Summary of political beliefs

[daveosupremo]

Social Policy*
Abortion: Only in cases of rape, incest and life of the mother. Focus on education and contraception as a means to curb unwanted pregnancies. Encourage charities and other non-governmental organizations to provide free vasectomies and tubal ligation surgeries.
Drugs: No federal regulations for possession, but stricter penalties for trafficking. States should decide drug policies, not the federal government. Ideally, implement marijuana policies similar to Colorado and Washington. Harder drug use treated as a public health issue, while distribution remains a criminal offense. Tighter regulation of prescription drugs, up to and including revocation of medical licenses for over-prescribing medication.
Censorship: None whatsoever, with the exception of child pornography.
Gay Marriage: Get the government out of marriage. Legally binding contracts such as civil unions are okay for anybody, including among more than two partners. Marriage would become a largely religious institution, as it has been historically. Also, no tax incentives for civilly united couples (more on that later).
Death penalty: I don’t like the idea of the government taking the lives of its own citizens, except in the case of treason and terrorism.
Prostitution: “Selling is legal. F***ing is legal. Why isn’t selling f***ing legal?”~George Carlin. Prostitution should be legalized and regulated by the states.
Church and State: Religious symbols are fine on public land, but federal money should not be used to erect them. Freedom of religion is not freedom from religion. No religious litmus test for public officials. Teachers can pray with students, but not compel students to participate. 
Stem cell research: Fully support.
PATRIOT Act: Repeal and replace it. No domestic spying. No storing of call records. Eliminate the TSA and DHS.
Gun control: Completely opposed, legalize all guns and allow local school districts to provide firearm training to students. Allow non-violent felons to own guns after their sentences have been served. Implement stand-your-ground laws and castle doctrine in all 50 states.
Assisted suicide: Against it, but encourage insurance companies to include mental health and counseling in health care plans.
Gambling: Treat it like any other business. Allow casinos to go up anywhere, and tax them on their profits.
*Because I believe that local governments should trump state governments, and state governments should trump federal in most cases, allow local and state governments to make specific changes to social policies implemented by the higher echelons, with the exceptions of abortion, capital punishment and assisted suicide.
Electoral Reform
Term Limits: Enact term limits on the three branches of government to prevent a ruling class of government oligarchs passing laws that do not apply to them. Nobody needs to spend 40 years in the senate. Term limits would not apply to individuals who move to a different branch (i.e. a two term senator can still run for president). This would apply to the Supreme Court as well.
Statehood: No change. The will of the people of the territory, followed by the approval of congress.
Voting Age: 18.
Campaign Finance Reform: Free speech is free speech. Allow unlimited donations to political campaigns, to make politicians responsible for the content of their own commercials.
Gerrymandering: No change.
Voter ID: Implement and enforce voter ID laws in all 50 states.

Economic Issues
Welfare: Mandatory drug tests for all recipients. Able bodied individuals must be looking for a job or advancing education to increase marketability in order to collect welfare.
Unions: Eliminate all public unions. There should be no legislation of any kind related to private sector unions.
Privatization: As much as possible. Federal government should sell virtually all federal land back to the states. States should sell it as they see fit. Government industries should be privatized. Government research should be largely privatized.
Environment: Approve Keystone. Drill ANWR and offshore. Stop all energy subsidies to green energy and oil companies. Deregulate the energy industry.
Minimum Wage: Let states and localities decide minimum wage. Eliminate federal minimum wage.
Taxation: Flat tax for corporations and individuals. Eliminate ALL loopholes, including for charity and marriage.
Trade: Encourage free trade. Use sanctions on a case by case basis to encourage countries to see things our way.
Embargo: Keep it in place, and work to encourage Cubans to implement change in their own country and elect more suitable leaders after the Castro’s are out of power.
Pork: Ban
Subsidies: Far too broad a topic to cover here. Cut some, leave some. Government shouldn’t be picking winners and losers, or altering the market.
Military: Increase standards for soldiers, and kick out soldiers who do not meet the standards. Decrease the size of active military in favor of a larger National Guard and Reserve force, and focus on increased technology. Use the military to break enemy nations, not fix them. Audit the Department of Defense and cut redundant spending and programs (I have been active duty Army for 7 years, and I assure you there is a lot of redundancy and waste). End baseline budgeting for the military. Have individual units prepare budgets a year in advance and be able to provide a reason for every requested penny (this should actually apply to every cabinet level department). Leave Afghanistan. Close unnecessary bases worldwide, and bring troops home. If we’re going to police the world, we should do it from space and with missiles and aircraft carriers, not tens of thousands of soldiers just hanging out in Europe and Asia.  Increase the size of the Navy, and control the oceans. Also, get rid of all the contractors. I could go on all day, but there is some serious reform necessary in the DOD. Most importantly, make sure our technology is 10 times better than anyone elses, and never stop improving it.

Foreign Policy
War: Only if a matter of national security.
Israel-Palestine: Let the Israelis and Palestinians sort it out. Recognize Israel’s sovereignty and borders and fully support them militarily if they are attacked.
Draft: An emphatic No.
UN: Should have no say whatsoever on U.S. domestic policy, or control of the internet. Increase our influence in the UN, or stop providing over 20% of its budget.
Nukes: Keep every single one of ours, and prevent as many other countries as possible from getting them.
Foreign Aid: Cancel debt owed to the US by the poorest nations. Stop automatic foreign aid. Allow countries to ask for aid on a case by case basis. Provide American made products, rather than cash. Provide training and aid to build infrastructure in impoverished nations, rather than feeding a money pit.