How about a political survey?

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
In the interest of curbing some of the misconceptions people have accrued about others, how about stating your position on the following topics. I am personally hoping to once and for all end the "Republican/Democratic blinders" argument used to immediately discredit people in AO, because it's never that black and white.



So here's the positions, please state your position on each as concisely as possible:

........................................

1 ) Abortion



2 ) Drug Legalization



3 ) Government Spending



4 ) Gun Control



5 ) Healthcare



6 ) Education



7 ) Immigration



8 ) The War on Terrorism



9 ) Gay Marriage
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 80
    rageousrageous Posts: 2,170member
    1 ) Abortion - Pro Choice



    2 ) Drug Legalization - Pro Legalization



    3 ) Government Spending - Out of control. Pork must be scaled back and the wasted dollars put to better use.



    4 ) Gun Control - Pro-guns, anti assault weapons



    5 ) Healthcare - Free healthcare for all



    6 ) Education - Enough is being spent. It's time to improve the system. Longer school years, possibly all year around.



    7 ) Immigration - It's a bit out of hand, but immigrants are simply taking jobs Americans are too arrogant to take.



    8 ) The War on Terrorism - A noble cause, but misguided as is right now.



    9 ) Gay Marriage - All for it.
  • Reply 2 of 80
    1. Yes, at any stage w/ medicial discretion.



    2. No. Ban alcohol and tobacco.



    3. Cut the military, increase funding for social programs, space and science.



    4. Repeal the 2nd amendment



    5. Universal single-payer healthcare



    6. Desegregate areas w/ mandatory busing. Free college for all by #3.



    7. Open borders but contrain entry based on educational attainment (higher the better).



    8. Stop supporting Israel and become neutral.



    9. Yes.
  • Reply 3 of 80
    i'll bite...



    1 ) Abortion--pro choice...because i love and respect my mother, my wife, my daughters, i am pro choice...i respect them enough to know that they will base decision in their lives according to their beliefs and their situation (mental, emotional, physical, financial) and i love them enough to stand by and support them no matter what that decision is...i have two teenage daughters...i hope they never even have to think about abortion...that when, and if, they ever get pregnant it is a beautiful, wonderful thing...but if they have no say to what happens to/in their bodies, then they are second class citizens...and i will fight to the death to prevent my daughters from being second class citizens...



    2 ) Drug Legalization--legalize and tax mary jane...anything else should be a doctors prescription and somewhat hard to come by...



    3 ) Government Spending--cut the defecit...1000 points of light could work for the military also



    4 ) Gun Control--let people have their guns (i never will...but i am open to the "needs" of others)...but make a national registry of ballistic tests of all weapons...that way all crimes with guns can be, if not tracked (stolen weapons and such--though people with guns should be somewhat responsible to keep them out of the hands of both children and criminals) can be used more easily in trials and such...



    5 ) Healthcare--needs a lot of work...one third of the employees at my hospital are purely in the business of charging or collecting money...that's a lot of money that could be used on health care...almost 50% of the employees have no patient contact (billing, collections, lab techs, administration, human resources)--heathcare should be available to all americans...



    6 ) Education--see above...needs a lot of work...how do we "force" parents to be more involved?? children with involved parents do much better than parents who aren't involved...



    7 ) Immigration--we all came from elsewhere...



    8 ) The War on Terrorism--better intelligence (we need spys, not cameras in the sky), better relationships, less wars, better economic realities for all...



    9 ) Gay Marriage--i love and wish my gay friends well...if they wish to marry, god bless them and good luck
  • Reply 4 of 80
    (edit: condensed)



    1 ) Pro-choice.

    2 ) Repeal drug laws.

    3 ) Bureaucracy is bad.

    4 ) Repeal gun laws.

    5 ) Privatize healthcare.

    6 ) Privatize education.

    7 ) Open borders.

    8 ) Anti-preemptive warfare. Repeal the unconstitutional patriot act.

    9 ) Get gov. out of the marriage business.
  • Reply 5 of 80
    1) Pro-Life

    2) Prescriptions only

    3) Decrease military spending

    4) Let the people have guns if they want them!

