Democrat

Grade explained: Clinton largely toes the party line. That generally means encouraging the adoption of renewable energy and using the government’s resources to increase access to broadband. She also accepts evolution and climate change as scientific fact -- an obvious plus. Her email scandal has hurt her standing on issues of cybersecurity, but as the primary season ended and the general election has gotten underway Clinton has delivered far more detailed positions and policy proposals boosting her grade a full letter point from earlier in the year.

Net neutrality: “I think that for the FCC to do what they want to do -- to try to create net neutrality as the norm -- they have to have a hook to hang it on, so, they're hanging it on Title II… I think that if there were another hook, it would come out of a modern 21st century telecom act. And that hasn't happened, and it's not likely to happen… As I understand it, it's Title II with a lot of changes in it to avoid the worst of Title II regulation, It's a foot in the door ... but it's not the end of the discussion.” (Re/code, via: The Verge)

Evolution: “I believe in evolution, and I am shocked at some of the things that people in public life have been saying.” (New York Times)

Climate change: “I personally believe climate change is a challenge of such magnitude and urgency that we need a president who will set ambitious goals.” (The Guardian)

“The reality of climate change is unforgiving no matter what the deniers say.”

Clean & renewable energy: “I will ensure we hit a target of having more than half a billion solar panels installed across the country by the end of my first term… We’ll set a 10 year goal of generating enough renewable energy to power every single home in America.” (You Tube: Hillary Clinton)

"I will set three goals that we will achieve within ten years of taking office and which will make America the clean energy superpower of the 21st century:

--Generate half of our electricity from clean sources, with half a billion solar panels installed by the end of my first term.

--Cut energy waste in American homes, schools, hospitals and offices by a third and make American manufacturing the cleanest and most efficient in the world.

--Reduce American oil consumption by a third through cleaner fuels and more efficient cars, boilers, ships, and trucks.

To get there, my administration will implement and build on the range of pollution and efficiency standards and clean energy tax incentives that have made the United States a global leader in the battle against climate change. These standards are also essential for protecting the health of our children, saving American households and businesses billions of dollars in energy costs, and creating thousands of good paying jobs.

These standards set the floor, not the ceiling. As President, I will launch a $60 billion Clean Energy Challenge to partner with those states, cities, and rural communities across the country that are ready to take the lead on clean energy and energy efficiency, giving them the flexibility, tools and resources they need to succeed. " (Scientific American)

Government surveillance: “We are finally taking stock of the laws that we passed after 9/11. We did all of this in an a hurry because we were worried and scared and now we need to take a step back and figure out how we make sure that the balance between liberty and security is right.” (Fox News)

STEM education & research: “In terms of re­search and in­nov­a­tion and sci­ence, ba­sic sci­ence, ex­plor­ing space, ex­plor­ing our oceans, ex­plor­ing our gen­ome -- we’re at the brink of all kinds of new in­form­a­tion. Let’s not back off now… I don’t have an ob­jec­tion to part­ner­ing with com­mer­cial en­ter­prises, but I just think they are more in the ap­plied-sci­ence arena, not in the dis­cov­ery and re­search arena that I think only the gov­ern­ment can sup­port.” (National Journal)

Advances in science and engineering start with education. We need universal preschool, to get our kids off to a good start; good K-12 schools and teachers in every ZIP code; and to put higher education in reach for everyone with debt-free college and support for high-quality apprenticeships and training programs. We need strong STEM programming in every school, and we need to provide every public school student with access to education in computer science.

NASA: “I would like to see us con­tin­ue to ex­plore space... There’s just a lot for us to keep learn­ing. I think it’s a good in­vest­ment. So on my list of things that I want our coun­try to in­vest in..” (National Journal)

Cyber security: “I will build on the Obama Administration’s Cybersecurity National Action Plan, modernizing our government-wide cybersecurity and federal IT and empowering a federal Chief Information Security Officer. I also support public-private collaboration on cybersecurity innovation, along with implementing the National Institute of Standards and Technology Cybersecurity Framework. The next President will be confronted with these challenges, and will need common sense approaches to balance cybersecurity with personal privacy. The next president must be able to thoughtfully address these nuanced issues.

As president I will make it clear that the United States will treat cyberattacks just like any other attack. We will be ready with serious political, economic and military responses and we will invest in protecting our governmental networks and national infrastructure. I believe the United States should lead the world in setting the rules of cyberspace. If America doesn’t, others will. “ (Scientific American)

On her growing concerns over foreign hacking of US interests: “It star­ted with the grave con­cerns that a lot of Amer­ic­an busi­nesses had, that their most con­fid­en­tial in­form­a­tion was be­ing va­cu­umed up through in­trus­ive hack­ing... It’s a ser­i­ous threat to our com­mer­cial in­terests, to our in­tel­li­gence in­terests, to our stra­tegic in­terests.” (The Hill)

Online gambling: N/A

Broadband infrastructure: Hillary will finish the job of connecting America’s households to the internet, committing that by 2020, 100 percent of households in America will have the option of affordable broadband that delivers speeds sufficient to meet families’ needs. She will deliver on this goal with continue investments in the Connect America Fund, Rural Utilities Service program, and Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP), and by directing federal agencies to consider the full range of technologies as potential recipients—i.e., fiber, fixed wireless, and satellite—while focusing on areas that lack any fixed broadband networks currently. Hillary also backs the FCC’s decision to extend Lifeline support to broadband, and she will work to connect this policy with community-based programs that help citizens with enrollment, offer digital literacy training and expand access to low-cost devices…

Hillary will enhance the efficient use of spectrum by accelerating the process of identifying underutilized bands, including ones now used by the federal government, that can become more valuable under revised regulatory regimes. She will focus on the full range of spectrum use policies—including new allocations for licensed mobile broadband, as well as unlicensed and shared spectrum approaches. She believes that creative uses of shared/non-exclusive uses of spectrum could unleash a new wave of innovation in wireless broadband technologies and the Internet of Things, much as WiFi did in the first generation of digital services.

Patent reform: N/A

H-1B visas: “I also want to reaffirm my commitment to the H-1B visa program and to increase the current cap. Foreign skilled workers contribute greatly to our U.S. technological development.” (Hillary Clinton to the Indian Institute of Technology Global Alumni Conference)

Vaccinations: “As president, I will work closely with the talented physicians, nurses, and scientists in our US Public Health Service to speak out and educate parents about vaccines, focusing on their extraordinary track record in saving lives and pointing out the dangers of not vaccinating our children. “ (Scientific American)

Extra credit:

High speed rail: “Although more and more Americans are traveling via train, our passenger rail infrastructure is crumbling -- slowing down journeys, limiting ridership, and making trains less safe. In some cases, crucial infrastructure is more than a century old. [I] will invest in creating a world-leading passenger rail system to meet rapidly growing demand and build a more mobile America.” (hillaryclinton.com)

Image credit: Spencer Platt via Getty Images]