We can start with Ed, and see if he likes the label.
Kodiak, why do you need labels? What is it about your thought processes that makes you feel the need to "label" not the views, but some kind of "inner being" of others? Do you think that people are all pigeon-holeable? I'm not running from such labels, I just think they're silly.
Why not start with me.
I own lots of guns and I'm a strong second amendment supporter. I think regulation is poorly designed to keep guns away from those who would misuse them and I like the idea of owning the means to take the law into my own hands if I feel it's necessary. Is that liberal?
I don't believe in limiting first amendment rights to free speech. Not at all. Is that liberal?
I believe in the death sentence but I'd like to see it more carefully applied because the evidence proves that poor and minorities are too often given less "justice" than justice would require. Does that make me liberal.
I believe in self defense for individuals and nations. I will, and have, used deadly force both in the service and before and after. I do not, ever, condone the use of force aggressively. Does that make me liberal?
I believe in abortion as a personal choice, but I might not object to limits on the right to abortions after the first trimester. Is that liberal?
I believe in fiscal restraint and that the Congress needs to be reined in by pay as you go rules that can be relaxed only in times of economic distress, and maybe then only by super majority rules. Is that liberal?
I believe that judges should NEVER be subject to election or reelection. Is that liberal?
I believe that insurance costs are primarily driven not by excessive payments to the injureds, but rather by institutional inefficiences and overreaching that's built into the massive insurance industry. I believe that in states that have instituted tort reform the insurance rates are out of control. Still, I wouldn't mind seeing some kind of tort reform that regulated attorney's fees. By the way, did you know that the amount spent on attorney's fees in tort cases for the DEFENSE attorneys was, the last time I checked, as great as that paid to the plaintiff's attorneys. Is that liberal?
I believe in the welfare system and don't mind funding it even if some abuse it. I believe that because I think it does much for many who are truly in need and I don't know how you sort them out. I don't believe in corporate welfare cause no one starves or gets sick when you stop it. Is that liberal?
I don't believe that more than 50-60% of the billions we spend on defense is actually spent in ways that makes us safer. Liberal?
I believe in fighting on behalf of your country while retaining the right to speak out freely against the cause for which you're sent to fight. Liberal?
I think the war on terror is more difficult than it would have been if Bush had made smart choices on fighting it, funding it and securing the cooperation of the world. Liberal?
I believe that the war in Iraq which removed an anti-Islamic and secular dictator and threw the country open to chaos and civil war, destablized the region and created a huge Muslim/Western chasm, is the worst foreign relations move in recent history. Is that liberal?
I believe in letting the free market run even when the effects of the market are tumultuous. I do, however, know that the free market does not take into account free riders, costs that are pushed off into the future or onto others and that an unregulated free market is not an efficient one. Is that Liberal?
I believe that big government is inept, inefficient and a drain on society. I believe that the biggest threat to our freedom is from the potential abuse of power of our own government. I believe in protecting the rights of the accused even when that means that the guilty will sometimes go free. I believe in civil rights, women's rights, and that basketball is the best sport to watch on the college level. Just ahead of football. Is that liberal?
Who knows, who cares, why are we even asking. Isn't it better to discuss the merits of any one position rather than attempting to label it as moderate, liberal or conservative as some kind of litmus test shortcut to acceptance or rejection? |
