Choose my candidate for me. (or convince me that your candidate is the best) (Ron Paul, NAFTA)

[mufc1878]

Hello All,

Here is in opportunity for all those who strongly support a candidate, to convince me to vote for theirs. However, please read my criteria before suggesting who would fit my requirements the best.

My ideal candidate would:

1. Drastically cut taxes. I feel that the capital gains tax must be zero and that we are still much too far to the right of the laffer curve when it comes to the income tax. Therefore, on top of making the bush tax cuts permanent, there should be additional tax cuts made. Reduce or remove other taxes such as estate tax, etc. Corporate taxes must reduce as well, we cannot tax the business out of our country.

2. Massively decrease in government spending from an entitlements standpoint i.e. make real steps towards shrinking social security in order to finally get rid of it, etc.

3. Immediately push to abolish PATRIOT act and other forms of national undocumented/un-athorized surveillance. Return habeas corpus. Close down gitmo and outlaw torture.

3. Increasing our military might, but only to give our troops the VERY top of the line equipment like blackwater EE's get. Increased money poured into NASA/DoD, but zero policing the world or nation building. NASA is a proud peice of the US, we are the leaders in space exploration and tech. We must redouble our efforts to land a man on mars before 2050, if not beyond. Likewise our military technology should be unparalleled. Active missle shield, space based defense, etc. are all things we can do in the next 30-40 years if we have the will. Also, increase funding for VA and job training for returning vets. They deserve our BEST care.

4. Unconditionally pullout of iraq and with reductions in active troop levels in foreign countries. See above for rest of military views. I believe we can slash the money we spend related to military massively while strengthening our power at the same time. consider it increase the ROE of the military.

-Urge america, in a kennedy-esque manner (like he did with space exploration), to become energy independant. Energy is the new weapon of the 21st century. We must become energy independant, or we will be crippled economically and our sovereignty will be threatened. Same with food and other basic commodities. We must be able to produce these things on our own. Push for more clean coal and nuclear tech.

5. Cut funding to both israel, arabs, and pakistan, well as most others that we fund billions of dollars. SPEND THAT MONEY AT HOME. We should be hardline negotiators with all (yes have talks with iran). No hypocrisy in our foreign policy. we should not subsidize mussharraf, while sanctioning little cuba. Lift cuban sanctions completely (allowing us firms to build businesses there). Cut off funding the mussharraf and tell him that we will go into pakistan with full force if we get any intel on al qaeda being there with or without his authorization. Strenghthen diplomatic ties with india to use as a counter balance in that region.

4. Active border security. I think both sides are a joke when it comes to border security. I frankly don't really care about illegal immigration to be honest. However what is frightening, is the fact that if it is so easy to skip the border, it wouldn't be that hard to bring a nuclear, chemical, or biological WMD over it. Active border security means a combination of fence (electricuted, concrete, and razor wire) along with gaurd towers with snipers every mile, as well as enough troops to properly blanket the border. AND I MEAN THE FULL BORDER. Yes the canadian one included. Where there is water, an increased coast gaurd will fill the same duty.

5. Healthcare should not be nationalized in a federal sense(will not work in the US like it does in smaller and more homogeneous European countries), however opening the market up to more privitazation and less regulation would drive costs down. At the same time, we cannot let insurers handcuff doctors or patients from recommending/asking for the best treatment possible. Push towards prevention education/health awareness. Many of our costs can be curtailed if people took care of themselves from an early age. It is funny watching politicians talk about health care costs when many of them are overweight themselves.

6. Increase FAIR but free trade. Review nafta, cafta and other trade agreements to see if FAIR trade is taking place. If not, cancel and rewrite to make sure the rules of trade are equitable to all. When trade is fair, let it be as free as possible, as competition is the best form of consumer protection and innovation.

5. Increase legal immigration quotas, with stringent criteria dealing with educational/professional designations. Look at UK or Australia point system of work visa/immigration standards for guidance, but make it more stringent than even those. There are three variables in growing the economy/productivity. One is freedom of capital, another is freedome of knowledge/technology. The third is freedom of labor. We cannot only have the first two, and not the third. It handicaps our ability to grow and produce at optimal levels.

6. Mandate that English be made the official language of the united states. If states/local authorities wish for their documents and services at the state and local level be available in other languages as well, they have the right to do so.

7. After 4, 5, and 6 are completed, give "amnesty" to illegals that are already here. However they must be fluent in english and have permanent employment. A fine maybe levied as part of a punishment, but I cannot determine the level of such fine at this time.

8. Do a better job of standardizing certain elements of public education. A student in rural parts of the country should not be at a disadvantage to a public school student in wealthy and progressive Montgomery county, md. With the proliferation of the internet and bandwidth, maybe a method to do is, is have complete courses/standards that are built for use in class rooms that are complete with a syllabus, standard textbooks, and videofeeds of a teacher going through a typical lecture. I would specifically keep this limited to our secondary (9-12) education. pre-k to 8th grade would still be dealt at the local level for the most part.

8. END the war on drugs. Immediate Full legalization of marijuana. Further review on cocaine, heroin, etc. in view to legalize. PROHIBITION does NOT work. We are wasting too much money on this nonsense. Lower drinking age to 18. If the tobacco companies want to get into the pot business, let them become the leaders in the world in the industry. Release nonviolent drug offenders from prison, freeing space for those more deserving of correctional time.

9. Full legalization of internet gambling. I should be able to gamble via the internet with the same freedoms that my european counterparts share. This is another business where the US can dominate just like the drug business if given a chance. Also if states wish to build as many casinos as they want, it is their perrogative. No qualms from the federal gov.

10. Return abortion back to the states, HOWEVER, there is NO penalty if a minor goes to another state to get an abortion. Partial birth or no partial birth, it is up to the rights of the state. I.E. NY and CA can have full abortion if they wish to do so, while Alabama can outlaw abortion under any circumstances.

9. Uphold death penalty as the right of the states, but do away with lethal injection. Too expensive. Chinese method of assault rifle to back of neck/head is most economical. I do not wish for my tax money to go towards a public good that many do not gain anything from. Atleast I do not ask for what the chinese used to do and charge the cost of the bullet to the executed's family/next of kin (i.e. 'bullet fee'). If a crime is in the jurisdiction of the federal gov, and if it is punishable by death, then the death penalty is legal as well.



11. Reinforce the separation of church and state.

12. The term "marriage" is not used in government anymore. It is a religious term. From a legal/government sense, a man and a woman can join in "UNION". A "Union" can also be a man-man or woman-woman. a state may refuse to perform man-man/woman-woman unions, however just like abortion, if a couple goes to another state to get it done, then the home state cannot deny their rights as a 'union'.


So, who is the candidate that you guys think would agree with me the best?

[KantLockeMeIn]

You've almost copied the Ron Paul platform verbatim. The only thing that I could see that he would do differently is #8, and that's return the full power to the states and #6 where he doesn't believe in trade agreements but in free trade by default.

[faith10]

You forgot to reverse and end illegal immigration, that is truly destroying our nation from within.