Summary of political beliefs
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Intell
Junior Chimp
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« Reply #1100 on: February 07, 2015, 07:57:11 AM »

Going to put this quiz the politics quiz list page.
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VPH
vivaportugalhabs
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« Reply #1101 on: February 14, 2015, 07:04:44 PM »

Healthcare System: I see Obamacare as an important step to the future. However, I believe the true goal should be universal single payer healthcare. Focus on preventive care first. I support patent reform and tort reform to lower costs.
Social Security: Raise the contribution cap, lower benefits for the rich possibly
Taxes: I believe in a progressive but simpler income/corporation tax, where loopholes for the rich and corporations are closed. Also, I love the idea of a Robin Hood Tax. Don't mind high sin taxes too.
Campaign Finance: Strict limits on donations and reforms for more transparency need to be enacted.
Banking: Pass Glass Steagall, break up big banks, don't bail out banks, support community banking.
Federal Reserve: Nationalize it.
Minimum Wage: Raise to $12.00 an hour and index for inflation thereafter
Free Trade: Prefer fair trade over free trade, implement protective tariffs against human rights abusers.
Unions: I support strong unions and stand against "right to work".
Welfare Reform: Crack down on waste and fraud, end "workfare"
Farm Regulation: Change the regulatory system to be fair towards family farmers, legalize hemp, legalize raw milk, loosen rules on urban farming.
GMO's: Label them, but they have very beneficial potential.
Environmental Regulations: Carbon tax or cap and trade are necessary, ensure that polluters are severely punished
Energy: Pivot away from oil, coal, and gas and towards nuclear, solar, wind, and fusion power
Cars: End the stupid ban on personally importing cars newer than 25 years old, stop inspecting cars before re-registration, lower regulations on carmakers
Education: Ensure that schools are well funded. Fight the race-to-the-top standardized testing mentality that currently pervades schools.
Foreign Conflicts: Generally isolationist, although I do believe in drone strikes and airstrikes as a form of limited military intervention. Any intervention should be done multilaterally and constitutionally.
Iran: Ease sanctions on them, work towards a nuclear deal.
Cuba: End the embargo once and for all.
Palestine: Recognize the Palestinian nation.
Surveillance: Not much of a problem with the Patriot Act. Make sure it stays within legal bounds, but preserve the NSA for national security purposes.
Foreign Aid: No problem with it, as long as we follow up to make sure it ends up in the right hands.
Military Budget: We really need to cut it. Now.
Gun Control: Ban assault rifles, institute universal gun and ammo background checks
Marijuana: Keep it illegal, but shift away from imprisonment and more to punitive fines.
Smoking: Ban smoking in public places except for smokeshops, bars, and a few designated smoking areas.
Gay Marriage: Equal rights yo, this is 2015
Abortion: Personally strongly opposed to abortion, but I am pro-choice. Safe, rare, and legal. Birth control needs to have widespread use.
Prostitution: Completely oppose legalization.
Feminism: I support gender equality, but do not consider myself a "feminist" per se.
Affirmative Action: Strong supporter of race-based affirmative action. I also support gender based affirmative action in some cases.
College: I believe that for public colleges, the US needs to shift to the Oregon Plan.
Police Brutality: Police officers need to use body cameras. More crisis training and non lethal methods need to be emphasized. Police militarization should be scaled back.
Immigration: Multiculturalism strengthens our nation. Help undocumented immigrants attain documented status and eventually citizenship.
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#TheShadowyAbyss
TheShadowyAbyss
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« Reply #1102 on: February 21, 2015, 04:16:10 AM »
« Edited: February 21, 2015, 04:17:47 AM by LibertarianRepublican »

Social Policy:
Abortion: Personally Pro-Life, but let the individual woman decide.
Same Sex Marriage: Let each state decided whether to legalize it or not.
Drugs: Legalize marijuana now.
Stem Cell Research: Support and fund it.
Death Penalty: Let each state decide what to do with it.
Gun control: Law-abiding, responsible citizens do not and should not need to ask anyone's permission or approval to engage in a peaceful activity. Gun ownership, by itself, harms no other person and cannot morally justify criminal penalties.
Affirmative Action: Get rid of it, it is a form of reverse racism and is outdated in itself, candidates should be selected based on qualifications, not race.
Prostitution: Legalize/regulate. .
Euthanasia: Legalize.

Economic Issues:
Minimum Wage: 79% of all economists agree that the minimum wage increases unemployment. Minimum wage laws and mandated benefits drive up the cost of employing additional workers
Welfare: Liberals and conservatives both have fundamental flaws when it comes to "welfare", we are trillions of dollars in debt and can't afford to shell out the trillions of dollars in Welfare spending, last year we spent $668 billion in welfare and $3.7 trillion over the course of the last 6 years.
Right-to-Work: Somewhat opposed to it, but employers should not be forced into labor unions, nor should they have enormous powers.
Taxation: One flat tax rate for all, like the FAIR tax..
Healthcare: Get the government out of health care, let's have competing health care companies that drive the market and benefits, Obamacare was a disaster.
Social Security: Privatize it.
Trade: Free Trade, 'nuff said.                  
Education: Abolish the Department of Education, let the states and local boards decide what to do with education.
Balanced Budget Amendment: YES!


Foreign Policy and National Security
Afghanistan: Shouldn't have been there in the first place.
Iraq: Never had WMD's, shouldn't have interfered.
Iran: Encourage good relations.
Syria: Stay out of the conflict entirely.
Cuba: Normalize relations.
Military Spending: Cut back on nonessentials.
PATRIOT Act: Abolish it now, it is a fundamental violation of the Constitution and our Rights.
NSA Spying: End spying now.
Palestine: Recognize Palestine, but don't give out foreign aid.
Israel: Israel is an ally, but end foreign aid, encourage them to end settlements.
Immigration: Immigration Law Should Reflect Our Dynamic Labor Market, eliminate most, if not all, restrictions on immigration.
Guantanamo Bay: Should be shut down.

Environment
Climate Change: Yes, we're hastening it.
Green Energy: Tes.
Keystone XL Pipeline: Build it.

Electoral Reform
Electoral College: The Electoral College imposes a two-party system and needs to be abolished in favor of popular vote.
Gerrymandering: Benefits the party in power, eliminate it.
Term limits: It's called voting.
Voter ID: Do not support it at all.
Compulsory Voting: No
Voter Registration: If the person doesn't want to register, don't force them.
Statehood: Allow D.C., and Puerto Rico decide if they want to become states.
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#TheShadowyAbyss
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« Reply #1103 on: February 21, 2015, 04:19:37 AM »

Social Policy:
Abortion: Personally Pro-Life, but let the individual woman decide.
Same Sex Marriage: Let each state decided whether to legalize it or not.
Drugs: Legalize marijuana now.
Stem Cell Research: Support and fund it.
Death Penalty: Let each state decide what to do with it.
Gun control: Law-abiding, responsible citizens do not and should not need to ask anyone's permission or approval to engage in a peaceful activity. Gun ownership, by itself, harms no other person and cannot morally justify criminal penalties.
Affirmative Action: Get rid of it, it is a form of reverse racism and is outdated in itself, candidates should be selected based on qualifications, not race.
Prostitution: Legalize/regulate. .
Euthanasia: Legalize.

Economic Issues:
Minimum Wage: 79% of all economists agree that the minimum wage increases unemployment. Minimum wage laws and mandated benefits drive up the cost of employing additional workers
Welfare: Liberals and conservatives both have fundamental flaws when it comes to "welfare", we are trillions of dollars in debt and can't afford to shell out the trillions of dollars in Welfare spending, last year we spent $668 billion in welfare and $3.7 trillion over the course of the last 6 years.
Right-to-Work: Somewhat opposed to it, but employers should not be forced into labor unions, nor should they have enormous powers.
Taxation: One flat tax rate for all, like the FAIR tax..
Healthcare: Get the government out of health care, let's have competing health care companies that drive the market and benefits, Obamacare was a disaster.
Social Security: Privatize it.
Trade: Free Trade, 'nuff said.                  
Education: Abolish the Department of Education, let the states and local boards decide what to do with education.
Balanced Budget Amendment: YES!


Foreign Policy and National Security
Afghanistan: Shouldn't have been there in the first place.
Iraq: Never had WMD's, shouldn't have interfered.
Iran: Encourage good relations.
Syria: Stay out of the conflict entirely.
Cuba: Normalize relations.
Military Spending: Cut back on nonessentials.
PATRIOT Act: Abolish it now, it is a fundamental violation of the Constitution and our Rights.
NSA Spying: End spying now.
Palestine: Recognize Palestine, but don't give out foreign aid.
Israel: Israel is an ally, but end foreign aid, encourage them to end settlements.
Immigration: Immigration Law Should Reflect Our Dynamic Labor Market, eliminate most, if not all, restrictions on immigration.
Guantanamo Bay: Should be shut down.

Environment
Climate Change: Yes, we're hastening it.
Green Energy: Tes.
Keystone XL Pipeline: Build it.

Electoral Reform
Electoral College: The Electoral College imposes a two-party system and needs to be abolished in favor of popular vote.
Gerrymandering: Benefits the party in power, eliminate it.
Term limits: It's called voting.
Voter ID: Do not support it at all.
Compulsory Voting: No
Voter Registration: If the person doesn't want to register, don't force them.
Statehood: Allow D.C., and Puerto Rico decide if they want to become states.
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Intell
Junior Chimp
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« Reply #1104 on: February 26, 2015, 07:28:43 PM »

Gonna copy LibertarianRepublican topics, and do my views.

Social Policy:

Abortion: Personally and Morally, Pro-Life, but i believe the individual woman should decide what to do with her own body.
Same Sex Marriage: Legalise SSM across the nation.
Drugs: Legalise, Regulate and Tax any drug, it's is the individual's freedom to do whatever the individual wants to do even if it hurts himself.
Stem Cell Research: Legalise and fund it.
Death Penalty: Should be legal, but with full due-process and full evidence that the accused is guilty.
Gun control: Establish full background checks, ban guns for the mentally ill, those on drugs and dangerous felons. Ban Assault Weapons, heavily regulate other guns. Apart from that, let individual's have guns for liberty, freedom and to defend themselves.
Affirmative Action: Support it, though I would rather have Class-Based Affirmative Action.
Prostitution: Legalise and Regulate.
Euthanasia: Legalise but make sure the patient is in a correct state of mind, when he makes the decision.

