Summary of political beliefs (user search)
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  Summary of political beliefs (search mode)
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Author Topic: Summary of political beliefs  (Read 556508 times)
MalaspinaGold
Jr. Member
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Posts: 987


« on: August 07, 2013, 05:46:02 PM »
« edited: August 07, 2013, 07:30:45 PM by MalaspinaGold »

My political views:

Abortion:- No restrictions, up to 24 weeks. States can do what they want after 24 weeks, so long as abortion related to life/health of the mother and birth defects (maybe rape/incest) not infringed upon. Third trimester abortions make up less than 5% of abortions, so it's not really an important issue to me.

SSM- Same-sex couples get full rights received by straight couples. Repeal DOMA; not a federal issue. States can decide as they wish, though they have to recognize marriages made in other states, otherwise federal legalization. As you can see, I am ambivalent about this issue.

Drug War- Legalize marijuana, scale back drug war. It's not working, we should not be throwing money at it. Spend resulting surplus on anti-poverty programs.

Guns- I've moved to the right on this issue a bit. Federal background checks needed. Federal assault weapons ban not really called for, but local governments should have the right to impose an assault weapons ban, a handgun ban, and/or a ban on on large magazines, because they represent the most homogenous communities (i.e. these would probably not work as well in Montana, but in New York City, could help cut crime).

Done with boring social issues.

Taxes Taxes on top 2% revert to Clinton-era. Close some tax loopholes (i.e. helicopter/yacht tax breaks) while reforming others (child tax credit make applicable for only the first 3/4 children, and get rid of it for those making over $250,000). Corporate tax code should be raided of loopholes.

Social Security/Medicare- These will eventually have to be dealt with; but now is not the tie. Social security pays for itself, and as more boomers retire, we should eliminate the cap on the Social Security taxes.

Minimum Wage- Raise it, tie to inflation. Only common sense thing to do.

Corporate Subsidies- Eliminate many corporate subsidies, such as the oil subsidies.

Regulations Regulations are important, and get too much bad rap. Curtail some "red tape" but enact more regulations on financial institutions.

Energy
Coal: Coal is dying, no need to resuscitate it.
Natural Gas: Severely limit and regulate fracking; probably not politically sound to eliminate it.
Nuclear: Ambivalent about this: More study into feasibility of fusion reactors; fission should be looked at too, if only to cut greenhouse emissions.
Biofuels: Some good, some bad. Corn is essentially a waste of time and money;by contrast Germany has had success utilizing algae.
Green Energy: Establish subsidies to get this nascent industry off the ground. We used to have a near monopoly on this energy, but are in danger of being overtaken by the Chinese. Solyndra was an exception, not the rule.
Oil: As said before, eliminate oil subsidies, no drilling in natural reserves, parks, monuments, etc.
Cap and Trade: support

Health care- ACA should have gone farther, included public option.

Labor-Generally support unions, NLRB should be given more teeth. Unions are a critical counterweight to large corporations, and should be protected.

National Security-Right to privacy is important. The NSA should not have authority to collect the data it does, and in any case, it is inefficient. I am against the Patriot Act.

Foreign intervention-I am neutral on Syria, especially since the rebels if given power would probably be too weak to keep an Islamic state from rising. I support increasing humanitarian aid to developing countries; considering that less than 1% of our budget is spent in this area. Israel is our ally; we should make it clear that we insist upon a Palestinian state, and they should not feel entitled to a blank check.

Free trade- Generally do not support; by all means we should trade freely with countries that treat workers fairly and are democratic. However NAFTA was a mistake, as countless jobs have moved to maquiladoras along the Mexican border, resulting in worse conditions on both sides of the border.

So, what am I?
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MalaspinaGold
Jr. Member
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Posts: 987


« Reply #1 on: December 22, 2014, 11:57:04 PM »

Overall: Big-government liberal Republican.  Could pass for an Andrew Cuomo or Amy Klobuchar Democrat, maybe.   

Social Policy
Abortion: Supportive of Roe v. Wade, and generally pro-choice.  However, I am not opposed to certain “informed consent” laws and mandatory waiting periods.  Minors seeking abortion should have to gain parental consent.
Drugs: Continue the war on drugs with harsher penalties being applied to violators, including recreational users.  Enforce federal drug laws in States where marijuana has been legalized.
Censorship: The government has the responsibility to censor objectionable material from the air and radio waves.  The fact that satellite communications are exempt from FCC content regulation should be enough to appease the anti-censorship crowd.
Net Neutrality: Opposed; turning the Internet into a public good would decrease private investment into Internet infrastructure and thus make the internet less accessible to everyone. 
Gay marriage: The equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment makes statewide bans on gay marriage unconstitutional.  SCOTUS should strike-down all statewide bans, and the Congress should pass legislation in order to ensure LGBT equality in employment, healthcare, housing, education and other areas. 
Death penalty: Federal use of the death penalty is warranted in extreme circumstances; States can enact their own laws.  I personally do not oppose the death penalty on moral or religious grounds.
Prostitution: Local and municipal jurisdictions should be allowed to make their own laws to fit their communities as prostitution’s major effects are on property values and local health.  I would not support the legalization of prostitution in my community as a matter of moral decency and preserving property values.  Stronger enforcement of federal laws concerning human trafficking and child exploitation.   
Church & state: The state should stay out of religious affairs, and religious organizations and churches should be tax exempt with the exception of the monies they earn through commercial enterprises.  Forcing churches to forfeit their tax exempt status for making political stances is tantamount to “taxing” the First Amendment.  Individuals should be allowed to lobby and petition the state on behalf of the Church like any other citizen would be able to do for any other organization. 
Affirmative action: Implement a quota system in federal hiring in order to ensure representation of minorities, women and LGBT Americans. 
Hate crime laws: Crimes of corresponding severity should be treated similarly regardless of apparent motive.  No additional punishment should be levied for crimes perpetuated out of “hate.” 
Immigration: Comprehensive immigration reform including blanket amnesty for all non-criminal illegals.  Strengthen border security.  Maintain birthright citizenship.  Stronger enforcement of existing federal laws.   
Stem cell research: Support federal funding of stem cell research. 
PATRIOT Act: Support the reauthorization and expansion of the PATRIOT Act in order to give the federal government more power to combat terrorism.   
Gun Control: Status-quo.  Increase data sharing between state and federal agencies as a way to strengthen the effectiveness of federal background checks. 
Assisted suicide: Ambivalent.  However, living wills are generally a bad idea and end-of-life decisions are best left to family members.   
Gambling: Decisions should be left to local and municipal jurisdictions.  I would not support legal gambling in my community.  Heavily tax earnings gained through gambling and lotto.
Organ donation: Status quo.  Opposed to universal or “opt-out” organ donation; follow wishes of next-of-kin in ambiguous cases.  Invest in non-market mechanisms (i.e., public service announcements) to increase organ donation. 

