My Political Platform: Phrases in this posting are borrowed from Ralph Nader's web site. I give this site full credit for all quotes. These are 25 issues I'd like to run on. I'd like to apologize for the screwy numbering system. I hope and pray there are no repetitions or omissions.
0. Oppose means you believe: The fetus is a human being who has rights independent of its mother's rights. You are "pro-life." While abortion under certain circumstances might be tolerated, the basic rights belong to the fetus, not the mother.
1. Support means you believe: Under-represented groups should be favored, but perhaps basing results on formal quotas goes too far. Nevertheless, the government should prosecute companies which discriminate against women and minorities.
2. Oppose means you believe: Homosexuality is a lifestyle choice, and therefore those who choose it should live by the consequences of their choice. Marriage between a man and a woman is the central institution of American society - we shouldn't do anything that perverts that concept or threatens that ideal.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. Support means you believe: The Trust Fund might be invested in the stock market or via some other private investment vehicle. Individuals should be given at least some control over how their retirement funds are invested.
6. 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.
7. Support means you believe: The death penalty and other strict forms of law enforcement will reduce the crime rate by removing criminals from the streets and by deterring others from criminal acts. Capital punishment laws should be enforced, although perhaps adjusted to ensure a fair process and to avoid mistakes.
8. Oppose means you believe: Strict enforcement of pre-determined sentencing threatens civil rights and should be used cautiously. Police, courts and prisons should focus on effective enforcement rather than strict enforcement. Addendum: I thought this article was in reference to the Three Strikes Law. My position is to only draw laws that you can enforce with vigor.
9. Support means you believe: It's not the instrument, it's the morality. Gun ownership should not be restricted - most gun owners use them safely and responsibly. To reduce gun-related crimes, address the moral problems of society and other issues.
10. Oppose means you believe: Flatter taxes benefit the wealthy more than the lower and middle class. We should focus tax relief on the majority of taxpayers instead of on the richest few percent, while preserving important deductions like mortgage interest and charitable donations.
11. Support means you believe: The government should make few restrictions on immigration. If the number of immigrants is too high, establish an immigration fee and raise it until the number of immigrants is acceptable. Or change the immigration quotas by some other method.
12. 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.
13. 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.
14. 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.
15. 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.
16. Strongly Support means you believe: The United Nations is a force for good in the world. We should consult with the UN Security Council before any attacks abroad. Foreign aid fosters global cooperation and
17. 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.
18. 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.
19. Oppose means you believe: Support welfare reform like welfare-to-work and welfare block grants, as long as the basic system remains within the federal government.
20. Police must follow the law too
On police brutality: “Lawless behavior by the police encourages less respect for the law.” The show "Cops" has the twin virtues of proactive enforcement and also fairness and civility.
Source: Campaign Speech,
21. Product liability suits are a pillar of democracy
Most people will tell you that if they’re ripped off, defrauded or injured by someone’s negligence, they should be able to go into court, get compensation, get refunds, get justice against the wrong-doers-against the manufacturers of defective products or of untested pharmaceuticals’ side effects.
The insurance industry and its clients-the manufacturers and other companies-basically say, look, we don’t want to fight this out in the courts of law before a civil jury and the judge; we want to grease legislation in Washington and state capitols and take away these rights, make it very difficult for people to get adequate damages, to introduce evidence in court, to get a competent lawyer. And this is what’s called “tort reform.” We call it “Tort DeForm.”
This is an attack on a unique pillar of our democracy. This is the pride of the world. Only in
22. Lawyers & victims need unlimited contingency fees
A: Corporate executives want to handicap the lawyers who represent injured and swindled consumers. So how do you do it? Well, these companies want full economic incentives for them to make profit; they want to reduce the contingent fee incentive for lawyers so they’re less likely to take these risky cases, because they only get paid when they win. So, it’s bad enough that they don’t get paid when they don’t win -- because all other professions, doctors and everyone else gets paid whether they win or lose -- but, even when they win, this would cut their contingent fee very substantially. And pressure their consumer clients to consider settlement offers whereby they -- not the defendant -- have to reveal all the evidence before they start the process of depositions and discovery. So, it’s a way to handicap both the victim / plaintiffs and their lawyers, to rig the playing field, make it more likely the corporations will win the lawsuit.
23. Regulatory agencies are needed to fight corporate crime
The other aspect is that most regulatory agencies have standards that either are obsolete or they’re so modest that they’re easily complied with. We need to give our laws teeth and make penalties for violating them so severe corporations won't want to do it.
24. A FOREWARD LOOKING ATTITUDE TWORDS SCIENTIFIC ENDEAVORS
We need to with the federal government encourage for promote stem cell research and also energy research, as well as vastly accelerating our languishing Space program.
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