Economic Issues:

Minimum Wage: Increase to $15 an hour, people deserve fair wages that is roughly kept up with inflation. The $15 minimum wage, will be kept up with inflation.
Welfare: See the creation of a welfare state, our neediest citizens need welfare in order to survive. Keep welfare the way it is. Fund this by ending Corporate loopholes, more corporate taxes and a more progressive tax system. 
Right-to-Work: Split on it, labour unions are a great thing, but people shouldn't be forced to join them. Saying that Right-To-Work does damage a union and worker's ability and right to collectively bargain, an ability and right I fully support.
Taxation: VERY progressive taxes, taxes that are going up by 1% by the increments of $10 000. Benefits every except the very rich. Increase corporate taxation and close corporate tax loopholes. Lower small business taxes and subsidise small business from taxes when they are starting off. 
Healthcare: Public-Option, let everyone have a choice to have universal free healthcare but don't force them in them. An extra 5% healthcare tax, with my tax plain is not really a lot. Let people join private healthcare insurance, if they want.
Social Security: Expand social security, for the poor and middle class. Cut social security for those making over $200 000 an year, they don't need social security.
Trade: Expand Fair Trade with nearly every country.                 
Education: Institute CommonCore for schools that need it, do not for school that are already doing well. Increase Education funding,let parents have school voucher but also support public school by giving them more funding. Oversee Private and Public schools with a basic  curriculum, that lays out simple teaching guidelines.
Balanced Budget Amendment: Support

Foreign Policy and National Security

Afghanistan: Fight Taliban, with airstrikes, ground troops for humanitarian reasons,  don't kill innocent civilian in the process.
Iraq: Taking out Saddam Hussein was a good thing, we should've gone after that. End the War in Iraq but do start an war on ISIS.
Iran: Start Relations with Iran, try to make a peace-deal between Iraq and the US. Try nearly all means before again imposing sanctions.
Syria: Provide Humanitarian Fund, stay out of the Conflict.
Cuba: Normalise relations, end embargo, end travel ban, try to commercialise Cuba with Capitalism.
Military Spending: Cut back on nonessentials.
PATRIOT Act: Abolish it, Un- Constitutional and a violation of our privacy and freedom.
NSA Spying: Abolish NSA, end spying.
Palestine: Recognise Palestine, start diplomatic and peace talks with them. Give them foreign aid, for humanitarian reasons.
Israel: Keep them as an ally, end foreign aid with them, support them but not coddle them, to no means.
Immigration: Be stricter on Illegal Immigrants, Expand legal immigaration to the US.
Guantanamo Bay: End it now, despicable place.

Environment

Climate Change: Real and Man-Made
Green Energy: Expand, provide more funds to Green Energy.
Keystone XL Pipeline: Would Support, with environmental regulations and if the Oil was being kept in the US for the people, not for big corporations. In it's current idea, oppose it.

Electoral Reform

Electoral College: Abolish, in favour of the Popular Vote.
Gerrymandering: Establish, independent congressional drawing group. Eliminate Gerrymandering,
Term limits: Support, 2 terms for senate, 4 terms for house.
Voter ID: Fundamentally Oppose
Compulsory Voting: Definitely not.
Voter Registration: No forced registration, make it easier for citizens to register as a voter.
Statehood: Allow DC, Puerto Rico, and other habited  US territories, to become states with a referendum in their territory.
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KingCountyRepublican
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« Reply #1105 on: March 06, 2015, 12:27:51 AM »

Social Policy:
Abortion: Pro choice in the first two trimesters, pro life after.
Same Sex Marriage: Nationwide legalization.
Drugs: Legalize marijuana now.
Stem Cell Research: The benefits far outweigh any potential costs.
Death Penalty: Nationwide ban.
Gun control: Law-abiding, responsible citizens do not and should not need to ask anyone's permission or approval to engage in a peaceful activity. Gun ownership, by itself, harms no other person and cannot morally justify criminal penalties.
Affirmative Action: Get rid of it, it is a form of reverse racism and is outdated in itself, candidates should be selected based on qualifications, not race. Rewrite certain parts of Title IX.
Prostitution: Legalize/regulate. .
Euthanasia: Legalize for those in extreme pain.

Economic Issues:
Minimum Wage: A small hike to around $8.50 per hour.
Welfare: Expand EITC, no to drug testing recipients and limit to a max of 5 years.
Right-to-Work: Completely opposed.
Taxation: Slightly lowered taxes, with a top rate of 35-37%.
Healthcare: Tax credits and vouchers, expand free clinic programs.
Social Security: Allow private investment.
Trade: Free Trade, 'nuff said.                  
Education: Abolish the Department of Education, let the states and local boards decide what to do with education.
Balanced Budget Amendment: YES!


Foreign Policy and National Security
Afghanistan: Finishing withdrawing troops.
Iraq: See above.
Iran: Pressure the new government to accept UN inspectors.
Syria: Stay out of the conflict entirely.
Cuba: Normalize relations if fair elections are held.
Military Spending: Cut back on procurement, look to cut waste.
PATRIOT Act: Abolish it now, it is a fundamental violation of the Constitution and our Rights.
NSA Spying: End spying now.
Palestine: Recognize Palestine, but don't give out foreign aid.
Israel: Israel is an ally, but end foreign aid, encourage them to end settlements.
Immigration: Increase quotas,deploy national guard and create a pathway to citizenship for children.

Environment
Climate Change: Yes, we're hastening it.
Green Energy: Tes.
Keystone XL Pipeline: Build it.

Electoral Reform
Electoral College: The Electoral College imposes a two-party system and needs to be abolished in favor of the STV.
Gerrymandering: Benefits the party in power, eliminate it.
Term limits: It's called voting.
Voter ID: Support in some cases, if they are easy to access.
Compulsory Voting: No
Voter Registration: If the person doesn't want to register, don't force them.
Statehood: Allow D.C., and Puerto Rico decide if they want to become states.
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Mechaman
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« Reply #1106 on: March 23, 2015, 05:10:09 AM »

Ideology: Social Ecologist/Green Anarchist/Georgist, or something or other

Social Policy:
Abortion: The right to one's own body is a fundamental human right.  I support abortion up to the date of birth, with funding provided by a universal healthcare system.
Marriage: The institution is a joke.  Get rid of government recognition of this outdated social construct and let people sort it out on their own.
Drugs: The War on Drugs is the new Jim Crow.  It has put millions and millions of poor and minority Americans into prison and left many families fatherless and motherless.  The results of the War on Drugs is far worse than the alternative reality where we did nothing at all to address drug addiction, leaving us with a yearly bill in the hundreds of billions if not trillions in government welfare expenditures to maintain a stigmatized underclass that cannot find decent paying jobs to live off of.  I support the immediate end of the War on Drugs with no hesitation or gradualism and the replacement of the punitive clauses of it with an emphasis on free drug rehabilitation treatment for those who seek it.  Those who choose a life of drugs, being fully aware of the consequences of such from years of public education and health and safety campaigning, should be allowed to do so.
I take the same view of alcohol, soda, tobacco, and many other "vices" that the modern day Puritan movement want to strongly regulate to death.
Stem Cell Research: This issue is so 1999, but support.  Whatever helps us get more sciency and advanced with our medicine the better.
Death Penalty: Obviously immoral.  I don't really think there is much more that needs to be said here.
Gun control: Generally not a fan of it, but I am not really a fan of the American gun culture either.  The idea that one needs a gun to feel free is a very concerning one.  I feel, however, that most efforts to regulate guns will fail pretty hard simply due to the number of guns on the streets and I feel very wary of giving the State (especially as it is) a monopoly on firepower.  Correcting the root causes of social inequality would do a lot more to correct the problem of gun violence and ultimately the paranoid gun culture than half arsed attempts at regulating ownership would (I know I know IT WORKS IN EUROPE! doesn't necessarily mean it will work here).
Affirmative Action: I would say keep it, but my position on public education would make it necessary.  However, if we exclude my support of nationalization of college campuses, I believe that Affirmative Action needs to be reworked to change the focus to those of low income rather than ethnic origins.  I believe this would still allow many disadvantaged non-whites to pursue college degrees and professional jobs while also allowing many often overlooked poor whites to do the same.  The poor are poor, regardless of their race.
Prostitution: Full bloody legalization. In the 19th century Prostitution was actually one of the best paying and safest (I know, shocking) jobs for women of the era.  Then the freaking "Progressives" came in and changed all of that by stigmatizing prostitution as some sort of mad dog social ailment and thus helped lead the crusade to ban it in the vast majority of US States.  Ever since then women in such positions now find themselves the pawns of violent and abuses Johns who rob them of a good amount of their earnings.  There is nothing inherently wrong with making an earning via sexual intercourse, as long as it is consensual.
Euthanasia: Again, a person has a right to their own body.  If they choose to take their own life, that is their choice.  Oh sure, I do support funding for anti-suicide programs and other measures, but if someone willingly wants to end it for good, we shouldn't have punitive laws in place that punishes them if they fail or their kin if they succeed.  Rather than having a society that prefers to hang themselves from their closet hangers or cut their throat open and leaving their master kitchen a bloody mess, howse about we at least give them a relatively clean and safe medical process?  Just a thought.

