I've Been Accused of being Liberal. Okay I'm laying my cards on the table (1 Viewer)


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Original Post: http://198.104.135.225/forums/showpost.php?p=512958&postcount=188

The topics that were addressed by your OP have stayed basically the same for me.
Within the last couple of years I have changed my positions on a couple of things that were not mentioned:
1. Decriminalization of marijuana, the cost in enforcement and incarceration is too high, use that money somewhere else.

2. Healthcare reform, I don't like the idea of having an emergency for one of my kids cause me to file for bankruptcy, lose my house, etc. Before someone says "If you can't afford em, don't have em...etc." I'm sure there are not a lot of folks that are financially prepared for 6 figure medical bills.
 
Gun Control - A man should have the right to defend himself and his household and his community if need be.

Gay marriage/abortion - I have no idea how these are lumped together. Gays ought to have the same rights as straight people. Women should be able to decide whether or not they want an abortion, up to the point where a fetus is viable. At that point, no abortions unless the mother's life is at risk.

Church and State - the state should make no mention of any god or deity. It isn't their place and it's discriminatory against intelligent people.

Taxes - Pay down the debt. Get rid of corporate welfare. Eliminate most farm subsidies that keep the giant agribusinesses milking us.

Foreign Policy - screw the rest of the world. They want our money, but not our influence, so let's give them neither. Invest in America first and deal with other nations only in economic terms. Also, expel the UN from the country and tear the building down and build a giant monument of Dubya mooning Europe.

Education - Extend the school year. We are behind in terms of education in this country and it is due in large part to the ridiculously short school year and the very low expectations we put on students. We need standards, period, and we need to look at more charter schools and competitive enrollment.

Trade - free trade but equal tariffs on any goods from other countries.

Welfare - The support structure needs to begin when the kids are small. Food stamps alone are not going to condition children to leave those environments.

Campaign Finance - Only US citizens should be able to donate to campaigns. No foreigners, no corporations, no PACs, period. You want influence with a representative? Influence them with your ideas, not your money.

Death Penalty - against it. 3 reasons.

1. The US state and federal governments should not have the right to put its own citizens to death, short of treason.
2. There are too many cases out there where the convicted person is actually innocent but had poor representation due to their financial situation or circumstantial evidence
3. If the bastid did do the crime, he shouldn't get out that easy.

Social Security - it is what it is, so convert it from a "retirement fund" to a full blown social program and eliminate the cap. It hasn't been a retirement fund in years, so why continue to pretend?

Energy - I believe in investing in viable methods for extracting energy from our environment. If that means clean coal or nuclear, so be it.

Environment - say no to environmentalism, but yes to conservation.

Immigration - simple: you hire illegals, you lose your business, your business assets get auctioned off at the sheriff's sale, and you lose your license to conduct business for 2 years. Additionally, we should invest the money into job training for US citizens. I also support a reduction in H1-B visas.

Civil Liberties - the government already has more ability to snoop than they ought to. I'm against any law that erodes our ability to conduct our lives in a private manner.
 
RebSaint said:
]Anybody flip-flopped or changed their mind here on any of the issues?

Let's see....

Gun Control: Most houselholds in Switzerland have an M16s since all adult males are required to be in . Canada has more guns per capita than the U.S. Yet both these countires have miniscule gun deaths compared to the U.S.. Guns aren't the problem, people are. There are tons of gun laws on the books, we don't need more. Want to drastically reduce gun deaths? Legalize most drugs. Voila, drug war ended, fighting over drug turf in inner cities non-existent.

Gay marriage: Should be handled at the state level. Call them 'civil unions'. End tax breaks for married couples, but increase tax breaks for dependent children.

Pretty much agree here...

Abortion: Limit to first 6-8 weeks except in circumstance where mothers life in danger.

Thats a little harsh.... not that I agree with unrestricted abortion on demand now, but am not 100% Pro-life either. At some point, well before birth but well after conception, you have a human life that has certain rights outside the of the mother. But I am little fuzzy at what point that is.

Church and State: Separate. Against federal funding for faith-based charities. Churches tha become too political must be cracked down on by the IRS.

Taxes: Do away with payroll taxes. I think even the poor should pay some tax, as it gives them an incentive about how that money is spent (ergo, they will be more prone to be involved in government and to vote)

Foreign Policy: Speak softly and carry a big stick Implement a phased withdrawal from Iraq that gets our troops out in 2 years.

Education: Handle at state level. Department of Education should exist but only as advisory board. If state wide testing is done per subject and has any effect on graduation, it shoudl replace any final exams for that course.

Free Trade: Complicated issue. America workers are not competing on an equal footing with foreign workers, since foreing workders can be paid much less and have same standard of living since everything is cheaper. Also in many countires legal protections such unions, overtime and child labor laws are non existent.

Welfare: Support. Eliminate fraud.

