Summary of political beliefs

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

PHILOSOPHY ON GOVERNMENT:
Government has a role in society to be as small as possible, but also helpful to the people it represents.  It is not the role of government to legislate on personal and moral issues, such as marriage, drugs, and abortion, and government should never monitor its citizens for security reasons.  Ultimately, the citizens themselves should be the biggest factor in the growth and prosperity of a country.  However, government should also work as a tool for people in need, and never turn away from those who need a hand-up, not just a hand-out.

I describe myself as a "New Democrat".

ECONOMY:

• Supports fair, but free trade
• Supports fair regulations on large corporations
• Supports new negotiations on trade policies with China and Mexico
• Supports democratic-capitalism
• Supports a single-payer health care system or public option
• Supports auditing the Fed and making the chairmanship an electable position
• Supports fighting plutocracy
• Supports the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act
• Supports budget cuts to ineffective government projects
• Opposes cuts to Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and education

TAXES:

• Supports tax cuts for small businesses and families making under $250,000 a year
• Supports cutting the Payroll Tax
• Supports abolishing the Estate Tax for middle-class families
• Supports cutting the Corporate Tax, so that the US can continue to be competitive in a global economy
• Supports ending loopholes
• Supports progressive taxation
• Supports raising the Capital Gains Tax
• Supports a tax on marijuana
• Opposes the Bush tax cuts
• Opposes the Flat Tax

FOREIGN:

• Supports complete withdrawal from Afghanistan
• Supports complete withdrawal from Iraq
• Supports diplomatic approaches to preventing Iran from creating nuclear weapons
• Supports closing military bases in countries where they are not needed, such as Germany
• Supports cutting military funding at least by half
• Opposes foreign aid to China
• Opposes nation building

SOCIAL:

• 100% Pro-choice; supports Roe v. Wade, and want it to be made federal law
• Supports gay marriage in all states and territories
• Supports marijuana legalization
• Supports the Equal Rights Amendment
• Opposes TSA scans
• Opposes the PATRIOT ACT
• Supports affirmative action to an extent; Opposes quotas

GUNS:

• Supports the Brady Law
• Supports background checks
• Supports concealed guns
• Leans against bans on semi-automatic weapons
• Opposes the presence of guns in schools, college campuses, and bars

CRIME:

• Supports the Three Strikes Law
• Supports more police on the streets in high crime areas
• Opposes the death penalty

ENVIRONMENT:

• Supports hands-on solutions to combating greenhouse gasses
• Supports transitioning the country and the economy to more environmentally friendly fuel sources
• Opposes Cap-and-Trade (ineffective, indirect, unable to solve the problem while banks benefit more than the environment)

CHURCH AND STATE:

• Supports a constitutional amendment allowing non-led prayer in public schools
• Opposes laws that pertain to religion
• Opposes removing "In God We Trust" from money
• Opposes removing God from the Pledge
• Opposes The Ten Commandments being posted on walls of courthouses

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

I'm new here and thought this would be as good a place to introduce myself as any.

Overall Philosophy: Democratic-socialist, social-anarchist.

Social:

Abortion: Solidly believe in a women's right to choose, strongly oppose any attempt to infringe on this basic right.

Gay Rights: Strongly oppose DADT, strongly support letting same-sex couples adopt, strongly support legalizing same-sex marriage, strongly oppose DOMA, believe same-sex marriage should be legalized at the federal level (having the validity of your marriage vary by state is ridiculous).

Sex: Believe in legalizing and regulating prostitution, comprehensive sex education and proper information regarding safe sex, strongly oppose Sebelius's attempt to stop the sale of the morning after pill to those under 18, believe in legalizing incest as practiced among consensual adults.

Death Penalty/Prison Reform/War on Drugs: Strongly oppose the Death Penalty and mandatory minimum sentences, support drastic overhaul focusing on rehabilitation, legalize Marijuana, end the war on drugs, drastically reduce sentences for possessing illicit substances of all variety, refocus on rehabilitation of junkies.

Immigration Reform: Support full amnesty for all so-called illegal immigrants and passage of the DREAM Act. The rise of the standard of living in Mexico has lead to a natural tapering off of illegal immigration, the issue is primarily manipulated by white supremacists.

Second Amendment: I support the right to carry small arms for self-defense, favor concealed-carry, however I also support the ban on assault weapons and favor criminalizing hunting (it's barbaric).

Economic:

Education: Trash No Child Left Behind, fire Arne Duncan, pro-project based learning, for legalizing home-schooling and removing government interference, completely overhaul school system, kill voucher programs, kill the standardized test.

Health Care Reform: I favor a government run single payer system.

Trade: I tend to favor protectionist trade policy, I oppose NAFTA the TTP and all similar deals and  believe we should follow the example of the high tariffs that led Japan to it's post-WWII economic boom.

Tax: I believe we should raise the corporate tax rate by 10%, institute a financial transactions tax, create a new tax bracket for those making upward of $500,000 a year that is 10% higher than the current top tax rate, and make social security solvent by ending the social security payroll tax cap on those making over $250,000 a year and end the bush tax cuts.