Economic Issues:
Minimum Wage:
Obviously I support raising it.  However, we must be very smart with how we pursue this.  In the current system we operate under a blanket raise to $15/hr would be unwise.  And really, let us not ignore the overall problem of the Cost of Living that is causing us every few years to consider raising the wage.  Rather, I would support a Guaranteed Income for all households matching the number of dependents reliant on that income for food, water, and shelter.  If we wage a few less wars this would be very easy to afford.  Other than that, in regards to wage work, I would support any efforts (even including tax credits for small businesses) to increase the minimum wage to a level to provide not just a survivable but comfortable living for most people.
Welfare: See my previous post on the Guaranteed Income.  This would be given to all Americans to provide basic survival (food, water, shelter) for themselves and their families.  Right now programs like Medicare and Medicaid work fine, but will become redundant if we adopt a Single Payer Healthcare system.
"Right-to-work" Fundamentally fascistic laws passed to stifle the influence of the working man in this country.  Anybody should have the right to join/form a union if they want to, regardless of what their boss(es) might think.  This is not a socialistic/communistic issue, this is an issue of liberty.  And when workers cannot organize in the workplace we might as well be back in the Gilded Age.
Taxation: Land Use Taxation now.  The ownership of land is a crime against the earth.  As such we should recognize it as such with 100% taxation of it (payable by those with the means to do so).  Ideally, this should replace all other forms of taxation as the most ideal way to combat real societal inequality.  The taxation of income, even the "progressive" system we have in the US, does very little to nothing to combat the wealth gap and even encourages it by the economic model of Capitalism which demands the economy be run by solvent businesses.  Under a socialistic system funded by revenue from the value of the land itself, we would not have this problem.
Corporations: Should be illegal.
Healthcare: I support Single Payer obviously.  This idea that you should pay for healthcare is one of the biggest moral failings of the American experience.  Policemen don't ticket you to come to your house in response to a burglary.  Firemen don't print you an invoice after putting out a fire.  Why, oh why, should we pay thousands of dollars just for an ambulance ride!!!!!!!!?  A publicly owned and ran healthcare system might not pay their doctors hundreds of thousands of dollars, but it would save most Americans hundreds of thousands of dollars of emergency care costs as well as save them from the evil and parasitic entity known as the "Insurance Industry".  Like I noted earlier, in the event that we do have Single Payer, we should dissolve Medicare and Medicaid as those programs would no longer be necessary.
Social Security: I would support abolishing Social Security and replace it with an additional system to make payments out to those people who are unable to work (for a wide variety of reasons).  As I am no fan of the Protestant Work Ethic, I would be much in favor of including Artists, Writers, and other liberal arts types who do not rely on a regularly occurring source of income.  Ideally, wealth should be eliminated to avoid all of these convoluted program ideas.
Trade: Supportive of real free trade, which is being made a mockery of with so-called "Free Trade Agreements". Real free trade recognizes the freedom of movement for labor.  Really, what we need to do is tear down the borders and allow unlimited freedom of movement.  This would allow the labor movement unlimited access to the worldwide market and act as a liberation for the oft abused third world.
Education: We need to destroy the privilege of the Ivy League and other high cost institutions of learning.  Further, we need to destroy the mentality that everyone needs a college education just to make a survivable living (the sin for which I lay at the feet of the evil college loan industry).  Both of these can be done quite easily with full nationalization of education in this country.  This will free millions from the cycle of debt slavery as well as loosen employer perceptions of what a college education really amounts to in many positions (which is, jack sh*t).  Obviously, some subjects like Accounting, Engineering, and Medicine you need advanced education for, but why in the blue hell would you need one for welding sh*t or working on a train?
Deficits, The Debt, etc.Sad I think the current fetishization of the debt, both by Democrats and Republicans, is both ironic and idiotic.  For starters, that we live in a society where both parties have scores of politicians who are vying to be in the bragging spot about "Balanced Budgets" says a lot about us.  This idea that a government should be ran like a business is a dangerous one.  If government is making a profit then it is robbing the people, plain and simple.  Debt is and always will be necessary for the running of a state.
But at the same time we cannot be welcoming of excessive debt, which in most cases is oft the result of an abusive, violent, and authoritarian state that is getting off on the misfortune of others (whether that be drug addicts or oil producing nations).  I am sure that if we waged a few dozen less wars and threw a few less million people into federal penitentiary, we might be a bit closer to that budget surplus than merely raising the income tax rate five percent and then calling it a day.

More might come.
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Randy Bobandy
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« Reply #1107 on: April 13, 2015, 02:49:40 PM »

I'm updating this since my last post here

Social Policy:

Abortion: Promote abortion as a reasonable alternative to childbirth
The Drug War: Legalize any and all drugs
Stem Cell Research: Encourage
Death Penalty: Ban
Gun control: Confiscate and destroy all firearms
Affirmative Action: Created by our capitalist overlords as yet another way of distracting minorities from institutionalized discrimination. In a free and equal society we wouldn't even be discussing this--minorities would have the same opportunities to begin with.
Prostitution, Euthanasia, same sex marriage:

Economic Issues:

Minimum Wage: Raise to $22
Welfare: Provide everyone with a basic income regardless of their working status
Right-to-Work: Dumbest thing I've ever heard of
Taxation: Increase tax rates to the 99% range, redistribute property evenly
Healthcare: A basic human right and should be treated as such--provide everyone with free access to quality healthcare
Social Security: See my stance on welfare
Trade: One of many ways that the richer classes control the poorer classes, by having dominion over natural resources. Ideally our natural resources would belong to everyone, and everyone would have equal access regardless of their socioeconomic status
Education: See my stance on healthcare
Balanced Budget Amendment: lol

Foreign Policy and National Security

Afghanistan: Not our problem
ISIS: Funded and armed by the U.S., much like al-Qaeda. Stop sticking our nose where it doesn't belong and maybe things like ISIS wouldn't be so much of a problem.
Iran: Again, if we didn't stick our nose where it didn't belong Iran wouldn't be so offended by the U.S.
Syria: Who cares?
Cuba: The greatest country in the world
Military Spending: Abolish the military
PATRIOT Act: Repeal
Palestine: Support 100%
Israel: Has no right to exist
Immigration: As someone who wants desperately to leave the U.S., I don't really get why people want to come here, but it's whatever. Let them
Guantanamo Bay: Close it up

Environment

Climate Change: Will literally kills us all unless we abolish capitalism
Green Energy: Invest in this
Keystone XL Pipeline: Oppose wholeheartedly

Electoral Reform

Do away with elections. Replace the current system with a dictatorship of the proletariat.
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« Reply #1108 on: April 25, 2015, 12:39:29 PM »

Social Issues:
Abortion: Free, legal, and on demand at any point during pregnancy with no restrictions and no questions asked. Provide free birth control, comprehensive sex education in schools, paid maternity leave, and a national day care service to reduce the need for abortion.
Drugs: Legalize all of them, with 16 as the legal purchase age. Nationalize the pharmaceutical and recreational drug sectors. Provide a free drug rehabilitation program to those who need it.
Marriage: Marriage is an outdated social institution that should be abolished in favor of free sexual expression, but if we must have it, it should be allowed equally. Legalize Same-sex marriage, polygamy, and incest.
Capital Punishment: On principal I have no objection to ending the lives of scum like murderers and rapists, but the state cannot be trusted with the power to end its citizens lives, and the only circumstances I can see myself condoning the death penalty would be in the context of a civil war or violenct revolution.
Prostitution: Legalize but ban pimping.
Gun Control: The right to bear arms is a necessary human right. Nationalize the arms sector.
Affirmative Action: Guarantee everyone a job
Stem Cell research: Support (living in 2015)
Euthanasia: The terminally ill should be allowed the dignity to end their lives on their own terms. Legalize assisted suicide.

Economic Issues:
Minimum Wage: $22/hr to keep up with worker productivity, on top of a guaranteed minimum income
Welfare: Institute a guaranteed minimum income, making wage labor a choice. All citizens should be guaranteed the right to high quality housing, health care, education, and anything else needed to maintain a decent standard of living.
Health care: Institute the Cuban model of socialized medicine
Taxation: Abolish regressive sales taxes and sin taxes. Replace an income tax with a tax on land ownership, income derived from property ownership, income derived from capital gains, inheritance, and other parasitic economic activity.
Unions: Give workers full, democratic control of the work place. Until then, protect the right of workers to organize. Repeal all anti-union legislation like Taft-Hartley, no right to work, protect the right to strike, and ban scabbing.
Education: Teach to each students individual talents as opposed to a rigid, one-size-fits-all curriculum. Give students more autonomy in deciding what courses to take, while increasing the amount of autonomy in each grade the student moves up in. Ban private schools and homeschooling.
Trade: Repeal so-called "free trade" agreements like NAFTA and CAFTA and instead pursue a true free trade policy allowing for the unlimited movement of labor between borders.
Balanced Budget Amendment: The deficit is not a major issue. Government cannot be run like a business because its job is to protect its citizens, not to run a profit, and in doing so it is essentially robbing its citizens.
Privatization: Bring all industry into democratic public ownership
Environment: Potecting our natural environment should be a top priority. Heavy investment in a worker controled alternative energy sector to wean us off of dangerous fossil fuels. Ban harmful practices like fracking.

Foreign Policy and National Security:
Iran: End all sanctions against Iran and allow Iran to pursue a peaceful nuclear program.
Iraq War: Never should have happened
Afghanistan War: A mistake. Terrorism cannot be fought with military power from an imperialist power, which would just create more hate and more terrorism. Support the efforts of Middle East governments and local groups to bring those responsible for the September 11th attacks to justice.
ISIS: Provide humanitarian aid to local people fighting against ISIS, but no direct military action
Syria: Provide humanitarian aid to the rebels, but no direct military action
Cuba: End the trade embargo and travel ban and seek an alliance with Cuba
Military Spending: Replace the standing army with an armed working class.
Government Surveillance: Should be completely illegal
Torture: Prohibit the use of torture in any circumstances
Israel/Palestine: Israel has no right to exist. Support a single, free, secular, democratic Palestinian state with equal rights for all its inhabitants
Immigration: Open borders and amnesty for all illegal immigrants. Abolish the concept of citizenship.
Guantanamo Bay: Return to Cuba.
Nukes: Seek an international treaty banning nuclear weapons. Work to convert existing nuclear weapons to be used for peaceful nuclear power.
Draft: There should never be a draft. If a war does not have the popular support that it needs to force citizens to serve, then that nation has no business being involved in that war.
United Nations: Replace with a single, socialist worldwide government to protect the interests of the working class

Government:
Right to Vote: Guaranteed for everyone starting at age 16 and not taken away after that for any reason. Abolish voter registration, Voter ID laws, and other restrictive measures and allow anyone who makes it to the polls to vote.
Organization of Government: Abolish the Executive branch and Senate, in favor of a larger House of Representatives elected every 3 years via proportional representation and subjected to immediate recall. All decisions by Congress must be approved by a nationwide referendum. Allow elections for judges, but do not require reelections for judges, allowing them to serve for life unless recalled.
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fenrir
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« Reply #1109 on: April 29, 2015, 12:50:02 PM »

I'm surprised people keep calling themselves pro-life and then in the same sentence, type that they'd let the individual make the choice. You do realize that makes you 100% pro-choice, right?
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SingingAnalyst
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« Reply #1110 on: May 12, 2015, 03:16:49 PM »

I consider myself pretty independent. There aren't many things that get to me on a visceral level, so I tend to look at politics more detached and academically and statistically (I teach high school AP Statistics). I lean somewhat more R than D, but I like some Libertarian and Green ideas as well. I voted for Jill Stein in the last Presidential election; though Gary Johnson was closer to some of my views, he wasn't on the ballot in MI. I just didn't want to vote for Obama or Romney. By 2014 I was in a more conservative mood and for the most part joined in the national, if temporary, move toward the GOP.

