Are you a Xahar Democrat?

[Kaine for Senate '18]

No way.

[Kaine for Senate '18]

Abortion:
Left - Keep abortion as it is presently. Safe, legal, and rare. Keep partial-birth abortion legal.

Agree.

Balanced Budget:
Far-Left - A deficit and debt is fine.  Focus on social programs and how the government can better people's lives.

Not really, no.  We should work to reduce the deficit, but not if it means gutting social programs.

Business Tax:
Far-Left - Significantly increase business taxation.

No, cut taxes on small businesses, increase them on big business.

Campaign Finance Reform:
Center-Left - We need to significantly reduce corporate and union donations. Ban soft money contributions.

No.  We should allow anyone to contribute however much they want

Education:
Left - No school vouchers, large increase to federal funding. Modernize school system with more after-school programs.

Completely agree.

Environment:
Far-Left - The environment should be our first national priority. Expand National Park System. Large government programs.

Agree mostly, but it shouldn’t be our top priority.

Free Trade:
Left - We need to erect large tariff barriers to protect all our industries and our labor market. Pull out of free trade agreements.

We shouldn’t pull out completely, but we should put in some qualifiers, and erect small tariffs.

Gun Control:
Left - We need gun control! Ban certain guns. Require registration/background checks. Gun control protects children.

Completely disagree.

Health Care:
Left - Completely public health care system and include prescription drugs under Medicare. Require health insurance for every child.

Completely agree.

Immigration:
Left - Immigration is great! The more immigrants the better. Just require a criminal record check. Full blanket-amnesty.

No.  Immigrants need to follow the laws in place.  No amnesty.

Military Funding:
Left - Decrease funding for weapons and focus on spending for humanitarian relief.

Totally disagree.  We need to keep our military at its current size, and not cut back on funding.

Military Doctrine:
Far-Left - Remove all U.S. troops from foreign soil. No intervention! Our military need never be used.

No, completely disagree.  The US should maintain its presence throughout the world, although we shouldn’t just run into countries for no reason.

Personal Tax:
Left - Increase income tax for the rich. Reduce for those in lower income bracket.

Agree.

Social Security:
Far-Left - No to any private investment, dramatically increase funding.

Agree.

Nation-Building:
Far-Left - We should not meddle in other's cultures, no matter our moral feelings about some events.

Disagree.  If there is cause, we should intervene.

Civil Rights:
Center - Get the federal government out of civil rights. Leave affirmative action and same-sex unions to the states.

I completely oppose affirmative action, and the term “gay marriage.”  Of course, I support giving full marriage benefits to same-sex couples, just not the term.

China:
Center - Monitor China within the World Trade Organization. Defend Taiwan.

Agree.

Crime:
Far-Left - Society makes people bad, punishment worsens it. Rehabilitation is effective. No death penalty and prison industry.

Completely disagree.  The death penalty can be used effectively, and I support longer prison sentences, coupled with rehab programs.

[Kaine for Senate '18]

Abortion:
Left - Keep abortion as it is presently. Safe, legal, and rare. Keep partial-birth abortion legal.

Agree.

Balanced Budget:
Far-Left - A deficit and debt is fine.  Focus on social programs and how the government can better people's lives.

Not really, no.  We should work to reduce the deficit, but not if it means gutting social programs.

Would you be open to means testing?
Yes.

Business Tax:
Far-Left - Significantly increase business taxation.

No, cut taxes on small businesses, increase them on big business.
How do you draw the line between the two? Also that would probably just cancel out the effects of business tax cuts on stimulating the economy.
I would probably use a guideline as to how many employees they have, or something of that nature.

Campaign Finance Reform:
Center-Left - We need to significantly reduce corporate and union donations. Ban soft money contributions.

No.  We should allow anyone to contribute however much they want
All that does is leave politicians indebted to whoever funded them. However, the Supreme Court has made any sort of meaningful caps on donations impossible.
I don't like the idea of restricting how much people can give of their own money to a political campaign.  Perhaps cap businesses, but not people.

Education:
Left - No school vouchers, large increase to federal funding. Modernize school system with more after-school programs.

Completely agree.

Funding isn't the issue in a lot of cases. If it was then Washington DC would have one of the best school systems in the country.
That's true, but hopefully the funding increase will go towards keeping the best teachers, and stuff of that nature.

Environment:
Far-Left - The environment should be our first national priority. Expand National Park System. Large government programs.

Agree mostly, but it shouldn’t be our top priority.

