Ron Paul vs. John McCain

John McCain and Ron Paul faced off on foreign policy in the YouTube debate, and they will be fighting for the same independent voters in New Hampshire and Michigan as the primaries unfold. Here's a look at where each candidate stands on a variety of issues:

Immigration

Senator McCain worked with Ted Kennedy on the McCain-Kennedy immigration reform bill, saying, "I'm proud of the bipartisan effort that I've made on many issues with Democrats and Republicans, ranging from Joe Lieberman on 9/11 to working on the other side of the aisle on immigration reform and others."

Senator McCain has been one of the leading advocates for "comprehensive immigration reform," like that proposed by President Bush, including a path to citizenship for illegal aliens already in the country, and a guest worker program.

We've been working very hard for a couple of months with Democrats and Republicans, led by the president and his Cabinet, to come up with a comprehensive solution and resolution... This issue needs to be addressed comprehensively... Then we would have a temporary worker program that could only be valid through a tamper-proof biometric document.

Ron Paul would address the issue without violating the civil rights of American citizens through the common sense approach of securing the borders and reducing the government incentives that encourage illegal immigration in the first place.

I see the immigration problem as a consequence of our welfare state. We encourage people not to work here, but the welfare we offer the people who come--they get free medical care. They get free education. They bankrupt our hospitals. Our hospitals are closing. And it shouldn't be rewarded. That means you don't give them citizenship. You can't solve this problem until you get rid of the welfare state, because in a healthy economy, immigrants wouldn't be a threat to us.

Iraq

John McCain and Ron Paul are on polar opposite sides of the war in Iraq. John McCain believes the war was necessary and justified, even in hindsight, and that leaving large numbers of troops there is vital to our national security. Ron Paul has been against the war from the beginning, and wants to bring our troops home as quickly as is safely possible.

John McCain:

The mission was necessary, achievable and noble. For his determination to undertake it, and for his unflagging resolve to see it through to a just end, Bush deserves not only our support, but our admiration.... A greater military commitment now is necessary if we are to achieve long-term success in Iraq.

Ron Paul:

It was a mistake to go, so it’s a mistake to stay. If we made the wrong diagnosis, we should change the treatment. So we’re not making progress there and we should come home. The weapons weren’t there, and we went in under U.N. resolutions. And our national security was not threatened. We’re more threatened now by staying.

Civil Liberties

John McCain co-sponsored the McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Reform Act, which limits the First Amendment rights of American citizens to criticize elected officials in the weeks preceding an election. He has a 0% approval rating from the American Civil Liberties Union, a fact which should concern even those who frequently disagree with that organization. He voted for the Patriot Act, the Military Commissions Act, and the Real ID Act. He voted to loosen restrictions on wiretapping cell phone users.

Ron Paul is the leading advocate of individual liberty in Congress, in either party. His recently introduced American Freedom Agenda Act would undo most of the damage to civil liberties allowed in the past six years by the President and both parties in Congress. This quote sums up his attitude on the issue fairly well:

Increasing presidential powers is rather disturbing to me. Don't we remember that when you sacrifice liberty for security, you lose both? That's what's happening in this country today. We have a national ID being implemented right now. We have warrantless searches. We've lost habeas corpus. We've had secret prisons and we have torture going on. That's un-American, and we need to use the power of the presidency to get it back in order, in order to take care of us and protect this country and our liberties.

The Second Amendment

Senator McCain's campaign website might lead conservatives to believe that he is a strong supporter of the Second Amendment, but the Gun Owners of America concludes differently, giving him their lowest grade: an F-. Their major reason for giving him such a low mark appears to be the impact of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform act on limiting political speech by pro-gun rights groups, but they also highlight his moves to put more restrictions on gun sales at gun shows, and in favor of trigger locks.


In contrast, the Gun Owners of America give Ron Paul an A+, calling him "a leader in the fight to defend and restore the Second Amendment." Ron Paul has been unequivocal in his support for the Second Amendment, and has often stated why he views the right to keep and bear arms as being crucial to maintaining a free country:

I share our Founders’ belief that in a free society each citizen must have the right to keep and bear arms. They ratified the Second Amendment knowing that this right is the guardian of every other right, and they all would be horrified by the proliferation of unconstitutional legislation that prevents law-abiding Americans from exercising this right.

The biggest issue facing America:

John McCain

Protect our American family, it’s under assault in many respects, as we all know. And second, take the lead in fighting this transcendent issue of our time: the battle and struggle against radical Islamic extremism. It is a force of evil that is within our shores.... My friends, this is a transcendent struggle between good and evil. Everything we stand for and believe in is at stake here.

Ron Paul:

I think it is the acceptance just recently that we now promote preemptive war. I do not believe that’s part of the American tradition. We in the past have always declared war in the defense of our liberties or go to aid somebody, but now we have accepted the principle of preemptive war. We have rejected the just-war theory of Christianity. And now, tonight, we hear that we’re not even willing to remove from the table a preemptive nuclear strike against a country that has done no harm to us directly and is no threat to our national security!

More issues comparisons:

John McCain

Ron Paul

More candidate comparisons:

Ron Paul vs. Mitt Romney

Ron Paul vs. Rudy Giuliani

Ron Paul vs. Fred Thompson

Ron Paul vs. Mike Huckabee