[quote name='BigT']the guys I would like in office (Alan Keyes or Ron Paul)[/quote]
:shock:
Getting $600 of money that was previously stolen from you is not welfare.
Well, y'know, rich folks are maxing out at $600, too. And, since they pay more into the government than you do, it's probably money they're entitled to more than you are. Why give back "money that was stolen" equally, when people don't pay in equally?
If you want to help out the person who had the most "money stolen," I'll see if I can find an address for Carl Lindner, Oprah Winfrey (though it appears you don't like her much), Bill Gates, or perhaps Richard Mellon Sciafe...and you can forward your check to them. They deserve it more than you do, don't they?
On Obama: Anyone endorsed by Oprah automatically loses my vote
. Plus , as has been mentioned, all his speeches just say... "we have to move to the future" "believe in politics of hope," "si se puede" etc. Such slogans are good for brain dead hippies on college campuses to repeat ad nauseum (unfortunately, my alma mater UCLA is big on this crap). But, his speeches really don't provide much insight into his policies.
Yes, yes, that's lovely. I understand that. But he does have a platform, and he does have policies, and they are available for you to read. Go to his website, they're there in good detail. It's one thing to say "he has no platform," and another to say "he doesn't convey his platform on TV." Well, that's a fair criticism, but he's not the only one blathering out motivational speeches and platitudes. Besides, you don't watch TV, right? You should have spent your time, then, reading up on his platform, even if it's just to discover what you're voting against. It's out there, so don't blame him because his stump speeches end up on CNN.
Guys like Alan Keyes and Ron Paul tell you straight up what their plans would be... On issues that Barack has taken a stand in the past through his voting record, I pretty much disagree with almost all of his positions:
*Supports partial birth abortions. As a Catholic, I do not support killing.
Well, you're wrong here. As a Catholic, you support the vague notion of a "just war," I'm sure. As for abortion itself, that's another debate for another time, but it would appear that your choice come November is McCain or nobody. But let's not be so silly as to let a single issue get in the way of voting for a candidate.
As a Catholic, I do not support allowing the poor to remain living in poverty, or the sick to remain uncared for. You don't seem to be too interested in all of that. But I bet I know a dead bearded Jew who is pretty interested in that.
*Has pretty much always voted for tax increases including maintaining the estate tax and capital gains taxes. I do not like giving money to a gov't that will largely waste or redistribute it.
Are you a member of one of the 8,800 households that are subject to the estate tax? Is your inheritance from your parents going to be over 4 million dollars? If so, then you can fear the estate tax, as it taxes 50% of all monies inherited over $4 million. If you inherit $4 million and a dollar, your tax is 50 cents. Of course, if you aren't one of those families in the top of the top of the top 0.1%, you have nothing to be afraid of.
As for a capital gains tax, since people do legitimately earn their sole income on capital gains and investments, I find this as legitimate as you and I being taxed for the jobs we do. But you disagree, and believe the already wealthy deserve more of the money they already have too much of to spend.
*Bigger federal spending in the medical system with a fuzzy idea of how to organize the system. I support small gov't with privatization of industries. I've worked in private hospitals vs. gov't run county hospitals... guess where I'd like to be if I ever need to be admitted.
Hope you can afford it, and I also hope you don't suffer a career-debilitating injury or terminal illness.
*Immigration: I don't really know where he stands -- it seems like all he goes back to is "comprehensive immigration reform," whatever that's supposed to mean. He has supported ID/ driver's license for illegals in the past.
Now, I somewhat agree with you here, but let's be reasonable. We, as a nation, cannot simultaneously control government spending and also have an efficient plan to remove 12-20 million people from the country and deport them. Something needs to be done one way or another, and while I'm not wholly in favor of an amnesty-based solution, it's really the only reasonable direction to take it, even if it's done grudgingly. If done in concert with securing the southern border, that's fine. By itself, though, it would encourage even more illegal immigration en masse. Perhaps we can also levy disgustingly steep fines for companies that hire illegal workers.
'em. Put 'em out of business for "violating their compact with American society." Right? Right.
I'm also more concerned, speaking of people "taking our jobs," with corporations moving call centers and manufacturing overseas. But, hey, it helps out those poor, downtrodden folks whose incomes depend on capital gains, so if it puts food on their table, then great!
As for the points you brought up:
*Spending less money on prisons? Hell, instead of sitting in their cells or working out all day, they should be forced to work hard labor in order to pay for their stay. Send them to Alaska for all I care. They broke their compact with society and by doing so put themselves in a state of war with society, thus forfeiting their rights.
Several points:
1) How is that related, in any way, to spending less on prisons?
2) You've overlooked my point in favor of the oft-dispelled notion that making prison even more unpleasant will actually deter them from committing later crimes. When you have rearrest and reincarceration rates over 65% and 47%, respectively, coupled with 600K+ leaving prison every year, you need to develop a more reasonable plan to prepare for the fact that these people are moving back into your neighborhood at some point.
*Tax cuts? When has Obama ever voted for a tax cut? Who is the middle class? Families with an income of
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