Labor Unions: I support the Employee Free Choice Act and "corporations are not people" constitutional amendment (although not necessarily in the language put forth by Mr. Sanders), also strongly oppose "Right to Work" laws.

Minimum Wage: Replace with living wage.

Energy Independence/Environmental: Support increases in funding for Wind and Solar, further increasing the fuel standards for new vehicles, eliminating taxpayer subsidies of fossil fuels, and implementing a steep "carbon tax", support increasing funding for national parks and expanding hiking trails within parks.

Infrastructure/Transportation: Support building 5,000 km of 200+ km/h high-speed rail over the next 30 years.

Government Regulation: Reinstate Glass-Steagal, repeal the Depository Institutions Deregulation and Monetary Control Act of 1980, repeal the Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999 (Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act).

Foreign Policy:

Support ending war in Afghanistan, closing all military bases world wide, bringing all troops home, slashing the Pentagon's budget in half, kill the unnecessary Dept. of Homeland Security, repeal the PATRIOT Act and make continued foreign aid to Israel dependent on return to 1967 borders.

Election Reform:

Term Limits: As has been demonstrated by California term limits lead to corrupt, lobbyist-written legislation and are inherently unconstitutional. Strongly Oppose.

I agree with you on most of these things.  Except, if we criminalize hunting, then how will we get our meat?

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

New here, so figure this is as good a place to start as any...

Socially: Libertarian, pro-choice, pro-drug legalization, anti-censorship, pro-gay marriage, anti-death penalty, pro-prostitution legalization, pro-wall of separation of church and state, anti-affirmative action racially (though not economically), anti-hate crime (a crime is a crime), pro-more legal immigration, anti-illegal immigration, pro-stem cell research, anti-PATRIOT Act, anti-religious currencies, anti-gun control, pro-legal physician-assisted suicide, pro-legal gambling, anti-term limits, anti-public school prayer, pro-ACLU, pro-lower voting age, pro-campaign finance reform, pro-proportional representation, pro-DC statehood, anti-gerrymandering, pro-voter ID (don't really see how showing your driver's license disenfranchises anyone),

Economically: Moderate, anti-welfare, pro-union, pro-environment, pro-privatization (though not education), anti-subsidies, anti-voucher, pro-fair tax, anti-deficit, pro-tax cuts (but equally, not just the wealthy), anti-pork, anti-embargo, pro-free trade, anti-healthcare mandate, pro-minimum wage increase, anti-ANWR drilling, anti-Keystone, anti-drilling, pro-NASA,

Foreign Policy: Non-interventionist, no wars except in self-defense, bring the troops home, pro-three state solution in Palestine, anti-draft, anti-military spending, pro-UN membership, pro-reduction (not elimination) of US nuclear arsenal,

Generally reasonable positions.  Welcome to the forum.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Generally reasonable positions.

I'd take nothing else to be a higher insult

Whether it's insulting really depends on whether it means you have generally reasonable positions, or that you have enough agreeable positions and enough disagreeable ones that it averages out to reasonable.

It wasn't meant to be insulting.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

social conservatism. anti abortion, anti-gay marriage (any state marriage really but the whole concept personally annoys me), anti-gun control, anti-immigration, anti-cultural marxism and 'individualism' in general. the 1960s murdered this country.

third position economics. smash the fed and international financial parasites, credit unions are better. end 'free trade.' replace income tax with some sort of national sales tax (this doesn't have to be regressive). some deregulation and spending cuts would actually make sense but i'm very much in favor of nationalizing large portions of healthcare and oil, coal and natural gas. also i really don't like environmentalism, we need more nuclear power and i want to avoid any 'green' tax hikes or subsidization schemes to fight alleged global warming. we need more industry in general in this country.

isolationism. bring our troops home and put them at the border. we don't need to spend 6 x more than china as a country and police a bunch of countries for no reason. also we get nothing out of our 'friendship' with israel, they are a burden on the tax payers and war criminals. i consider the neocons to be israeli firsters and un-american, more so than a lot of left wingers.

against universal suffrage. there need to at least be safeguards like voter testing to screen out the incompetent and lazy. as it is democracy is a highly flawed concept even taking that into account. i don't have a very high opinion of liberal values in general, not everyone is created equal. sorry.

oh and last but not least end the stupid wars on concepts that don't do anything positive for the country like the war on drugs. the whole fake rambo mentality is pretty nauseating coming from ex-coke heads like bush and obama.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

social conservatism. anti abortion, anti-gay marriage (any state marriage really but the whole concept personally annoys me), anti-gun control, anti-immigration, anti-cultural marxism and 'individualism' in general. the 1960s murdered this country.

third position economics. smash the fed and international financial parasites, credit unions are better. end 'free trade.' replace income tax with some sort of national sales tax (this doesn't have to be regressive). some deregulation and spending cuts would actually make sense but i'm very much in favor of nationalizing large portions of healthcare and oil, coal and natural gas. also i really don't like environmentalism, we need more nuclear power and i want to avoid any 'green' tax hikes or subsidization schemes to fight alleged global warming. we need more industry in general in this country.

isolationism. bring our troops home and put them at the border. we don't need to spend 6 x more than china as a country and police a bunch of countries for no reason. also we get nothing out of our 'friendship' with israel, they are a burden on the tax payers and war criminals. i consider the neocons to be israeli firsters and un-american, more so than a lot of left wingers.

against universal suffrage. there need to at least be safeguards like voter testing to screen out the incompetent and lazy. as it is democracy is a highly flawed concept even taking that into account. i don't have a very high opinion of liberal values in general, not everyone is created equal. sorry.

oh and last but not least end the stupid wars on concepts that don't do anything positive for the country like the war on drugs. the whole fake rambo mentality is pretty nauseating coming from ex-coke heads like bush and obama.

