I've Been Accused of being Liberal. Okay I'm laying my cards on the table

Issues:

- gun control: use background checks to prevent felons from owning guns
- gay marriage: i see no legitimate reason to oppose this
- abortion: 3rd trimester abortions should be illegal. The rest should be up to the family, not the government.
- Church and State: keep them separated.
- Taxes: favor progressive taxation, and enough taxation to make the budget balanced.
- Foreign Policy: strongly opposed to Iraq War, opposed to almost every war. Favor creating mutually prosperous arrangements with other countries.
- Education: How to fix it is anyone's guess. I generally favor more spending for education, and feel that it is important to have a national standard for quality.
- Trade: not knowledgeable enough to really have a stance. Somewhat conflicted between free trade and fair trade.
Welfare: necessary, but favor measures to ensure recipients are working toward self sufficiency.
- Campaign Finance: a nightmare i have no idea how to improve
- Death Penalty: opposed
- Social Security: oppose privatization.
- Energy: must develop efficient renewable energy immediately, this issue is of critical importance. Oil does not count as a solution.
- Environment: America's obscene pollution rate is a disgrace. We must collectively reduce waste including everything from plastics to fossil fuels.
- Immigration: oppose the fence, make path to citizenship and require residents to have at least a passing familiarity with the English language.
- Civil Liberties: More rights for people, less intrusion by government.


Generally i do believe the federal government has a purpose. I am all for eliminating unnecessary bureaucracy to improve government efficiency. I dont sign on to the talking point that less government is always better. See: deregulation and the current financial crisis.

"Liberal" is a label kind of like "emo": nobody really wants to be associated with it. Even emo bands dont want to be called emo. Similarly, progressives dont like to be called liberal. Somehow the label "conservative" doesnt carry nearly the same stigma. Nobody on the right resents being called a conservative, but someone on the left will find it necessary to defend himself when accused of being a "liberal". At least in my case, as someone who could be considered left of center in this country, i still wouldnt identify myself a "liberal" (whatever that word means).