Politik

I normally don't care much for politics, but just as with football and baseball, I've been more interested in them than ever this year. There are so many candidates among both the democrat and republican parties, that it is hard to keep up with who is saying what. I took a quiz on the internet, not sure if it is a completely unbiased quiz with regards to political affiliations, but here is the way I answered the twenty questions, and the results I received. I was going to list some comments by each of them, but then erased them because I didn't like them. By the way, the quiz can be found at: http://www.speakout.com/VoteMatch/senate2006.asp?quiz=2008.

1. Abortion is a woman's right.

Strongly Oppose means you believe: Abortion is immoral because it kills a human being, and should never be tolerated. `Roe v. Wade' should be overturned and we should protest abortion clinics as other forms of injustice are protested.

2. Require companies to hire more women & minorities.

Oppose means you believe: Affirmative Action is a noble idea, but should not be enforced by government. Government should enforce an end to racial prejudice, period.

3. Sexual orientation protected by civil rights laws.

Support means you believe: Homosexuals should be treated with equal respect as other members of society, not treated as criminals. You acknowledge the diversity of our society by including same-sex partners in most or all benefits of heterosexual marriage partners, but civil unions are preferable to using the term 'marriage.'

4. Teach family values in public schools.

Support means you believe: We need to teach values in our schools. The more our children are exposed to prayer, the Ten Commandments, and other traditional values, the better off they are.


5. Death penalty.

Strongly Oppose means you believe: State-sanctioned killing is wrong. Capital punishment should be abolished as a form of 'cruel and unusual punishment.'


6. Mandatory Three Strikes sentencing laws.

Support means you believe: Keep 'Three Strikes' laws on the books because they seem to be effective, but consider ways to deal with special circumstances so we can avoid horror stories of inappropriate imprisonment.

7. Absolute right to gun ownership.

Strongly Support means you believe: The right to bear arms is a basic Constitutional right and expresses the democratic principle of self-defense against tyrannical government. Leave gun rights as they are.

8.More federal funding for health coverage.

Strongly Oppose means you believe: Nationalized health care would entail a government takeover of a large portion of the economy and undue intrusions into our personal medical histories. Remove the federal government from the health care industry.

9. Privatize Social Security.

Strongly Support means you believe: Our retirement funds should not be entrusted to the government. The entire Social Security system should be run instead as we currently run IRAs, Keogh plans, 401(k)'s, and other private pension plans.

10. Parents choose schools via vouchers.

Support means you believe: School choice helps the poor who would otherwise be stuck in failing schools. Why should only the elite be able to afford private school? Subsidize parents' school choices to foster equality, as long as the school respects separation of church and state, and meets basic state standards. Charter schools are a good compromise.

11. Replace coal & oil with alternatives.

Support means you believe: We should establish a market-based solution for excess carbon emissions, and the problem will be solved. The Kyoto Protocol should require developing countries' participation to make the solution work.

12. Drug use is immoral: enforce laws against it.

Oppose means you believe: We should have regulated decriminalization. Medical marijuana might be legalized, for example, as might clean hypodermic needles. Our drug policy should be reformed, with less criminal penalties and more drug abuse clinics.

13. Allow churches to provide welfare services.

Strongly Support means you believe: Replace the federal welfare system with services provided by churches and other faith-based organizations. Supply block grants to those organizations instead of funding welfare agencies.

14. Decrease overall taxation of the wealthy.

Strongly Support means you believe: Ideally, the income tax and the IRS should be abolished. Perhaps a national sales tax is a good replacement. Lower and flatter taxes are a good first step.

15. Illegal immigrants earn citizenship.

Oppose means you believe: Maintain legal immigration while enforcing against illegal immigration. Tighten our borders - decrease substantially or stop all immigration so we can address domestic problems.

16. Support & expand free trade.

Oppose means you believe: Free Trade should be replaced by Fair Trade. Free trade is not in our national interest when it poses a risk to job security, causes humanitarian problems overseas, or results in environmental damage. Globalization should focus on benefiting people instead of benefiting multinational corporations.

17. More spending on armed forces.

Oppose means you believe: Build smart, not necessarily big. Money is often better spent on issues other than defense. We should cut back on troops stationed abroad and focus on quality of our troops instead of quantity.

18. Stricter limits on political campaign funds.

Oppose means you believe: Politicians will always find loopholes in any campaign finance reform, so the best approach is just to monitor campaigns for lawbreaking and leave the rest to the press. Better reporting of donations would be useful.

19. The Patriot Act harms civil liberties.

Strongly Support means you believe: The Patriot Act is unpatriotic. The terrorists are winning because they have forced us to limit our Constitutional civil rights. We should not give up our liberties in exchange for security, because if we do we will end up with neither.

20. Replace US troops with UN in Iraq.

Oppose means you believe: Phase out foreign aid - people who want to contribute to foreign countries should do so privately. And phase out involvement in foreign wars - as recommended by the Founding Fathers, we should not become entangled in foreign affairs.

Results: I had the best percentage match with Ron Paul at 60%. Others at the top were Tom Tancredo (52%), Duncan Hunter (50%), and John McCain (45%) Highest ranking democrat candidate is Bill Richardson at 33%. Most of the front-runners from both parties are ranked low, including Romney (40%), Hillary Clinton (30%), Rudy Giuliani (28%), and Barack Obama (23%). Joe Biden is last at 13%, which is interesting, because he was ranked first for Lana when she took the quiz. Another note of interest: I heard last night that Dennis Kucinich would consider picking up Ron Paul as his running mate if he won the Democratic nomination. Ron Paul had that 60% match mentioned, whereas Dennis Kucinich was down at 23%.

So, if I had to give support to any nominee, which by the way, I don't have to, this is America!, it would be Ron Paul. I have never attended a caucus before, but am considering registering as a Republican to attend the Republican caucus and show support for Ron Paul. If (an when) he didn't/doesn't get the nomination, I don't know if I would simply support the winning Republican, or simply abstain from voting. I suppose it would depend on who wins each of the respective nominations. We'll wait and see.