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

Gun Control: See 2nd Amendment. I know I'm a little odd on this one, but I see no way to restrict assault rifles, RPG's, etc. under the 2nd Amendment. The Constitution is the Supreme Law of the Land whether I agree with a part of it or not. The reason the right to bear arms was given is so that we can form militias to protect ourselves from invasion and so that an armed rebellion can be mounted if necessary. I hardly think either would ever be necessary these days, but still, the right is there.

I don't think it's a good idea to be able to own any weapon you want and would probably support a new amendment that says you can something to the effect of you can have guns for hunting and self protection, but you can't have assault rifles and RPG's. As it stands currently, I think you can require background checks and education for gun ownership. Inherent in the Constitution is the concept that a right can be restricted in certain circumstances as long as there due process followed in that restriction.


Gay marriage: I think homosexuals should be allowed to marry. They have a right to equal protection under the law. States have power not given to the Feds by the Constitution, but that does no mean that they have the power to restrict rights granted in the U.S. Constitution. The U.S. Constitution provides the floor of our potential rights, States can choose to give more rights than the Constitution, but they can not give fewer.

Abortion: I'm mostly on the fence on this one. I think at the point the fetus/bundle of cells becomes a person, it should be illegal to kill/abort it. I just don't know when that happens. I do not think it is a person at conception or within the first few days. It probably becomes a person when it becomes "self-aware", but I don't know when that is. As such, I don't think that the courts or the government can tell people to not have an abortion if they can't give compelling evidence of exactly when that bundle of cells becomes human. I guess the long and short of it is I am personally pro-life, but politically pro-choice. I wouldn't tell someone to have an abortion, but I don't think the government should tell someone that they can't.

Euthanasia: I think if someone wants to die and has expressed that desire, that desire should be followed. Freedom is of higher value than life itself.

Church and State: See founding fathers--keep them separated. I don't want your religion forced on me, nor do I want to force my lack of religion on you. You are free to practice your religion in any way you want, you just can't have the government sponsor or pay for it.

Taxes: I agree with Reb. When High, tax cuts are good, when low, keep them low. Tax subsidies to large corporations has to go. No more corporate welfare.

I'll add that I think the income and inheritance tax should be abolished. We should not be taxed for being productive and for attempting to pass that production on. It is antithetical to promoting progress and hard work. You should be rewarded for success and for earning more, not punished. We should return to our original tax base of sales taxes and excise taxes. I support a national sales tax because it is the most equal. The act of purchasing has costs to society in terms of having people work to make it and the use of roads, protection of police, etc.

Foreign Policy: We need to get the Iraqi Army, police and infrastructure as ready as possible and get out of Iraq. This may include bringing back some Bathists who were part of Saddam's government. They may not be good people, but they likely will not put up with religious wackos who are trying to tear their country apart. The Bathists likely have the desire and ruthlessness that we do not have to deal with this kind of threat.

We should make our foreign policy neutral in regards to Israel and their enemies. An enemy of Israel is not always an enemy of the U.S. It is not our job or duty to be the police force for the world or to protect Israel from its enemies. We should fully support international human rights and oppose those who violate those right whether it be a ruthless dictator or a terrorist. This should generally be done in cooperation with the international community, but when truly vital U.S. interests or U.S. sovereignty/lives of U.S. Citizens are involved, we should act quickly and in our own discretion. This would mean surgical strikes to kill terrorists that threaten us by use of a highly funded intelligence gathering community and highly trained special forces operatives. We should not get involved in long protracted wars.


Education: Abolish Federal intervention; some funding is good, but abolish over site. I also support vouchers and holding teachers accountable for their students' performances. Schools have no motivation to educate better if the funding comes no matter what and teachers are less motivated if they are not held accountable for the failures of their students. Is it fair to teachers? Probably not, it's a very tough job and it's difficult to teach some kids, but it's the job they chose and the rest of us are held to similar standards in our jobs.


