Summary of political beliefs

[Cokeland Saxton]

Social: Centrist to Center Right
Economic: Center Right
Foreign: Center Right
Party Affiliation: Registered Republican

Abortion: Abortion should be illegal except when the mother's life is threatened or the fetus is incompatible with life. If the mother doesn't want the child, they should give it up for adoption. There are plenty of people who want to adopt, but never get the chance to.

Same-Sex Marriage: I support civil unions, but no marriage. Marriage should be between a man and a woman. Civil union partners should have the same rights as other couples, with the exception of marriage.

Drug Laws: I support the legalization of medical marijuana ONLY (no recreational), but to keep it away from people under 21. I also believe that we need to limit  mandatory minimum sentences, and that we need to take a rehabilitate those who abuse drug rather than punish them. Expand funding for rehabilitation and work-release programs in order to increase access to community health centers and crack down on those who illegally distribute drugs. I will not support "Death with Dignity" laws because it is not our choice when we die. I also support lowering the drinking age to 18, putting us in line with much of Europe in this regard.

Death Penalty: I support keeping the death penalty only for those who have been convicted of the most heinous crimes (intentional murder, terrorism, etc.), but I think that more rigorous safeguards need to be put in place to prevent those falsely accused of a crime from being executed, and that a greater effort must be made to extend clemency and fair treatment to those who deserve it, such as those who are truly repentant.

Gun Control: I am very much in favor of the 2nd Amendment. Gun control laws, such as universal background checks and assault weapons bans, are not the best ways to deal with this issue. However, I do support arming teachers, expanding funding for mental health programs, and greater cooperation between law enforcement agencies and school districts, businesses, and private individuals in response to these sorts of situations. There should also be mandatory training for police and first responders on how to deal with a person who is disabled or has special needs, such as autism and other developmental disorders (btw, I am autistic myself).

Religious Freedom: I support freedom of religion and I believe that every individual should have the right to practice their beliefs, as long as it doesn't violate the rights of other groups or is meant to circumvent the law. Separation of church and state has gotten too extreme. I support most public funding for things such as Tenth Commandment memorials as long as it is optional, and I also support current court precedents regarding school prayer, but exception could be made for optional prayer.

Euthanasia: Uh, yeah no. Only allow it if the person is truly near death and in a lot of pain. We don't need to be like Belgium or the Netherlands in this regard.
 
Prostitution: Focus on rehabilitation for prostitutes, rather than stigmatizing and punishing them. Much of the time, these people were forced into it or did not have a good home life growing up.

Immigration: I support a strong border defense, including a barrier (not necessarily a wall but maybe), as well as extensive funding and resources to ICE. I also think that we should end chain migration and tighten procedures regarding asylum and visa applications. Visa programs, need to be curbed due to the effects of foreign labor on American jobs and American workers. At the same time, however, I recognize the humanity of those who are truly seeking asylum in this country, as well as that of those brought here illegally as children. Thus, I believe that clean amnesty should be granted to all current DACA recipients. However, we should use E-Verify for all businesses and take steps to deport all criminal illegal aliens as soon as possible.

Minimum Wage: I support having a minimum wage. It should be a living wage, but $15/hour is too much. It should be above $7.25/hour, but it should only be raised too keep up with inflation.
Right to Work: I support this. Workers shouldn't be forced to pay dues to organization if they don't belong to it. However, we should keep all laws and regulations that guarantee fair working hours, sufficient pay, and working conditions for all workers.

Taxation: I would support a progressive tax system, in which richer people pay a higher percentage of their income in taxes, and poorer individuals a lower proportion of their income, but it should be kept low and the very poor shouldn't have to pay at all. I oppose excessive tax measures such as "soda taxes" and that stuff, and at the local and state level, people should have a say in how much their taxation can be raised (like through initiatives and referendums). We need to keep property and sales taxes low, and put limits on state income taxes.

