I am not a Republican because:


I am not a Republican because:

·         I believe millionaires should pay a higher tax rate than middle class citizens

·         I believe punishing people because you do not like them is un-American

·         I believe civil liberties are precious and we all benefit from the ACLU

·         I believe education is a national priority

·         I believe the free market cannot regulate itself

·         I believe civil rights come from nature and someone who denies them in the name of ‘their God’ is a bigot

·         I believe in a strong defense but do not support spending more than the next 17 nations combined

·         I believe the wall separating church from state is tall,  wide, and must never be breached

·         I believe a person’s patriotism is neither measured by the size of his flag pin nor the number of times he says God Bless America

·         I believe denigrating and attacking people while they are having tough times is abhorrent.

·         I realize that the world is nuanced and it is not as simple as good guys vs bad guys

·         I know the invasion of Iraq was done on false pretenses and was the single biggest cause of the rise of Iran

·         The same people who claim to be fiscal conservatives are the ones who started two wars and gave the biggest tax cuts in the nation’s history

·         I am smart enough to realize that federal debt is money we have already spent and that you cannot cut your away to debt elimination.

·         I am smart enough to know that a reasonable deficit reduction plan includes revenue increases and spending cuts

·         I believe claiming to be fiscally conservative and not willing to cut defense spending is a fool’s errand

·         I believe immigration reform is a practical, humanitarian, and fiscally sound thing to do.

·         I would rather err on the side of inclusion as opposed to exclusion

·         I believe clean air, clean water, and safe drinking water are not onerous regulations

·         I believe renewable and alternative energy sources are a long term strategy

·         I believe the Defense of Marriage Act is an abomination

·         I believe homosexuality is not a choice

·         I believe life does not begin at conception

·         I believe in evolution

·         I believe intelligent design is NOT science

·         I believe those that champion small government and call for criminalization of abortion and believe we need a constitutional amendment to define marriage are hypocrites

·         I believe diplomacy includes telling your friends they are wrong and not acting in the best long term interests

·         I refuse to align myself with a group that has tried to belittle, demean, delegitimize the President

·         I believe the establishment of public education, social security, and Medicare make America exceptional

And finally….

·         I believe a nation’s greatness is measured by how it protects the weak, the strong, the old, the young, the sick, and the healthy and not by how many bombs it has in its arsenal

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Being a good Jew and what is the Christian thing to do

This weekend we are at the nexus of Christianity’s Easter and Judaism’s Passover, which isn’t too surprising considering the Last Supper was actually a Seder; I did lean something on my tour of Jerusalem.   This weekend Christians observe the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus while Jews celebrate the Moses led exodus from Egypt to the Promised Land, meaning this weekend we can expect Ben Hur, The Ten Commandments, The Robe, The Greatest Story Ever Told, and many other films to be broadcast.   So on this weekend where the Judeo-Christian faiths observe very important holidays, I ask: What is a good Jew?   What is the Christian thing to do?   These are not flippant or frivolous questions.   Do people practice what they preach?   Does going to a place of worship make you a better person?   Is Deepak Chopra correct when he says “All religions are cults with many followers.”? Full disclosure, I was raised Jewish, was Bat Mitzvah’d at 13, attended Frid...
Read more

A Secular American Jew and a Love for Israel

As many of you know, I have dedicated many postings to the State of Israel on a range of topics including: it’s history, the present day government, the Jewish-Palestinian question, and the region in general.   Growing up in a liberal conservative Jewish household (the oxymoron is quite common as American Jews were almost exclusively political liberals and the conservative branch of Judaism the most common) and attending Hebrew school as a kid you obviously build an affinity for the State of Israel.   I do not remember the Six-Day War of 1967, but I have vivid memories of celebrating Israel’s 25 th anniversary in 1973 and the Yom Kippur War later that year.   As a ten year old attending Yom Kippur services I saw the worried looks on my parents and the other adults at the shul as members of the congregation would periodically step outside to get news reports from car radios and transistor radios (We still drove and used electrical appliances during the high holidays, thou...
Read more

We live in a world of imperfect choices

“We live in a world of imperfect choices.” Those words were spoken today by President Obama during his speech at the United Nations General Assembly.   Eight simple words that adeptly describe most geopolitical situations and the decisions world leaders face.   We live in an uncertain world were the only certainty is being second guessed.   Second guessed by political pundits and opposition mouth pieces whose only skill is Monday morning quarterbacking and backseat driving. Imperfect choices indeed. Syria: Get involved to stop the slaughter and risk getting bogged down in another Middle East Muslim nation.   Force regime change to get rid of a despotic butcher, only to risk replacing him with a failed state home to terrorists or a radical Sunni regime committed to attacking Israel.   Arm the rebels so they can defend themselves, and in the process increase the rate of killing and perhaps arming the same guys we way fight in the near future. Egyp...
Read more