Political Party Platform Quotes (2016)

Republican Party Platform (2016)

Democratic Party Platform (2016)

Education

“We support options for learning, including home-schooling, career and technical education, private or parochial schools, magnet schools, charter schools, online learning, and early-college high schools. We especially support...education savings accounts (ESAs), vouchers, and tuition tax credits.”

“The federal government should not be in the business of originating student loans. In order to bring down college costs and give students access to a multitude of financing options, private sector participation in student financing should be restored.”

“We believe that a strong public education system is an anchor of our democracy, a propeller of the economy, and the vehicle through which we help all children achieve their dreams....We also support increased investments in afterschool and summer learning programs.”

“Democrats are unified in their strong belief that every student should be able to go to college debt-free, and working families should not have to pay any tuition to go to public colleges and universities.”

Environment

“Our air and waterways are much healthier than they were a few decades ago. As a nation, we have drastically reduced pollution, mainstreamed recycling, educated the public, and avoided ecological degradation.”

“We support the development of all forms of energy that are marketable in a free economy without subsidies, including coal, oil, natural gas, nuclear power, and hydropower.”

“We encourage the cost-effective development of renewable energy sources — wind, solar, biomass, biofuel, geothermal, and tidal energy — by private capital...We oppose any carbon tax.”

“Information concerning a changing climate, especially projections into the long-range future, must be based on dispassionate analysis of hard data.”

“As a nation, we need policies and investments that will keep America’s public lands public, strengthen protections for our natural and cultural resources, increase access to parks and public lands for all Americans, protect native species and wildlife, and harness the immense economic and social potential of our public lands and waters.”

“Democrats believe that carbon dioxide, methane, and other greenhouse gases should be priced to reflect their negative externalities.”

“We are committed to getting 50 percent of our electricity from clean energy sources within a decade, with half a billion solar panels installed within four years and enough renewable energy to power every home in the country.”

“Climate change is an urgent threat and a defining challenge of our time.”

Firearms

“We uphold the right of individuals to keep and bear arms...Lawful gun ownership enables Americans to exercise their God-given right of self-defense... We oppose federal licensing or registration of law-abiding gun owners (and) registration of ammunition.”

“While responsible gun ownership is part of the fabric of many communities, too many families in America have suffered from gun violence...we will expand and strengthen background checks and close dangerous loopholes in our current laws.”

Foreign Policy

“Our country faces a national security crisis ... We are the party of peace through strength. We believe that American exceptionalism — the notion that our ideas and principles as a nation give us a unique place of moral leadership in the world - requires the United States to retake its natural position as leader of the free world.”

“Quite simply, the Republican Party is committed to rebuilding the U.S. military into the strongest on earth, with vast superiority over any other nation or group of nations in the world.”

“Democrats believe that America must lead in the world to grow our economy, protect our interests and values, and make our country safer and more prosperous.”

“We believe that while our military must be the strongest in the world, it should only be sent into combat when the terms of engagement are clearly presented to the American people and our troops have what they need to fulfill their mission. We believe that war must always be the last resort, never the first choice.”

Healthcare

“A Republican President, on the first day of office, will use his legitimate waiver authority under that law to halt its progress and then sign the repeal (of The Affordable Care Act of 2010). It is time to repeal Obamacare...”

“We will return to the states their historic role of regulating local insurance markets, limit federal requirements on both private insurance and Medicaid, and call on state officials to reconsider the costly medical mandates, imposed under their own laws, that price millions of low-income families out of the insurance market. To guarantee first-rate care for the needy, we propose to block grant Medicaid and other payments and to assist all patients, including those with pre-existing conditions, to obtain coverage in a robust consumer market.”

“Democrats believe that health care is a right, not a privilege, and our health care system should put people before profits... Americans should be able to access public coverage through a public option, and those over 55 should be able to opt in to Medicare.”

“Democrats will fight any attempts by Republicans in Congress to privatize, voucherize, or “phase out” Medicare as we know it. And we will oppose Republican plans to slash funding and block grant Medicaid and SNAP, which would harm millions of Americans.”

“We will defend the Affordable Care Act, which extends affordable preventative healthcare to women, including no-cost contraception.”

Immigration

“In an age of terrorism, drug cartels, human trafficking, and criminal gangs, the presence of millions of unidentified individuals in this country poses grave risks to the safety and sovereignty of the United States. Our highest priority, therefore, is to secure our borders and all ports of entry and to enforce our immigration laws.”

“Illegal immigration endangers everyone, exploits the taxpayers, and insults all who aspire to enter America legally. We oppose any form of amnesty for those who, by breaking the law, have disadvantaged those who have obeyed it. The executive amnesties of 2012 and 2014 are a direct violation of federal law and usurp the powers of Congress...These unlawful amnesties must be immediately rescinded by a Republican president.”

“The Democratic Party supports legal immigration, within reasonable limits, that meets the needs of families, communities, and the economy... People should come to the United States with visas and not through smugglers.”

“Democrats believe we need to urgently fix our broken immigration system—which tears families apart and keeps workers in the shadows - and create a path to citizenship for law-abiding families who are here...”

“We will defend and implement President Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood. Arrivals and Deferred Action for Parents of Americans executive actions to help DREAMers, parents of citizens, and lawful permanent residents avoid deportation.”

Marriage

“Traditional marriage and family, based on marriage between one man and one woman, is the foundation for a free society and has for millennia been entrusted with rearing children and instilling cultural Values.”

“We do not accept the Supreme Court’s redefinition of marriage and we urge its reversal, whether through judicial reconsideration or a constitutional amendment returning control over marriage to the states. We oppose government discrimination against businesses or entities which decline to sell items or services to individuals for activities that go against their religious views about such activities”

“Democrats applaud last year’s decision by the Supreme Court that recognized that LGBT people—like other Americans— have the right to marry the person they love.”

“Democrats will fight for the continued development of sex discrimination law to cover LGBT people. We will also fight for comprehensive federal non-discrimination protections for all LGBT Americans, to guarantee equal rights in areas such as housing, employment, public accommodations, credit, jury service, education, and federal funding. We will oppose all state efforts to discriminate against LGBT individuals, including legislation that restricts the right to access public spaces.”

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