Summary of political beliefs

[SingingAnalyst]

I consider myself pretty independent. There aren't many things that get to me on a visceral level, so I tend to look at politics more detached and academically and statistically (I teach high school AP Statistics). I lean somewhat more R than D, but I like some Libertarian and Green ideas as well. I voted for Jill Stein in the last Presidential election; though Gary Johnson was closer to some of my views, he wasn't on the ballot in MI. I just didn't want to vote for Obama or Romney. By 2014 I was in a more conservative mood and for the most part joined in the national, if temporary, move toward the GOP.

My views on specific issues (abortion, gay marriage, minimum wage, etc.) tend to be nuanced, though I try to side with the underdog. I do feel something must be said on the subject of abortion, however. We often think "pro-life" vs. "pro-choice"; however, I have heard of more than one person who has advocated that in certain cases abortion should be *mandatory*, thus taking the choice away from the mother.

[SingingAnalyst]

I'm surprised people keep calling themselves pro-life and then in the same sentence, type that they'd let the individual make the choice. You do realize that makes you 100% pro-choice, right?

I include myself in that category. I have supported a neighborhood crisis pregnancy center because I believe they do, in fact, provide a valuable service for women and children (and that that makes me "pro-life"). At the same time I believe abortion is a very personal choice, not one that should be made by politicians.

[SingingAnalyst]

Moderate, with a slight libertarian and contrarian streak.

[SingingAnalyst]

Support the ACA (which passed in 2010 without a single GOP vote) and encourage state governors, regardless of party, to support exchanges or whatever it takes to make the ACA "work" for its residents.

Support a slight increase on taxes on high incomes, wealth, and corporations, while reducing taxes on the working poor. Tax unemployment, pension, and welfare benefits, albeit at a low rate.

Support without question the right of anyone to marry whom they want to marry.

Support legal abortion through 20 weeks, without exceptions; after that, leave it to each state.

Limit legal and illegal immigration; taking care of our own should take precedence over (a) taking care of those who come here illegally and (b) the right of business to hire undocumented immigrants and lower wages for working Americans. The fact that so many want to live in the US is undoubtedly a compliment to our way of life (and this fact probably needs to be stressed more in public schools); becoming a US citizen is a privilege, not a right.

At the state level, I would support a progressive voucher system for education, supporting the rights of lower-income parents to make informed educational choices, while granting only limited relief to parents who can easily afford private-school tuition. I recall reading that Michigan Democratic gubernatorial candidate (and later US Congressman) Sander Levin supported this in 1974, as a result, the Michigan Educational Association endorsed his Republican opponent, Gov. William Milliken, who was narrowly re-elected in a Democratic wave year.