Where Is In The Middle?
I stay away from the letters page in the Monitor these days, reading only the original letter and wincing as I glance through the people posting replies. It has been vitriolic of late as one of the most nasty campaign seasons grinds to a conclusion in about two weeks.
I changed jobs recently and am still getting used to my new responsibilities and challenges, staying away from the blog as well because I just do not have much time to write or respond. With the kids and household duties, my days are very full and the learning curve at work continues to show no end. It's all good but leaves little time. Traveling, I have a lot of windshield time to think. Of late, as in the past, my mind wanders into the political arena.
Over the last few days, I have come to some conclusions about this election and some of the things that progressives, moderates and conservatives have in common. So here are a few thoughts about the "middle". I hope it gets some well thought out responses; we will see!
Let's look at some of the issues in thie campaign that have taken a back seat to the economy:
Stem Cell Research-I support this. Adult stem cells have shown as much if not more promise than embryonic stem cells. As a conservative I have no issue with research being done on embryonic stems cells. Now before anyone jumps to conclusions there are a couple of caveats that qualify my viewpoint:
1) Embryonic stem cells would have to come from an aborted fetus with the mothers written permission to use it for research.
2) Any legislation would have to strictly prohibit the harvesting of embryo's
Here are a couple of questions: why can't both sides agree on that? Why won't politicians on both sides support something simple like a give and take bill where everyone gets a little of something that they want?
Abortion-I support a woman's right to choose. I don't think killing a fetus is moral or right but it is up to a woman to decide. I support the right to have an abortion but there are a couple of caveats that, once again qualify my viewpoint:
1) There should not be late term abortions or partial birth abortions unless the life of the mother is threatened.
2) Any legislation would have to strictly prohibit any federal funding for abortion or counseling in the aftermath.
Here are a couple of questions: why can't the two sides give a little and agree on this? Why won't our elected officials on both sides of the aisle reach out and make everyone a winner by passing this kind of legislation?
Education -Believe it or not, I am a big supporter of education. I believe that we need more resources, better pay for teachers, more math, science, history and English excellence. I have no problem taking a tax hike on education but here are some things that I would want to see if we were to spend much more on education.
1) Teacher pay and raises based on performance, not tenure and the NEA. I have no issue with $20,000 raises for teachers, if and only if the deadwood and uninspired are not treated equal to the inspired and truly talented.
2) A return to core class offerings (the 3 "r's" if you will)
3) An end to mainstreaming and classes for the talented students.
4) Less government (state and federal) mandates that they refuse to pay for.
Here are a couple of questions: why shouldn't we base teacher salaries on performance? Why can't the NEA, politicians and both parties agree on something like this and find consensus?
Immigration-I support legal immigration. I am dead against turning a blind eye to illegal immigration. I do not see this position as a conservative / liberal argument. If there are illegal citizens here I believe that we should not grant them any kind of citizenship, ever. However, we should allow them to stay here under a guest worker program if and only if they stay out of trouble and remain employed. Why no citizenship? Because they have broken the law and should not be rewarded.
I believe that legal immigration should be increased and leveled for all nationalities. I support this under certain caveats:
1) We finish the wall on the border and call it a day, doing the best that we can do to stem the tide of illegal immigration.
2) We require all illegal immigrants to register and if anyone is caught who is not registered we send them home.
Here are a couple of questions: how is this a wrong approach? Why can't politicians come together and compromise on this issue using fairness and sensibility.
I have about 7 other issues where Americans should be able to find compromise. There are more issues that should be uniting us right now than dividing us.
Here is the solution: Partisans on both sides just need to give a little up and compromise. If you want consensus and if you are really interested in making peace and bringing the country together, you can't have every issue tailor made to your every wish. Americans have to give and take or it will divide this country for many years to come!