    5) don't know enough about it, cuz i'm only a teen

    6) better screening process for teachers, alot of my old teachers didn't know what they were talking about

    7) first come first serve

    8 ) terrorism is an eternal enemy, we need better counter-intelligence

    9) i have gay friends, i don't support gay marriage
  • Reply 6 of 80
    gilschgilsch Posts: 1,995member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by rageous

    In the interest of curbing some of the misconceptions people have accrued about others, how about stating your position on the following topics. I am personally hoping to once and for all end the "Republican/Democratic blinders" argument used to immediately discredit people in AO, because it's never that black and white.



    I'll play...keeping in mind that you're not immune from your own criticism. When someone starts a strong thread like the one pfflam started...it shouldn't be minimized as "Bush bashing".

    ........................................

    1 ) Abortion: I'm pro choice...barely. I used to be against abortion unless it was caused by rape. But I'm beginning to understand that it's not my body and they're not my circumstances. More power to the people. Karma-darma.



    2 ) Drug Legalization: bring it on! Seriously now. I think pot should be legalized and taxed. Even though I haven't smoked in years, I know how it has been ridiculously/erroneously maligned. Besides, the plant can be a valuable source for raw materials.



    3 ) Government Spending: current admin. has brought it to a whole new out of control level. It needs to be stopped. We don't need half a trillion dollars for the military industrial complex err defense. The cold war is over.



    4 ) Gun Control: I'd love to live in a country with no guns. Back to reality. I guess the next best thing to do is to tighten up the laws and have much stricter controls over who buys/owns what and how they use them.



    5 ) Healthcare: healthcare for all.



    6 ) Education: free college for everyone. More money for education, less for weapons.



    7 ) Immigration: most jobs,no one else wants, so I have no problem with temporarily legalizing those workers already here. Work, pay your taxes, learn the language, lead a clean life and then change to permanent status.Write stricter laws and watch "outsourcing" go wild. Gotta find a balance.



    8 ) The War on Terrorism: tricky one. It must be done, but tackle the progblem at the source and leave out what's best for the large campaign donors and large military industrial complex corporations. Why do they hate us? How can we lead to create peace and less ill-will? How can we work with our allies to do that? How can we work with our allies around the world to stop people from becoming extremists?



    9 ) Gay Marriage: not sure about this one because the concept is rather new in the US. Marriage is just a paper contract to begin with so I'm leaning-slowly- towards for. Give me more time
  • Reply 7 of 80
    rageousrageous Posts: 2,170member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Gilsch

    I'll play...keeping in mind that you're not immune from your own criticism. When someone starts a strong thread like the one pfflam started...it shouldn't be minimized as "Bush bashing".



    perhaps you could re-read what it is I said. I did no minimization.
  • Reply 8 of 80
    Abortion: Ai me. It's not going away, and that's probably more for the good than the bad.



    Drug legalisation: Sign of a civilised country. Legal cocoa-leaf tea would put Colombian cocaine barons out of business.



    Government spending: Tax me. The idea that public works aren't the sign of a prosperous, ambitious nation is very recent and very wrong. We should all spend more money on Africa and less on weapons.



    Gun control: I live in a country where it's in the news when someone gets shot so I'm not best qualified to talk about it, but if I lived in America or South Africa I'd be for it.



    Healthcare: Hospitals for the poor - hell, hospitals for everyone - are good. Please tax me to pay for it. I've no objection to private healthcare either, but no-one should be able to opt-out of the public contribution.



    Education: Please tax me to pay for good public education. I don't want to be mugged by your children.



    Immigration: I am an immigrant and my parents are immigrants. Come round for tea. I like it in London but one day I might emigrate to Spain. Mostly when people object to immigration it's people who aren't white they have in mind. In an ideal world there wouldn't be any passports at all.



    The War on Terrorism is like 'the war on drugs'. It's not a real war and it's emphatically not winnable. The world is more dangerous now than it was when George Bush was elected, and although I know that 9/11 would have happened no matter who the President was I wish it had been a man with some understanding of statecraft and the moral obligations of the very strong.



    Gay marriage: I'm not afraid of two grown men being in love with each other any more than I'm afraid of two grown women being in love with each other. (I'm afraid of falling in love with a man, but that's another question. Joke.) If you want to tell the world about your love then you deserve to be congratulated and invited to share the benefits rather than made to feel like a pervert.
  • Reply 9 of 80
    1) Abortion - Pro-choice (although it is not a choice I would ever be happy to have to make myself).