My views on specific issues (abortion, gay marriage, minimum wage, etc.) tend to be nuanced, though I try to side with the underdog. I do feel something must be said on the subject of abortion, however. We often think "pro-life" vs. "pro-choice"; however, I have heard of more than one person who has advocated that in certain cases abortion should be *mandatory*, thus taking the choice away from the mother.
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SingingAnalyst
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« Reply #1111 on: May 12, 2015, 03:21:58 PM »
« Edited: May 12, 2015, 03:24:14 PM by mathstatman »

I'm surprised people keep calling themselves pro-life and then in the same sentence, type that they'd let the individual make the choice. You do realize that makes you 100% pro-choice, right?
I include myself in that category. I have supported a neighborhood crisis pregnancy center because I believe they do, in fact, provide a valuable service for women and children (and that that makes me "pro-life"). At the same time I believe abortion is a very personal choice, not one that should be made by politicians.
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OSR stands with Israel
Computer89
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« Reply #1112 on: May 20, 2015, 11:15:01 PM »

Social Issues:

Abortion: Strongly Pro-Choice until the point of viability.

Gay Marriage: 100% in favor of, overturn state laws banning it at the federal level as discriminatory.

War on Drugs: Legalize all drugs, abolish the DEA

Prostitution: Legalize

Stem Cell Research: Expand

Affirmative Action: For but based on class instead of race

Gun Control: kind of torn, I think that there's a strong left-wing case to be made in favor of allowing people to bear arms. I can't understand liberals wanting to give racist cops a monopoly on gun ownership in big citites. At the same time if you could implement some kind of background check to prevent mass shootings i'd be all for it. I really think that overlaps with other issues also though like mental health.

Gambling: Support legalizing but I disagree with how it's done. (see below)

Immigration: The US is a nation of immigrants and I know that my ancestors were discriminated against by the WASPs when they first came here and I feel that people are hypocritical to oppose immigration. Yes it may depress wages somewhat but they're are other ways of stimulating them again. (see under economics)

Civil Liberties: Abolish the Patriot Act, Espionage Act, end NSA spying and police militarization, ban the use of domestic drones by police departments.

Other stuff: I guess i'm more socially libertarian then Socially Liberal since i've always had a problem with progressive paternalism. I think that sin taxes are fundamentally regressive and it annoys me how things like cigarette taxes and gambling are always tied to funding programs. It just seems like a bullsh**t way to avoid taxing the rich. I also think that bars should be able to allow smoking if they're adult only venues. Also the drinking age should be lowered to eighteen.

Economics:

Pro-Union, support single payer health care, free universal college education, guaranteed minimum income as a means of offsetting outsourcing. If we had guaranteed income it would be a boon to the economy as more people could leave their sh**tty jobs and either start businesses or pursue some creative venture. It would also be stimulus for those at the bottom. I also think that giving those at the bottom money directly is less demeaning to the poor then forcing them to be dependent on busy body social workers. Also institute a stock transaction tax and reinstate glass-stegal.

Foreign Policy:

Israel/Palestine: I believe that ethnic based states are fundamentally racist and if their ever could have been a two state solution it's been ruined by the nutty settlers moving onto what should have been Palestinian land. There should be one multiethnic secular state and I say this as a partial Jew myself.

Iran: I think we should lift the sanctions and move towards better relations with Iran and away from Saudi Arabia.

Afghanistan: Pull out already!

Draft: 100000% opposed

The US should remained engaged in the world and I think that under extreme circumstances intervention can be justified to prevent genocide but in general we should reorient our foreign policy towards one based on human rights and less in serving corporate interests.



Overall: Basically a Libertarian Socialist as my name would imply or more accurately an (LSD) Libertarian Social Democrat. I also think that my politics are in some ways close to Christopher Hitchens before 9/11.

 


Hate to break it to ya, but your not a Libertarian Socialist.
                                                                    -A Libertarian Socialist

Libertarian and Socialist are not possible as Liberatarian is the most pro free market, anti governemnt party while socialist is the opposite
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Murica!
whyshouldigiveyoumyname?
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« Reply #1113 on: May 21, 2015, 11:58:03 AM »

Social Issues:

Abortion: Strongly Pro-Choice until the point of viability.

Gay Marriage: 100% in favor of, overturn state laws banning it at the federal level as discriminatory.

War on Drugs: Legalize all drugs, abolish the DEA

Prostitution: Legalize

Stem Cell Research: Expand

Affirmative Action: For but based on class instead of race

Gun Control: kind of torn, I think that there's a strong left-wing case to be made in favor of allowing people to bear arms. I can't understand liberals wanting to give racist cops a monopoly on gun ownership in big citites. At the same time if you could implement some kind of background check to prevent mass shootings i'd be all for it. I really think that overlaps with other issues also though like mental health.

Gambling: Support legalizing but I disagree with how it's done. (see below)

Immigration: The US is a nation of immigrants and I know that my ancestors were discriminated against by the WASPs when they first came here and I feel that people are hypocritical to oppose immigration. Yes it may depress wages somewhat but they're are other ways of stimulating them again. (see under economics)

Civil Liberties: Abolish the Patriot Act, Espionage Act, end NSA spying and police militarization, ban the use of domestic drones by police departments.

Other stuff: I guess i'm more socially libertarian then Socially Liberal since i've always had a problem with progressive paternalism. I think that sin taxes are fundamentally regressive and it annoys me how things like cigarette taxes and gambling are always tied to funding programs. It just seems like a bullsh**t way to avoid taxing the rich. I also think that bars should be able to allow smoking if they're adult only venues. Also the drinking age should be lowered to eighteen.

Economics:

Pro-Union, support single payer health care, free universal college education, guaranteed minimum income as a means of offsetting outsourcing. If we had guaranteed income it would be a boon to the economy as more people could leave their sh**tty jobs and either start businesses or pursue some creative venture. It would also be stimulus for those at the bottom. I also think that giving those at the bottom money directly is less demeaning to the poor then forcing them to be dependent on busy body social workers. Also institute a stock transaction tax and reinstate glass-stegal.

Foreign Policy:

Israel/Palestine: I believe that ethnic based states are fundamentally racist and if their ever could have been a two state solution it's been ruined by the nutty settlers moving onto what should have been Palestinian land. There should be one multiethnic secular state and I say this as a partial Jew myself.

Iran: I think we should lift the sanctions and move towards better relations with Iran and away from Saudi Arabia.

Afghanistan: Pull out already!

Draft: 100000% opposed

The US should remained engaged in the world and I think that under extreme circumstances intervention can be justified to prevent genocide but in general we should reorient our foreign policy towards one based on human rights and less in serving corporate interests.



Overall: Basically a Libertarian Socialist as my name would imply or more accurately an (LSD) Libertarian Social Democrat. I also think that my politics are in some ways close to Christopher Hitchens before 9/11.

 


Hate to break it to ya, but your not a Libertarian Socialist.
                                                                    -A Libertarian Socialist

Libertarian and Socialist are not possible as Liberatarian is the most pro free market, anti governemnt party while socialist is the opposite
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libertarian_socialism
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Leinad
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« Reply #1114 on: June 04, 2015, 07:28:16 AM »

Same Sex Marriage: Same-sex marriage, polygamy, human-animal marriage, human-object marriage, human-concept marriage, etc. should all be legal. Of course, as long as it's consensual.

How can you have consent with things that can't give consent, such as animals, objects, and concepts?

Also, I totally disagree with your views on Euthanasia. Making it mandatory to end people's lives simply because they're old is truly barbaric. I think that if people are clearly thinking they should have the ability to do it, but ending one's life just because they're a "burden" is just terrible.

That being said, your foreign policy is spot on. Ditto on the death penalty.
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Leinad
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« Reply #1115 on: June 04, 2015, 10:34:37 PM »

Social Policy:

 - Abortion: I'm against it on the grounds that a fetus is a human life and ending human lives is one of the few things the government has the right to make illegal. But I support comprehensive sex-ed, birth control, day care, adoption, and anything else to help with unwanted pregnancies.
 - Same Sex Marriage: Legalize all marriage between consenting adults. Conservatives often ask where does it end. Simple: it ends with consent. Although I'd rather see the government remove itself from marriage altogether, it's a matter of people, not the government.
 - Drugs: Legalize. It hurts no one who doesn't consent to it.
 - Death Penalty: Abolish it. The government (or a jury enforcing government laws and punishments) has no right whatsoever to end a person's life, or decide who deserves to die.
 - Gun control: Some gun control, but I think we need to allow people the right to responsible gun ownership. If we ban guns outright, the only people who will have guns are bad people and the government, two groups I don't want to use force unopposed.
 - Affirmative Action: I'm mostly opposed to it. We need to change the system from the grassroots level. The government can't legislate quality any more than it can legislate morality.
 - Prostitution: Legalize and regulate. Like drugs, it hurts no one who doesn't consent to it.
 - Euthanasia: Allow it for people who can make decisions on their own. Don't make it mandatory.
 - Speech: I believe in free speech, not hate speech. Censorship of any kind is a violation of the 1st amendment. I believe in freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of the press, freedom of association, and freedom of cartoonists.

