My personal musings about anything that gets on my radar screen--heavily dominated by politics.
2004-01-02
Where is "The Mainstream"
In considering the Judiciary, and specifically the Dems fillibuster of Bush nominees, it strikes me that one of the silliest--but effective for their base--arguments the Dems make is that a nominee is "out of the mainstream." Of course, on its face, this argument is usually remarkably silly.
But during this new year, I am going to--with the help of my readers--try to compile a Political pH Test. In much the same way that the pH test provides a scale for chemical substances from very acidic to very basic, I am hoping to create a scale of issues upon which the spectrum of political thought can be measured.
So, here goes. I'm going to throw out the obvious issues, and maybe three possible classifications within each issue.
I welcome any and all to use the 'comment' button to add their own thoughts to this list. Over time we might just come up with a lucid compendium of issues and positions.
ABORTION--0: unlimited availability; 1: ban partial-birth; favor parental notification; 2: opposed except for rape, incest, and life of the mother
ROLE OF GOVERNMENT--0: societal safety net; very interventionist; 1: necessary for some things but not a "nanny"; 2: as little as possible
CHURCH/STATE-- 0: absolute wall of separation 1: recognize both the Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause 2: recognize the central role of Faith in foundation of the country and prefer a government that respects that
JUDICIARY-- 0:sees the Constitution as an evolving concept and the Judiciary as the means of moving social engineering forward; 1: prefers judges defer to precedent and recognize conventional wisdom, but don't invent Constitutional principles; 2: strict and absolute constructionist-nothing but the letter of the Constitution
MILITARY-- 0: use only for humanitarian intervention with the U.N.'s approval 1: use for strong defense and intervention with our allies 2: use for projection of American power and addressing growing threats
EDUCATION--0: public schools central; absolute opposition to vouchers, charters and choice; 1: public schools are the basis, but some choice is desirable 3: public schools need to be introduced to competition to improve
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION-- 0: a necessary response to past transgressions 1: oppose quotas, but recognizes the value of a race- and gender-balanced environment 2: absolute opposition to racial preferences of any kind
There's my start. I welcome any and all input. | |
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