Most Republicans would balk at nationalization.

 or , perhaps, then.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

?

'Fascist-Massachusetts', I presume.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

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Yeah, these three are in need of serious revision/clarification.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

I feel like I'm probably going to be updating this again some time, but here we go-

Social Issues

Abortion/Women's Health

• Keep abortion legal nationwide, without restrictions; pass Freedom Of Choice Act
• Expand access to contraception
• Allocate public funds towards Stem Cell Research
• Promote 'safe sex' education programs

LGBT Issues

• Repeal DOMA, pass Respect For Marriage Act
• Legalize same-sex marriage in every state, including adoption rights

(no preference for whether this should be done through ballot referendums, state legislatures, or courts)

• Include sexual orientation in hate crime laws

Drugs

• End the ‘Drug War’ and withdraw funds; cease distribution of funds to fight drugs in other countries
• Legalize, regulate, and tax the sale of marijuana
• Legalize most drugs, with the exception of methamphetamine or any drugs that cause direct harm to bystanders

Prostitution

• Legalize and tax prostitution
• Require routine medical tests and strictly enforce health standards

Guns/Crime

• Support conceal-carry and 'castle doctrine' laws
• Support the Brady background checks
• Oppose handgun bans
• Neutral on assault weapon bans
• Oppose the death penalty

Education

• Support public schools, but not misguided spending; reform the system from within
• Adopt a Finland-based system and repeal 'No Child Left Behind'
• Reward public schools that succeed, and redesign failing ones

Immigration

• Enforce immigration laws; use defense funds to increase Border Patrol, deploy sensors, and build fences
• Prosecute businesses that hire illegal immigrants
• Provide residency for illegal individuals who demonstrate ‘good moral character’ by pursuing higher education or serving for at least two years in the US military
• Oppose English-only legislation; strengthen bilingual education, instead
• Do not prosecute children of illegal immigrants
• Oppose ‘Arizona-style’ immigration proposals

Euthanasia

• Allow euthanasia at the consent of individual doctors and their patients

Church and State

• Allow voluntary school prayer, but no official teacher-led prayer; allow students to start religious groups
• Keep the words ‘under God’ in the Pledge of Allegiance
• Do not let religious dogma influence policy decisions

Economic Issues

Affirmative Action

• Shift the emphasis on AA strategies from racial preferences to economic empowerment of all disadvantaged citizens; oppose quotas
• Support equal pay legislation

Free Trade

• Generally support free trade; oppose both global laissez faire and protectionist policies
• Give other countries access to the US market if they apply labor and environmental standards to factories
• Build a rule-based global trading system

Health Care

• Keep the Affordable Care Act in place for the time being, but transition to a public option or single-payer system
• Cover American citizens from the time of birth

Welfare

• Support ‘work-for-welfare’ legislation, such as the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act
• Drug-testing for welfare recipients has not worked in practice or saved money for welfare programs, but I’m in favor of letting states mandate drug-testing if it’s proven to be a cost-saving measure

Minimum Wage

• Support the minimum wage, but exempt small businesses that would not be able to afford it

Taxes

• Roll back the Bush tax cuts for top earners, but keep them in place for Americans making below $250,000.  Revert back to Clinton-era tax levels when the economy stabilizes
• Remove tax loopholes
• Reduce the Corporate Tax

Regulations

• Re-evaluate government regulations; some are necessary, but others have the tendency to benefit large corporations at the expense of small businesses

Spending Cuts

• Make deficit reduction a priority, but not one that outweighs the importance of economic recovery
• Oppose across-the-board spending cuts until the economy stabilizes
• Evaluate and slash spending that goes  to wasteful or unnecessary projects

Energy

• Continue oil drilling, but incentivize the private sector to generate energy from cleaner sources
• Launch an initiative for the federal and state governments to transition energy sources in public buildings (new heating and air conditioning systems, new lighting, etc.)
  