    2) Drug Legalization - Legalize and tax marijuana, decriminalize personal use possession, provide prescriptions to opiate addicts, spend the money that is currently wasted on drug wars in 3rd world countries / on pointless nonsense like the RAVE act on something that might actually help people (factual and balanced education about health risks instead of scare-mongering and disinformation would be a good start).



    3) Government Spending - Spend less on the military and more on things that will actually improve the quality of peoples lives.



    4) Gun Control - No problem with people owning guns for hunting, but there is no reason why assault weapons should be available to anyone outside of the military. If handguns are to be available, it should only be after an extremely rigorous screening process with frequent license renewals required.



    5) Healthcare - Free for all. Failing that, affordable for all, free for anyone under a certain income level. Nobody who has been working hard at a middle income job should be financially ruined because he or she is unlucky enough to become sick.



    6) Education - Pay teachers more. Allow them to actually discipline students who are preventing others from learning. Make 3rd level education readily available to all.



    7) Immigration - What?s the point in having free movement of goods and capital if the movement of labor is restricted?



    8) The War on Terrorism - I?m in favor of preventing terrorism, but the term ?War on Terrorism? as almost as bullshit as the way in which this supposed war is being fought. There are root causes of terrorism, and they are simply not being addressed. Blowing more people up certainly isn't the way to go about it.



    9) Gay Marriage - For it.





    Great idea for a thread, by the way...



    Edit: stupid smileys
  • Reply 10 of 80
    mlnjrmlnjr Posts: 230member
    1 ) Abortion - Saying you're not pro-life is not the same thing as saying you're in favor of mandatory abortions all the time. I'm pro-choice. I'm also not a woman, so I don't think my opinion on this matters very much although if I were ever in a situation with a girlfriend or wife where the issue came up, that might change. It may not be my pregnancy, but it's partly my child. It shouldn't be illegal, and it shouldn't be a litmus test for new Supreme Court nominees.



    2 ) Drug Legalization - I liked what Dean had to say about drug problems should first be treated as medical issues before they're treated as criminal offenses. I also don't like the mandatory minimum sentences that are often handed out for minor drug offenses. Obviously, the Prohibition era showed us that if you make something illegal that's not going to reduce the demand for it. At the same time, I don't think all drugs should be legal. Marijuana, maybe.



    3 ) Government Spending - The party of fiscal responsibility sure doesn't know how to handle its money. I liked things better when the country wasn't spending money it didn't have.



    4 ) Gun Control - Ban all assault weapons, mandatory waiting periods during criminal background checks on all new owners, close the gun show loophole, etc. I'm for very very very strict control of guns except for any gun pointed at that clown Charlton Heston.



    5 ) Healthcare - I can't afford to pay for my own health insurance because a preexisting condition makes me expensive. Canadians are lucky to have a government that takes care of them.



    6 ) Education - As long as evolution is taught as a science and creationism is taught as a belief, I'm OK.



    7 ) Immigration - I don't really know enough about the issue to comment.



    8 ) The War on Terrorism - Most of the 9/11 hijackers were from Saudi Arabia, and so far that country is not a target in this war.



    9 ) Gay Marriage - None of the government's business.



    I'm going to add another one here, since I was surprised not to see it.

    10) Capital punishment - Love it love it love it, but I think having an uncle who was stabbed to death and whose killer got a prison sentence instead of a death sentence just puts me in a vengeful mood. I'm pretty liberal on many things, but I'm definitely not anti death penalty.
  • Reply 11 of 80
    Quote:

    Tax me. The idea that public works aren't the sign of a prosperous, ambitious nation is very recent and very wrong.



    Really, I was not aware that Adam Smith was very recent.



    I'd say Marx is more recent. And more wrong.
  • Reply 12 of 80
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Ganondorf

    Really, I was not aware that Adam Smith was very recent.



    I'd say Marx is more recent. And more wrong.




    I'm trying not to be thread-derailer-in-chief anymore and I think that this thread should stay the political survey it is rather than the testy argument it'll probably turn into about page 3, but I'll answer this.



    Victorian Britain was big on prisons, hospitals, workhouses, bridges, museums and railways. It was axiomatic that public works were a source of pride for the nation and a symbol of 'progression' and I'm pretty sure that Queen Victoria acceded to the throne a couple of decades after Adam Smith's death at least.



