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

Here is how I stand....

Issues:

Gun Control: See 2nd Amendment...yes. But the Second Amendment says that because we need guns for the militia that the government cannot take away the right to bear arms. Since we do not need to bear arms for the militia anymore, I don't see an absolute right to bear arms anymore. Accordingly, the government should have the right to regulate it. With that said, just because the government can do something, doesn't mean that it must or should do it. Long winded way of saying, that there is no absolute right to bear arms, but that does not mean the government should outlaw the ownership of guns.

*Gay marriage/abortion: I see them as two different deals. Gay marriage...I could care less. A big non-factor in my life. If two guys want to get married, let them. Abortion: See 5th Amendment: nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law. Here, IMO, someone is being deprived of life without due process of law. To go here you have to believe that life begins at conception, which I do. I understand those that say the unborn aren't life, I just disagree with them.

*Church and STate: 1st Amendment: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. IMO, having a nativity scene outside city hall is not the establishment of a religion. Church of England is the establishment of religion. I don't have a problem with government interacting with religion that some do. Before you call me a crusading Christian, I am agnostic.

*Taxes: When High, tax cuts are good, when low, keep them low. Tax subsidies to large corporations has to go. No more corporate welfare. I agree with Reb on this completely. Plus, get away from the income tax and go to a national sales tax.

*Foreign Policy: Stay in Iraq. It has been handled poorly up to this point, but we need to try and stabilize the country before we leave.

*Education: Abolish Federal intervention; some funding is good, but abolish oversite. Agreed, education is best done locally.

Trade: I'm for free trade....Agreed.

Welfare: I think some social welfare is good and necessary; we need a social safety net, but not a hammock. Agree.

*Campaign Finance--Here I might be considered a bit liberal. Corporations and lobbyists are way too powerful; reign them in somehow. Agreed. Special interests rule Washington.

Death Penalty--I am in favor of the death penalty.

Social Security--I was actually for the Bush plan--making it more privatized would net a better return for workers' money. Agreed.

*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. I agree. The sooner we aren't dependent upon fossil fuels, the sooner we can ignore what goes on in the Middle East.

*Environment--I am not much of an environmentalist.

*Immigration-- Control the border. If that means building a fence, then build a fence that will work, not some half-baked deal that won't even be patrolled. Enforce all laws, even if it hurts your special interest group.

*Civil Liberties--I really don't have as much of a problem with the Patriot Act as I do with the IRS. Real freedom comes from being economically free...from being able to decide what you want to do with YOUR money. The government and the IRS takes that away from us. Big Brother is already here, and his name is IRS.