• Keep tax credits for the production and sale of hybrids and environmentally friendly vehicles
• End government subsidies and tax cuts to oil businesses
• Lean against Cap and Trade legislation

Social Security

• Protect SS funds from being allocated toward unrelated expenditures (lock box)
• Raise the Payroll Tax after the economy stabilizes
• Oppose proposals to raise the retirement age or privatize Social Security

Unions

• Balance labor demands with business concerns
• Negotiate with public unions for pension cuts when necessary, but keep collective bargaining in place

Foreign Policy/Defense

PATRIOT ACT

• Strongly oppose; repeal the law in its entirety and protect Constitutional liberties

Afghanistan & Iraq

• Withdraw all military presence from Afghanistan and Iraq

Israel/Palestine

• Support a two-state solution; craft a foreign policy that pertains to the needs of both Israelites and Palestinians
• Keep both entities accountable for upholding promises

Iran

• Use embargoes and isolationist techniques against Iran, but commit no military action unless there is clear evidence that a nuclear arms program is being developed

Syria

• Oppose US intervention in Syria.

Military Spending

• Withdraw troops from Korea, China, Japan, Europe, and elsewhere
• Reduce overall spending on defense; reallocate some funds toward border protection

Electoral Issues/Government

Voter Regulations/ID Cards

• Support distribution of voter ID cards, but not at the expense of the individual
• Oppose any reform laws that might disenfranchise voter participation
• Allow early voting and count absentee votes

Electoral College

• Abolish the electoral college; let new presidents be selected via popular vote.

Washington D.C.

• Let the citizens decide if they want to remain a district or become a part of Virginia/Maryland, but only at the consent of the state that would incorporate the district.

Puerto Rico

• Let the citizens decide on statehood.

Senate

• Eliminate use of the filibuster
• Reduce Senate terms to four years instead of six

[/list]

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Guns: The 2nd Amendment clearly states that every citizen has a right to own a gun, and no state should be able to do away with that. However, if I did support gun control, I would want the state to ban the sale of guns, which is the only constitutional way to do so.

I'm confused.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

This is a pretty significant thread...maybe it should be stickied?

i agree with this.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

used to support support sending criminals to alaska or siberia

That's um, interesting.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Abortion:Should be illegal all cases period. Even if the woman is raped or in the life of the mother. 100% banded..

lol wtf

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

I'm going to post my PM responses, as well.

1. The right to individual autonomy is important, even if it threatens collective security. (Usually agree)
2. The government should penalize organizations that practice outsourcing. (Usually disagree)
3. Giving faith-based charities the same government resources as secular organizations is a good idea. (Usually agree)
4. We should increase foreign aid to countries struggling with poverty. (Neutral)
5. We should increase funding for education. (Neutral)

6. Heterosexual couples should receive higher marital recognition than same-sex couples. (Disagree)*
7. Overall, free trade hurts more than it helps. (Usually disagree)
8. We should reduce the number of government programs substantially. (Neutral)
9. Abortion should be illegal or very heavily restricted. (Disagree)*
10. The government should fund museums, theaters, and other cultural institutions that are unable to survive independently. (Neutral)

11. The government should subsidize health insurance for those who cannot easily afford it. (Agree)*
12. The government should work to reduce children's exposure to offensive radio and television content. (Usually disagree)
13. It is unfair that wealthier people pay higher tax rates. (Disagree)*
14. The minimum wage should be raised. (Agree)
15. Marijuana should be legalized. (Agree)

16. Society focuses too much on forcing equality at the expense of real merit. (Usually disagree)
17. Violating individual rights is acceptable when it comes to fighting terrorism. (Disagree)
18. Current levels of government regulation on industry are excessive. (Usually disagree)
19. The government should provide basic needs for all people. (Neutral)
20. The death penalty should be an option for serious crimes. (Disagree)
21. We should reduce the difficulty of immigration. (Usually agree)

22. Union workers should be protected against being fired during strikes. (Usually disagree)
23. Prostitution should be legalized. (Usually agree)
24. Flag burning should be banned. (Usually disagree)
25. I support affirmative action. (Usually agree)
26. The government should impose tariffs to protect industries from foreign competition. (Usually disagree)
27. Physician-assisted suicide should be legal if the patient is capable of informed, rational consent. (Usually agree)

*=Critical Issue

Economic score: -1.68
Social score: -5.39

Absolutely no change.  Wow.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

It's been about a year since I wrote one of these, and since certain US policies have changed, I thought it would be appropriate to revise some planks.

Social Issues

Abortion/Women's HealthLeft

• Keep abortion legal nationwide; neutral on late-term abortion
• Expand access to contraception, cover with public funds
• Allocate public funds toward Stem Cell Research
• Promote 'safe sex' education programs

LGBT Issues: Left

• Support the Supreme Court's recent ruling on DOMA
• Legalize same-sex marriage in every state, including adoption rights

(no preference for whether this should be done through ballot referendums, state legislatures, or courts)

• Include sexual orientation in hate crime laws

Drugs: Center-Left

• End the ‘Drug War’ nationally and internationally; direct money and efforts to causes that seek to prevent the use of hard drugs; decriminalize all drugs, prosecute dealers
• Legalize, regulate, and tax the sale of marijuana; oppose the legalization of other hard drugs

Prostitution: Center-Left

• Legalize and tax prostitution
• Require routine medical tests and strictly enforce health standards

Guns/Crime: Center

• Support conceal-carry and 'castle doctrine' laws
• Support enacting Manchin-Toomey style background checks
• Oppose handgun bans
• Neutral/lean oppose assault weapons bans
• Oppose the death penalty
• Encourage states and local communities to address crime and prevent police brutality

