Sunday, November 12, 2006

Donkeys and Elephants

Like I said in my previous post, I was in Virginia. Being close to “the beltway” makes me feel a bit more politically inclined. On the last day of the training, someone asked me "why I was a Republican". Without thinking much, I rattled off a few things that I thought I should write down here. In no particular order here are some of the things that I believe are important.


Less Government - I think there needs to be less government, less taxes, less programs.
Simpler taxes - I think paying/filing your taxes should be less complicated.
Taxes in general - I think the more you make, the more taxes you should pay.
Guns - I think any law-abiding citizen should be allowed to buy and carry a gun.
Abortion - I'm against it however, I think a women has the right to choose.
Budget - I think our current government spends too much money and we need to get this under control.
Freedom of religion - I think it is really important that everyone has the right to choose how, when, and what they worship.
Capital punishment - I believe that if you take the life of someone else (especially if it was premeditated) then you should die.
Education - I think more control should be given at the local level. Parents ought to have the choice about how/where their children are taught. More money ought to be given to teachers. Lower teacher-student ratios, more accountability in the schools.

Are there more issues to list here? Certainly. I just thought it would be good to write some of these things down. I think over the past few years that I've moved more towards the middle of the road. I CERTAINLY do not like/support the far left/Hollywood/radical/ultra-liberal movement. However, the far right is just as dangerous. In the airport this afternoon I picked up Lou Dobbs' new book "War on the Middle Class". In the brief few minutes that I thumbed through the pages, the key idea that I got from the book was the need for all of us to reread (or read) and ponder the the documents: Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights. That's what I'm going to do this week.





3 comments:

Kevin said...

Good advice. I'll put them on my list as well. Make sure and post your thoughts.

Norm said...

Jeff,

Interesting post. I was fascinated with your list. I agree with the list, but I have a hard time seeing how this makes you a Republican. Let's see:

Less Government - I think there needs to be less government, less taxes, less programs.

That's a wash. Bush has not pulled back spending at all. Deficit's bigger than ever.

Simpler taxes - I think paying/filing your taxes should be less complicated.

Trust me, the R's were even more guilty than the D's in setting up the current tax code.

Taxes in general - I think the more you make, the more taxes you should pay.

So you are against the flat tax and are in favor of progressive taxation? That makes you more D than R.

Guns - I think any law-abiding citizen should be allowed to buy and carry a gun.

That's a wash.

Abortion - I'm against it however, I think a women has the right to choose.

That matches up more closely with the D's than the R's. Especially in Utah. The Utah R platform goes WAY beyond what the LDS church policy with regards to abortion.

Budget - I think our current government spends too much money and we need to get this under control.

See above.

Freedom of religion - I think it is really important that everyone has the right to choose how, when, and what they worship.

That's a wash.

Capital punishment - I believe that if you take the life of someone else (especially if it was premeditated) then you should die.

More R than D I suppose.

Education - I think more control should be given at the local level.

So you don't like Bush's "No Child Left Behind" fiasco? Neither do I.

Parents ought to have the choice about how/where their children are taught. More money ought to be given to teachers. Lower teacher-student ratios, more accountability in the schools.

That's a mix of R and D.

Sounds to me like you have an identity crisis, my friend. This same list might make a better argument for "Why I'm a democrat". Sounds like you need to join me as an independent.

R. Jeffrey Davis said...

Maybe I'm just a "populist"