Republican Candidate: George Pataki

George Elmer Pataki is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 53rd Governor of New York. He has four children and is currently running for the 2016 Presidential Primary Nomination.

On the Issues:

Moderate Conservative 

On Abortion: 

• Claims he can overcome GOP objection to pro-abortion stance. (Dec 2006)
• Favors abortion rights. (Jun 2006)
• Vetoes non-prescription morning-after pill. (Aug 2005)
• Supports banning partial birth abortions. (May 1996)
• Voted in NY legislature to cut off Medicaid abortion funding. (Jun 1994)
• Supported by right-to-life groups in 1990s elections. (May 1990) 

 On the Economy:

• Slash job-killing regulations & cut taxes too. (Jan 2006)
• Cut taxes & cut spending. (Jul 2000)
• Bankruptcy reform: limit Chapter 7; protect states' role. (Feb 2001)
• Uphold commitments to states before other spending. (Sep 2001)
• Maintain & enforce existing spending caps in the future. (Sep 1998) 

On Social Security:

• Maintain long-term solvency of Social Security and Medicare. (Aug 2001)
• Supports individual savings accounts and work incentives. (Sep 1998) 

On Civil Rights:

• Opposes same-sex marriage; supports gay & lesbian rights. (Jan 2007)
• No Federal Marriage Amendment; yes hate crime legislation. (Dec 2006)
• Support principles embodied in the Equal Rights Amendment. (Feb 2001)
• Require 90 day delay for compliance before ADA lawsuits. (May 2002)
• Limit interstate class-action lawsuits to federal courts . (May 2002)
• Decide Indian gaming rules at state level, not DOI. (Jul 1999) 

On Gun Control:


Supports gun control legislation. (Dec 2006) 

On Drugs:

• More federal funding for all aspects of Drug War. (Aug 2000)

On Education: 

• Expand charter schools throughout the state. (Jan 2006)
• Fund charter schools as independent non-profit entities. (Jun 2001)
• Focus educational resources to help those with greatest need. (Jul 2001)
• Require state standards, regular assessments, and sanctions. (Jul 2001)
• Support Ed-Flex: more flexibility if more accountable. (Jul 2001) 

On Energy and Oil:

• Tackle climate change via private & market-based initiatives. (Jan 2015)
• Reduce expensive, polluting, terror-promoting foreign oil. (Jan 2006)
• Make renewable fuel tax-free, for mass transit & cars. (Jan 2006)
• Voluntary partnerships reduce greenhouse gases economically. (Aug 2000)
• Kyoto Treaty must include reductions by all countries. (Aug 2000)
• Set goal of 25% renewable energy by 2025. (Jan 2007)
• Supports immediate reductions in greenhouse gases. (Sep 1998)
• Maintain federal funds for transit funding above 12.5% cap. (Jul 1999) 

On the Environment:

• Opposed to RFS: no ethanol mandate in gasoline. (Mar 2015)
• Majestic Hudson flows cleaner than it has in generations. (Jan 2006)
• Preserve & enhance our natural treasures for future. (Jan 2006)
• More state autonomy on brownfields & Superfund cleanups. (Aug 2001)
• Support State Revolving Loan Fund for flexible Clean Water. (Aug 2001)
• Supports grants for brownfields remediation. (May 2002)
• Make EPA into a Cabinet department. (May 2002)
• Focus on results, not regulation. (Sep 1998) 

On Families and Children:

• Our parents never felt like victims even in Great Depression. (May 2015)
• Prevent release of sexual predators into our neighborhoods. (Jan 2006)
• Encourage fathers' participation in child-raising. (Sep 2001)
• Federal funds & state involvement in fatherhood initiatives. (Aug 2001) 

On Foreign Policy: 

Stop using Vieques, Puerto Rico, for bombing & training. (Mar 2001) 

On Free Trade:

• Focus on in-sourcing foreign companies back to New York. (Jan 2006)
• Invest in math & science innovation to compete with China. (Jan 2006)
• Promote the Andean Free Trade Agreement. (May 2002)
• Bound under state commitment to CAFTA. (Aug 2005) 

On Government Reform:

• Empower the citizens to take back our government. (May 2015)
• Ban lobbying by former Members of Congress. (May 2015)
• Reform lobbying laws for more restrictions & disclosure. (Jan 2006)
• Governing philosophy: active but limited government. (Jan 2006)
• Reforms must respect state's rights to select electors. (Aug 2001)
• Reduce federal government size & scope, including military. (Sep 1998)
• More federal funding for FAA and air traffic control. (Jul 1999) 

On Healthcare:

• Revere America: work to repeal ObamaCare. (Apr 2014)
• Take decisions out of the hands of government bureaucrats. (Jan 2006)
• $28M for Primary Care Initiative. (Jan 2001)
• No federal pre-emption of employee health plan regulation. (Oct 2001)
• Tax credits for those without employee health insurance. (May 2002)
• Tax deduction for long-term care insurance. (May 2002)
• Support telemedicine for underserved areas. (May 2002)
• $350 billion for prescriptions for poor seniors. (May 2002)
• Protect state tobacco settlement funds from federal seizure. (Apr 1999) 

On Homeland Security:

• A strong America is a safe America: strengthen our military. (May 2015)
• We must win the War on Terror to keep America safe. (Dec 2006)
• Deal with terrorism as a joint federal-state responsibility. (Feb 2001)
• Include states in anti-terrorism planning. (Sep 2001) 

On Immigration:

• Immigrants come to work, not for government handouts. (May 2015)
• No executive orders on immigration. (Jan 2015)
• Share costs of legal immigration between states & federal. (Feb 2001)
• Federal government should deal with criminal repatriation. (Feb 2001)
• English immersion over bilingual education. (Jul 2001) 

 On Jobs:

No issue stance yet recorded by OnTheIssues.org

 

 

 On War and Peace:

 

• Make sure Iran never has a nuclear weapon. (May 2015)
• Honor soldiers destroying terrorist insurgency in Iraq. (Jan 2006)
• Supports $48 billion in new spending for anti-terrorism. (Jan 2002) 

There you have it!

Some of the candidates have not offered a lot of input on the Issues. George Pataki is one of them, unfortunately.
 

Next up:   Lindsey Graham