User:Rspeed
I consider myself to be a strong fiscal conservative and a social moderate. If you call me a liberal I'll call you an idiot.
Overview of my Ideas
These are ideas, not beliefs. I try not to have beliefs as they cause irrational thoughts. Below is the outline of common conservative characteristics and my stance on the topics. A plus indicates that I agree, a minus indicates that I disagree and a plus/minus indicates that I have a neural or partial stance.
+ A strong national defense
More correctly, I support an intelligent national defense. The current state of our military is bloated and dominates far too much of our federal budget. I support efforts to decrease the size of our military, but strongly support efforts to maintain its ability to react quickly to significant threats. Both the Second World War and the Cold War caused our military spending to grow, but not enough has been done to recover from that.
- Return of prayer in school
Though I am not offended by prayer, I do not support prayer in public schools as it is incompatible with the first amendment.
+ The Second Amendment Right to Keep and Bear Arms
I disagree strongly with the liberal view that the second amendment only protects militias.
Economic allocative efficiency (as opposed to popular equity)
± Stronger law enforcement and anti-crime laws, including the death penalty
± Parents, rather than school teachers, educating children about sex
As it is a public health issue, educating children about sex should be a free public service.
+ Choice in education
And I believe we have this in the United States.
+ Private medical care and retirement plans
The health care issue is a social problem caused by abusive litigation. Universal health care will only exacerbate the issue.
+ Weakening or cancellation of failed social support programs
There are many people who are dependent on social programs who are capable of being self-sufficient.
- Prohibition of abortion
I see this as a personal issue. I personally disagree with abortion, but it's not my decision to make. Additionally, see my opinion on other types of prohibition below.
- Opposition to same-sex marriage licenses
Marriage is a contract, and I see no reason to limit a marriage contract based on gender or numbers. The only arguments I have seen against gay marriage are religious in origin (see First Amendment for my opinion).
- Support of laws against pornography
In general? Absolutely not. This would just be another failed prohibition.
+ Generally opposed to the United Nations
This is a bit of a mixed bag and I don't want the US to leave the UN, however I do believe it is flawed in a number of significant ways and isn't serving its intended purpose.
+ Support enforcement of current laws regarding immigration
They exist for a very good reason. At the same time, we should make it easier to become a citizen. Either effort alone won't solve the problem.
+ Support tightening of border security
I'm not so foolish to believe that we can truly seal them. Trying to do so is ineffective and a massive waste of money. Like our military, we need to be smarter about solving the problem.
+ Respect for our military ... past and present
Absolutely. They've earned our respect. I also disagree with the notion that liberals don't respect our military.
+ Low taxes
See my stance on the military and social programs. Less spending means less taxes.
+ Opening foreign markets to U.S. products
It's important to protect our GNP. Though I have a limited knowledge of international trade, my impression is that the best way to accomplish this is a positive foreign policy (something that has been suffering for a long time, especially during George W Bush's administration) and to limit government interference of businesses.
Other important topics
+ Ending prohibition on drugs and prostitution
Although I've never used illegal drugs or hired a prostitute, I believe that their illegal status has no positive effect and only leads to an increase in criminal activity. I believe that both should be treated much like alcohol. Prohibition does not work because you cannot legislate morality.
+ Return to the gold standard
The US Federal Reserve serves only to devalue the US Dollar. The gold standard maintained the strong US economy during most of the nation's history and should be reimplemented immediately to prevent a collapse of our economy.
