the election of 2012 should have been one favorable to the GOP. The US was still coming out fo a bad economic period, something that usually hurts thee incumbent, and yet no only did they lose the presidency, the Democratic party held the Senate and even gathered more popular votes than the GOP in the house. Only the fact that it’s district by district allowed the GOP to hold onto their majority there.
So here my question – since I do not have a Sunday Night Movie to discuss.
What one or two policy changes would you, if you are a conservative or a Republican, endorse or accept to gather in more votes in the next cycle?
For the liberals and Democratic party members reading, what one or two policy changes could the GOP do that would cause you to reconsider and possibly vote GOP?
I’m with lowering the drinking age, or raising the voting and military service age. It is silly to entrust a person with classified material and the power to determine the chief executive but deny them a drink.
We have a drinking age of 21 and teenagers still have little trouble getting someone to straw man it for them. 18 wouldn’t make a diff, I think.
The law does not comply with the guidelines she set out. In that bill, now law, health of the mother is rather tightly defined and there is no option for termination of a severely deformed fetus. (Only one that has a fatal handicap.) So this law goes further than what she set as her acceptable limits, the law maker has stated his intentions to go even further, morning after pills and the like.
The text of the law
http://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/assembly/2013/2013R/Bills/SB134.pdf
and a story about the man who crafted and pushed the bill
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/12/us/arkansas-senator-jason-raperts-abortion-ban.html?hp
Fascinating. Within minutes after reading your reply I saw this story from Arkansas…
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_XGR_ARKANSAS_LEGISLATURE_ABORTION?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-03-06-15-15-16
The story describes the new law as the most extreme anti-abortion law in the nation — yet the new law complies with all the conditions you said were acceptable in limiting abortion.
Drinking age of 18, unfortunately, does not work. We MUST minimize alcohol use in high school.
I will modify this slightly: I would permit the consumption of beer or wine (quantity limited to no more than two servings) in the presence of a parent at age 16. (I am assuming sane parents. I recognize that this is not always the case.)
Some limits are acceptable. Elective “Abortion” at 8 month gestation is ridiculous. At that point (and somewhat before then, honestly), you are giving birth. I agree (though it pains me) that all minors seeking abortions must have parental consent. (The definition of minor should be consistent with the age of consent for the state in question.) I would say totally elective abortion through the first trimester and after that abortion only if the health of the mother is at risk or if amniocentesis demonstrates handicaps that impair the future functioning of the child/potential adults WITH the consent of the pregnant woman. Another restriction – no one should ever be forced to have an abortion against their consent.
Yes end the drug war.
As a first step, legalize marijuana and reduce the legal drinking age to 18. That should be relatively uncontroversial and very popular.
Are any limits on abortion acceptable to you? If some limits are acceptable, what are they? (not snark, not rhetorical, a serious question)
I can understand the fiscal conservative position, just not the social conservative. Social conservatives scar the hell out of me. If the Republican party would back off of its social conservative agenda – stop attempting to end abortion and allow gay marriage (just two issues. There are more.) for example and promote TRUE fiscal conservativism (You believe in market forces? FINE, STOP GIVING SUBSIDIES TO BIG OIL AND INDUSTRIAL MODEL FARMS!!), I could imagine voting for a Republican candidate. My husband has similar feelings. Unfortunately, I don’t see the Republican party doing this. They are under the delusion that they “need” social conservatives. What they do not seem to realize is that they are putting off the moderates to the point that they would not consider voting for them. My husband voted for a fictional character rather than vote for any of the candidates running. He was THAT disgusted with both parties and the offerings from the smaller parties.
Since I’m not a social conservative, it’s easy. End the drug war. It’s expensive both in terms spending and personal freedom. End the “war on sex” , whether it be abortion, gay rights or pornography.
I hope Americans are fiscally conservative and just want to be left alone, but with the religious elements holding sway in the party I feel like I’m just spitting in the wind.