Campaign Finance: Ban companies that contribute from being awarded government contracts. Some sort of free network TV and radio time for candidates that generate sufficient popular interest buy appearing on state ballot. Then ban all over TV and/or radio ads.

Death Penalty: Against, except in cases when iincarceration is not possible and convict is likely to kill again. It is not a deterrent and there is chance you can execute an innoncent. Basically the Pope's postion.

Not a whole lot of problems here.

Social Security: SS is not a retirement account or a trust fund. It is a basically 'retirment insurance'. If you die before you retire, you don't see a dime of the money you put in. SS is an invesment in America's economy, essentially buying government T-bills. If you don' t think SS is viable, that means that America at some point plans not to pay its debts. If thats the case then SS is not the problem.

Well I've learned a little bit more about SS. There is indeed a "trust fund", but it does work more like an insurance or pension rather than a retirement account. Some people get out more than they put in, some less. The SS Trust Fund is the debt that the general fund owes to the SSA. There really is a formal debt instrument process, where the SSA buys T-bills like any other institution. This was done to avoid politicizing the issue. Benefits will probably have to be adjusted though.

Energy: Barring major breakthroughs, we are going to have to go nukes. Before you say 'Chernyobl' or 'Three Mile', there are new designs that are fail safe where meltdown is not possible. The waste hazard is grossly overrated, and pollution for fossi fuel burnign plants spew more radioactive waste than any nuclear plant will.

Environment: Maintain federal parks and wildlife preserves. Encourage other countries to do so where there are habittats hat contain unique and endangered species. Once the habitat is gone, zoos aren't going to cut it.

Immigration: Enforce existing laws. If those don't work, then start having discussions about a wall.

Civil Liberties: Read the Constitution, especially that part about 'Unreasonable searches and seizures'

No problems here. Although I do have an idea about how to solve immigration: Conquee Mexico! They're no longer immigrants, if we've annexed their home country... :hihi::
 
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).
 
I missed this thread the first time so I stole Severum's format and changed my answers where appropriate.

Gun Control:
Limit felons from owning guns but otherwise I have no issues with people owning whatever they want. The right to bear arms was not meant strictly for hunting so assault rifles are fine with me.

Gay Marriage: Equal rights for everyone.

Abortion: Personally, I couldn't do it but fortunately I would never have to. It isn't my right to tell others that they can't. Legalize it and make sex education mandatory.

Church and State: remove it and keep it out.

Taxes: Complete rework of the current situation. Close all corporate tax shelters and institute a consumption based tax system.

Foreign Policy: stop being the world's police, withdraw from Iraq ASAP.

Education: Get away from test based teaching. Much more funding for education of sciences and mathematics. Move towards a more goal oriented system that would tailor the educational path to a specific career goal earlier.

Trade: Free trade with economic partners that offer us the same courtesy. They issue tariffs on our exports then we issue tariffs on their imports.

Welfare: WIC, unemployment, food stamps are all fine. Limit the time frame for receiving welfare and require job training.

Campaign Finance: fully public campaign finance, restrict 527s/PACs.

Death Penalty: Doesn't serve a purpose other than vengeance but I am okay with that in some cases.

Social Security: Privatize it.

Energy: Throw serious money at alternative research. Move to a complete nuclear/wind/hydroelectric/geothermal system ASAP. Require a reduction in horsepower and an increase in fuel efficiency for the majority of vehicles and invest in alternative fuel research. Preferably and alternative fuel that is not corn based like Brazil's sugar cane ethanol.

Environment: Natural resources should be used in a responsible and renewable manner. I don't think protecting a sub-species of critter should be placed above the well being of humans though.

Immigration: The money currently being spent on closing borders could be better spent elsewhere. There should be stiff penalties for employing illegal aliens that are harshly enforced but it should be very easy to become a legal alien. Anyone that wants to come work here and pay their consumption taxes is welcome but they must be willing to do it legally.

Civil Liberties: Tricky issue for me because it is such a slippery slope. I understand that there are some liberties that will be sacrificed in the name of public safety but we are currently taking it entirely too far. We should never be afraid of our government.

Health Care: I would love universal health care but I don't trust our government to pull it off. Until I can see a plan that would work the entire insurance industry needs to be reworked.

Drug Policy: Legalize marijuana and tax the hell out of it.
 
I missed this thread the first time so I stole Severum's format and changed my answers where appropriate.

Gun Control:
Limit felons from owning guns but otherwise I have no issues with people owning whatever they want. The right to bear arms was not meant strictly for hunting so assault rifles are fine with me.

Gay Marriage: Equal rights for everyone.

Abortion: Personally, I couldn't do it but fortunately I would never have to. It isn't my right to tell others that they can't. Legalize it and make sex education mandatory.

Church and State: remove it and keep it out.

