2008 Presidential Candidates: Mitt Romney, Ron Paul. I'm really thinking economy this time around, which is why I've been ok with some of Romney's odd statements and views - he is without a doubt the most able candidate to balance the budget and fix the economy.
Party: not sure - independent
Abortion: Well, it's a fetus with a human heartbeat, a human nervous system, a (developing but recognizable) human body structure, human brainwaves - it's a human. It's wrong, but I'm not voting on abortion this time around. This issue is a minor factor in my vote.
Affirmative Action: It's wrong, pretty much everything should be about merit - but this is a dead issue. This issue isn't factoring in my vote.
Alternative Fuels: Nuclear power should be
the fuel, everything else should be alternative. Electricity should come from nuclear and, in time, we can and will increase our usage of electric cars, which means that we will be indirectly supplying our cars with nuclear power. This issue is a major factor in my vote.
Capital Punishment: There's nothing wrong with it, it
can save taxpayers money, but should only be applied when laws are fixed so that it does, and in cases where there is a strong public outcry. This issue isn't really factoring into my vote.
Censorship: Censorship of public television is ok, nudity and language isn't necessary on PBS. As far as censoring the (real) Press, that's a given - it should never happen. This issue isn't really factoring into my vote.
Cuba: Open trade, but continue some form of sanctions. This issue isn't a factor in my vote.
Current Administration (Bush/Cheney): What does it matter in 2008 elections? They've failed/betrayed conservatives, but they aren't running.
Current Congress: Ineffective. I really beleive that many Democrats in Congress aren't doing anything to help the war effort, but are in fact trying to make things worse - even if they're opposed to it, that's wrong. I'm going to pay close attention to who is on the ballot and look at their economic voting record.
Education: Wow, it sucks. I'd like to see more privatization in it. This isn't a field where any logically-minded person can complain about privatization, if a private school charges horrible rates and is ineffective then they won't be in business. Private schools do better because they have to do better, and they often do cost less, as my high school did.
I would like to see the government give more aid to college education. We desperately need to increase the quality of our technical schools (they aren't horrible, but still need improvement), and we need to increase interest in them. The government should also give more aid in forms like technology grants. This is a major issue for my vote.
Electoral College: States pretty much get as many reps to the electoral college as they get Senators and Representatives. That's perfect, most people who want this to change are ignorant, and think that it's a group of elites (not the politically savy, like members of this site). Not an issue for my vote.
Flag Burning: It's wrong, I might just kick the ******, but I don't see any grounds for the Feds to criminalize it. Not an issue factoring in my vote.
Foreign Policy: No BS. If a country tries to mess with America, America should mess back. If Iran's wants to drive speedboats dangerously close to our ships, we should give them a warning - and if they don't listen, blow them out of the water. Might sound odd, from what I just said, but I'd like to see more diplomacy. We should improve our relations with Europe and Africa (and the Aussies), but when a foreign military tries to screw with us we should set an example, although speedboats might not be the best thing to make an example of. This is a minor issue in my vote.
Free Trade: Fair trade. Countries like China have exported their goods here without hinderance, while charging outrageous imports on goods and services going from our country to theirs. We should set up tarriffs on Chinese goods equivalent to their tarriff rates on ours, plus a little bit to make up for the time that they've had these tarriffs, without reciprocal tarriffs from us. This is a major issue for my vote.
Gay Rights: It's only a big issue me if it's gay marriage. I think that any two individuals should be able to have most rights granted to married couples simply by signing an agreement. Person x should be able to give person y the right to visit him in hospital, I don't care if they're best friends or sex buddies. This is only a minor issue in my vote.
Global Warming: It's a hype. The world is getting warmer, true, the hype is how responsible humans are for that. We've increased our CO2 emmissions over the last century, and the world's temperature has increased rapidly. At the same time, the eruption of Mount St. Helens released as much CO2 into the atmosphere as mankind has in the last 50 years - and volcanic activity over the last century has been greater than it has in any of the past 20 centuries. This is a minor issue for me.
Globalization: Not a big issue for me.
Gun Control: The right to bear arms is in the second ammenment. This factors into my vote as a major issue.
Healthcare: Government run healthcare is inefficient and destroys competition. What the government should do is set up a healthcare system that is non-profit. People still pay for it, but they still have a choice. If the government healthcare turns out to be efficient, then everyone has saved money and gotten better insurance. This is a minor issue for me, only because none of the candidates will vouch for what I beleive on this issue. I'm ok with Obama and McCain plans, from my understanding of them.
Illegal Immigration: Secure the borders. Set up a double fence, armed guards, 50mm turrets (jk), have the Feds offer assistance to border guards in the form of funds. America has reached the point where we have a German physicist on a long waiting list to come to America, and at the same time a Mexican with an elementary education can hop the border.
Obviously not all Mexicans fit that bill, but the kind that come here illegally tend to, Mexican or not. This is a major issue factoring into my vote.
Marijuana Legalization: Don't really care. I'm opposed to it, but I wouldn't vote against a candidate if they wanted to legalize it.
Media Bias: There's a strong media bias. The only conservative media bias lies with talk shows, which O'Reilly fits into. Those kinds of shows, liberal or conservative, are clear about where they stand.
School Prayer: I could say that I've had experiences that had me radicalized at one point. When I was very young, attending public schools, I was actually spoken to and disciplined for praying before I ate in the cafeteria. That's obviously messed up.
If a local school wants to hold a prayer, that's fine. It isn't infringing on anyone's rights, people have a freedom OF religion, not freedom from religion. If a local school district wants to have a prayer, that's fine - it should be very inclusive. Quite obviously, prayer can't be mandatory or compulsory.
It's kind of like the pledge. We use to say the pledge of allegiance in school, which mentions God
, and it was read over the intercom. Participation was voluntary. Some stood in silence, some stood and said the pledge, some stood and said the pledge with their hand over their heart (I knew a few who recited it with a salute), and most just sat down and waited for it to be over. This is an important issue factoring into my vote.
Separation of Church and State: People take it out of context. Separation of church and state means that we can't have a state religion, as England does and did have at the time of the Declaration of Independence. When Hillary says "God bless you" she isn't violating the separation of church and state, as some very liberal-minded people in my area think. If GW holds a prayer, that isn't a violation of the separation of church and state either. This is a minor issue factoring into my vote.
Social Security: Continue making payments to those who have paid in. To those still paying in, offer the option to invest some of what they pay.
Stem Cell Research: Ethical research. In most cases it's perfectly acceptable.
The Constitution: Respect the Constitution... Not sure what else I'm supposed to say... John McCain was born on an American base, which is American soil, and so can lawfully run for President?
United Nations: It's a joke. It's a good idea, but we are not under it's authority and don't need it's permission to take action.
War in Iraq: "Finish the job". I hate saying the same thing that Bush said, but we've put so much into Iraq, we need to keep the positive trend going. In time Iraq will be a stable country, it's been stabilizing with every passing day as it's security forces grow.
Welfare: We ought to expand who is eligible for unemployment benefits. Welfare should be generous with children. Focus on finding work for those who need it. I prefer Democatic polices on this issue, but I still am not fond of their policies.
Wiretapping: Get a warrant to wiretap citizens - but even then I'm uneasy about it.
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