Electoral Reform:
Term limits: No term limits for Congress or judges, but keep the 22nd Amendment.  Keep the seniority system in place in Congress.  Opposed to term limits for Mississippi legislators or other statewide officials.   
Statehood: Refer to popular referendums on statehood questions.  Allow for a referendum in Washington, D.C. 
Voting age: Keep as is, but allow people who will turn 18 before Election Day to vote in primary elections. 
Campaign Finance Reform: Status quo.  Political donations are free speech. 
Voting system: Keep as is.  Allow States to experiment with proportional representation and multi-seat districts. 
Gerrymandering:  Status-quo.  Opposed to “independent” redistricting committees.   
Voter ID: Pass a national voter ID law requiring valid photo ID in order to cast a ballot for federal office.
Primaries, Statewide: Opposed to partisan voter registration in Mississippi; support the current open primary system.  Consider implementation of a Louisiana-style “jungle primary.”  Allow all eligible Mississippi voters to vote in runoff elections, regardless of their previous participation in other parties’ primaries.
Primaries, National:  The national parties should push for presidential primary reform where large, rotating batches of states are allowed to vote at once as a way to decrease the power that certain states (i.e., Iowa, New Hampshire) have on the presidential primary process.

Economic Issues:
Welfare: Block-grant Medicaid and send back to the States with federally-enforced support and eligibility standards.  Opposed to drug-testing for welfare eligibility.   
Unions: Implement a national right-to-work law in order to diminish the influence of organized labor. 
Education:  Complete federalization of K-12.  All public school teachers and school administrators become federal employees and all local/state financing of public education is removed.  Ban on charter schools and vouchers, and consider bans on private education if found to be Constitutional.  Fully implement Common Core.  Establish national benchmark standards for K-12 and require students to pass standardized tests in order to advance into the next grade.  By removing State funding for K-12, States should be able to put more resources into Higher Ed.     
Privatization: Generally opposed.  Maintain current government assets associated with TVA and DRA.
Environment: Implement cap-and-trade legislation with exemptions for non-major polluters.  Increase EPA funding.   
Minimum wage: Oppose further increases in the federal minimum wage.  Expand the EITC. 
Taxation: Keep the current progressive system for income taxation.  Experiment with shifting the tax burden back to the upper classes through consumption-based taxation (i.e., luxury goods taxes, real estate taxes).  Implement an income tax “surcharge” on incomes over a certain level, say $3 million.  Raise and lock the Social Security tax cap to cover 90 percent of all workers.  Reform and lower corporate taxes as a way to discourage outsourcing.   
Healthcare: Repeal Obamacare.  Implement malpractice reform and allow insurers  to compete across state lines in order to decrease premiums.   
Trade: Support free trade as way to bring down prices for consumers.  Trade to correct American trade deficit by encouraging American producers to export, especially in the agriculture sector. 
Embargo: Use embargoes and sanctions as way to exert diplomatic pressure.   
Pork: Overwhelmingly supportive.  Use “pork-barrel” projects as ways to promote local economic development.   
Subsidies: Increase agricultural subsidies; generously subsidize struggling industries. 
Military: Maintain current military funding levels, but shift more money into R&D and away from traditional ground forces.  Make more use of military contractors as a way to allow for funds to go further.   

Foreign Policy

War: Maintain a constant state of military readiness, and be willing to go to war whenever and wherever American interests are at stake.  Do not be afraid to go to war unilaterally.  Use reputation as a military juggernaut as a way to exert diplomatic pressure. 
Israel-Palestine: Generally supportive of a two-state solution, but it most likely will have to occur on Israeli terms in order to be successful.  Increase support for Israel as it is the only secular democracy in the Middle East.  Call for an end to new settlements, but maintain that those living in settlements have a solely civilian status. 
Draft:  Status-quo.
UN: Use status as the UN’s largest financial contributor to encourage the organization into changing its role in a new, global environment.  Shift focus away from security issues and to humanitarian issues.  Use the UN as a global forum in which member nations may organize international relief efforts and financial aid.  Work through other international organizations (namely NATO) to deal with threats to international security.   
Nukes: Maintain American nuclear arsenal.  Expand the “nuclear club” to more U.S. allies such as Canada, Australia and Germany. 
Foreign Aid: Increase levels of foreign aid as a way to increase American presence and influence in the developing world.   

Um they just passed legislation to say that they're a Jewish state, so secular my ass.
No, they tried to and as a result the government fell.
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