watergateofficial:

PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE JILL STEIN

whether you’ve found a candidate you support for the 2016 election or not, it’s always good to read a little bit about everyone. So, here’s some information on Green Party candidate Jill Stein. I’ll link some sources at the bottom of the post.

Jill Stein’s statement on why she’s running:

“We are being battered by unemployment, inequality, poverty, injustice, endless war, impending climate catastrophe, and a broken, corrupt political system. There are solutions for all these problems, but they’re being blocked by political parties that serve the corporate elite, not the people. We need a new way forward that puts people, planet and peace over profit. My campaign is dedicated to empowering the American people to make real the promise of democracy, and set our own course toward a brighter future.”

Personal stuff:

• member of Green Party (Green Party, is typically defined as a left-wing political party that promotes environmentalism, feminism, social justice, LGBT rights, and anti-racism)
  
• a physician, graduated from Harvard Medical School in 1979
• Stein is Jewish (and is married to a Protestant atheist)
• In the 2012 Presidential election, she received 456,169 votes, which made her the most successful female US presidential candidate in history.

Social Justice:

• believes healthcare is a right, including women’s reproductive rights
  
• believes birth control should not be up to your employer
• says discrimination is never okay, whether the victim is lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender.
• believes workplace equality is now the next step to be taken after marriage equality
• strongly believes black lives matter and we must fix the system of racism
• pro-gay marriage (this specific source dates back to 2001)

Gun Control, Death Penalty, Crime:

• believes we must end racism and police militarization because black lives matter
  
• believes death penalty is ineffective and barbaric
• believes in more local regulation and background checks with guns
• believes gun culture should be reduced via mental health and legal drugs

Education:

• believes high stakes testing should be ended
• believes we should bail out students instead of bailing out the banks
• supports sex education
• believes we should establish the basic right to free college education
• believes college loans trap students in financial prison of debt; everyone should have the right to a free public education from kindergarten through college
• believes standardized tests are misused and they hurt students
• believes common core empowers contractors over teachers
  

Jobs, Economy, Minimum Wage:

• believes workers should be paid a liveable wage, not just the minimum
  
• plans to directly create environmentally green jobs within communities
• believes everyone has the right to food, housing, water, and basic utilities

A few additional things:

• believes the Confederate Flag should be removed from public locations
  
• supports the idea of a single-payer healthcare program
• wants to close tax loopholes and stop corporate welfare
• wants to provide a legal path to citizenship for immigrant residents, also strongly feels the war against immigrants needs to stop
• in case you were curious to know what she disagrees with Bernie Sanders on, the largest difference (perhaps) is Stein is quite critical of Israel.
• Her funding comes directly from her supporters
• Stein believes it’s time to stop choosing “the lesser of two evils” when voting, and vote for the greater good instead
• she was previously arrested for protesting outside of a debate that third party candidates were left out, and believes having a strict two party system leads to corruption
• her campaign seems to be more goal-orientated than just beliefs. She has plans to create jobs, end racism, and improve the enviroment (those plans can be found on her official website which I’ll link so you can read about it there)

If you want to read more, check out these sources:

ontheissues | Jill 2016 official website | wiki