Economic Issues:

 - Minimum Wage: Don't raise it, that leads to inflation.
 - Welfare: Make it more voluntary, and don't help people who don't need it. Try to teach people to fish instead of giving them fish, metaphorically speaking.
 - Right-to-Work: I support it, but I understand the need for labor unions, and the help they provide for the worker.
 - Taxation: Make taxes as low as possible. While there is need for money to help people, I think it's bad for the government to take things from people without their consent.
 - Healthcare: Try to privatize it. I understand that poor people need healthcare, but I don't think the government is the best way to do that.
 - Social Security: Work on privatizing it. It's running out of money.
 - Trade: Free trade.
 - Education: I support school vouchers and am skeptical of common core. Homeschooling can often be a better system, don't restrict that at all.
 - Balanced Budget Amendment: We need one. Government spending is out of hand.

Foreign Policy and National Security

 - Middle East: Don't go to war there. Work to end terrorism and improve living conditions with the UN and other allies. But don't go to war at all, and also don't work together with either dictators or terrorists, even if it's in opposition to another threat.
 - Cuba: Normalizing relations was a good idea. Try to encourage democracy there.
 - PATRIOT Act: END IT NOW!!!
 - NSA Spying: Only on people we have real evidence need to be spied on.
 - Israel/Palestine: Try to find a peaceful solution, respecting Palestine's rights but also not abandoning Israel as our ally.
 - Immigration: I'm a moderate on illegal immigration: you want to keep bad guys out, and you want to have them follow the law, but you also don't want to deport good people who want to live in this great nation of ours. I'm a big supporter of legal immigration, I think it's a key part of what makes America America. Maybe deport people like Ann Coulter who are against it.
 - Guantanamo Bay: Close it.
 - Draft: Constitutional amendment to permanently abolish the draft. The government has no right whatsoever to force a person to abandon their life to risk it in what's probably an unjust war in the first place.
 - United Nations: Work with them to achieve goals such as peace and human rights, but don't give up autonomy at all.

Environment

 - Climate Change: I think it's probably real, but I would support more proof for the many people who think it isn't. If it is real, it's probably our biggest concern.
 - Green Energy: Try to support it within the free market. I'm pro-green energy, but anti-subsidies.
 - Keystone XL Pipeline: Support it, but be careful.

Electoral Reform

 - Voting System: Enact a form of proportional representation in congress. Either STV or MMP.
 - Electoral College: Either abolish it or make it not winner-take-all.
 - Gerrymandering: Enact laws to minimize gerrymandering.
 - Term limits: I support consecutive term limits, but where they can return after setting out a term.
 - Perks and Privileges for Politicians: Eliminate them. They're our employees, not divinely-favored nobility. They should have the same rights and restrictions as the rest of us, no more, no less.
 - Voter ID: Cautiously support it to protect voter fraud, but I'm skeptical that it won't hurt more than it would help.
 - Compulsory Voting: Never. We're better off if people who don't understand how important voting is don't get a say in the system. And I'm against making anything compulsory at all.
 - Statehood: Let in DC, PR, and anyone else.
 - Organization of Government: Limit the power of both the executive and judicial branches. The power should be held in a representative, proportional congress. Also give state and local government's more power relative to the federal government, but with the main goal to give the individual sovereign power over themselves.

Overall I'm for limited government. The government should be there to ensure our rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, not to enforce "equality" or some moral standard.
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Samantha
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« Reply #1116 on: June 07, 2015, 03:54:08 AM »

Social issues
Abortion: I believe that women (and men) should have complete control over their bodies, and therefore support the right to abortion, for reasons of conveneience or otherwise.
LGBT/Feminism: I support marriage equality and, as a transgendered person, support laws that protect our human dignity and the destigmatization of our gender identity. I am also a feminist and support all efforts to kill the rape culture and end gender discrimination. I am personally opposed to prostitution, but a woman should feel free to sell her body if she wants to do so voluntarily.
Drugs/Tobacco/Etc: I oppose subjecting minor vices to regressive taxation, let alone criminalization. Legalize all drugs, repeal all sin taxes, set a uniform age of majority for access to these substances. Drug addiction should be dealt with as a medical condition.
Gun Control: Generally opposed. I am more concerned with demilitarizing the police than disarming the public.
Immigration: I support the free movement of people and full blanket amnesty for undocumented workers.
Death Penalty: I oppose the state murdering people as a punishment, especially given the abundant imperfections in our justice system.

Economic issues
Labor: I believe in worker solidarity and empowerment through democratization of the work place and horizontal organization. Collective bargaining rights should be fiercely protected.
Safety net: Strongly support subsidizing for food, housing, transportation, and internet access for the working class.
Minimum Wage: I am of the belief that business are unfairly dumping their labor costs on the safety net when the pay wages that their employees could not realistically live on. I support the 15$/hr mimimum wage as advocated by 15Now.
Taxation: I support returning the capital gains and federal income tax rate to 1956 levels. I'm fine with the current corporate rate, I care more about closing he loopholes that allow big businesses to pay little to no taxes.
Trade: I support punitive tariffs on abusers of human rights, even if that means less cheap stuff to choose from at Walmart.
Social Security: Abolish the cap on pay roll taxes so that they are more progressive, oppose all privatization.
Health Care:  I completely reject the ACA as a working class funded handout to the private health insurance industry. I want it repealed and replaced with a national health service that provides free comprehensive medical care and prescriptioms for all.

Foreign Policy/National Security:
Military Intervention/Spending: I am categorically opposed to imperalism and favor a smaller, exclusively domestic military. I am not an isolationist, I do support keeping solidarity with international worker struggles and people's liberation movements in the form of material support.
Human rights: I oppose maintaining full diplomatic and economic relations with human rights abusers such as China, Saudi Arabia, etc
NSA/PATRIOT Act: 100% opposed to trading civil liberties for security. The undisputed right to privacy should be written into the constitution.
ISIS: We shouldn't legitamize ISIS as a "country" with a declaration of war. Overall, it's the responsibility of the countries in the region to dismantle ISIS, the US has nothing to gain by dedicating its self to another protracted military conflict with a loosely organized terrorist group.

Misc.
Electoral reform: Support implementing IRV, proportional representation, public financing of elections, and abolishing ballot access laws that discriminate against third parties. I oppose term limits.
Arts/Public Radio: I strongly support subsidizing the arts, museums, commercial free public radio, and other culturally beneficial institutions
Education: K-12 should be well funded, through tax dollars and not weird gimmicks like standardized testing and sin taxes, with the goal being to teach to each students potential.  Support providing university and trade school free of charge.
Environment/Energy: Climate change is real, anthropogenic, and bad. I support  enacting tough carbon emission standards, even at the cost of economic output. I also  support nationalizing the energy sector.
Banking: I support nationalizing the banking system and prosecuting the crooked Wall Street executives responsible for the Great recession.
Gambling: Ambivalent. It's ultimately a bad thing for the working class, but it's the sort of indiscretion that I prefer not to criminalize.
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Bojack Horseman
Wolverine22
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« Reply #1117 on: June 12, 2015, 09:19:22 PM »
« Edited: June 12, 2015, 10:15:11 PM by Wolverine22 »

Social Policy:

 - Abortion: Pro-choice. Banning abortion only results in women resorting to illegal and unsafe methods of abortion. We should teach comprehensive, LGBT-inclusive sex education in schools, as well as make contraception affordable and accessible to all women, regardless of socioeconomic class, in order to reduce the abortion rate, and reduce teen pregnancy.

 - Same Sex Marriage: Same-sex marriage bans are unconstitutional per 14th Amendment. Consenting adults who aren't related and are of sound mind should be able to get married, no matter their gender or sexual orientation.

- Transgender issues: Regardless of how one feels about people who identify as a gender other than their assigned sex, I believe that we must work to end discrimination, and that includes gender identity. Nobody should ever be fired or kicked out of their home simply because of their gender identity or sexual orientation.

- Drugs: The War on Drugs has been a colossal failure that has resulted in our country leading the world in the number of people incarcerated per capita. Legalizing recreational drugs and treating it as a public health issue through education and PSA campaigns, much like we did about condoms during the AIDS crisis, is the best way to reduce drug dependency. I strongly support legalizing marijuana and levying a tax on cannabis.

 - Death Penalty: Support only when the crime is heinous and disgusting enough, as well as there no possibility of the defendant being innocent. However I strongly oppose the death penalty the way Texas uses it, and quite honestly, if I'm a governor and a death penalty repeal bill hits my desk, I'd sign it.
 
- Gun control: To quote Ronald Reagan, "I support the right to own a firearm for sport or defense of a home, however an AK-47 is not a sporting weapon." I support an assault weapons ban, and Brady background checks. I also support banning open carry in public.

- Affirmative Action: Neutral.

- Prostitution: Legalize and regulate.

- Euthanasia: I support assisted suicide. Having had to watch a loved one die a prolonged, painful death, I do believe that those who are terminally ill and of sound mind should be able to end their lives with assistance from a doctor.

- Speech: I believe in the First Amendment and free speech. Of course, that inevitably results in despicable nonsense being spread, but free speech does not mean consequence-free speech.

Economic Issues:

- Minimum Wage: Raising the minimum wage doesn't make inflation go up, inflation going up results in the need for a raise in the minimum wage. $7.25 today has about the same buying power as $4.23 did the day minimum wage went up to $7.25. I support raising the minimum wage to $10.10/hour, as this has the same buying power today as $7.25 did on that day in 2007.

 - Welfare: Don't punish the poor. Give aid, as well as free educational and job training opportunities at a local community college. To quote William Winter, a Democrat who served as Governor of Mississippi from 1980-1984 once said, "The road out of the poorhouse runs right through the schoolhouse."

 - Right-to-Work: Right-to-Work is a misnomer. It has nothing to do with the right to find gainful employment, it is nothing more than a ploy to weaken unions. It allows workers to enjoy all the benefits of union membership, including the pay and benefits, without paying dues to the union that bargained for that contract. States that have so-called "Right-to-Work" laws see lower wages, fewer benefits, and fewer worker protections.

- Taxation: The rich should pay their fair share in taxes, and the tax burden should never be shifted onto the lower earners. A flat tax is a major tax hike on the lowest income Americans, and a major tax cut for the richest 1% of Americans. I support a progressive tax structure that gives tax relief to the working and poor, those that need help the most, and makes the rich pay their fair share.

- Healthcare: I support a single-payer health care system. The current for-profit system and its exorbitant costs have bankrupted too many Americans. The Affordable Care Act was a good stop-gap measure, however America needs single-payer.

