here, because how is it best to end poverty? We know we’ve got to maintain programs that are there to help people in need, but look at what’s happened over the space of the last seven years. The average African-American family has lost $2,600 in income. Compare that to the prior eight years, when we had a president who took on the fights of the ‘90s and stood up against the Republicans, often at great cost, and the typical African-American family income went up $7,600 during the 1990s. We know we’ve got to attack poverty by making sure the economy works for everybody.” [Democratic presidential debate, 1/21/08] Domestic Violence Ben Carson said he was “not sure” that domestic violence was a problem in America. “Fox News contributor Ben Carson challenged host Bill O’Reilly on Thursday over the seriousness of America’s domestic violence problem. Expressing his uncertainty about the rate of violence against women during a discussion about Ray Rice, Carson explained that the public should not be so quick to judge domestic abusers. […] ‘But doctor, do you know how many millions of men do that?’ O’Reilly interrupted. ‘It’s not an isolated deal. It’s a terrible plague.’ ‘I’m not sure that’s true,’ Carson responded. ‘I’m telling you,’ O’Reilly interjected again. ‘Battery against women in this country and around the world is just out of control.’” [Salon, 9/12/14] Hillary Clinton cosponsored the Violence Against Women Act reauthorization to ensure the continuation of critical programs for women suffering from violence and abuse. “Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton today hailed the unanimous approval by the US Senate of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) reauthorization. VAWA expired on Saturday, October 1st and the reauthorization bill will now ensure that the critical programs authorized by VAWA continue. Senator Clinton was a co-sponsor of the bill, S. 1197. ‘The Violence Against Women Act focuses resources and attention on some of the most vulnerable women in our society — women who too often suffer in silence,’ said Senator Clinton. ‘I am so pleased that by passing this bill, the Senate finally reaffirmed its commitment to helping prevent and cope with domestic abuse.’” [Senator Clinton press release, 10/5/05; S. 1197, 6/8/05]