Healthcare: I strongly oppose Obamacare and it was never a good idea to begin with. It does not help enough with keeping healthcare affordable. Many middle class families I know, including mine, have lost our insurance and had it replaced with an inferior policy that doesn't cover certain conditions. And I have hard of poorer people who still cannot afford insurance. We should keep healthcare premiums as low as possible.

Education: I support any measures that can be taken to help with student loans, reduce student loan debt, and to expand opportunities for scholarships to be awarded to students who deserve them. I also support the expansion of voucher programs that allow parents to send their kids to schools that they believe will provide the best education for their child rather than zoning them to a neighborhood school. This can be damaging to a poor child, who is forced to attend a bad school because they are poor. This is why poverty continues to ravage communities. We also need more funding for our public school system. Textbooks, classroom resources, sanitation, school lunches that don't taste like cardboard, you name it. We  should also scrap our outdated model where performance is based on testing than individual aptitude and place emphasis on critical thinking and comprehension skills. we should also bring back our arts programs and encourage creativity.
Free Trade: I am not familiar enough with this issue to have an opinion.

Foreign Policy and National Security:
While I do believe in strong defense and that we should be prepared for any potential military conflict, I think that overseas military interventions should not happen unless it is absolutely necessary, and Congress should keep watch over the foreign and military policy activities of the Executive. I also think that we should curb some of the power of he CIA, NSA, and other intelligence agencies in order to and we must provide greater safeguards for protect the privacy of the people. However, we should also keep full faith in those agencies, and take all necessary steps to allow them to perform their duties, in the manner that will best keep us safe. I support maintaining current funding and resources for federal law enforcement. I also believe that we must should our funding and resources for cyber-security, and we should aid in the fight against cyber-terrorism. We should maintain our members in all current alliances, while ensuring that our allies pay their fair share. I support Israel, remain neutral toward Iran, and we should continue to attempt to make an agreement with North Korea. We should keep tabs on China and Russia, and maintain our newfound diplomatic ties with Cuba.

Environment:
Climate change is an issue, but the reactions to it have been a bit hyperbolic. I do support mixing of fossil fuels and renewable energy to avert a crisis when fossil fuels run low. Other that that, I'm quite divided on this issue.

1. I support term limits on members of both Houses of Congress. Representatives should be limited to six two-year terms and Senators to three four-year terms.

2. I believe that Puerto Rico should be granted statehood (but not DC) with full congressional representation.

3. I think the Constitution should be amended to provide for a more clear definition of "legislative", "executive", and "judicial" power to clarify the differences between each and to spell out the exact powers held by Congress, the President and other members of the executive branch, and the Supreme Court along with the lower federal courts. We should take steps to curb the administrative state and to expand the role of judicial review of all agency decisions, executive orders, and legislative acts.
 
4. We should use the system in which votes are counted by congressional district, with the popular vote winner getting the state's two bonus districts. We should also impose the Wyoming rule for better proportional representation.

[Cokeland Saxton]

Social Policy:

Abortion: Pro-life, no exceptions
Same Sex Marriage: Civil unions only
Marijuana for medical use, do not decriminalize drug use, but incentivize rehabilitation over punishment
Stem Cell Research: Support with private funding
Death Penalty: Keep
Gun control: Pro 2nd amendment, background checks on immigrants and people with records
Affirmative Action: Abolish
Prostitution: Don't decriminalize, but incentivize rehabilitation instead of punishment
Euthanasia: Keep it illegal

Economic Issues:

Minimum Wage: Raise federally to $10.50/hour with exceptions for small business/restaurants, $7.25 is not livable anymore
Welfare: Cut funding
Right-to-Work: Support
Taxation: Cut taxes for all Americans, regardless of income, no taxes for under $30k/year
Healthcare: Privatize
Social Security: Privatize
Trade: Indifferent on free trade          
Education: No national standards, let states decide, end common core, more funding, background checks for teachers
Balanced Budget Amendment: Indifferent, don't know what it entails