One candidate and his supporters talks about "peace" but they refuse to make peace adding nasty rhetoric at every turn with a "how do you like it?" payback sense of reality. If they can't compromise on something as simple as a domestic issue, how can we believe they will be able to bring "peace" to dangerous places in the world and tout the argument for compromise?
The other candidate and his supporters talk about being "tough" but they do not understand that rhetoric like that simply builds anger on the other side. How can they expect consensus with their rivals if they are so hard headed that they will not compromise?
No matter the outcome of this election, things need to change and we need to determine exactly...."Where Is The Middle?"
Good Argument and Points Bill
Perhaps you and I agree on more than we would have thought based on our previous posts.
Stem Cell Research- I agree completely with your points
Abortion- again, total agreement. I am Pro-life personally but believe in a woman's right to choose.
Education- it will never be what it needs to be for our children if the unions continue to dictate as strongly as they have. They serve a purpose but they should not wield more power than the taxpayers. Question- what is your reasoning behind no mainstreaming and elimination of gifted classes? Do you propose something different?
Also, charter schools can be an effective way of increasing quality of education- not only for those students attending but also for those students who go to traditional public schools since they increase competition.
Immigration- again I agree with most of your points although a wall, to the best of my knowledge, has not been as much of a deterrent as we would hope it would be. I think you have to go after employers who hire them, especially when they know there is no documentation or false documentation.
It is clear that both parties have leaders that share a lot of anger and even hatred towards the other party. That is one reason why I will not join either of them.
Two issues that I would like to see some serious compromise and movement on are energy and farm policy. Both are incredibly backwards and detrimental to America if they are not altered radically in the immediate future.
Imagine That!
We agree on something. Now imagine if about 200,000,000 people did the same.
Here are my positions on the other two points, Energy and Farm Policy:
ENERGY-Exploit all of our natural resources to provide the energy that we need from oil to natural gas to clean coal. I am not a nuclear fan but sources in the industry tell me that compared to Seabrook, the technology has come really far and is much safer.
Now, tax gasoline 10 cents per gallon and put that revenue into an account to invest in new energy technologies. It should not be spent on anything else.
Next, enforce emissions standards and give auto companies tax breaks to convert their entire manufacturing lines over to hybrids.
Make emissions standards more stringent on cars.
DO NOT.......I repeat....DO NOT......stop oil exploration and oil development until we have an alternative fuel that can replace it. Drill everywhere but force the oil companies to post a bond and insurance that would cover any catastrophe.
Next, that 10 cents per gallon tax funds hundreds of entrepreneurs who present a plan to develop new energy sources.
Solar is too expensive, wind is not reliable and bio fuels put as much if not more CO2 in to the atmosphere.
FARM POLICY- Plain and simple, no subsidies. Instead, let's feed more people with our crops, right here at home. Let's develop markets overseas and export everything we can to foreign countries.
Too much emphasis is placed on the price of crops. Let's encourage farmers and farm industries to produce volume and make their money that way. We subsidize farmers to not grow or destroy their crops. That is ridiculous, let the farmers compete in the free market.
Oh yeah, how about a hybrid tractor as well?
Energy and Farm
Energy- I agree with additional exploration although I don't think it is necessary and is even too expensive to drill in places like ANWAR. Perhaps I am wrong but I am willing to consider all options. I also agree with increasing capacity of natural gas ala Pickens plan. Not sure what is the right tax or way to fund private investment in energy technologies but that was where a significant amount of private equity was going anyway prior to the last month's economic fun. Perhaps the gov is not needed to do anything other than provide tax credits for companies creating energy tech jobs?
Farm Policy- went ridiculous back in early 70s. Now it does not pay a farmer to grow healthy food, just subsidized crops like wheat, soy, etc. So, yes, get rid of subsidies and move us back to more of a regional food chain. It is healthier for the consumer, reduces the amount of fuel being used and supports the local economy.
I also believe that the fed gov't has overstepped its bounds by controlling too much of what a state can do. Ex. separation of church and state is meant to be held at the Federal level. If a state decides by vote that it wants to be a catholic state, quaker state, or zoroastrian state, then it should be allowed to as long as it is not discriminating against other beliefs. Just an example of what is wrong with the current balance.
Compromise on details not principles...
I agree that the dialogue in our country is out of control. I would simply say that compromise that merely reduces the noise level is not what America craves. We want leaders who say what they mean and then follow through on their promises. The elites and powerful in this country have counseled leaders from both parties to say and do things to influence large voting blocs, things they know they will not be able to do.
If your child tells you that he will get straight A's on his report card when he is currently performing C work, he is lying. If you are a parent that is working hard to teach your child the value of honesty you will call that behavior to task. In America this same type of behavior is tolerated in every election cycle. Well meaning citizens of both party's not only tolerate this aberrant behavior we reward it by giving them our vote again and again.
This election in particular is a good example of our system at its worst. Democrats are not running on issues that are well articulated and present real change. Their best issue is we're not George Bush! If this isn't what they stand for then they are wasting millions of dollars advertising just that!I
If you could find a McGovern for President brochure the only change you would need to make is a name substitution. Issue for Issue Obama is George McGovern. A vast improvement in marketing and packaging but in substance...same old same old.
Real change in America would be a return to relying on our own people's ingenuity, hard work and compassion. We would unleash the amazing natural resources available in our homeland and simultaneously begin the hard work of finding the technology that would set the stage for the next great leap in a reinvigorated America.
The real question is do we as a people still believe these basic foundational ideas...
1) America is a land of opportunity for all!
2) We are a good, generous and decent people.
3) Our best days are in front of us!
4) English is our common language it binds us together and allows us to freely communicate our ideas and differences.
5) Our borders are sacrosanct...come here legally we welcome you with open arms, come here in violation of our laws and we will enforce those laws vigorously!
5) We make no apologies for our country or its people, our best, brightest and most courageous people have fought in defense of liberty all over the world and once the peace is won, we only ask for a peaceful place for them to finally rest.
6) Life is precious...not a choice!
7) We the people still means they work for us!
8) The constitution is the law of the land! It is a document that has words that mean something...not a living document, but a covenant between the governed and the government spelling out what we give them authority to do in our name.
9) We need to leave our country better than it was when it was left to us!
10) One nation under god, with liberty and justice and tolerance for all.
These principles cannot be compromised, but I'm willing, yea, even eager to lay everything else on the table to guaranty the survival of the "shining city on the hill." Our differences will never divide us irreconcilably if "we hold these truths to be self evident!"
Great Blog
Bill, This is the most reasonable thing I've read of yours. I agree with all you've said here. Thank you for a well thought out post.
Mike
I agree with some of your
Scott, I agree with most of your principles but not all of them. So I guess we'd have difficulty compromising on issues. Why do you get to set the principles instead of me anyway?
Which ones trouble you?
Please let me know your points of disagreement. Perhaps with conversation we are closer than you think.
Scott
I have some problems with
I have some problems with parts of #s 5-6-8-10.
5. Though things have changed in the last few months, I don't fault those who have come here with the promise of work and a better life recruited by US employers who would provide them that encouragement. If there hadn't been the promise of jobs, they wouldn't have been coming.
6. I agree that life is precious, however, but I don't believe that the state has the right to tell women what they may or may not do with their bodies. No one I know is pro-abortion, but abortion is a part of life and has always been and will always be. To make it illegal, forcing poor women into dark alleys and rich women to go overseas, is wrong. Privacy is precious as well. The best way to prevent abortion is to educate our youth and teach them how to prevent unwanted pregnancy.
8. I do not believe in a strict constructionist view of the constitution. It was written over 200 years ago with foresight, but it was a covenant between the landowners and those they would select to govern them. We live in a very different world, and we must adjust to the 21st century.
10. Keep god in your church and out of the public square. The separation of church and state is one of the most important restriction of the Constitution and needs to be respected even in this day. Our founders understood that religion and state do not mix, as we've seen in recent days.
You didn't explain why YOU get to set the principles, though. Why is that?
A place to start...
The first amendment to the constitution gives me the god given right to enunciate my political beliefs. I put forward the principles that I believe are important to the well being of our nation. I don't believe I hold the universal truths to a set of national values, however, I believe I am entitled to articulate the ones that I think are the keys to remaining one country, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
5. We agree on one thing for sure any employer that illegally entices and subsequently employs illegal immigrants should pay a very steep fine and be financially responsible for the people that they harm by their actions. I want America to be a country that continues to inspire hope across the world, but if we do not enforce our laws and borders soon neither will mean anything. I think we have room to talk about this one!
6. We agree that no one sanctions abortion. I believe the way to make abortions rare is to continue to discuss a value system that encourages adults to be responsible people and make intelligent decisions about sex. It is important that we do not give in to a popular culture that gives tacit approval to children having sex. Government should not countenance partial birth abortion or the withholding of life- saving-medical treatment to babies that survive the abortive process. I don't believe that laws alone can change a persons heart and that is why I believe that the only way to stop abortion is to change public opinion Surely we can come together to stop the two aforementioned problems.
8. On this we will have to agree to disagree. If the constitution has no constant and eternal meaning there would have been no reason to create a method of amending it. It means what it means if you don't care for it change it, otherwise it could be reinterpreted daily, then where would we be? A constitution that has no meaning at all.
10. I too want a separation between the state and church. I would not like to worship according to the dictates of the state of New Hampshire or by the laws promulgated by the federal government. Where we most likely disagree, however, is the idea that you can't display a belief in the public square. I love our country's ability to worship God freely and without restrictions. Whether he or she is called Allah, Adone, Lord, Jehovah, YHWH, Buddha, or a Hindu version of the same it matters not to me. Each of these faiths teaches people to treat people one another the way we all would like to be treated. I also am comfortable with those who do not believe as long as they believe in the same virtues as those espoused in the worlds faiths. Religion does not cause strife in the world it is the poor students that twist it's simple message for their own evil purposes. Do we see some things the same?
Amazingly so, Scott, we are
Amazingly so, Scott, we are very close to being on the same page. Your further explanations here bring us that much closer. I agree with the idea that abortion should be rare and I agree with the idea that children should not be having sex; however, I'm realistic enough to know that children do have sex and that its best to be informed. Denial is an awful state of being. I am in my 60s, and I have never known a person who has had a "partial birt" abortion. Do you? If statistics are right, these are very rare, and performed when the life of the mother is at risk. I think the right wingers have used this to drum up their base.
Perhaps we need a new constitutional convention to rewrite the rules for the next 200 years and update the document to reflect the different world in which we live. Some of us think that some in Washington have pretty much torn up the Constitution during the last eight years.
I'm glad your definition includes not just a Christian God, but when those words were added in the 1950s, the understanding of most was it was the Christian God. America is NOT a Christian Nation, though many would like to rewrite history to make it so.
The rule of law has been aborted by the present administration. I'm hoping that the next administration will return the nation to the rule of law. No more "signing statements" and executive orders that destroy the balance of power and the check and balances that were established in the original document.
Hi Bill,
Good post! I also scratch my head listening to the extreme right and extreme left bicker about how to get things done, and not giving an inch. I think more or less you've come up with some good compromise solutions that really are in the mainstream of what Americans are thinking. While I may disagree with a point here or there, I think you're definitely pointing to the right direction.
Hopefully, whoever is elected on November 4 will try to work from the center a bit more over the next four years. It's mystifying watching the utter gridlock in Washington, and how common sense solutions are put out to pasture if the extreme wings of either party don't agree with the legislation. We need to get more moderate voices in government, but sadly it looks like many of them have been voted out over the years.
~Justin