Education: Left

• Support public schools, but not misguided spending; reform the system from within
• Adopt a Finland-based system and repeal 'No Child Left Behind'
• Reward public schools that succeed, and redesign failing ones
• Grant waivers to states for all federally-required standardized tests, reduce standardized tests to one per student during his or her junior/senior year
• Guarantee teachers the right to unionize, but maintain a healthy balance between unions and governments
• Give teachers the right to choose their own books and design their own assignments/tests, provided that they meet a certain criteria

Immigration: Center/Center-Right

• Enforce immigration laws; use defense funds to increase Border Patrol, deploy sensors, and build fences
• Prosecute businesses that hire illegal immigrants
• Provide residency for illegal individuals who demonstrate ‘good moral character’ by pursuing higher education or serving for at least two years in the US military
• Oppose English-only legislation; strengthen bilingual education, instead
• Oppose prosecuting children of illegal immigrants
• Oppose mass deportation
• Oppose ‘Arizona-style’ immigration proposals

Euthanasia: Left

• Allow euthanasia at the consent of individual doctors and their patients

Church and State: Center

• Allow voluntary school prayer, but no official teacher-led prayer; allow students to form religious groups in public schools
• Keep the words ‘under God’ in the Pledge of Allegiance
• Support separation of church and state, but oppose keeping the church out of the public square

Economic Issues

Affirmative Action: Center

• Shift the emphasis on AA strategies from racial preferences to economic empowerment of all disadvantaged citizens; oppose quotas
• Support equal pay legislation

Free Trade: Center

• Generally support free trade; oppose both global laissez faire and protectionist policies
• Give other countries access to the US market if they apply labor and environmental standards to factories
• Build a rule-based global trading system

Health Care: Left

• Keep the Affordable Care Act in place for the time being, but transition to a public option or single-payer system
• Cover American citizens from the time of birth

Welfare: Center

• Support ‘work-for-welfare’ legislation, such as the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act
• Drug-testing for welfare recipients has not worked in practice or saved money for welfare programs, but I am in favor of letting states mandate drug-testing if it’s proven to be a cost-saving measure.  Unfortunately, the practicality of such policies is yet to be shown.

Minimum Wage: Center-Left

• Support the minimum wage, but exempt small businesses that would not be able to afford it

Taxes: Center

• Roll back the Bush tax cuts for top earners, but keep them in place for Americans making below $250,000.  Revert back to Clinton-era tax levels when the economy stabilizes
• Remove tax loopholes
• Reduce the Corporate Tax

Regulations: Center

• Re-evaluate government regulations; some are necessary, but others have the tendency to benefit large corporations at the expense of small businesses

Budget: Center-Right

• Make debt/deficit reduction a priority, but not one that outweighs the importance of economic recovery
• Oppose across-the-board spending cuts until the economy stabilizes
• Evaluate and slash spending that goes  to wasteful or unnecessary projects
• Ban pork-barrel projects
• End farm subsidies for large businesses in the food industry
• Cut pay of civilian federal workers by 5 percent, reduce federal workforce by 10 percent

Energy: Center/Center-Left

• Continue oil drilling, but incentivize the private sector to generate energy from cleaner sources
• Launch an initiative for the federal and state governments to transition energy sources in public buildings (new heating and air conditioning systems, new lighting, etc.)
  
• Keep tax credits for the production and sale of hybrids and environmentally friendly vehicles
• End government subsidies and tax cuts to oil businesses
• Lean against Cap and Trade legislation

Social Security: Left

• Protect SS funds from being allocated toward unrelated expenditures (lock box)
• Raise the Payroll Tax after the economy stabilizes
• Oppose proposals to raise the retirement age or privatize Social Security
• Reduce benefits for wealthy individuals
• Use an alternate measure for inflation

Unions: Center-Left

• Balance labor demands with business concerns
• Negotiate with public unions for pension cuts when necessary, but keep collective bargaining in place

Foreign Policy/Defense: Left

PATRIOT ACT

• Strongly oppose; repeal the law in its entirety and protect Constitutional liberties

Afghanistan & Iraq

• Withdraw all military presence from Afghanistan and Iraq

Israel/Palestine

• Support a two-state solution; craft a foreign policy that pertains to the needs of both Israelites and Palestinians
• Keep both entities accountable for upholding promises

Iran

• Use embargoes and isolationist techniques against Iran, but commit no military action unless there is clear evidence that a nuclear arms program is being developed

Syria

• Oppose US intervention in Syria.

Military Spending

• Withdraw troops from Korea, China, Japan, Europe, and elsewhere
• Reduce nuclear arsenal and space spending
• Reduce Navy and Air Force fleets
• Cancel or delay some weapons programs
• Reduce noncombat military compensation and overhead

Electoral Issues/Government

Voter Regulations/ID Cards

• Support distribution of voter ID cards, but not at the expense of the individual
• Oppose any reform laws that might disenfranchise voter participation
• Allow early voting and count absentee votes

Electoral College

• Abolish the electoral college; let new presidents be selected via popular vote.
• Enact proportional representation for elections pertaining to the legislative branch

Washington D.C.