Free Trade:
Left - We need to erect large tariff barriers to protect all our industries and our labor market. Pull out of free trade agreements.

We shouldn’t pull out completely, but we should put in some qualifiers, and erect small tariffs.

We should only use tariffs if the other country we're trading with does.
I agree.

Gun Control:
Left - We need gun control! Ban certain guns. Require registration/background checks. Gun control protects children.

Completely disagree.

Health Care:
Left - Completely public health care system and include prescription drugs under Medicare. Require health insurance for every child.

Completely agree.

Immigration:
Left - Immigration is great! The more immigrants the better. Just require a criminal record check. Full blanket-amnesty.

No.  Immigrants need to follow the laws in place.  No amnesty.
How do you intend to deport at least 12 million people, many of which small business have become dependent on? I'm not for amnesty to everyone, they should earn their status. But really.
If immigrants have found jobs, and have not been convicted of crimes, then let them stay until they have become legal citizens, but no amnesty.  Maybe slap a small fine.

Military Funding:
Left - Decrease funding for weapons and focus on spending for humanitarian relief.

Totally disagree.  We need to keep our military at its current size, and not cut back on funding.
Why do we need bases in hundreds of countries worldwide, including Europe? What purpose does that serve other than to protect our economic interests? It's certainly not for our defense, because last time I checked we weren't in danger of getting invaded by any of Latin America, the EU or most of Asia.

I just feel that we can't be too careful nowadays.

Military Doctrine:
Far-Left - Remove all U.S. troops from foreign soil. No intervention! Our military need never be used.

No, completely disagree.  The US should maintain its presence throughout the world, although we shouldn’t just run into countries for no reason.

See above. Also being in a country by definition dramatically increases the chance of a skirmish in the first place.
Most of the places where we have bases are small, and unlikely to create hostilities.

Personal Tax:
Left - Increase income tax for the rich. Reduce for those in lower income bracket.

Agree.

Social Security:
Far-Left - No to any private investment, dramatically increase funding.

Agree.
Social Security is an enormous strain on the budget. It already accounts for about a quarter of spending and as the baby boomers age it's only going to become worse. A lot of the people receiving checks right now don't need them. I say we gradually cut spending for the people who can afford to provide for themselves, encourage private savings, and maintain it as more of an emergency program. Unless you want to be stuck with the tab.
I'm willing to cut funding for people who don't need it, but I can't cut it for people in need of the money.

Nation-Building:
Far-Left - We should not meddle in other's cultures, no matter our moral feelings about some events.

Disagree.  If there is cause, we should intervene.

No, this is dangerous and ignores the reality that we can't help everyone. Where do you draw the line? Do the actions of North Korea for example, necessitate starting a war? What about some of our allies?
If our allies are attacked, we should defend them.  If a country attacks us, we should respond.  I don't want to just move into countries like Reagan did, but we need to be prepared.

Civil Rights:
Center - Get the federal government out of civil rights. Leave affirmative action and same-sex unions to the states.

I completely oppose affirmative action, and the term “gay marriage.”  Of course, I support giving full marriage benefits to same-sex couples, just not the term.
If you support full rights why do you object so strongly to the term? Because that's 'yours'? Do you have any idea how exclusionary and flat out homophobic that comes across?

Btw they won't get full rights unless you give them the term marriage, Civil Unions vary by location in benefits.
I know it sounds horrible, but for me the term "marriage" is between a man and a woman.  I would set a national standard for benefits.

China:
Center - Monitor China within the World Trade Organization. Defend Taiwan.

Agree.
How are you going to do that when they could liquidate our currency at any moment? The US might be able to defeat them militarily, but China literally owns us right now. All they'd have to do is make a few phone calls and we'd be a third world country overnight. Of course they'd implode too but still.
I don't think China would destroy us; because it destroys them, too.

Crime:
Far-Left - Society makes people bad, punishment worsens it. Rehabilitation is effective. No death penalty and prison industry.

Completely disagree.  The death penalty can be used effectively, and I support longer prison sentences, coupled with rehab programs.

The Death Penalty is very ineffective and unjustifiable. The costs are greater than simply incarcerating people due to appeals, there is no evidence of a deterrence effect, and parole for most of the crimes that the death penalty now warrants actually does not ever happen. Then there's the issue of states as recently as this decade mistakingly executing people.

For most crimes, I think there are better options, but some, such as aggravated or multiple murder, rape and murder of a child, and assasination of world leaders deserve the death penalty.