- Social Security: Don't privatize Social Security, just get rid of the tax cap. Currently, only the first $118,500 of income is subject to the Social Security tax. Most Americans have every dime of their income taxed to pay for Social Security, but just 5% of Americans don't. If we get rid of the cap, Social Security would be able to pay a livable pension to the elderly and disabled-the two groups who make up the majority of people living in poverty in America-and still be overfunded.

 - Trade: I oppose any so-called "free trade" deal. Ross Perot was right back in 1992 when he warned America that if we passed NAFTA, "you'll hear a giant sucking sound of all the jobs going to Mexico." NAFTA, the Chinese Free Trade Agreement, and every other trade agreement we've signed have devastated America's manufacturing sector. President Obama likes to talk about seeing products that say, "Made in America," but now he champions a trade agreement that will further harm our manufacturing sector and put even more Americans out of work. I'll stand up to any President, Democratic or Republican, and fight against any trade agreement.

- Education: I oppose school vouchers, and believe that we must improve education by investing in it. Republicans continue to cut education and funnel taxpayer dollars to for-profit charter schools. This is wrong. If we actually worked to improve public education and kept it adequately funded instead of presiding over its funeral, we can fix education.

- Balanced Budget Amendment: I oppose a Balanced Budget Amendment. This would hamper our national defense, and hurt our economy.

Foreign Policy and National Security

- Middle East: I oppose preemptive wars, and believe in diplomacy over force. War is not a peaceful solution, and shouldn't be used as a first resort.

 - Cuba: I support normalizing relations with Cuba and ending the embargo.

- PATRIOT Act: I support the USA FREEDOM Act, and believe the Patriot Act is unconstitutional.

- NSA Spying: I believe the Fourth Amendment is clear: that the government must have a warrant to conduct a search.

- Israel/Palestine: I support a two-state solution.

- Immigration: I support the DREAM Act. People who were brought here as children through no fault of their own should be able to stay in the United States and earn citizenship if they follow the law and are productive members of society. Our Border Patrol is working hard around the clock to keep drugs and human traffickers out of the United States, and I believe we can increase funding and resources to them without passing laws that encourage racial profiling.

- Guantanamo Bay: I support closing Guantanamo Bay, and I oppose detention without trial.

- Draft: I oppose the draft and believe that no one should ever be forced into military service against their will.

- United Nations: I support the UN and believe we should be held accountable to international law and not above it.

Environment

- Climate Change: Climate change is a real threat at this very moment. It's no coincidence that after two centuries of unregulated pollution, we're now seeing some of the most extreme weather patterns in documented human history. We must take steps now to protect our environment and natural resources before it's too late.

- Green Energy: Clean, renewable energy is the future of our economy and the way toward a cleaner environment. We need to invest in green energy.

- Keystone XL Pipeline: I oppose the Keystone XL Pipeline. Far too many people are going to lose their homes and land to eminent domain to build the pipeline, and many others will see their property values slashed to build a pipeline that sends Canadian oil to the Gulf of Mexico to be shipped to China. To hurt thousands of everyday Americans just to create 55 permanent jobs isn't worth it.

Electoral Reform

- Voting System: First past the post.

- Electoral College: Ban states from using a district plan to prevent a rigged vote.

- Gerrymandering: I support a constitutional amendment to ban gerrymandering, that would constitutionally require Congressional and state legislative districts to be drawn fairly.

- Term limits: I oppose term limits for Congress and state legislators, and support consecutive term limits for Governors. I support the 22nd Amendment, though I think a better idea would be to have a single, six-year term.

- Perks and Privileges for Politicians: Status quo.

- Voter ID: Voter ID is a thinly disguised way of preventing people who tend to vote Democratic from voting. Republicans are trying to win elections by blocking their opponents from voting. This is the most unpatriotic thing I've ever heard of. We need to expand voting hours and make it easier to vote, not allow Republicans to pick and choose who gets to vote based on who they're going to vote for.

- Compulsory Voting: If everyone voted, we wouldn't have a lot of the problems we currently do with our government. It should be mandatory.

- Statehood: If Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands, or any other territory wants to become a state, they should be allowed to do so.
 
- Organization of Government: We have three branches of government with checks and balances to prevent each from growing too large. The judicial branch's job is to strike down laws that are unconstitutional, in spite of public opinion.

Please describe my beliefs. Am I a Democrat, liberal, socialist, libertarian, none of the above/all of the above?
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Oak Hills
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« Reply #1118 on: June 13, 2015, 08:08:52 PM »

Please describe my beliefs. Am I a Democrat, liberal, socialist, libertarian, none of the above/all of the above?

You sound like a generic liberal Democrat to me.
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« Reply #1119 on: June 17, 2015, 09:55:28 PM »
« Edited: September 01, 2015, 05:43:12 PM by DimpledChad »

Social Issues
Abortion: Support, including late term abortions.
Gun control: Support background checks, mental health exams, caps on magazines, and I support an assault weapons ban. No other country as advanced as ours has this many mass shootings. This needs to stop. Enough nonsense from the NRA. People lean on ideology regarding this issue. It's an epidemic. People are dying. Children are dying. It's time to stop this.
SSM: Support. It's a basic right. Right-wingers can guise it as whatever they want, it's hateful to oppose this.
Marijuana: Legalize and tax.
Death penalty: Firmly opposed.
Affirmative Action: Support
Prostitution: Legalize and regulate. It would kill the sex trafficking black market to legalize this. It would bring sex workers out of the shadows and allow them to live a safe and secure life. Also, make sure that sex workers have a way out of the industry if they want. I've seen a number of statistics which say more than a supermajority of prostitutes would get out if they had other options.
Assisted suicide: If the patient is in a rational state of mind and suffering from an incurable condition, I support this.

Foreign Policy and National Security
PATRIOT Act: Vehemently opposed. Clear overstep of government powers.
ISIS: The actions of the Bush administration in Iraq, especially in disbanding the Iraqi Army, and the failure of Bush and Obama to negotiate a provision to leave a residual force in Iraq created an environment in which groups like ISIS can thrive. Obama's policies on this are mostly effective. We don't need to re-invade Iraq and we don't need a four-way ground war in Syria. We need to form a coalition of regional powers to supplement our airstrikes with a strong ground force. Sending additional advisers is a good step. But, read my lips: No ground troops.
Russia: Unfortunately, Mr. Putin got away with his takeover of Crimea and faced no long term consequences. We need to make it clear to Putin that this type of aggression will not be tolerated. His actions were the enemy of freedom.
Cuba: I support lifting the embargo and fully normalizing relations with Cuba.
Israel/Palestine: It is terrifying to see the Republican Party move against a two-state solution. It is the only way forward. Both groups deserve their own state. Jerusalem should become an international city, under the control of neither Israel nor Palestine.
Immigration: I support the DREAM Act, and I support simplifying the legal immigration process. I support a path to citizenship for those who are currently here illegally, aside from criminals. We are a nation of immigrants, we should embrace all who want to come here. Multiculturalism is one of the central tenets of this nation.
Guantanamo Bay: Close Guantanamo Bay.

Economic Issues
Trade: I am very reluctant to support free trade agreements, but I believe globalization as a broad concept is probably inevitable. But, we should not globalize for the sake of globalizing. Support free trade agreements if they don't hurt American business and American workers. Too many trade agreements hurt us.
TPP: They need to publicly detail what exactly is in this. Until then, I'm opposed. The "trust us, this one is different" rhetoric is what we heard before NAFTA. I want them to woo me with the environmental and labor standards. Tongue
Minimum Wage: I support raising the minimum wage to a living wage. $15 an hour at least. No one who works 40 hours a week should live in poverty.
Taxation: I support a progressive tax rate based on ability to pay.
Social programs: The positions which people who receive welfare benefits find themselves in is a very vulnerable position. It would be easy to take advantage of these people. They pay into these programs in the form of taxes so that if they ever find themselves down on their luck, they won't slip into poverty. If you ever find yourself in a situation like that, you'll be damn glad we have these programs.
School vouchers: I oppose vouchers for school choice. We can't abandon public schools. It is one of the tenants of life in America. We need to invest more heavily in public schooling to ensure a fair and quality education for all.
Balanced Budget Amendment: Opposed. It's too rigid and doesn't accept that sometimes the federal government will run deficits. I am opposed to running long-term deficits, however. That would be fatal.

Electoral Reform
Electoral college: Abolish the electoral college
Gerrymandering: Non-partisan committees should handle redistricting
Congressional term limits: I'm ambivalent, but lean towards supporting this.
Mandatory voting: Opposed. It is an expression of free speech to not vote, and the people who don't vote are usually low-information voters. I don't want the future of America to be in the hands of people who just don't care. Let them stay home if they want to.
Voter ID: People can show their driver's license when they show up to vote, I have no problem with that, but the plain fact is voter ID laws disproportionately affect Democrat-leaning demographics. It's advocates know this. Opposed.

Science
Climate change: This is a real and growing threat. All of the climate change deniers need to stop politicizing this serious issue which impacts our environment and our world in dangerous ways.
Carbon emissions: I support a carbon tax to limit carbon emissions.
Green energy: I support the further development of alternative energies and I support subsidies for this research.
Stem cell research: I fully support stem cell research. It is my belief that government needs to stop regulating genetic research to death with ethical regulations. As far as I'm concerned, we should go as far with this technology as we possibly can.
Labels for GMOs: Of course I support this, but we shouldn't scare people with it. GMOs are not inherently unhealthy. But, people have a right to know what they're eating.
Keystone XL: I am fully opposed to the construction of this pipeline. It will bring dirty oil down from the Alberta tar sands, through dozens of vulnerable waterways (including the Yellowstone River), to be sold to China. No way, Jose.
Deforestation: This destroys habitats for thousands of different species. It's time to get serious about stopping deforestation. There is very little political will to do something about it, but we need to take aggressive action against it.
NASA/space exploration: We need to re-invigorate our space program. There has been virtually no political will for space exploration since the 1970s. It's time to stop pussy-footing around with abortion and same sex marriage, and start focusing on things which are really going to matter hundreds of years from now. Enough with this ridiculous austerity, give NASA proper funding.
Conservation efforts: It's time to get serious. We are witnessing the Great Holocene Extinction right now. It's time to end our push into the wild habitats of animals, pushing them to extinction and wiping out a world of biodiversity. We need to take serious action now.
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PJ
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« Reply #1120 on: July 07, 2015, 05:15:38 AM »
« Edited: July 07, 2015, 06:04:52 AM by PJ »

Abortion: Discourage abortion through expanded access to birth control, comprehensive sex education, paid parental leave, and a national daycare program. Abortion should remain legal, and like all healthcare procedures, should be free of cost.

