It’s Official – I’m Not A Member of the Lefty Blogosphere
Shocking news, no? Some of the blogging big dogs have been taking the Atrios/Kevin Drum list of topics that ‘progressive’ bloggers supposedly all agree upon, more or less, and lining it up with their own views. Hell, why not? Here’s the list and my answers:
# Undo the bankruptcy bill enacted by this administrationDisagree
# Repeal the estate tax repeal
Strongly disagree
# Increase the minimum wage and index it to the CPI
Oh, how I disagree!
# Universal health care
Disagree (because Drum and Atrios are talking about HillaryCare, and we all know it)
# Increase CAFE standards
Disagree
# Pro-reproductive rights, getting rid of abstinence-only education, improving education about and access to contraception including the morning after pill, and supporting choice.
Disagree (this is all Jane Hamsher-approved doublespeak for abortion on demand)
# Simplify and increase the progressivity of the tax code
A contradiction – simplify, yes – but use the tax code as an instrument of social policy, no
# Kill faith-based funding.
Disagree
# Reduce corporate giveaways
Hey, finally one I agree with
# Have Medicare run the Medicare drug plan
Disagree (more government involvement has seldom been the cure for anything)
# Force companies to stop underfunding their pensions. Change corporate bankruptcy law to put workers and retirees at the head of the line with respect to their pensions.
Disagree (sounds good at first glance, but again, we’re talking more government)
# Leave the states alone on issues like medical marijuana. Generally move towards “more decriminalization” of drugs.
Agree, somewhat (but let’s quit this liberal charade of ‘compassion’ regarding medical marijuana – if people want to get high, they should say so, and quit pretending this is a medical issue)
# Paper ballots
Good God, you Luddites – hell, no! Disagree 100000%!
# Improve access to daycare and other pro-family policies.
Don’t even know what this means, other than feel-good sloganeering – but you can bet the solution involves government money. Disagree
# Raise the cap on wages covered by FICA taxes.
Well, only if it was used to lower the over FICA tax rate – half agree, half disagree
# Marriage rights for all, which includes “gay marriage” and quicker transition to citizenship for the foreign spouses of citizens.
Disagree – if this is doublespeak for a government mandated federal gay marriage statue, which I think it is.
I think it’s safe to say I won’t be getting invited to the Huffington Post Christmas party anytime soon…
Are these the same people who wanted to get rid of paper ballots after 2000 because such ballots discriminate against the elderly?
crazy crazy…
Yep, Aaron, the ‘butterfly ballot’ was too confusing, so we did something about it, but Republicans still win, so it must Diebold’s crookedness…
Isn’t the Tax Code already enormously progressive with the upper 50% of the taxpayers paying 96% plus of the federal income taxes? How much more progressive can it be? Another reason I will never vote for a Rat.
Regardless of whether they are right for the wrong reason, I think our electronic voting system is a disaster waiting to happen. Electronic voting machines that spit out a paper “receipt” that can be stuffed in a ballot box and counted later in the event of an extremely close election of a potential crash of the system would be fine. Otherwise, get the hell rid of them.
Wow, Mark, you don’t even have a sentence response to each of these. You could probably do four or five posts for each of the topics and milk a few weeks out of this…
Good idea – if I get writer’s block, I know where to go…
Funny how states’ rights come into play on marijuana, but a federal law is needed for gay marriage – and for abortion.