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Candidate positions: Ralph Nader

The following positions reflect those used for Ralph Nader in the Select A Candidate survey. They come from the candidate's public statements, Web sites, and responses to Minnesota Public Radio questionnaires. In some cases, candidiates have failed to respond to inquiries, and their position is noted as "No known opinion."


Issue Question Candidate Position
Sub-prime mortgage Do you support the government directly buying distressed mortgages from home borrowers and lenders? ANSWER OPTION
Candidate declined to provide an opinion
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Iraq What is your opinion on the war in Iraq? ANSWER OPTION
There should be a timetable for the removal of U.S. troops.

CANDIDATE'S POSITION
According to a statement on his web site, Nader believes, "The current political strategy of pre-emptive war in the Middle East is a disaster for both the American people and the people of the Middle East. It has bloated the already wasteful military budget and has cost at present over 4,000 American lives, nearly 100,000 American injuries, and over a million Iraqi civilian lives, plus the destruction of their country." (More Info)
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Afghanistan What changes would you propose to the war policy in Afghanistan? ANSWER OPTION
Candidate declined to provide an opinion
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Issue Question Candidate Position
Immigration What is your position on immigration in the United States? ANSWER OPTION
No open border or criminalized border, allow guest workers with labor standards, and address immigration as an issue of worldwide economic justice.

CANDIDATE'S POSITION
According to a questionanaire, Nader says "We need to address economic justice in the US and the world and recognize the basic human rights of all people. The long term solution to immigration is to redusce the rich poor divide between the United States and other nations peacefully supporting democratic movement. (More Info)
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The mortgage crisis What do you think should be done -- if anything -- in the wake of the near collapse of companies specializing in subprime mortgages, and the foreclosures of homes? ANSWER OPTION
The government should set affordable payments for monthly mortgage rates.

CANDIDATE'S POSITION
Nader has not made an explicit statement about what should be done on the mortgage crisis, but in an interview "referred to the policy of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's policy of setting monthly mortgage payments at affordable levels." (More Info)
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Taxes Do you believe the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts should be made permanent? ANSWER OPTION
No

CANDIDATE'S POSITION
Nader supports repealing the tax cuts, taxing Wall Street securities speculators. He says "securities speculation -- buying and selling blocks of derivatives to profit from rapid fluctuations in price -- is one cause of the escalation in oil prices at the pump, the mortgage industry meltdown, and the dot.com bust." (More Info)
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Issue Question Candidate Position
Education Please select the comment that most closely matches your view on education (K-12). ANSWER OPTION
The government should provide full funding for Head Start and guarantee pre-school education for children. I oppose the over-reliance on standardized tests caused by No Child Left Behind.

CANDIDATE'S POSITION
Nader said "The federal government has a critical supporting role to play in ensuring that all children -- irrespective of the income of their parents, or their race -- are provided with rich learning environments and equal educational opportunities and upgraded repaired school buildings."[Source:On the Issues] (More Info)
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Social Security Do you favor the concept of privatization of Social Security to any degree? ANSWER OPTION
No

CANDIDATE'S POSITION
Nader said in a 2004 interview that "it's a solvent system until 2052, and with very minor variations can be good for another century..." (More Info)
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Health care Do you generally favor or oppose the concept of universal health care in America? That is, require people to have health insurance and provide a mechanism for meeting the requirement. ANSWER OPTION
Favor

CANDIDATE'S POSITION
Nader supports "a single payer system that would save the $350 billion and apply those savings to comprehensively cover everyone without paying more than we already do." (More Info)
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Issue Question Candidate Position
S-CHIP The SCHIP program is designed to subsidize health coverage for families that earn too much to qualify for Medicaid but not enough to afford private insurance. Recent debate in Congress centered around a proposal to increase spending to expand the program. Do you favor or oppose the proposed expansion? ANSWER OPTION
Candidate declined to provide an opinion
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Abortion Do you support or oppose legalized abortion in the United States? ANSWER OPTION
Support

CANDIDATE'S POSITION
"We support access to safe and legal abortion, to effective birth control, to reproductive health and education. We oppose attempts to restrict these rights through legislation, regulation (like the gag rule) or Constitutional amendment." (More Info)
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Energy Do you support federal assistance for the production of ethanol and/or biofuel as an alternative to oil? ANSWER OPTION
No

CANDIDATE'S POSITION
The Nader campaign opposes subsidies to oil, coal, biofuels and nuclear energy industries, and supports only sustainable, clean sources such as wind and solar. (More Info)
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Issue Question Candidate Position
Death penalty Do you favor or oppose the use of the death penalty for certain crimes? ANSWER OPTION
Oppose

CANDIDATE'S POSITION
Nader told Meet the Press in 2000 "Since I was a law student, I have been against the death penalty. It does not deter. It is severely discriminatory against minorities, especially since they're given no competent legal counsel defense in many cases. It's a system that has to be perfect. You cannot execute one innocent person. No system is perfect. And to top it off, for those of you who are interested in the economics it, it costs more to pursue a capital case toward execution than it does to have full life imprisonment without parole." (More Info)
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Gun control What are your views on firearm regulation? ANSWER OPTION
I support the Brady Bill, trigger locks, strict enforcement of existing gun laws, requiring licensing for gun owners and banning certain types of weapons.

CANDIDATE'S POSITION
Nader has never held political office and holds no voting record, but has said he supports gun control. (More Info)
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Climate change Do you favor or oppose federal regulation of greenhouse gases? ANSWER OPTION
Favor

CANDIDATE'S POSITION
Nader's web site says he "proposes a straightforward carbon tax--set to annual benchmarks to bring, with the expansion of solar energy, US emissions to at least 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050." (More Info)
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Issue Question Candidate Position
G.I. Bill Expansion Do you support a $50 billion expansion of the G.I. Bill to pay college tuition at a public university and other expenses for soldiers who have served 3 years since Sept. 11, 2001? ANSWER OPTION
Candidate declined to provide an opinion
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