Foreign Policy and National Security:

Afghanistan: Leave
Iraq: Leave
Iran: Stay
Syria: Leave
Cuba: Keep sanctions for now, but encourage diplomacy
Military Spending: A few cutbacks, but not much
PATRIOT Act: Abolish
NSA Spying: Abolish
Palestine: Do not recognize
Israel: Support and please fund
Immigration: Harsher background checks, more difficult process
Guantanamo Bay: Keep it open

Environment:

Climate Change: Stop overrating about it, blame China if anything
Green Energy: Indifferent
Keystone XL Pipeline: Build it

Electoral Reform:

Electoral College: Keep current system
Gerrymandering: End the practice
Term limits: Yes
Voter ID: Yes
Compulsory Voting: No
Voter Registration: Yes
Statehood: Allow referendum for Puerto Rico

[Cokeland Saxton]

Social Policy

Abortion: Only if the fetus is non-viable or the mother's life or health is in danger, encourage giving up for adoption in other situations
Same Sex Marriage: Accept as law of the land, support adoptions for couples that get background checks, expand anti-discrimination laws for LGBTQ+
Marijuana: Legalize & tax, but do not decriminalize other drug use, incentivize rehabilitation over punishment
Slavery reparations: Oppose strongly
Stem Cell Research: Support
Death Penalty: Reserve only for very heinous crimes involving murder
Criminal justice reform: Support, release those with non-violent drug offenses on mandatory parole, limit influence of private prison industry
Gun control: Pro 2nd amendment, stricter background checks, mental health issues, ban for people convicted of violent weapons-related crimes, assault weapons ban
Affirmative Action: Oppose
Prostitution: Keep it illegal
Euthanasia: Keep it illegal
Economic Issues

Minimum Wage: Raise minimum to $11 federally
Welfare: Reduce funding slightly
Right-to-Work: Support, anti-union
Taxation: Increased taxes on the rich, tax credit and lower taxes for the middle class, let states decide sales tax, cut property taxes
Healthcare: Support a public option and insurance company funding
Social Security: Keep the retirement age as is
Trade: Support tariffs and other temporary trade barriers until trade becomes more fair or trade deals can be negotiated        
Education: More funding, let states decide, get rid of Common Core, higher pay for teachers, eliminate standardized testing, support vouchers
Balanced Budget Amendment: No idea
Transportation: Cut back spending slightly, privatize Amtrak
Infrastructure: Increase spending
Foreign Policy and National Security

Non-interventionist, but keep diplomacy and alliances

U.N.: Scale back involvement
NATO: Refuse to defend NATO countries who do not pay enough, but when they do, meet our obligation
Afghanistan: Gradually withdraw
Iraq: Withdraw entirely
Iran: Remain for now, keep diplomacy open; renegotiate Iran Deal
Russia: Remove military personnel
China: Keep tariffs until a trade deal can be negotiated, scale back rhetoric of them being a currency manipulator
North Korea: Keep relations and personal diplomacy
South Korea: Unsure
Syria: Leave
Cuba: Lift sanctions
Military Spending: Cut by a good 20%, use it for healthcare and education instead
PATRIOT Act: Get rid of it
NSA Spying: Keep, ask permission of allies to surveil for terrorism
Palestine: Do not recognize
Israel: Support
Immigration: Support DACA, better background checks on immigrants
Guantanamo Bay: Keep it open, only use torture in extraordinary circumstances
Environment

Climate Change: No position
Green Energy: Promote, but no nuclear
Keystone XL Pipeline: Build it
Fracking: Support
Electoral Reform

Electoral College: Keep current system
Gerrymandering: End the practice
Term limits: Support
Voter ID: Support
Compulsory Voting: Oppose
Voter Registration: Support
Statehood: Wait for the results of a proper referendum before going forward with PR; DC should never be a state