Taxes: Complete rework of the current situation. Close all corporate tax shelters and institute a consumption based tax system.

Foreign Policy: stop being the world's police, withdraw from Iraq ASAP.

Education: Get away from test based teaching. Much more funding for education of sciences and mathematics. Move towards a more goal oriented system that would tailor the educational path to a specific career goal earlier.

Trade: Free trade with economic partners that offer us the same courtesy. They issue tariffs on our exports then we issue tariffs on their imports.

Welfare: WIC, unemployment, food stamps are all fine. Limit the time frame for receiving welfare and require job training.

Campaign Finance: fully public campaign finance, restrict 527s/PACs.

Death Penalty: Doesn't serve a purpose other than vengeance but I am okay with that in some cases.

Social Security: Privatize it.

Energy: Throw serious money at alternative research. Move to a complete nuclear/wind/hydroelectric/geothermal system ASAP. Require a reduction in horsepower and an increase in fuel efficiency for the majority of vehicles and invest in alternative fuel research. Preferably and alternative fuel that is not corn based like Brazil's sugar cane ethanol.

Environment: Natural resources should be used in a responsible and renewable manner. I don't think protecting a sub-species of critter should be placed above the well being of humans though.

Immigration: The money currently being spent on closing borders could be better spent elsewhere. There should be stiff penalties for employing illegal aliens that are harshly enforced but it should be very easy to become a legal alien. Anyone that wants to come work here and pay their consumption taxes is welcome but they must be willing to do it legally.

Civil Liberties: Tricky issue for me because it is such a slippery slope. I understand that there are some liberties that will be sacrificed in the name of public safety but we are currently taking it entirely too far. We should never be afraid of our government.

Health Care: I would love universal health care but I don't trust our government to pull it off. Until I can see a plan that would work the entire insurance industry needs to be reworked.

Drug Policy: Legalize marijuana and tax the hell out of it.

This sums me up pretty well, except I would add a first trimester restriction on abortion unless the mother is in grave danger.
 
This sums me up pretty well, except I would add a first trimester restriction on abortion unless the mother is in grave danger.

Interesting. I am for restrictions in the third trimester (actually am against it period, but I relent to a woman's right to choose...minus the last 3 months). The reason for me is that the child is developed and could be born at that time (yeah, I know we can in the second....but my line is drawn at month 6).

What is your reason for restricting the first trimester? Giving the woman more time to decide?
 
Interesting. I am for restrictions in the third trimester (actually am against it period, but I relent to a woman's right to choose...minus the last 3 months). The reason for me is that the child is developed and could be born at that time (yeah, I know we can in the second....but my line is drawn at month 6).

What is your reason for restricting the first trimester? Giving the woman more time to decide?

Sorry for the confusion, I meant restrict it to eligibility only during the first trimester (before brain development). After that, no dice.
 
RebSaint said:
Anybody flip-flopped or changed their mind here on any of the issues?

Let's find out

Gun Control: See 2nd Amendment.

Gay marriage: Marriage is a legal institution that affects legal status, taxes, insurance, etc. Churches can feel free to recognize whatever they want as "marriage under God" as they please. Federal government shouldn't make legal distinction between partners.

Abortion: Not a well-developed stance. You aren't required to run into a burning building to save even your own children, so if the woman is in danger, hard to ask her to carry the child. You are required to feed, cloth, and care for your children though, so arguments of "right to your body" don't seem to hold water. Suppose it depends on when a fetus is human, which I can't answer.

Church and STate: Separate.

Taxes: Like progressive taxes. Feel though that ultimately, taxpayers spend money better then the government. Someone's got to pay the bill though.

Foreign Policy: Real Politika. Disagreed with Iraq on that principal. Felt it wasn't in our naked self-interest, for self-defense nor influence. Nations don't have friends, sole exception should be US/England.

All fine

LSSpam said:
Education: Broken. No clue how to fix it. Strongly suspect standardized tests aren't the answer though.

I think "broken" was too strong a word here. I'm learning more towards a de-centralized approach though involving more "choice". Not just a student/family choosing which school to go too, but in how the school is allowed to approach education.

LSSpam said:
Trade: Free Trade all the way

Welfare: Believe in employment programs, not much else.

Short, trite answers to complex questions.

LSSpam said:
Campaign Finance: Don't think money has a significant effect on who wins in politics. Check Freakonomics, nice chapter on it there. Unfourtantly politicians think it does, so it's a moot point. Needs to be reigned in.

Death Penalty: Would be all for it if you could convince me it's a deterrent. Don't believe it is, therefore I consider it to be, in most cases (but not all) too permanent a punishment. I'm under no illusions that the legal system is perfect.

Social Security: Not sure honestly. I think perhaps it should be moved more underneath the employer/employee umbrella.

Energy: It's a national security issue at this point. Don't see how there isn't absolute agreement about this. Energy is a resource that we need to be as close to self-sufficient with as possible.

