Government in education has always been a disputable topic. The Republican Party believes that the role of federal government must be limited. Teachers, parents, and school boards should have most of the control over schools. The party is in favor of home schooling and calls for enforcement of laws that would protect the familys privacy to do so. As college tuition continues to rise, Republicans want to increase the access to these universities with savings accounts. These savings would target higher benefits for students who take more challenging courses in high school.
There is also much debate over prayer in schools. The Republican Party continues to work to get voluntary prayer back into schools. I think that the most important aspects of President Bushs plan are to: require annual testing of grades three through eight, provide five billion dollars to ensure that every child can read by the third grade, and provide 2. 4 billion dollars to train and recruit highly qualified teachers. Education is a top Democratic priority. The party believes that every failing school in all of America should be turned around or shut down and then re-opened with new and better leadership.
Every eighth grader in the country should be comfortable using a computer because technology is everything around us now and more important, the future. Democrats believe strongly in a zero tolerance policy towards guns in schools. The party also believes that character education is extremely important in our schools. There are three elements to better schools in a Democratic view: reduce class size, modernize facilities, and hire new teachers. Teachers should also be paid more because they are professionals.
The Libertarian Party believes that in our current school system, poor kids end up at the worst schools. Wealthy parents can afford to send their children to better or safer schools while poor parents have no choice but to send their kids to public schools which are free but can also be a much harsher environment for learning. The Republican Party wants to reform and toughen the current immigration system in order to emphasize family. The system needs to devote resources to border control and give priority to spouses and children.
The party believes that needed skills for determining eligibility for admission to our country should be emphasized. Republicans also support increasing the number of H-1B visas to ensure that workers with more high-tech skills are placed into specialized positions. The H-2A program for short-term agricultural workers also needs expansion. President Bush supports the concept called English-Plus, which insists on English proficiency but recognizes the valued richness that other languages bring to our country.
Democrats are in support of the reforming of the INS to provide better services. Also, there needs to be increased resources for English language courses. The party believes that family reunification should continue to be the most important aspect of our current immigration system. Democrats want protection of immigrants who are hired by employers in order to exploit them. There is need for restoration of basic due process protections, so that immigrants can no longer be deported for minor offenses. The Green Party says, Dont blame immigrants for social and economic problems.
Our nation was built with a rich mixture of immigrants and we must continue to respect the contributions and potential contributions of those immigrants. Policies should promote fairness, non-discrimination, and most importantly, family unification. The party believes that particular attention should be paid to minorities who are political exiles and refugees. This includes people who are Russian Jews, Eastern Kurds, Tibetans, and Haitians. Green members also believe that our current relationship with Mexico needs some added attention because our bordering nations offer economic opportunities.
The Green Party is in opposition of those who raise up ethnic and racial hatreds for the sake of political gain. Immigrants cannot be blamed for social and economic problems. Civil Rights could be the most questionable platform in all parties. The Republican Party is in strong support of the traditional definition of marriage; that is the union of one man and one woman. Republicans believe that federal judges should not force states to recognize any other living arrangements as marriages. The party does not believe sexual preference should be given special legal protection or standing in law.
The party will not allow government to ban religious symbols from the workplace. Members also believe that religious institutions should not be taxed. The party supports women advancing in the military, however it calls for the ending of co-ed basic training. President Bush stated that strong civil rights enforcement will be a cornerstone of his administration. The Democratic Party declares that police should have zero tolerance of racial profiling. The party views profiling as a violation of the basic American principle of innocent until proven guilty.
Democrats believe that hate crimes arent just assaults on other people, but they are assaults on all of America. These crimes should be punished with extra force and protections should include hate crimes based on gender, disability, or sexual orientation. Members of the Democratic Party are proud to lead the fight of discrimination based on race, gender, religion, age, disability, and sexual orientation. The Libertarian Party is kind of an extreme because they want to repeal all laws against homosexuality.
The party also believes that the right to complete freedom of expression includes pornography. Libertarian members strongly support rights of American Indians. Included in those rights are: individuals should be free to select their own citizenship, Indians should have their property rights restored, the Bureau of Indian Affairs should be abolished leaving tribal members to determine their own system of government, and negotiations should be undertaken to resolve all differences between tribes and government.