• Let the citizens decide if they want to remain a district or become a part of Virginia/Maryland, but only at the consent of the state that would incorporate the district.

Puerto Rico

• Let the citizens decide on statehood.

Senate

• Tighten rules pertaining to the filibuster
• Reduce Senate terms to four years instead of six

To sum up my ideology, I suppose I'm firmly leftist, but occasionally tip to the center or even the center-right, depending on the issue.  My top priority is making government more frugal, efficient, and respecting of civil liberties.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Ideally, half the Senate would be up every two years.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Social Policy:
Abortion: Generally support elective abortion.  I don't like late-term abortions, but those are extremely rare and usually done for medical purposes, and for that reason I still think it should be decided between a woman and her doctor, though I'm not completely opposed to ethical barriers.
Drugs: Support the legalization and taxation of marijuana, oppose legalization of most other drugs.
Censorship: I favor the V-chip.
Gay Marriage: Legal federally. Increase workplace protections for the LGBTQ community.
Death Penalty: Oppose.
Prostitution: I favor letting the states decide on this one.
Church & State: Favor voluntary school prayer, presence of God on money and in the Pledge
Affirmative Action: Generally oppose.  I'm more favorable to affirmative action on the basis of income, not on race.  Strongly oppose quotas.
Hate Crime Laws: Support.
Immigration: Support the DREAM Act as well as comprehensive reform of the immigration system.  Modernize the process, but crack down on drug cartels and consider efforts to improve Mexico's economy so as to discourage lawbreaking.
Stem Cell Research: Support its expansion, including federal funding.
PATRIOT Act: Strongly oppose; repeal all sections of the bill that permit unwarranted spying/wiretapping
Gun Control: Support conceal-carry, Manchin-Toomey.  Ban and destroy undetectable firearms.
Assisted Suicide: Support with heavy restrictions.
Gambling: Status quo.

Electoral Reform:
Term Limits: Oppose.
Statehood: Grant statehood to Puerto Rico and DC if the people of both territories agree to it.
Voting Age: I support lowering the voting age to 17.
Campaign Finance Reform: Pass the DISCLOSE Act, increase oversight of funds, ban campaign donations from recipients of government bailouts until bailout money is fully repaid.  Prohibit donations from corporations if a foreign national owns 20% or more of voting shares.
Gerrymandering: Abolish CDs, promote a more Parliamentarian system with IRV
Voter ID: Strongly oppose (critical issue)

Economics:
Welfare: Expand the current programs, but maintain work requirements and require able-bodied people on welfare to find work.  Expand the EITC.
Unions: Strongly approve of the right to unionize. Oppose all right-to-work laws.
Privatization: Oppose privatization of social security, schools, etc.
Environment: Ban mountain-top mining, set water purity standards, protect all endangered species, invest in green energy
Minimum Wage: Raise and index to inflation.
Taxation: Allow the Bush tax cuts to expire for wealthy individuals, cut them for individuals making below that.  Remove loopholes and reform the tax code to discourage outsourcing.
Healthcare: Single-payer.  At the moment, I favor either a German or French-based health care system with identity cards.
Subsidies: I support farm subsidies for low-income farmers.
Military: Increase veteran's benefits, drastically reduce military spending.
Education: Transition the current education system in the US to one that is more Finland-based and public.  Set higher standards for people who are in or training for the teaching profession.  Eliminate most standardized tests.

Foreign Policy:
War: Only as a last resort.
Israel-Palestine:: Support diplomacy between Israel and Palestine.
Draft: Strongly oppose.
Nukes: Support treaties which reduce nuclear arsenals.
Foreign Aid: Generally support, but reform our foreign aid policy so that there is more oversight over our dollars.


I guess I'd consider myself a Jon Tester-esque Christian Democrat?

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Rockingham is a troll, err, "parody."  Here's another post of his on this thread from 2012.

If you haven't put him on ignore yet, I suggest you do so.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Let's take this apart one piece at a time, shall we?

Good question! But, before I start, you don't have to get angry with me. I'm a nice guy once you get past your initial disgust and contempt with me .
  Anyhow, I could simply answer that question based on my belief in God, but that's probably not what you are looking for, and I'd get a stock response for it so I'll stay away from that.

Your point?  I am seeking and preparing to be on the ordination path this fall, partly because, and not in spite of, my unwavering support for increased LGBT representation and acceptance in the Christian church.  Your personal belief in God or what God wants should not dictate the law of the land.  In fact, it's worth absolutely nothing in the realm of civic discourse because it has no bearing on what other members of society believe in or desire.  Nothing warrants its mention.  If you oppose gay marriage for religious reasons, you have the right to not marry a person of the same gender.  You do not have the right to tell other people to live your lifestyle.

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Why is your view on how marriage should be "defined" superior to any other view?

