William Blaine Richardson III (Bill Richardson) was born in 1947 in Pasadena, California. His mother was a Mexican citizen and his father, Bill Richardson, Jr., was a Mexico City bank executive. His grandfather, Bill Richardson, Sr., was a Boston naturalist who worked in Nicaragua for the Smithsonian Institute and could trace his family line to a Mayflower pilgrim.
Richardson grew up in Mexico City but was sent to school in Boston at the age of 13. He attended Tufts University where he majored in French and Political Science. He ran for public office after moving to Santa Fe, New Mexico and won a Congressional seat in 1982. He spent 14 years in Congress. Richardson served briefly as Bill Clinton’s Ambassador to the United Nations, and as Secretary of Energy for the Clinton Administration. In 2002 he became governor of New Mexico.
Abortion and Stem Cell Research
Richardson has been consistently pro-choice and sees embryonic stem cell research as an important form of preventative medicine.
Education
Richardson has called for the repeal of No Child Left Behind. He has suggested a “minimum wage for teachers” starting at $40,000 per year. He supports universal preschool education. He supported school vouchers in the 1990’s but opposes them at last report. At the higher education level, Richardson has proposed the idea of exchanging college loans for some form of national service.
Health Care
Richardson supports universal health coverage, including coverage for undocumented immigrants. He has promised a new health care system within one year of being elected “with no new bureaucracies.”
Immigration
Richardson opposes a border fence between Mexico and the US. He is in favor of a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants but says they must learn English.
Taxes and Social Security
Richardson supports a balanced budget amendment. He is opposed to the privatization of social security and supports the idea of repealing the Bush Administration’s tax cuts. Richardson says that he would like to replace the Bush tax cuts with tax cuts that are focused more on the middle class.
Gay Marriage
Richardson has said that if he became president he would turn down the position as honorary chair of the Boy Scouts of America because of the organization’s position on gays. (That title is usually offered to the President.) He supports civil unions with the same rights as marriage. Richardson is in favor of including language on sexual orientation in hate crime laws.
The Iraq War
Richardson opposes the war in Iraq and calls for the removal of troops from Iraq over a period of six to eight months.
Conclusion
Richardson has stayed on the edge of frontrunner status for the Democratic nomination for President - on the outside looking in. He hopes to become a serious contender when media polls start to get replaced by actual voting in places like Iowa, New Hampshire, and Nevada.
Bill Richardson's Official Site: www.richardsonforpresident.com/
