Spring Break
Across the Board | Bill Richardson (D)
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Bill Richardson (D)
Governor of New Mexico
David Morris: Bill Richardson is actually a halfway decent Democratic candidate. He favors enforcement of immigration law and increasing border security and was the first governor to utilize the National Guard to that end. Though not nearly so insidious as Hillarycare, Richardson's health care plan still seeks to expand and entangle the federal government where it does not belong. Richardson avidly supports the expansion of hate crime laws, a concept which should be done away with entirely, to include homosexuals. He also supports one of my main issues, fiscal responsibility in the federal government - however, considering some of his other positions, I have to wonder just what his definition of "responsibility" really is. Richardson doesn't stand a chance against the Clinton machine, but he would make a good running mate for Hillary.Amanda Kiser: What is most notable about Bill Richardson is his impressive resume. He has been the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., the Secretary of Energy and the Governor of New Mexico. While it is important for a candidate to look good on paper, experience is not all that counts in a candidate. So what does Bill Richardson stand for?
Well, human rights for one thing. While Richardson supports universal access to quality health care, is sensitive to issues of race and wants to make discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation illegal - hence his support of repealing "don't ask, don't tell," - much of his record makes his commitment to human rights questionable.
Most human rights advocates are opponents of the death penalty - but not Richardson. Not only does he support it, he also supports making it more difficult for prisoners facing the death penalty to appeal in court. To that end, he voted against maintaining the right of habeas corpus in death penalty appeals, H.R. 2703. Furthermore, he doesn't support replacing the death penalty with a life sentence without possibility of parole.
This human rights crusader also voted for the Federal Defense of Marriage Act to further deny homosexuals rights they didn't have in the first place, and is vehement about the illegal status of drugs. As if prisons weren't already full enough with nonviolent criminals convicted of drug offenses, Richardson supports mandatory jail sentences for selling illegal substances. He even supports the death penalty for international drug traffickers.
Finally, given his stance on Iraq - all troops out within the decade - and his utter lack of name recognition, it is unlikely Richardson will make the cut to the next round.
Read more Across the Board candidate profiles:
| Rudy Guliani (R) | Hillary Clinton (D) |
| Mitt Romney (R) | Barack Obama (D) |
| Fred Thompson (R) | John Edwards (D) |
| John McCain (R) | Bill Richardson (D) |
| Mike Huckabee (R) | Joseph Biden (D) |
| Tom Tancredo (R) - to come | Chris Dodd (D) - to come |
| Duncan Hunter (R) - to come | Mike Gravel (D) - to come |
| Dennis Kucinich (D) - to come | Ron Paul (R) - to come |
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