Trade: I'm for free trade

Welfare: Some amount of social net is required. The current system is bloated. Far too much money is spent on bureaucracy. That bureaucracy allows for fraud, which I think happens far less than many think it does. The "welfare mother" is largely a myth and no one really wants to spend their life living on welfare. However, not everyone is motivated and they sometimes need a push to get off their butts. The key is that people need to be properly educated so that they feel some hope of bettering their lives through work. In order for that to work people also need to feel safe in their homes. We need to keep people educated and safe so that they see an opportunity better than collecting welfare or dealing drugs.

Campaign Finance: I don't see how you can limit contributions. The 1st Amendment gives us the right to free speech and I think limitations on financial contributions by individuals violates that. However, I think we can stop contributions by corporations or PACs. They are not persons, although an argument can be made that they are juridical persons, so they do not have the same rights as individuals. Freedom of individuals is key and corporations and PACs don't have that right. They key IMO is for voters to spend time thinking about who they are voting for and not vote based on party affiliation or a slick add campaign.

Death Penalty: I'm a bit torn on this issue. I certainly think that for some crimes a person should be killed. Punishment is a legitimate part of the criminal justice system. Not all criminals can be rehabilitated and not all crimes are forgivable. I support the death penalty for horrible murders, rape (not statutory rape, unless the child is under 12) and child molesters. However, I am not completely comfortable with the government being give the power to kill it's citizens. I'm tempted to support frontier style justice, but I know that the results of that are often unjust and that it does cause social unrest. So, I grudgingly support giving the government the power to carry out executions.


Social Security: I think Social Security should be abolished and replaced. All persons 45 (or so, I'm flexible on the number) would be grandfathered into the old system and an unbreakable trust should be set aside to fund it. It should not be part of the general budget as it is now. For those under 45, they get back the money they have paid in FICA, but are required to invest it in the equivalent of a 401K. Then each month anyone working has to invest what would have been FICA and put it into the equivalent of a 401K. You could choose to invest more if you chose. The effect of this I think would be to protect older people and allow younger people to get a higher return on the money than they would under the current system. Another added benefit would be that companies in the stock market would have new money for R&D and expansion. This could equal a boom in the economy. The criticism would be that if the stock market crashed it would be a problem, but when can deal with that if it happens, just as we did during the Great Depression and if the Market crashes, we have worse troubles than what to do when we retire.


Energy: I support environmentally conscious drilling for oil. However, I also support the investment into finding alternative fuel sources. We should invest heavily in solar, hydroelectric, windmills, nuclear and any other alternatives that our brightest minds can come up with. Solar panels should become an everyday sight. It's fairly cheap and there is no reason not to supplement our other energy sources. I also want to see the development of true electric cars. Electric cars with horse power. If we put our minds to it, we could have 250 HP electric cars within 5 years.


Environment: I tend to think like Teddy Roosevelt. I'm a conservationist. we should protect the environment, but not at the cost of people not being able to live their lives, get good paying jobs and get relatively cheap products. I slight increase in cost should be balanced with the cost to the environment. A common sense approach to keeping the place we live nice, but living in it is what I am supporting.


Immigration: I support sending illegal immigrants back across the border and denying them any social services or right that are due citizens of the U.S. They are not U.S. citizens and do not have the same rights. However, they should be treated humanely like all humans should, but they do not get the same privileges that we do. But, the fact is that it is difficult to keep people out. The "Big Fence" will not work. So, I support laws that allow for liberal use of work visas. That way, people will come and leave legally and will not be a drain on our government services and we need people to do those jobs.

Civil Liberties- The "Patriot Act" is a bad law. The executive should not have that much power. Our laws for getting warrants and requiring probable cause will not hinder our ability to stop terrorist if our intelligence and law enforcement community are well trained.

All other civil liberties are a given. The government should not be allowed to violate our rights, no matter the circumstances.

Wow, I'm long winded.:scratch: