2016 U.S. Presidential Election; Focus on Social Issues

As the composition of the Republican Party candidates becomes clear (currently 16 prominent candidates: 8 former and current governors, 5 former and current senators, and 3 doctors, private sector managers, and business owners) and the Democratic Party (currently 5 prominent candidates: two senators, two former governors, and a former secretary of state), the central topics of the upcoming presidential election are gradually being raised and shaped. Candidates have emphasized specific issues in their introductions as candidates and during speeches in various states, aiming to attract the attention of financial backers, political activists, and public opinion. It is already evident that foreign policy (relations with Israel, the nuclear agreement with the Islamic Republic, dealing with aggressive Russia in Eastern Europe, and ISIS) and social issues (health insurance, illegal immigration, racial confrontations, and LGBTQ rights) will be central in the primary elections of both parties and the presidential election. Economic issues will be raised but will not be as prominent as in 2008 and 2012 since unemployment and economic recession during Obama's presidency have improved to some extent. Regarding foreign policy, many Republican candidates will ultimately follow Obama's path but will find these issues a good avenue to oppose him and the Democrats. However, serious confrontations will arise over social issues. This article will focus on social issues and the views of candidates from both the Republican and Democratic parties in this area. What should we do with millions of illegal immigrants? This is a question every voter in the United States will ask themselves and the candidates. According to the government, about 11 million, and according to some researchers, about 30 million illegal immigrants live in the United States. This large population cannot be kept in their current situation because they need travel, education, healthcare, driving, and many other aspects of life, and their illegal status makes these activities not only difficult or impossible for them but also dangerous for others. Someone who cannot obtain a driver's license due to illegal residency will naturally drive without it, posing a risk to other citizens (for this reason, in some cities or states, the legal residency requirement for obtaining a driver's license has been removed). An illegal immigrant who needs emergency medical care goes to the hospital and incurs costs borne by taxpayers without having insurance and paying premiums. Therefore, solving this problem is a social necessity. On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton has explicitly stated that a path to citizenship must be opened for these immigrants. Other Democrats, if they do not go as far, at least do not support the deportation of this population like Obama. However, on the Republican side, the issue is highly contentious. Someone like Donald Trump, who is currently second in the list of Republican candidates with 11% support in New Hampshire, believes that these illegal immigrants should be removed from the country because they are the source of sexual assault, drug distribution, and crime. Jeb Bush, due to the significant Latino population in his state (Florida) and because his wife is of Hispanic descent (he even identified himself as Latino on the census form), has a more favorable stance towards immigrants and advocates for the legalization of the status of illegal immigrants, but not to the extent that they can obtain U.S. citizenship. Repealing Obamacare without an alternative plan. Democratic candidates unanimously accept and will defend the Obamacare plan, except for Bernie Sanders, who is a democratic socialist and wants to place all citizens under a single government insurance plan. Under the Obamacare system, markets for providing insurance have been established in each state, and it is the private sector that, with government subsidies, covers low-income individuals under health insurance. In Sanders' plan and other socialists in the Democratic Party - under the title of 'single payer' - the private sector is excluded from this issue. On the other hand, a significant number of Republican candidates explicitly state that they will repeal the Obamacare law with the cooperation of Congress, which is predominantly Republican, but they have not proposed an alternative plan. A small number (like Jeb Bush) have called for a review of this law rather than an outright repeal. Considering that about 16 million Americans have benefited from health insurance under this law, pragmatic and realistic Republican candidates do not ideologically oppose it. Racial tensions. Following the killing of 9 African American individuals during a Bible study session at the Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, the issue of racial tensions and the Confederate flag, which is seen as a symbol of slavery and white supremacy, has entered the public media, and public opinion is calling for solutions to reduce tensions. For this reason, in some Southern states, this flag has been removed from public spaces, and some major retailers (like Walmart) no longer sell it. In some Southern states, the issue has also been brought to the state legislatures for review. The tension has escalated to the point where a black church in South Carolina being struck by lightning was initially attributed to supremacists. Previously, the killing of several young African Americans by police led to protests in major U.S. cities and also destructive riots in Ferguson and Baltimore. In these riots, dozens were injured and killed, and public and private properties were damaged. The issue of police conduct on one hand and the way minority communities interact with law enforcement on the other, along with the disproportionate number of prisoners from minority communities compared to their population percentage, alongside their difficult economic conditions, will certainly find their way into the candidates' debate sessions. Jeb Bush considered the Confederate flag to belong in a museum, and some other Republican candidates called it divisive, but some remained silent on this issue (like Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, and Scott Walker; Walker later defended the governor's stance on removing the flag). Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorum did not call for the removal of this flag from public spaces (Huckabee later made this request). However, Rick Perry criticized the Republican Party for its neglect of African Americans. Democrats unanimously consider this flag to belong in a museum and not a source of pride or Southern cultural heritage. LGBTQ rights. Same-sex marriage is a settled issue for Democrats, but LGBTQ individuals claim their other rights in work and life. Some Republican candidates (like Ted Cruz, Senator from Texas, and Mike Huckabee, former governor of Arkansas), who are socially conservative, will bring same-sex marriage into the electoral competition. They oppose the Supreme Court's decision and believe that with the appointment of new conservative members to this court by the next president, this decision can be overturned.