I've Been Accused of being Liberal. Okay I'm laying my cards on the table
You know who you are. Ante up. Let's see who the real "conservatives" are.
Issues:
Gun Control: See 2nd Amendment.
*Gay marriage/abortion: See 10th Amendment; and For limiting Gay marriage, perhaps see 14th amendment.
*Church and STate: See founding fathers--keep them separated.
*Taxes: When High, tax cuts are good, when low, keep them low. Tax subsidies to large corporations has to go. No more corporate welfare.
*Foreign Policy: Get out of Iraq--it's too expensive, and it's a guerrilla war. Let the Iraqis handle their business. I certainly don't support Pax Americana
*Education: Abolish Federal intervention; some funding is good, but abolish oversite.
Trade: I'm for free trade
Welfare: I think some social welfare is good and necessary; we need a social safety net, but not a hammock.
*Campaign Finance--Here I might be considered a bit liberal. Corporations and lobbyists are way too powerful; reign them in somehow.
Death Penalty--I think death is far too merciful a fate.
Social Security--I was actually for the Bush plan--making it more privatized would net a better return for workers' money.
*Energy--I might be construed as a liberal on this issue; nobody can sit here and tell me this country can't invest in some Manhattan project to get this country off the dependency of fossil fuels. It would have miraculous effects vis a vis middle east policy and making this country more entrepreneurial.
*Environment--I don't agree with the extremists, but I believe in common sense government protection of this nation's natural resources.
*Immigration--No more laws limiting immigration. Enforce the ones on the books. Building a fence won't help and would be a big waste of money.
*Civil Liberties--Sorry, giving carte blanche powers vis a vis the Patriot Act violates my true, conservative Lockean sensibilities. Giving an executive branch of government the power to snoop with no oversight is asking for trouble. I don't care if it's in the name of terrorism.
The (*) next to the issue is where I differ from the Republican Party. Notice on many issues it's where HE, and his party as strayed from real (tm) conservative values. There should be no "Child Left Behind," and inviting more government into religion just invites government where it shouldn't be--in people's bedrooms and churches. There should be no federal definition of marriage; it's a state issue.
The one time which I do think massive federal intervention was necessary his administration fell woefully short was Katrina. The only government which was able to respond adequetely was the feds. Things only got better when Bush finally, FINALLY sent in federal troops.
Ante up.
Anybody think I'm a liberal now?
Yeah, I think you are a pinko commie!! You have a picture of Ted Kennedy on your mantle and you spend all of your free time on Democratic Underground and Dail Kos. :ezbill:
Actually, it was a bit scary reading your list and LSSpam's and seeing how close I thought to both of you. As LS said, it's kind of fun to do whether anyone else cares what we think or not. So here goes.
Gun control -- I don't own a gun because I don't hunt and I'm a bad*** without one :D j/k Seriously, private ownership of assault weapons is silly, but beyond that, I have no problem with people owning them. I also have no problem with registering ownership.
Gay marriage -- We differ here. It is a state issue, but the campaign to expand it is national and I strongly oppose it on many levels. My friend Taurus once challenged people to argue against homosexuality based on something other than religious beliefs. I agree with that stance, BTW. In that same vein, I would challenge people to argue in favor of gay marriage without the government granting a special privilege for a class of people based solely on a behavior.
Abortion -- For years, I believed only women should discuss this, since as men, we would never be faced with the decision. Faulty logic. I disagree with abortion on demand for many reasons, but I also believe the states should determine its availability without a contrived "constitutional right" being applied.
Church and State -- Absolutely and irrevocably must remain seperate. However, I think people are generally ill-focused on this. There is a freedom OF religion in this country, not freedom FROM religion. Believe what you want, believe nothing at all, but keep it out of government and keep government out of it. Churches should not be given tax-free status unless they can prove they serve a tangible community service that would qualify them as it would any other non-profit organization.
Taxes -- I agree totally with what RebSaint said. I will only add that I find it incredible that the American public is so apathetic toward the most oppressive (and in some cases improper) taxes, while often aggressively voting against bond issues (which are really taxes) that would help individual communities.
Foreign policy -- I could go on and on with this one. The issues are too complex and varied to give a simple pat answer to all of the relevant questions. The main focus now is Iraq and the War on Terror, so I'll just say that if we as a nation decide to engage an enemy militarily, the world should know that we will win. Totally commit, win decisively, help the remaining people rebuild, but let them make their own decisions about how they will proceed. Leaders will emerge. If they decide to be our friends, as Germany and Japan did after WWII, great. If they want to remain an enemy unfortunately, they will be deciding to get the same thing again.
Education -- I agree with both RebSaint and LSSpam. I also want to say that I deal with educated people from other countries regularly. Our educational system (including our colleges) is so bogged down in regulation and federal intervention taht our mission is lost. Let's prepare people for their futures, not worry about whether they got enough credits in particular subject areas. High school should be where our kids get there "well-rounded education." Colleges should be about immersion in a chosen field.
Trade -- Free trade with a caveat. Yes, we should probably have some less than favorable trade agreements with developing nations, because in theory, it serves our interests. However, unilateral free trade is wrong. For example, if China has relatively unencumbered access to our markets, the same should be true for our products in China. If they don't like that fair arrangement, let China sell their goods in another market.
Welfare -- Having worked in state government for the Department of Human Services, I can say that this is a complete and utter failure. I believe there should be some food assistance available, but not to the degree it is now. It basically now provides a mechanism for many to remain in a lifestyle of dependence. People in a lifestyle of dependence on government get their food from food stamps, a TANF check for dependent children, subsidized housing, earned income credits, Medicaid, WIC and utility subsidies. There is a disincentive to change one's circumstances. There is value to each of these programs when used judiciously, but I believe that quality education and work programs are probably the only way out of this mess.
Campaign finance -- The campaign finance reform passed earlier this decade is a joke. I would like to see less influence by lobbyists and corporations, but the loopholes in the reform bill are too great. The money still flows from the same sources to the same people.
Death penalty -- Agree with LSSpam
Social Security -- Agree with RebSaint
Energy -- Totally agree again with RebSaint. There are actually technologies that exist that could make us energy independent if we are willing to commit to them.
Environment -- Agree with RebSaint. I also agree with not signing teh Kyoto treaty, a thouroughly ridiculous document.
Immigration -- In my mind it is simple. Make legal immigration easier, make illegal immigration more difficult and enforced. There are likely between 5,000 and 7,500 Hispanic people here in my county of 75,000. Liberal (sorry to use that word) estimates by legal Hispanics are that over 90 per cent of them are illegal. There are no repercussions for either the illegals or the companies that hire them and until there is immigration enforcement, there will be no change.
Civil Liberties -- Foundational to our existence as a nation.
Sorry to ramble on so long, but it could have been much worse. I considered all of these answers to be the condensed version. :ezbill: