Conservatives can unite on topics, liberals decline comment
Over at Right Wing News, John Hawkins challenges liberals (and invites moderates and conservatives) to write a short list of universally accepted viewpoints by their partisan brethren. I wish I could say that I agreed with all of John's points.
So, my list will partially challenge some of John's ideas, and the rest will look at some other ideas.
1) In reference to abortion, I have to say that one of his ideas is absolutely terrible. By making abortion unconstitutional except in the case of putting the mother's life at risk, more questions may arise. In what situations are the mother's life at risk? This is very rare. An amendment to the Constitution, and goes against a smaller government model. What needs to happen is that abortion is described as it really is: murder. It can be tried the exact same way. In most cases, it is a clear-cut murder case. In others, it can be like death due to self-defense; if the mother's life is truly at risk, proving it should not be too hard.
2) I partially agree on the fifty-one judges call. I would further consider going back to the original role of "advice and consent"; the filibuster may be needed for particularly extreme judges. It does seem doubtful that any should make it to the Senate floor, but the possibility should not be ruled out.
3) The flat tax is an excellent idea. Not only would it give regular tax cheaters more incentive to be honest in their taxes (hard to cheat the total income one makes in a year), but it would also spur increased spending by consumers, which is good for business and subsequently good for employees.
4) The Glenn Reynolds' End to Racism and Segregation Act of 2003, taken straight from Instapundit, is an excellent idea. Affirmative Action is racism, and not only hurts caucasians (who may be denied positions they rightfully deserve), but also minorities (who are made to appear as if they were not able to acheive anything on their own).
5) National defense is, by far, strongly supported by conservatives, and should always receive an appropriate amount of funding from federal tax revenue. One reason that the United States is able to maintain the peace is the strong military. Any decrease here could be seen as a weakness by enemies, which puts the country and its citizens at risk.
6) With the identity of Deep Throat having been revealed today, it also comes to mind that we need stronger penalties for members of the beaurocracy who relase confidential information. The information on Richard Nixon may not have done much damage to the security of the United States, but W. Mark Felt had no authority to release the information that he did (interestingly enough, his decision may have been enough to allow Richard Nixon to avoid a trial, though not the stigma from his bad decision). Imagine if Felt had instead released information about the Mafia, or another internal threat. These mistakes could lead to the death of many innocents.
7) Term limits on congressmen is a good idea, though the period may be negotiable, nothing longer than 3 terms for Senators and 6 terms for Representatives.
8) A crackdown on illegal immigrants is extremely important. With the ease that many sneak into our country, terrorists would have no trouble getting in and causing some trouble.
9) A law that allows for federal revenues to be given to faith-based charities. This is not a violation of church and state (this clause, as many liberals forget, disallows a government-run church or a church-run government, not a brick wall seperating the two). By allowing for money to be given to charities of all religions, they can turn around and use the money to feed and clothe the homeless as well as evangelize.
Unfortunately, nine laws is not enough to make all the necessary changes (Hawkins did have some other good ideas, and I'm sure many more would need to be implemented as well), but I believe that many conservatives would agree with this list. I know a few would also disagree, and for that reason, I reiterate John's challenge and suggest to you all that you comment on his board.
So, my list will partially challenge some of John's ideas, and the rest will look at some other ideas.
1) In reference to abortion, I have to say that one of his ideas is absolutely terrible. By making abortion unconstitutional except in the case of putting the mother's life at risk, more questions may arise. In what situations are the mother's life at risk? This is very rare. An amendment to the Constitution, and goes against a smaller government model. What needs to happen is that abortion is described as it really is: murder. It can be tried the exact same way. In most cases, it is a clear-cut murder case. In others, it can be like death due to self-defense; if the mother's life is truly at risk, proving it should not be too hard.
2) I partially agree on the fifty-one judges call. I would further consider going back to the original role of "advice and consent"; the filibuster may be needed for particularly extreme judges. It does seem doubtful that any should make it to the Senate floor, but the possibility should not be ruled out.
3) The flat tax is an excellent idea. Not only would it give regular tax cheaters more incentive to be honest in their taxes (hard to cheat the total income one makes in a year), but it would also spur increased spending by consumers, which is good for business and subsequently good for employees.
4) The Glenn Reynolds' End to Racism and Segregation Act of 2003, taken straight from Instapundit, is an excellent idea. Affirmative Action is racism, and not only hurts caucasians (who may be denied positions they rightfully deserve), but also minorities (who are made to appear as if they were not able to acheive anything on their own).
5) National defense is, by far, strongly supported by conservatives, and should always receive an appropriate amount of funding from federal tax revenue. One reason that the United States is able to maintain the peace is the strong military. Any decrease here could be seen as a weakness by enemies, which puts the country and its citizens at risk.
6) With the identity of Deep Throat having been revealed today, it also comes to mind that we need stronger penalties for members of the beaurocracy who relase confidential information. The information on Richard Nixon may not have done much damage to the security of the United States, but W. Mark Felt had no authority to release the information that he did (interestingly enough, his decision may have been enough to allow Richard Nixon to avoid a trial, though not the stigma from his bad decision). Imagine if Felt had instead released information about the Mafia, or another internal threat. These mistakes could lead to the death of many innocents.
7) Term limits on congressmen is a good idea, though the period may be negotiable, nothing longer than 3 terms for Senators and 6 terms for Representatives.
8) A crackdown on illegal immigrants is extremely important. With the ease that many sneak into our country, terrorists would have no trouble getting in and causing some trouble.
9) A law that allows for federal revenues to be given to faith-based charities. This is not a violation of church and state (this clause, as many liberals forget, disallows a government-run church or a church-run government, not a brick wall seperating the two). By allowing for money to be given to charities of all religions, they can turn around and use the money to feed and clothe the homeless as well as evangelize.
Unfortunately, nine laws is not enough to make all the necessary changes (Hawkins did have some other good ideas, and I'm sure many more would need to be implemented as well), but I believe that many conservatives would agree with this list. I know a few would also disagree, and for that reason, I reiterate John's challenge and suggest to you all that you comment on his board.
posted by CR UVa at 9:45 PM
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