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01/31/2007: "A Republican I would vote for..."

I would like to see a radical republican run for president. I might even vote for that person if they made these points clear.

Republican platform means less government. I can relate with this idea. Sure it would be great if all of us had health insurance and better schools. But the only choice, would be the government's choice, and I don't know if that is the best idea. The thing about freedom, real freedom, is the ability to change your mind when you want. If you find that the school is lacking in the programs that interest you, you move to another city that has a better program. If your health insurance won't recognize the HIV virus, you choose another provider. China has healthcare for everyone, but suppressed education and denied treatment for it citizens with AIDs for many years. They had no choice but the government health care system, and suffered. Would you only want to read government approved news? Choice is good, so I can understand the importance of less government in a free society.

I want a Republican to re-address drug use as a health issue, not a crime issue. Legalize and monitor drug use. As soon as a crack rock is legal, the price will fall, and the violent gangs competing for the most lucrative industry in America will have to get real jobs like the rest of us. People with drug problems will be treated in hospitals, not jails. Our taxes can be put to better use than putting everyone in prison. There are now 1.5 million people in prisons across the United States, 59.6% for drug offenses. Our country has more of it's population in jail than any other nation, is that a free society? Less government, more freedom.

Same goes with prostitution. Legalize it. Protect these women. Make sure our police keep them safe and make sure they are not contracting or spreading disease. Prostitution has been around longer than the Olympics, it's not going away any time soon.

Bring the war profiteers to justice. End the war, now. Our ALL-VOLLUNTEER military should not be used as leverage in investment opportunities. Our citizens did not join the armed forces to increase Halliburton's business contracts or protect our oil interests. These people truly want to protect us. I haven't seen one fucking Iraqi invading our country. Why are we at war? It's cost us almost 400 MILLION dollars. The Boston Globe estimates the war will reach the bill of 2 TRILLION dollars. This is less government?!?!?! These spineless, prick Republicans today don't know what conservative means. If some country wants to bring us down, come and get us. We'll kick your ass, and I will be right there on the frontline protecting my home. The political motivations to go to war on foreign soil is a disgrace to the people who make up our armed forces!

How about an environmental Republican? Stop clearcutting/managing our wildlife preserves. We set these areas aside to remind us of our roots, leave them be. Also, it doesn't take a genius to figure out why we are in need of healthcare so badly. The country is filled with more disease-producing, synthetic-pollution than ever before. Clean the air, the water and the soil. Once the land is returned to it's natural state, we won't need pharmaceuticals to keep us alive.

Schools are harder to tackle on the Republican platform. I definitely do not think privatization of public schools is a good idea. No Federal government, however, should run all the schools in the US. Schools should be operated by local governments. Plus, I think it's important for parents to be able to choose where their child goes to school. The poor schools will become weaker in this theory, but that seems natural to me. If the Federal government has any influence on education, I would hope it could offer those attending poorer schools with more scholarships and no-interest loans to state universities. It's important to allow the education sector room to explore new ideas, succeed or fail, and rebuild with history to reference. A major factor in the failure of inner-city schools has been overdevelopment of the suburbs (white-flight). Control the boundaries of our cities and our children will learn tolerance and diversity without the teacher's lectures.

The ideas of the Republican party are not all bad, otherwise, the party wouldn't have lasted this long. I hope my argument has been obvious that I believe freedom is based on opportunities and choices. Freedom is the ability to choose, not have your life's decisions made by a Federal think tank. As individuals we learn from our choices, our social institutions should follow this law of evolution.

It's just within my lifetime that the Republican party has been high jacked by vote-grabbing, stock-holding, tough-cowboys-in-the-spotlight but silver-spoon-sucking-spoiled-fratboys behind closed doors. These fear mongers will tell you anything to get your vote, then turn around and send your children off to fight for some freedom-saving, righteous war; when it really is only an aggressive resource-grab that will stuff the wallets of their campaign contributors or fulfill some hyped-up revenge for some racist/religious-motivated, violent act. Revenge is a leadership strategy for the simple-minded, self-conscience hypocrite.

Stick to domestic issues!

I'm calling foul on these psuedo-Republicans!