    It wasn't until the Thatcher government in the 1970s that Britain turned its back on this idea. The change in the political orthodoxy was a genuine revolution.



    In terms of economic theory and when they were first written down, you're probably right since the Bolsheviks came to power in 1917, but in terms of political / economic orthodoxy and practice, you're not.
  • Reply 13 of 80
    brbr Posts: 8,395member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by rageous

    1 ) Abortion - Pro Choice



    2 ) Drug Legalization - Pro Legalization



    3 ) Government Spending - Out of control. Pork must be scaled back and the wasted dollars put to better use.



    4 ) Gun Control - Pro-guns, anti assault weapons



    5 ) Healthcare - Free healthcare for all



    6 ) Education - Enough is being spent. It's time to improve the system. Longer school years, possibly all year around.



    7 ) Immigration - It's a bit out of hand, but immigrants are simply taking jobs Americans are too arrogant to take.



    8 ) The War on Terrorism - A noble cause, but misguided as is right now.



    9 ) Gay Marriage - All for it.




    Ditto except on Immigration. I'm all for plenty of LEGAL immigration but I want to adopt the DisneyLand Policy. If you are at DisneyLand and you cut in line you are thrown out of the park. That's what needs to happen here. ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS or LAWBREAKING SCUMBAGS (let's lay off the PC bullshit because that is what they are) must not be allowed to enjoy ANY of our services because THEY CHEATED. They cut in line. They need to get tossed out.
  • Reply 14 of 80
    brussellbrussell Posts: 9,812member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Hassan i Sabbah

    I'm afraid of falling in love with a man, but that's another question.



    There's nothing to be afraid of Hassan. Be who you are. We'll all still accept you.



    As for the survey, I think people are just too negative about everything, so I'll just say I'm pro- everything.
  • Reply 15 of 80
    haraldharald Posts: 2,152member
    Wow, Hassan's gay? Who knew?



    Abortion is horrible. It should remain legal.



    Drugs should be decriminalised: the War on Drugs has FAILED (that's F A I L E D) because prohibition creates criminals not abstention.



    Government spending ... Free healthcare and support for the poor keeps people from revolting and overthrowing the capitalist system that has made me rich. Bush and the far right are ironically greater threats to capitalism then governments in saner, happier countries like Sweden. Deal with it.



    Guns can be legal as you like; it's fear and fundamental social problems that make the US a dangerous place. But uh you don't need assault rifles and dum dums guys. I'd like a gun, would be fun.



    Education: makes a country safer then guns.



    Immigration:net benefits. Throw 'em out and watch your economy tank. Sorry.



    War on Terror: unwinnable. Rent-a-threat. Less of a problem then global poverty.



    Gay marriage: about as offensive as inter-racial marriage. The argument has been won. If you don't like it, seeing as it has no affect on anything but increased hapiness for your fellow man you're a twat.



    Death penalty. Statistically, impirically, proveably DOES. NOT. REDUCE. MURDER. So it's about fear and revenge and the mark of a state stuck in the Dark Ages.
  • Reply 16 of 80
    1. Prochoice, although I don't think I would choose it for myself.



    2. Prolegalization: Then we can tax it, and use that money to pay for social services and defense



    3. Govt. Spending: Money wasted on pork projects for both sides. Money needs to be spent more wisely, on projects that do the most good for the most people.



    4. Gun Control: Allow for ownership of weapons but strict rules for buying and no more gunshows.



    5. Healthcare: If free health care is impossible, give the poor and middle class access to affordable health care. Divert money from pork barrell projects and corporate welfare to pay for it.



    6. Education: Set a federal minimum standard circulum and make sure each school district has the money to implement it. Perhaps explore ways to convince parents to be involved with their kid's schoolwork.



    7. Immigration: Let them come



    8. War On Terror: To quote the Onion: "We're losing the war on terror. And on drugs. And on AIDS. And on poverty. But man, we really gave it to those Nazis. Those were the days." Increase intelligence, make sure we get it right, do our best to improve our image around the world, including aiding thirdworld countries.



    9. Gay Marriage: It's no of my damn business, nor of the Government. Let them marry.
  • Reply 17 of 80
    1 ) Abortion -- Against, unless it's to save the mother's life.