LGBT Rights: Full equality under the law for all gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender citizens. Hate crime laws are a bad idea however, as the judicial system can not accurately determine whether or not a crime is based on hate.

Feminism: Equal pay for women needs to be enforced. Add the equal rights amendment to the constitution. Discrimination based on gender must be eliminated from society.

Marriage: Marriage should be between any number of consensual adults. Governments should continue to recognize marriage as long as there is a popular demand for it.

Drugs: End the failed War on Drugs. Legalize all recreational drugs with no minimum consumption age and no sin tax. Essentially, usage of recreational drugs should not result in legal punishment. Establish a rehabilitation program for those who need it. Ban advertising for any controlled substance.

Embryonic Stem Cell Research: Full funding should be directed to any science with the potential to save lives.

Death Penalty: I don't trust the government to carry out the death penalty or life imprisonment. The strictest punishment should be life imprisonment with the possibility of parole.

Prisons: Ban private prisons, end mandatory minimum sentences, grant voting rights to felons, and make sure that prisoners are treated ethically.

Gun Control: Focusing on the societal causes of violence would be much more effective at reducing incidences of gun violence. That being said, there needs some basic restrictions on gun ownership, such as background checks for gun purchases.

Police Brutality: Serious reforms are needed to prevent occurrences of police brutality, such as ending militarization of police departments and serious penalties for racial profiling and brutality, but I'm skeptical of the effectiveness of body cameras.

Affirmative Action: Through public works programs and the like, the government should guarantee a right to a job for all of its citizens. This would eliminate the need for Affirmative Action in the hiring process.

Prostitution: Legalize and strictly regulate in order to prevent sex slavery and the spread of STDs. Exploitative business models such as pimping should be banned.

Euthanasia: End of life decisions are no one's business but their own. Legalize.

Speech: Increased restrictions on advertising  are necessary, but any form of expression should remain legal.

Gambling: If someone wants to gamble, that's their business, but it should be actively discouraged, and public lotteries should be abolished.

Net Neutrality: Enforce net neutrality and expand it to apply to all electronic devices.

Church and State: Separation of church and state must be maintained, but purely symbolic debates like under God in the pledge of allegiance are meaningless wastes of time. As long as non-profits remain tax-exempt, churches should fall under that category. Businesses do not have the right to exert religious beliefs on their employees, and the Hobby Lobby decision should be reversed.

Organ Donation: Should be designed as an opt-out program, we need to respect bodily autonomy, but unless an individual specifically requests otherwise, their organs have the potential to save lives and should be utilized.

Minimum Wage: Raise minimum wage to $15 an hour. Promote unionization so that workers can negotiate higher wages as necessary.

Welfare: Most welfare programs that include some form of cash payment to the recipient should be replaced with a basic minimum income adjusted for the cost of living.

Unionization: Organizing a union should be as easy as possible. Unionization is important to ensure that the rights of workers are maintained. Repeal nonsense like right-to-work and Taft-Hartley. I'm sympathetic to the concept of workplace democracy, and it should be encouraged as an alternative business model. Some worker's rights should be enforced by the government, such as a reduction of the workweek to 35 hours.

Taxation: Taxation should be steeply progressive. The primary taxes should be capital gains, income, and inheritance. Abolish corporate income and sales taxes.

Monetary Policy: Oppose nonsense like the gold standard.

Healthcare: Clearly a right. Eliminate the age restriction on Medicare to expand its benefits to all citizens.

Social Security: Absorb into a minimum income program for all. Cutting Social Security is not an option.

Trade: Replace the current free trade agreements with loosening of restrictions of labor between borders.

Pork: A pretty illegitimate form of funding. Ban and grant equal funding to all local governments. 

Education: Free of charge from preschool to graduate school. Common Core needs to be revamped into a decentralized national curriculum that focuses less on teaching to the test; with a couple of exceptions, schools should generally have the same format for which courses they offer. While standardized tests serve a purpose, their importance needs to be reduced and they should play a much smaller part in the educational system. The idea that evolution should not be a part of educational curriculums needs to killed with fire. I'm sympathetic to the idea of phasing out homeschooling and private schooling for minors altogether.

Corporations: Require that all corporate management boards have 50% of seats reserved for union representatives.

Banking: Nationalize the banking industry and model the program similarly to the Bank of North Dakota.

Arts: Due to global dominance of American pop culture, I recognize that subsidization of the arts is not as necessary here as it is in other countries. I do still support public television and radio, and subsidization of museums and public art.

Budget: Deficits serve a purpose and a balanced budget amendment in the name of financial responsibility would be pointless and destructive.

Space Exploration: Return space exploration funding to Cold War levels, with the eventual goal of colonization of other planets. Space is a fragile area, and I oppose allowing private investment in it.

Environment: Nationalize the energy sector in order to facilitate a quick transition to renewable energy without negative effects on the consumer or workers in the energy industry. Upgrade the EPA to a full-scale department with increased powers. National parks and the like should be expanded and actively promoted as both a method to conserve the natural environment and spend time outdoors.

Animal Rights: Should be advanced legally, but only when it's practical for humanity. Asking for universal vegetarianism is impractical, but excessively cruel activities like animal use in circuses should be banned.

Farming: End current farm subsidies, legalize hemp and raw milk, and promote environmentally friendly farming practices.

GMOs: Labeling GMOs creates a needless fear over harms that do not exist. Monsanto is a crooked corporation however, and should probably be taken into public ownership.

Transportation: Build a national high speed rail system, expand public transit and make it free of charge. Alternatives to automobiles need to made as available as possible.

Iran: We should actively discourage any country from owning nuclear weapons, although sanctions will not necessarily achieve the desired goal. Exert diplomatic pressure.

Iraq: The Iraq War was unnecessary, but created a dangerous power vacuum. In order to combat ISIS, we should continue with airstrikes, arming the Kurds, and humanitarian aid.

Afghanistan: While the original intervention was justified, troops should be withdrawn at this point.

Syria: I support fighting ISIS there, and Assad is the lesser of two evils in this case.

Cuba: Embargoes are idiotic. End it and normalize relations.

Russia: Oppose Russian imperialism and don't recognize annexation of Crimea, but sanctions are ineffective.

Military Spending: Cut by approximately 50% or so, which would still leave us with the largest military on the globe. End the propaganda campaigns which grant the military extensive privileges with recruiting on campuses.

Government surveillance: The government has no right to violate civil liberties and granting it this ability comes with dangerous consequences. The NSA should be massively scaled down, and its abolition or reabsorption into other agencies should be considered. The Department of Homeland Security should be merged with the Department of Justice.

Torture: Return Guantanamo Bay to Cuba and end any cruel or unusual punishment carried out by the government.

Israel/Palestine: While the notion of nation states on the whole is ridiculous, and the Israelis and Palestinians should be able to coexist in the same secular state, that's not going to happen. The U.S. needs to stop taking sides in the conflict and actively promote Palestinian self-determination and the secularization of both states.

Immigration: Amnesty should be granted to all U.S. residents and becoming a citizen should be made easier, although complete open borders are an impractical solution. Immigration quotas should be less focused on skilled workers and more focused on refugees; we have the capacity to accept many more of them, and the moral imperative to do so.

Nuclear Weapons: Would ideally be eliminated from society, but the only practical way to do this is multilaterally through an international treaty. Nuclear energy should not be included as part of any transition to renewable energy.

Draft: Abolish the selective service and the notion that citizens are obligated to fight wars for the government.

Foreign Aid: Humanitarian aid is noble on the surface, but we need to ensure corrupt governments aren't taking advantage of it.

NATO: Really served its purpose during the Cold War, but is an irrelevant organization now. Dissolve it.

United Nations: Replace the current organization with a global elected parliament that could eventually evolve into a global government that has the ability to address pertinent global issues.

Voting Age: I'm in favor of expanding suffrage as much as possible within reasonable limits, so the voting age should be lowered to 16. Voter ID laws should be abolished as they make voting more difficult. There should be a national voter registry in order to combat voter fraud instead.

Mandatory Voting: Voting should be considered a civic duty, as long as a write-in/none of the above option is available.

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PJ
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« Reply #1121 on: July 07, 2015, 05:16:04 AM »
« Edited: July 07, 2015, 05:29:27 PM by PJ »

Campaign Finance: The concept of campaign donations is the antithesis of democracy. Ban all monetary donations to campaigns and publicly fund elections.

Primaries: Primaries should be designed as a national vote, with the focus eliminated from arbitrary early primary states.

Executive Branch: Abolish the electoral college and elect the president with instant runoff voting. The powers of the presidency should be reduced, but term limits for president should be abolished, with elections held every two years.

Legislative Branch: Abolish the senate and elect the House of Representatives with Mixed Member Proportional Representation. The constituency seats should be elected with instant runoff voting. Constituencies should be drawn by an independent commission.

Judicial Branch: Judges should remain appointed and not subjected to term limits. I support a liberal interpretation of the constitution, but the document is outdated and should be updated for the 21st century.

Statehood: Hold a statehood vs. independence vote for all current U.S. territories. With the exception of D.C., I would support independence for most territories. Redraw the 50 states to reflect the realities of 2015 so that all are approximately equal in population.
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Clark Kent
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« Reply #1122 on: July 07, 2015, 12:58:58 PM »
« Edited: December 22, 2015, 10:53:58 PM by Lt. Governor and Senator-elect Kent »

Copying the topics from LibertarianRepublican

Social Policy:
Abortion: Pro-life except when the mother's life is in danger. Abortion should be illegal in all cases except when the mother's life is in danger.
Same Sex Marriage: Legalize it. It's already done now, though.
Drugs: I personally oppose all drugs. That being said, we should let the states decide whether to legalize marijuana or not. But only marijuana. Everything else that's already illegal should stay that way.
Stem Cell Research: Oppose embryonic stem cell research, but we should be funding more research on adult stem cells.
Death Penalty: Abolish it.
Gun control: Criminals already won't obey the law. Gun control won't work, and the right to bear arms is protected by the Constitution.
Affirmative Action: Eliminate it. "Race" isn't a real thing, and continuing to pretend that it is only perpetuates racism and benefits the unqualified.
Prostitution: Personally oppose, but legalize and regulate it.
Euthanasia: Ban in all cases.

Economic Issues:
Minimum Wage: Let each state set its own minimum wage. Overall support a slight increase, along with a decrease in taxes.
Welfare: Limit welfare to food stamps and shelter for children, the elderly, the permanently disabled
Right-to-Work: Completely supportive. While I do (in theory) support unions, all men should have the right to refuse to join one if they want to work.
Taxation: Since lower-income people already spend a higher percentage of their income on basic necessities, I do support a slightly progressive tax. That being said, the tax code needs to be reformed to be much simpler, and taxes need to be lower.
Healthcare: Health insurance providers should be allowed to compete across state lines. States should allow low-income families to receive for tax credits if they can't afford insurance on their own, and subsidies if they still can't. Pay for all medical expenses for veterans.
Social Security: Phase it out into privately owned retirement accounts. Social Security should eventually be privatized.
Trade: Free trade, especially with our neighbors (Canada and Mexico) and highly developed allies (EU/NATO, Japan, South Korea, Australia/New Zealand). We should be working towards a Pan-American Free Trade Area, a Trans-Pacific Free Trade Area, and a Trans-Atlantic Free Trade Area.                  
Education: Increase funding, but abolish Common Core and get rid of most standardized testing. Offer completely free education in public universities to veterans, and offer low/no-interest student loans to students from low-income families.
Balanced Budget Amendment: In favor, but need to allow some exceptions in case of emergencies. This can and will be abused by liberal governments, but we cannot limit ourselves.


Foreign Policy and National Security
Afghanistan: Should train the Afghan military to protect their country from the Taliban. Support.
Iraq: Should have intervened in 2002 or so. Should've trained the Iraqi military to defend their country better and left a token force to prevent the new government from depriving the Sunni minority of their rights.
Iran: Improve relations and gradually open up, but keep them from getting a nuke. Encourage/pressure them to democratize.
Syria: Should have backed the moderate rebels when they were still around. Should be involved fighting ISIS via airstrikes and indirect support for Middle Eastern countries.
Cuba: Gradually open up. The best way to defeat Castro is with a Wal-Mart and McDonald's in Havana.
Military Spending: Maintain but find ways to become more efficient
PATRIOT Act: Replace it with the FREEDOM Act.
NSA Spying: Get rid of spying on American citizens and our allies, but continue to spy on neutral and hostile nations.
Palestine: Do not recognize Palestine, but pressure Israel to grant them equal rights and end settlements.
Israel: Continue to be allied, but pressure them to grant equal rights to the Palestinians and end settlements.
Immigration: Grant amnesty to all immigrants already here and make it much easier for immigrants to come here.
Guantanamo Bay: Maintain but shut down the detainment center.

Environment
Climate Change: Not a big deal. Probably happening, but not entirely due to humans.
Green Energy: Increase funding for research.
Keystone XL Pipeline: Oppose, but not for environmental reasons. The Keystone XL Pipeline would cut through what is currently private property, and the government should not have the right to take that without the owners' permission.

Electoral Reform
Electoral College: Abolish in favor of an instant runoff voting system based on the popular vote.
Gerrymandering: Ban it and require that non-partisan organizations redraw the Congressional districts.
Term limits: Yes. Two four-year terms for President, six two-year terms for House members, three six-year terms for Senators, one ten-year term for Supreme Court justices.
Voter ID: Yes, but provide IDs upon registering to vote.
Compulsory Voting: No.
Voter Registration: Automatically register all citizens when they turn 18 and provide a free voter ID.
Statehood: Make Puerto Rico a state and give DC one voting representative in the House, but no Senators.

Also,

Space: Increase funding for NASA and merge it into the DoD. Get a manned mission back to the Moon by 2025 and a manned mission to Mars by 2040.
Size of Congess: Expand the size of the House to 537 (543 with Puerto Rico) using the Wyoming Rule.
Voting Systems: Abolish our FPTP system and replace it with an instant-runoff voting system.
Net Neutrality: Oppose. Government has no business telling internet providers what they can or can't do.
Requirements for the Presidency: Eliminate the "natural-born" requirement for becoming President. Allow anyone who has been a US citizen for at least ten years, is at least 35 years old, and has lived here for 14 years to become President.

Overall:

Libertarian-leaning moderate conservative and neocon
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Free Bird
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« Reply #1123 on: July 07, 2015, 09:01:43 PM »

Someone make sure darthebearnc never gets into office. Mandatory euthanasia defines Orwellian. Yeah, screw that Second Amendment!
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JohnRM
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« Reply #1124 on: July 07, 2015, 11:25:12 PM »

Ideology
Social: Conservative
Economic: Free market capitalist
Foreign: Staunch nationalist
Gov't Style: Republican


Social Policy
Abortion: Pro-Life: I do not oppose contraception or day-after pills.
Same Sex Marriage: Indifferent. I opposed the Supreme Court decision for the sole reason that it took the decision out the hands of the states.
Drugs / Narcotics: Illegal. I would also increase restrictions on pharmaceuticals. Americans are over-medicated. Severe cases need to be locked up, as they were in the past.
Death Penalty: Permitted. I would apply stricter guidelines, increase the burden of proof, and streamline the process to decrease the time between conviction to execution. The penalty would also be expanded to apply to violent sexual criminals and child predators.
Gun Control: Status Quo. I am willing to entertain requiring a license to purchase firearms with a reasonable process including background checks and training, but I have not heard any good proposals, yet.
Affirmative Action: Prohibited. Individuals should be evaluated based on merit alone. Private industry and non-profits may operate as they wish.
Prostitution: Illegal. Clients ought to receive much harsher penalties than prostitutes.
Right to Die: Legal. The government should have no say in the matter, regardless of the circumstances.
Public Education: State matter. The federal government should have no part in public education.
PATRIOT Act: Supportive. Despite what most people think. The worst provisions have expired.
NSA Spying: Opposed. The NSA doesn't need quite as much power as they claim.
Immigration: Reformed. Streamline the process so that people don't need to come illegally. Immigrants are human beings deserving of the blessings of liberty. It's either that or we extend substantial foreign aid to Mexico, et al. in order to make life better for them there. Anyone?



Economic Policy
Minimum Wage: Status Quo. No one deserves a living wage simply because they work full-time. Some jobs are not meant to give someone a living. Emptying trash isn't worth paying $15/hr.
Welfare/Social Security: Reduce it. Children, the disabled, and the elderly should have access to assistance. There need to be reasonable cuts and increased age-limits for retirement.
Right-to-Work: Oppose it. I personally dislike unions, but companies ought to have the right to make deals with unions as they see fit.
Taxation: Reduce it. The size of the federal government needs to be reduced.
Obamacare: Reform it.. I can't honestly say that I know enough about the issue of healthcare, the law itself, or the effect that the ACA is having to make an informed judgement. I am not opposed to the style of the law in principle. The most important thing to me is that employees are no longer held hostage by their employers for their health insurance.
Trade: Free Trade. Though, I would support the establishment of a preferential trading system among western nations and particularly the Anglosphere and Commonwealth.
Federal Student Loans: Reform it. Introduce a system to provide increasingly better assistance based on merit/performance. Require a minimum GPA of 3.0 in order to receive additional federal loans. Students with a GPA of 3.75 or higher should have substantial loan amounts forgiven upon graduation, starting at 25 percent and increasing one percent per hundredth.
Climate Change: Address it. I believe that climate change is occurring and that it is the result of human activity. We need to address the issue before it addresses us.
Alternative Energy Subsidies: Supportive. Wind, solar, and other alternatives with merit ought to be subsidized to a reasonable degree by the government, both in research and development and manufacturing.
Keystone XL Pipeline: Indifferent. Leave it to the states and localities in which it is to be laid.



Foreign Policy
Afghanistan: Supportive. The country should be garrisoned indefinitely with enough troops and capability to prevent the return of terrorist training camps and interdict cross-border activity.
Iraq: Opposed. There was absolutely no reason to invade Iraq. Nothing that was accomplished was worth the blood and treasure.
Iran: Containment. Exhaustive diplomacy should be undertaken to come to an agreement, but I would support all military measures necessary if diplomacy should fail.
ISIS/Syria: Containment. Continue to support opposition with arms, airstrikes, and other services. If ISIS threatens to spread into Saudi Arabia or elsewhere, more aggressive measures may be necessary.
Cuba: Normalize relations. If we're willing to do business with countries like China, Saudi Arabia, and elsewhere, why not Cuba? They're not special.
Military Spending: Status Quo. Cancel the F-35. Purchase additional F-18s, an additional tranche of F-16s and F-15s, and...I don't know what the Marines will do. The F-35 sucks.
Israel/Palestine: Pro-Israel. Try living in a virtual foxhole your entire life. Then you can talk to me about it (the conflict).
Terror War Detainees: Indifferent. You either have to give them constitutional rights like all criminals or you have to treat them like POWs. Make up your/my mind. I don't care which, but I'm sick of dealing with this issue.



Constitutional/Government Reform
Presidential Elections: Abolish it. Have the president chosen by the states and confirmed by the Senate, or something similar.
Senatorial Elections: Abolish it. Return the power of appointment to the state legislatures.
Gerrymandering: Abolish it. Establish independent bodies to draw congressional districts.
Term limits: Reform it. Increase the presidential term to six years and prohibit a second term. Limit Senatorial service to two terms. Establish a federal office service limit of 1 years. Individuals become ineligible to run for federal office after their 15th year of service.
Voter ID Laws: Unnecessary. Little or no voter fraud actually takes place.
Compulsory Voting: Unnecessary. The fewer people who vote, the more valuable my vote is.
DC Statehood: Supportive, with a caveat. The District of Columbia has to be somehow merged into the State of Maryland.
Puerto Rico Statehood: Opposed. Puerto Rico should remain a territory for now.

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