Environment: Self interest. Not overly concerned with any specific species of trout, and wouldn't want to save a barely different one at the cost of peoples well-being, but obviously we over-fish, pollute waters/air, and struggle with a number of other environmental issues which directly affect the same well-being I mentioned above.

Immigration: Border security is paramount. By and large, I'm pro-immigration though I guess. I'm more concerned with making sure all immigrants are legal, paying taxes, can be tracked down, and have legal protections.

Civil Liberties: This is why America exists as an idea as well as a country. Any chipping away at this destroys our purpose in being.

All solid


I typically cringe when I have to read old posts feeling I'm probably being exposed for a total hypocrite, so it's a bit of a relief I came out ok on this :hihi:
 
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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.

This to me is what needs to be done. If they can provide what is needed then no exemption will be given.

AP
 
Anybody flip-flopped or changed their mind here on any of the issues?

:shrug:

Nope.

Gun Control - As Reb stated, see 2nd Amendment. "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." - Thomas Jefferson

Gay Marriage / Abortion - should be left to the states to decide

Church and State - separate meaning no recognition or establishment of state church. This does not foreclose cultural celebrations based on religious observance recognized by the government - Christmas, Hanukkah, etc.

Taxes - the lower the better. Reduce spending, don't increase taxes.

Foreign policy - we should do as George Washington advised us and limit our meddling in foreign affairs. However, when attacked we must respond, when provoked we must defend ourselves and our allies.

Education - get the federal government out of it. Period.

Trade - Free trade.

Welfare - must be turned into workfare. If not, it must be ended except for the absolute destitute among us.

Campaign finance - political speech must be protected. Full disclosure is fine but no restrictions.

Death penalty - support it.

Social Security - privatize it or phase it out. The system is broken and increasing s.s. withholdings and increasing the retirement age won't fix it.

Energy - I believe in exploiting the resources we have here. That means ending the restrictions on drilling off the coast of Alaska, the Pacific coast, and the Atlantic. We must reduce regulations relating to the building of refineries and we must certainly expand production of nuclear power and other alternatives.

Environment - protect it, but not at the expense of progress. Human lives are more important than trees and animals.

Unfunded state mandates - unconstitutional.

Civil Liberties - legislation like the Patriot Act and Fairness Doctrine are, I believe, facially unconstitutional. The central government has very limited powers as enumerated in the Constitution. We must return the federal government to only exercising those powers, the remainder belong to the states and to the people.
 
Education - Extend the school year. We are behind in terms of education in this country and it is due in large part to the ridiculously short school year and the very low expectations we put on students. We need standards, period, and we need to look at more charter schools and competitive enrollment.

We are behind in education. But to say that it is due "in large part" to the "ridiculously short school year" is an oversimplification of the way educational time is structured.

The school year isn't nearly the issue that the school day is. The school day is in more dire need of fixing than the year is.

American school students, comparatively, spend as much or more time in school as most other first world nations. We are short about 2 weeks from the average of other industrialized, western nations. But the school day is longer - so add up the hours and it's negligible.

The school day needs to be shorter in most districts/states. 7:20 am to 2:35 pm is entirely too long - which is what it was when I was teaching in Texas. High schools here, for example, go from 8:45 until 2:45.

195 days vs. 180 days

195 days x 6 hours = 1170 hours

180 days x 7.25 = 1305 hours

So when you want to compare total seat time, U.S. students are in school a fair amount overall.

There are significant impediments, however, to shortening the day and extending the year. Which is what I think should happen. Though, there are issues with operating costs, for example, for everything from busing to cafeteria services to electricity usage. It adds considerable expense to the taxpayers, particularly in the South where summer operating costs are considerably higher. Parents are also - generally speaking - very resistant to any sort of change to the school year or day. It conflicts with arranged vacations, daycare costs, etc... Anytime there is talk about restructuring the school year or day that I've seen personally, the most vocal objections come from parents.

It's not just about a longer year.

As for standards, I am not going to disagree.

But most politicians and legislators understand "standards" in only one sense: measurable, qualitative, narrow analysis. That usually translates to more standardized testing which, more often than not, leads to a worse enacted curriculum.

If that's the case, I'll pass.

We need real standards increased and enforced. Not some standardized tests where only test publication companies (who make a TON of cash) and typically rich, high-performing schools benefit.

Disagree on the charter schools. At least in its current form. Charter schools are not the panacea that they are touted to be on Republicrat speech circuits. Many charter schools don't have a curriculum that is strong enough or robust enough or well-rounded enough to compare favorably to a strong public or private school.

I'll have to leave it at that.

I've got a meeting to get to in about 5 minutes.

I'll get to my own thoughts on the list later today when I get the chance.

Oh, and not sure what you meant by instituting "more competitive enrollment" either.
 

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