    2 ) Drug Legalization -- Which drug? It's a gray area for me. I'd probably vote against it though just cause I think we already have enough problems here without everyone running around all drugged up.



    3 ) Government Spending -- Spending on what? Ask me a more specific question. I do think it's gotten a bit out of hand, but I doubt I'd cut the same stuff as everyone else.



    4 ) Gun Control -- Guns don't kill people, people kill people. Guns do make it a bit easier, but I could kill you will a soft-cover bible if I hit you hard enough.



    5 ) Healthcare -- I like being healthy, I'm just not sure how much it should cost or who should pay for it.



    6 ) Education -- For



    7 ) Immigration -- Immigration is good, immigration is great, as long as it's done legally



    8 ) The War on Terrorism -- Which part? In general I'm for it, but at the moment I don't have strong feelings on such a vague question.



    9 ) Gay Marriage -- Against. I wouldn't really mind civil unions though. Yes, I know that's essentially the same thing, and that would mean we'd have two terms for the same thing. I'm just that stubborn.
  • Reply 18 of 80
    1 ) Abortion: (pro) i vary on this. i hate the idea of killing the unborn child (which i believe the poor little bugger to be), but where the woman is raped, or her life is in danger i can't argue against abortions.



    2 ) Drug Legalization: (pro) i'm in favor of legalizing every and all drugs, for recreational and medicinal uses. the war on drugs hasn't helped the situation. users are still using, only now we're being fined, or jailed for it. besides, freedom is inherently granted by bog and the constitution. and this is not a freedom that the government should be concerned with. if they are concerned with "reefer madness" or whatever crazy outlandish and evil things we'll do when high, then they should make those illegal, not the drug. and i wouldn't be totally opposed to a pot tax if it could expedite its legal availability.



    3 ) Government Spending: (con) the government is entirely too large. all kinds of crazy shit should be cut.



    4 ) Gun Control: (pro) 2nd amendment baby. i think all kinds of weapons should be available for us, the people. because the time will come when we must throw off this government, and we may have to fight to convince them.



    5 ) Healthcare: (con) well, i would really like to have some kind of insurance myself. but, i dont like the idea of the government being in charge. and its through my own failings that i'm not insured now, i dont want any one else to be holding my burden.



    6 ) Education: (pro) i think education is the responsibility of the state. thru coll, and possibly after.



    7 ) Immigration: (pro) bring us your tired, your poor, your huddled masses. all of them, or atleast those who managed to walk, run, swim or fly here.



    8 ) The War on Terrorism: (con) entirely too large. "war on [non nation]" doesn't work (look at the war on drugs). you can't have a decisive victory. even if we eradicate osama and his followers, and all of the cards in the saddam deck, more anger will against us. better foreign policy would help this. like not pissing off people in the first place, leading them to grow hateful of us.



    9 ) Gay Marriage: (pro) 100% in favor.
  • Reply 19 of 80
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Harald



    Gay marriage: about as offensive as inter-racial marriage. The argument has been won. If you don't like it, seeing as it has no affect on anything but increased hapiness for your fellow man you're a twat.





    wonderfully worded...well, except maybe the twat part...still, good show young man





    g
  • Reply 20 of 80
    ........................................

    1 ) Abortion - Pro choice



    2 ) Drug Legalization - I don't smoke pot, but I don't think it should be illegal, for it to be illegal and alcohol and cigarettes to be legal is foolish



    3 ) Government Spending - Why are we throwing so much money away? mr. question mark suit seems to have 3 thick volumes of places where the government is throwing away cash, what's the deal with that?



    4 ) Gun Control - I wish that we didn't have any guns, anywhere, in any form.



    5 ) Healthcare - Free Healthcare for all



    6 ) Education - The problem here is with parents and students, students that don't want to work to learn and parents that aren't present enough in their child's learning



    7 ) Immigration - I don't know where I stand on this, I've never really thought about it too much.



    8 ) The War on Terrorism - I'm with Gandhi on this one, violence should not beget violence, I think this 'war', while noble in cause, is being gone about in the wrong ways, and has probably done more to incite would-be terrorists to rise up, it is, as someone mentioned earlier, like the war on drugs.



    9 ) Gay Marriage - I have no problems with this, it's not going to get in my way or affect my life.
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