Newliberal views

I'm Craig Farmer, a Democrat whose goal is to make the word liberal safe again!

Just to let some of the new viewers understand, a newliberal is a person who is
dedicated to using their best judgement to solve problems. This is as opposed to
tradition, ideology, party position, or even emotion. There are many conservatives
both on the left and the right who don't use their judgement and analysis of the facts
to come to conclusions but rather accept a predisposed outcome and then they seek
out facts that corroborate their opinion. Rather than leftists or right wingers, being a
newliberal means you are trying as best you can to look at the real world and make an indepedent judgement.

Just to give you an indication of my politics:
I supported Hillary Clinton in the Democratic Primary 100%, and then
supported our future President Obama in the general 100%.

Issues wise:

education:

I think the government should guarantee everyone a quality education as defined by parents. So I support vouchers and other free market reforms as well as revamping public schools to be more acheivement oriented.

abortion:

Though I recognize the loss of potential human life, I support a woman's right to choose an abortion because there is no other workable system available in a free society. I think the phrase, "safe, legal, and rare" should actually be policy rather than an empty slogan.

gun control:

I support gun control because it is clear to me that on balance, the less guns, the less crime. I know there are many individual instances where people with guns prevent crime and protect themselves and others but there are also many otherwise law abiding people who wind up using guns to hurt people they are associated with in a violent moment that without guns would never have occurred.

foregn policy:
I support a strong military that actively defends our interests both home and abroad. I was against Iraq but for Afganistan. I think we need to define our missions clearly, acheive our goals, and then get out. I think Pres. Bush fought Iraq in a leftwing mode where he tried to please too many people, and wound up making the war worse than it had to be.

health care:
I support universal healthcare for all Americans. We should use the private sector to deliver the services and have the govt. regulate their businesses. This could be done through some sort of voucher or tax credit program that leaves choices up to the American people. since this is not being discussed today, I support the current bills in the House and Senate, though I hope Sen. Wyden of Oregon gets his way to open up the exchange to everyone, so we all have choices.

affirmative action
I support affirmative action for all types of people to be included throughout our society. I think it is fair to take race, gender, economic status, body type, family background, etc. as 1 of many factors in making important decisions. By the way, this also leads me to respect some aspects of racial/religious profiling if it helps reduce crime and protect our nation.