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Nobody cares how many gay people you know.  Really.  No one cares about your personal relations with other people.  If you affirm the right of opposite-sex couples to enter a marriage contract and oppose that same right for same-sex couples, you are essentially discriminating against the latter group.  I don't see how this doesn't constitute as hate.

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Burden of proof is on you here.

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I'm not sure where you get the divorce rate statistic from, since gay marriage is not legal in most states.  However, domestic violence is common among both straight and gay couples, and the majority of same-sex couples are well functioning similar to that of healthy heterosexual couples.  Even if you can prove statistical disparities between these groups, the burden is on you to draw a clear and direct link to sexual orientation.
    

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You condescendingly put quotations around the word 'marriage,' when referring to gay marriages.  Why should we think of you as anything other than a bigot, given that you have a clear animus for same-sex couples?

I will say no more until you provide sources.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

May I be the first to say that you make me, as a gay man, an atheist, a man who thinks government shouldn't control what you put in your body, a man who believes that those who can afford it should give back to the community, who believes that science should lead the way on issues of women's health and that women shouldn't be made to carry their rapist's baby, that our military is bloated and needs to be cut, and that everyone deserves a basic standard of living, sick? I think you might find a certain other Vladimir to be a good friend of yours.

Are you really losing your sh*t to an obvious troll?

Then again, I'd probably do the same thing.  THese trolls are like watching a train wreck.  So horrible, but you just got to watch.

   Hey, you should take a look at my political matrix score before assuming that. I'm the real deal

Right, because it's not like any idiot can just type in a fake PM score.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

    About my faith; I recognize this and that is exactly why I chose to leave that argument out. I chose to go along the logical/statistical/factual/what-have-you side. Thus, please keep the Jesus bashing out of it.

Well, you obviously didn't leave it out, otherwise it wouldn't have been in your post.  And please, the last thing I am is a 'Jesus-basher."

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I fail to see how giving the same rights that everyone else has to gay couples invalidates the integrity of straight marriages.  As far as definitions go, no word is written in stone.  Language is an evolving thing, otherwise we would all be speaking the same language as our ancient ancestors.  Social institutions are evolving, as well, and many languages use one word to refer to multiple things.  In either case, semantics has little bearing on why two consenting adults should be allowed to enter a marriage contract.

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I can just as easily say, "I have a black friend," and support Jim Crow laws.  Again, it really doesn't matter.  My point is, you can say whatever you want and that doesn't change the context of your views.  No one is going to excuse you for bigotry based on how many gay people you know.  You will be called a bigot, and rightly so.

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But I can.  You openly oppose allowing gay couples to enjoy the same rights as straight couples.  The evidence speaks for itself.  Try saying to someone, "Y'know, I wish they'd bring slavery back.  That's not because I'm racist, or anything."  See how they react.

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Okay.  I will continue to call you a bigot and refuse to recognize you as human-being to show that I don't recognize you as anything else.  Sound good?

I'm going to call a shovel a shovel regardless of how much it hurts your feelings or "makes me look bad."  Get used to it.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

    About my faith; I recognize this and that is exactly why I chose to leave that argument out. I chose to go along the logical/statistical/factual/what-have-you side. Thus, please keep the Jesus bashing out of it.

Well, you obviously didn't leave it out, otherwise it wouldn't have been in your post.  And please, the last thing I am is a 'Jesus-basher."

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I fail to see how giving the same rights that everyone else has to gay couples invalidates the integrity of straight marriages.  As far as definitions go, no word is written in stone.  Language is an evolving thing, otherwise we would all be speaking the same language as our ancient ancestors.  Social institutions are evolving, as well, and many languages use one word to refer to multiple things.  In either case, semantics has little bearing on why two consenting adults should be allowed to enter a marriage contract.

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I can just as easily say, "I have a black friend," and support Jim Crow laws.  Again, it really doesn't matter.  My point is, you can say whatever you want and that doesn't change the context of your views.  No one is going to excuse you for bigotry based on how many gay people you know.  You will be called a bigot, and rightly so.

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But I can.  You openly oppose allowing gay couples to enjoy the same rights as straight couples.  The evidence speaks for itself.  Try saying to someone, "Y'know, I wish they'd bring slavery back.  That's not because I'm racist, or anything."  See how they react.

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Okay.  I will continue to call you a bigot and refuse to recognize you as human-being to show that I don't recognize you as anything else.  Sound good?

I'm going to call a shovel a shovel regardless of how much it hurts your feelings or "makes me look bad."  Get used to it.

    It's pretty ridiculous to equate a lack of allowance for gay "marriage" to slavery. Texas doesn't have gay "marriage", and my cousin's doing just fine. He's recently got a new boyfriend and brought him over for my New Year's party. He's a nice guy too. But, I may have missed their shackles and whipping scars and the dogs that were chasing them down for escaping their plantation . I never stated that I advocated suppression of gays in any kind or extermination of them or what have you. I simply said that gay "marriage" should not be considered "marriage". Am I a promoter of slaughter of the gay populace for this horrid offence? I'd think that the overwhelming majority of people would disagree with you.

Way to miss the entire point.

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Thank you for ignoring half my post.

