(Tancredo dropped out of the presidential race for the Republican nomination on Dec. 20, 2007. See a video of his explanation on his campaign Web site.)

Abortion
He says the innocent unborn enjoy a God-given right to life. Roe v.Wade is a scar on the moral and intellectual history of the country; but, contrary to popular belief, overturning it would merely permit and not require states to prohibit abortion, he said. To protect life, he advocates educating the public about “the second victim of abortion,” the mother who is subject to potential life long medical and emotional scarring. As president, he would appoint strict constructionists who honor the separation of powers and respect democracy… more.

Environment and Energy
He says that evidence suggests global warming is happening, but there isn’t enough of it to suggest that human activity is the main cause. However, the U.S. needs to move away from petroleum products that are imported from non-friendly nations for national security reasons. He favors increasing drilling in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWAR) and on the continental shelf. He supports increasing the use of bio-fuels and in relying more on nuclear energy, which, he says is safe. He believes the problems of creating safe nuclear waste storage sites can be solved… more.

Health Care
The federal government should not be responsible for womb-to-womb health care in America, rather, individuals should be responsible for their own health care. And he believes health savings accounts will enable Americans to do this. Additionally, health savings accounts will put individuals in direct connection with their doctor, with no one in between. Tancredo supports Americans accessing the most affordable prescription drugs, even if it means buying them from Canada. Tancredo says that illegal immigrants are costing the system. For legal residents employed by businesses that can’t afford health care, he favors plans that band small businesses together to access lower-cost insurance. For those not working, state governments should provide relief, although he would not rule out federal incentives or limited subsidies to make sure families are not without coverage… more.

Immigration
There is no doubt that America is facing an illegal immigration crisis. Currently, there are at least 12 million illegal aliens living in America. He is absolutely opposed to amnesty. In addition to rewarding those who broke our laws, amnesty simply does not solve the problem of illegal immigration. The only realistic solution to the problem of illegal immigration is a strategy of attrition, which seeks to reduce the flow of the illegal alien population over time by cutting off the incentives for coming to and staying in America - most importantly by eliminating the job magnet. Tancredo believes that America must also re-examine its legal immigration policies. Since 1990, that number has been roughly one million yearly - and that doesn’t count illegal aliens. America should reduce legal immigration to 250,000 people a year, which will allow the newcomers to assimilate… more.

Iraq
He says the U.S. will be in Iraq for a long time and we can’t remove our troops from the area. However, he said there should be a supporting force, but he did not support the troop surge. He is in favor of beginning to shift military operational control over to the Iraqis… more.

Taxes
Under the “productivity taxing” system that is in place today, Tancredo believes that every American pays too much. He is in favor of eliminating the income tax - and the IRS along with it - and moving toward the FairTax system that would employ sales tax only. Tancredo also supports a flat tax in which everyone regardless of their income would pay a set fee. He is in support of making Bush’s tax cuts permanent and has taken the oath not to increase taxes. Second on his tax reform agenda is decreasing federal spending. Tancredo suggests that only through the fundamental restructuring of social security and Medicare can federal spending ever be fully controlled… more

Yucca Mountain
n May 2006, Tom Tancredo voted against prohibiting the funding of “Yucca Mountain Youth Zone.” The pro-Yucca Mountain Web site builders and opponents of the proposal to ban funding claimed that children would access the website in order to find information for term papers and other classroom papers regarding nuclear power.  Those against the Yucca Mountain Youth Zone claimed the Web site was nothing more than Bush administration propaganda attempting to make high level nuclear waste fun with games and activities that ignored potential accidents… more 

-Las Vegas Sun new media managing editor Dave Toplikar and new media intern Jenna Kohler compiled this report.