Has your favorite candidate for the GOP presidential nomination expressed concern about the rise of Islamic law in America?
Does he or she support U.S. membership in the United Nations and its Agenda 21 programs?
What position is held regarding U.S. support for Israel, closing down the Internal Revenue Service and the 2nd Amendment right to have and bear arms?
The Southern New Hampshire 912 Project, a voter activist group, believes only voters with full and accurate information will make the best decisions, so it has published a voter guide for the 2012 Republican candidates.
The 34-page Republican Presidential Candidate Positions Matrix gives all of the GOP presidential hopefuls positions on the major issues, from abortion to free trade, to the Second Amendment, foreign aid, illegal immigration and health care.
Group co-founder Ken Eyring said his group put together the publication, because people believe they're too busy to do the research on their own.
"They're like I used to be. They don't have the time to do the research. But we figured if we could write this document, and somehow get in front of them, it would help our electoral process to become more of what it was supposed to be," Eyring said.
To determine which issues to include in the guide, Eyring said his group simply asked, "What are all the issues that are important for people?'"
Newt Gingrich |
For example, the guide reveals that former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman signed into law hate-crime legislation, Texas Gov. Rick Perry supports U.N. Agenda 21 goals and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney negotiated a cap-and-trade agreement, suggesting that all don't support a "strict interpretation of the Constitution."
Romney also appears to be at odds with the Second Amendment, because he signed a ban on semiautomatic weapons, supported the Brady Bill and was for an assault weapons ban.
On states' rights issues, all supported the idea of the Ninth and 10th amendments and separation of powers between state and federal governments, except Romney. While Massachusetts governor, he claimed he was required by federal law to provide health care and education to illegal immigrants.
The positions are documented in the footnotes, so voters can find the original statements.
Rick Santorum |
A number of potential voters told WND that they remain uncertain of the positions of the candidates and their vote, even though the first primary is approaching.
Eyring said he used to be disconnected, too, and his project is a reflection of his desire to make up for the past.
"I used to be part of the problem. My wife and I would get up on Election Day, we'd look at each other and say, 'Who are you going to vote for?'" Eyring said. "We'd say, 'I don't know. Where's that publication that came out a few days ago with all the candidate's positions on it?' We'd scramble to make sure we didn't throw it out.
"Even then, each candidate's position was stated by the candidate, Eyring said.
"We were not educated voters. We were putting people in office where we really didn't know if they represented our values or not."
He said the project began in August, six months before the first-in-nation primary, out of a desire to produce an objective guide based on more than the candidates' own literature.
"I know how difficult it is, to go on the Internet, to read stories about the candidates. Over the past three years I've become very active. I read things about our candidates, about our politicians and about our government from sources that I've come to trust," he said.
The New Hampshire Republican primary is Jan. 10.
"What I wanted to do was put together a document that someone could look at and within a matter of minutes, to hours, depending on how much they wanted to study it, they could get a good idea as to where each candidate stands on the issues of real importance to them," Eyring said.
He explained that the Republican Presidential Candidate Positions Matrix is directed at the Republican voters now, but after the GOP picks its candidate, Barack Obama will be added to the publication.
The guide shows Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn; Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas; and Perry want to close down the Department of Education. Paul wants to close the Department of Agriculture, and Romney has flip-flopped on the idea. While there's been a lot of criticism of the tax code and the IRS, only Paul among the active candidates would shut it down.
They all pledged not to raise taxes, except Huntsman, who did not respond to that inquiry.
Who would deport illegal aliens? Bachmann and Paul.
Bachmann, Paul and former Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., oppose abortion across the board, and all except Romney and Gingrich would plan to do away with Obamacare.
Only Romney supports "gay marriage," while Paul holds that it should be a decision for the states.
Bachmann, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Santorum are worried about the advance of Islamic religious law in America, while Paul, Perry and Romney are not.
Eyring emphasized that the government should actually represent the voters.
"Our representative government should be just that. It should represent the voice of the people. The only way that can really happen is if the people who are elected to office truly represent the values of those that vote to put them in office," Eyring said.
"The goal of this document is to show where each candidate stands in a non-biased way, with an emphasis put on information that is factual and accurate," he said.
The publication also indicates if a candidate has "flip-flopped" on any of the issues.
"Everybody realizes immediately the amount of effort that went into the document and that it's helpful. It's serving the purpose it was intended to serve," Eyring said.