I don't care if you decide to not respond anymore.  You will still be challenged on your assertions.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Ban religious schools, restrict religion in the public sphere,

Would 'religious schools' include seminaries and colleges?  If so, I guess I can kiss that M.Div goodbye.

I'm also curious to know what the second part means.

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Do clarify.  So, anyone who drives to a voting booth gets to vote and not show or tell anyone anything, regardless of whether they've voted before that day?

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Caffeine should be legal but strongly regulated.

This is a joke, right?

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Ideology
Social: Civil libertarian
Economic: Social democrat
Foreign: Left-wing nationalist.  (Mostly) non-interventionist.
Political Registration: Registered D in North Carolina, soon-to-be unaffiliated

Social Policy
Abortion: Completely pro-choice.  Support repealing the Hyde Amendment.
Same Sex Marriage: Strongly support.
Drugs / Narcotics: Legalize marijuana and decriminalize all drugs.  Reduce or streamline regulations for prescription medications.  Abolish the DEA.
Stem Cell Research: Support.
Death Penalty: Oppose.  I also believe that life imprisonment should be limited to heinous crimes and that prisons should be rebuilt to isolate inmates and focus on rehabilitation for criminals, similar to Norway.
Gun Control: Mostly oppose.  Support background checks.
School Prayer: Support voluntary, non-led prayer.  I also believe students should be allowed to form private religious and Bible Study groups if they desire.
Affirmative Action: Mixed/Lean against.
Prostitution: Legalize it and regulate it, but don't glamorize sex work as a profession.  Ban pimping.
Bathrooms: Ridiculous non-issue; either open gender neutral bathrooms or let transgender people go to the bathroom that matches their gender.
Right to Die: Support in all circumstances; I believe an individual should legally be allowed to end their life for any reason.

Economic Policy
Minimum Wage: I'm very sympathetic to #FightFor15 and adjusting the minimum wage to inflation, provided that the tax system is reformed for small businesses to afford it.
Welfare: Expand benefits in exchange for reforming the tax code (see below).
Social Security: Lower the retirement age to 55.  Eliminate the payroll tax cap.
Education: Fix broken schools instead of closing them.  Repeal Common Core and NCLB.  Reform the curriculum and teaching in general in a way that's similar to Finnish education.
Right-to-Work: Completely oppose.
Taxation: Adopt a VAT tax model similar to Canada and European countries.  The US has the most progressive tax code of any other developed country, but revenue is not distributed in a progressive manner.  So as far as taxation and spending are concerned, on principle I'd favor a less progressive tax code in exchange for more progressive wealth redistribution.
Obamacare: Keep most parts of it, expand on it and introduce a public option.  Negotiate drug prices and give families and individuals tax credits if their monthly spending on prescriptions exceeds a certain portion of their income.  (This is basically Hillary Clinton's plan.)
Trade: Re-negotiate NAFTA and existing trade deals which curtail environmental and labor protections.  Oppose TPP.
Climate Change: Implement a carbon tax or cap-and-trade and invest in renewables.  Support the Paris Agreement.
Keystone XL Pipeline: Oppose.
Poverty: Pass a stimulus bill for impoverished states and communities, especially those where jobs have been displaced thanks to increased automation and outsourcing.  Retrain coal workers and people in manufacturing to work in more advanced fields of their respective industries.

Foreign Policy and National Security
Iran: Support the Iran Deal.
Iraq/Syria: Aid NATO and Russia to defeat ISIS.
Military Spending: Drastically reduce, close down military bases where they are no longer necessary, and gradually shrink US influence on foreign affairs in general.
PATRIOT Act: Repeal unwarranted wiretapping and library records provisions.
NSA: Reform the department and only collect private information if a warrant is issued on an individual.
Israel/Palestine: Endorse peace negotiations and Palestinian statehood, but slash funding to Israel and scale down US involvement in the Middle East.
Immigration: Divert attention from "securin muh border" and focus more on visa overstays, which is a much bigger problem in the immigration debacle.  Penalize employers who hire and exploit undocumented migrants for cheap labor.  Support a comprehensive pathway to citizenship with job training and English programs.

Electoral Reform
Electoral College Reform: Strongly support.  Abolish the electoral college and elect the President via popular vote, with instant-runoff/ranked voting.
Gerrymandering: Switch to a proportional voting system for each state.
Public Financing: Support.
Term limits: Oppose.
Voter ID: Oppose.
Early Voting: Support expanding.
Absentee Voting: Support expanding.
Primaries: Make all primaries open and abolish caucuses and superdelegates.  I'm partial to the more radical change to a 'National Primary Day' with IRV, but it's not something I've spent much time thinking about.

I'm neutral on the question of continuing to let Iowa and New Hampshire hold the first contests, but if we had to switch I'd prefer a state which best adequately represents all racial groups and has a good mix of rural and urban voters.  (Missouri and North Carolina might be good fits for that.)

Corruption/Lobbying/Government Reform/etc.
- Prohibit ex-politicians from working for lobbying firms
- Prohibit lobbyists from bundling political contributions for politicians
- Mandate full disclosure of campaign contributions