Blackacre
Spenstar3D
Sr. Member
Posts: 2,172
Political Matrix E: -5.35, S: -7.22
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« Reply #3 on: February 23, 2017, 04:44:29 PM » |
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Stole the format from TD, though with some alterations to the topics, and a ton of alterations to the answers
Ideology
General: Liberal in the mould of Hillary Clinton Social: Liberal, though not at full SJW level Economic: Slightly to the right of Bernie Sanders Foreign: Diplomacy enthusiast Registration: Democrat
Social
Abortion/Reproductive Rights: Pro-choice. Abortion should be safe, legal, easily accessible in all parts of the country, and rare. I favour increased access to contraceptives and other policies that would reduce the abortion rate without denying access to anybody. Also I am very pro-PP Marriage Equality/LGBTQ Issues: Pro-SSM, Pro-LGBTQ rights, pro-laws that would forbid an employer from discriminating against LGBTQ employees, against "Bathroom Bills" and for increased access to resources to help trans people transition if they so choose. Death Penalty: Appose, on the grounds that there's always the possibility for DNA evidence to exonerate somebody already convicted, and you can't exonerate a dead person. Also, for heinous crimes, I think life in prison is both crueler and cheaper. Religious Freedom: This country is for people of all faiths and for people of no faith. Any effort to put laws on the books that favor one religion over another, in any way, is unacceptable. I'm also against the idea of using religion as a shield against beneficial laws. FWIW, I'm Jewish. Drug Legalization: Weed should be legal for medical and for recreational use in all 50 states, and people incarcerated over weed charges should be freed. For other drugs, in general I think treating drugs as a public health problem rather than a criminal one is best for society, but also people who sell drugs like cocaine and heroin should be punished. Guns: Oppose concealed carry, support gun-free zones. My ideal gun law would tax ammo and implement a very strict background checks program, but otherwise leave most firearms unbanned. So I'm against an assault weapons ban. Euthanasia: I am for euthanasia and assisted suicide as an individual right. (TD's words but I agree with him) Black Lives Matter/Police/Criminal Justice Reform: Criminal justice reform is essential. Systems of mass incarceration for low-level offenses, the school-to-prison pipeline, mandatory minimums, private prisons, all those things are HP and, in practice, very racist. Basically I agree with John Oliver every time he talks about the criminal justice system. I sympathise with BLM, and I believe in police accountability, including body cameras and an independent system to hold police accountable. I also oppose stand your ground laws. Transgender Issues: I strongly believe that trans people have the right to enter the bathrooms/locker rooms of the gender matching their identity and that transphobia be condemned. (also TD's words, also we are in agreement) Sex Education: I support comprehensive sex education, and it should start in middle school, but we need to make absolute sure that it's handled well by the schools. Abstinence-only is not acceptable. Education: Our school system is a hot mess, incredibly antiquated, and it'll be very difficult to reform, but it needs to be done. Administrators tend to be terrible, many systems aren't designed around modern-day students, (like high school starting at 7:30 AM) and the current system overall is really good at teaching kids to hate themselves and take tests, but not much else. Charter schools are a cool idea as a laboratory for alternate models for education, but are prone to mismanagement, and when a charter finds a really good structure for teaching kids then public schools should take it and run. Affirmative Action: In a perfect world we wouldn't need this, but at the moment we do because of systems of inequality. Maybe one day we'll phase this out when it becomes an antiquated solution, but for now it's kind of necessary, as much as I don't like it. Judges: I support the living document interpretation of the constitution. Our laws and documents should be interpreted in ways that are relevant to a society beyond the imagination of the founders.
Economic/Spending
Taxes and Spending: I'm a Keynesian at heart, meaning that I think spending should be up when the economy's in trouble and down when it isn't. Kind of a "tax and spend" liberal when the times call for it. All tax systems should be progressive, the rich need to pay their fair share, (I support a top tax rate of 45-50% for income over $500k) and current corporate loopholes that allow the richest to stash their money to get out of being taxed need to be closed. Also, the IRS should do people's taxes for them (with an opt-out system ofc) to make it more painless and pennies need to go. Social Security/Medicare: End the tax loophole that allows income over $110k to avoid being taxed when it comes to social security. Keep medicare. Infrastructure: This should be our next big stimulus. Repair roads/bridges/dams/highways, and then create a national high speed rail/bullet train service. This would bind the country together in a polarising time, potentially cause urbanisation to affect places outside the coasts, and create all kinds of economic growth, both in creating jobs building the thing and because it makes travel much, much easier. Defense Spending: Limit defense spending to what we need to maintain America's hegemony. Don't overspend, if we can help it. Cut down independent contracting in the defense industry. (TD's words, but I agree) Minimum Wage: Set the national min wage to roughly $9-10/hr and then tie the min wage to inflation or the cost of living. The idea is that a 40 hr work week should be enough to clear the poverty line, at the very least. However, the Fight for 15 is best off limited to cities and wealthier states, because the cost of living is higher there. Labor Unions: I love them with all my heart. Repeal RTW, repeal Taft-Hartley, create a national right to organise. Financial Regulation: Support reinstating Glass-Stegall, support Dodd-Frank. The financial sector cannot get away with murder.
Foreign Policy
Russia/NATO: VERY pro-Nato, anti-Russia. I generally hate Autocracies, and Putin is among the worst of them. Weakening NATO is terrifying
Radical Islam: Don't use that phrase. It conflates the terrorism we're fighting and Islam as a religion, which are not the same thing. Calling it Radical Islam plays into the hands of ISIS and makes Muslim Americans uneasy; we cannot do this. Having said that, terrorist groups and repressive societies that wear the face of Islam are reprehensible; while I opposed the Iraq War I reluctantly support Drone Strikes as long as they don't kill innocents, and I support fighting ISIS. The Muslim ban was a terrible, terrible thing because it conflates Islam and Terrorism. Israel: Israel is the Problematic Best Friend of the US. We should acknowledge the questionable actions it's taken, and push it to be better, (possible including a two-state solution or political reforms that make Israel work for both its Jews and Muslims) but at the end of the day, the world is better with Israel than without it, and we must protect it. Immigration: I favour opening up immigration laws to allow more immigrants, and giving all undocumented immigrants living in the United States (except those who have committed a felony) a path to citizenship. Give instant citizenship to DREAMers. Border walls don't work so we shouldn't do them. Iran: Support the deal on Iran on the grounds that it removes an enemy of the United States from the table and frees our hands in the Middle East. (again, TD's words and I agree with him)
Environment
Climate Change: It is real and we need to impose a revenue-neutral carbon tax (that would return all revenues to small businesses and taxpayers). (TD's words, I agree) But in addition to that we should invest heavily in solar and wind power, abide by the Paris agreement, and aim to eventually phase out fossil fuels. EPA: Maintain strong support for the EPA. Our planet is our future and we need to balance growth with environmental protection, but let's not hesitate to challenge corporate polluters and stand up to them. (TD's words, but we agree)
Healthcare
ObamaCare: Keep it on, actually, expand it, make the medicaid expansion mandatory, set up exchanges in all 50 states, and add the public option. Single-payer is fantastic but the ACA with a public option is basically single-payer but with added bells and whistles.
Political
Gerrymandering: End that crap NOW. Either create a national redistricting commission tasked with creating as many swing districts as possible or implement STV. Also the Senate should be proportional. Electoral College: I support the Interstate Compact. Statehood: Should be given to DC and Puerto Rico. Campaign Finance Reform: Return to where we were before Citizens United. Term Limits: For Presidents only.
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