Christopher Dodd.(DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE)(Biography)

Christopher Dodd is a longtime U.S. senator from Connecticut, who has not gained the same household-name recognition as his fellow presidential candidates from the Senate. Dodd's basic belief, set forth on his Senate and presidential websites, is that government can and should solve most business and family problems. His voting record reflects a commitment to increased government spending and regulation, as illustrated by his score of 25 in THE NEW AMERICAN'S "Freedom Index" for the 110th Congress to date.

The 63-year-old Dodd, with a dignified look and well-groomed shock of white hair, has campaigned vigorously for the Democrat presidential nomination. However, he has not caught fire and is at the rear of the pack.

The son of the late U.S. Senator Thomas J. Dodd, Christopher Dodd has worked for the government most of his adult life. After college, he went into the Peace Corps, then the Army Guard and Reserves. In 1974, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Connecticut where he served three terms, and was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1980 where he remains until today.

Senator Dodd's positions on the issues generally fall into a predictable pro-government pattern, with few exceptions. For example, on the matter of education, he wants universal, mandatory, tax-funded preschool; salary subsidies of $10,000 per teacher; federalized education standards; funds to states for school construction; compulsory school attendance laws to age 18; subsidies for longer school days; subsidized state college tuition; larger college tuition grants; and more. In other words, he wants absolute government control and taxpayer funding, with virtually no freedom or responsibility for parents.

Similarly, his proposal for healthcare is a combination of coercion and taxpayer expropriation, couched in euphemism: "Universal coverage will be achieved through a shared mandate on individuals and businesses: universal coverage through universal responsibility." Translation: you have to do it, and you'll pay us lots of money for it.

His labor plan purports to "protect collective bargaining rights, secure pensions, and fair wages," while stopping "the outsourcing of American jobs." He does not grasp that these are incompatible goals. He also favors other intrusions into the labor market which will insure more job losses and lower living ...