Choking on a pretzel was at least a step in the right direction, if only it had been a “mission accomplished” follow through.
This is fun. I’m a liberal, but …
Like many other of my kind, I fully support nuclear power, at least until something more practical comes along.
I think John Kerry is an ass.
I support a woman’s right to choose as a practical matter, but am very much less sure I can support this ethically.
I only oppose the death penalty from a practical perspective. At present, it costs more to kill someone than to lock them away for life – why expend the effort?
I think the Court got Heller right. The 2nd says what it says, whether or not it’s good policy today. (I also think that most ardent 2nd right supporters are deceiving themselves with respect to the breadth of the right it grants, and am tempted to start yet another GD thread about it.)
To be fair, I don’t think any pro-choice people are enthused about the idea of abortions. It’s not a hobby.
I’m a liberal, but…
Nuclear power is the future.
The cat’s out of the bag on guns. Punish those who use them against people, not merely own them.
The death penalty for competent adults is reasonable, provided we can put on a fair, airtight trial.
Michael Moore does as much to hurt my side as Anne Coulter does to hurt hers.
We’ve GOT to balance the budget and get debt under control.
I’m a conservative but:
I support the legalization of marijuana.
I’m totally against deregulation of the financial markets and bank loaning policies to the point that I think people who wholeheartedly support deregulation are either white-collar criminals or ideology-hampered idiots.
I’m a liberal but…
I only recently registered as a Democrat so I could vote in the primaries. I’m not a big fan of either party otherwise.
I do not support affirmative action in the current form. I think preference should be awarded based on economic disadvantage rather than skin color.
I support nuclear power. It’s the best option right now.
I am a moderate supporter of gun rights.
I have a nuanced view of abortion. I call myself pro choice, but I sympathize with some pro life sentiments. It’s not a simple issue and there are no easy answers.
I have some conservative views about sex, marriage, and family but I don’t believe in forcing these views on anybody else.
I believe in the virtues self reliance and self-discipline, although I don’t expect everybody to magically solve their problems by adopting this mindset. Some people are simply incapable of pulling themselves up by their bootstraps, but I don’t believe they should suffer for it.
I scored a 9 on the test. I knew I was left of Hillary all along. Ha. So, I’m a liberal but…
If being liberal means not wanting to bitch-slap Sharpton every time he starts ranting on my TV, or wondering why the heck Jackson still thinks he’s relevant in any way politically, then I guess I need to rethink liberality.
I am deeply ambiguous on the death penalty. I’ve known people involved with the Innocence Project and think the work they’re doing is fabulous. But I can’t quite shake the thought that there are at least the rare sort of criminals that we would be better off completely without. If there was a way to be totally sure that somebody being sentenced to death was guilty, unambiguously, I would support it in rare cases.
Wow, thanks all for contributing to a fascinating thread. Sometime I feel like starting a “radical center” party.
Technically, candidates for naturalized citizenship are supposed to be able to read, write, and speak English as part of their requirements. However, I haven’t seen such a requirement when it comes to permanent residency (greencard) status. Either way, the laws are flimsy enough that a person who studies English for a period of six months then loses it completely afterward could become a permanent resident and eventually be conversant enough to pass the requirements for citizenship. It’s sad, and it’s pretty stupid that we haven’t closed up this loophole, as this isn’t a universally abused loophole among immigrants.
I scored a 27, ftr.
I’m conservative but…
I’d prefer the religious right to keep their voices down. They don’t represent most of us, just the most religious. I say my prayers nightly, but I don’t feel the need to witness to friends and strangers, and would prefer no one does on my behalf either.
I like the idea of marriage as an institution, and think it adds stability to a lot of people’s lives. I don’t care what gender(s) the couples are, anyone ought to be able to participate if they want to commit themselves to another. Actually, I’m not entirely against polyamory either, so long as it’s not cultish…
I’m a moderate but…
I believe in the complete legalization of all drugs for all uses, including recreational (except to minors). I think taking drugs is stupid (I don’t use any drugs including alcohol and nicotine) but I don’t see where’s there’s any societal need to outlaw self-harming stupidity.
That’s the only one I have offhand. This is a tough game for moderates to play because we’ve got to come up with some extreme fringe position we support.
Liberal but,
I support some gun rights. I would never support a right to conceal carry, but I do support gun ownership for home defense and target practice.
I support the “broken windows” theory of policing.
I supported the troop surge in Iraq and I don’t think we should leave until it is stable.
I 'm cool with nuclear power. I think waste should be buried temporarily until we invent technology to deal with the problem.
I’m a liberal but…
I’m in favor of full legalization of all guns, everywhere, including automatic rifles and submachine guns…
I’m in favor of drilling for oil in ANWR and anywhere else we can find the damn oil, anything to get that Saudi needle out of our arm…
…and nuclear power plants, for the same reason…
…and I think you should be able to smoke a cigarette in a goddamn bar and if you don’t like the smoke, well, you’re a pussy and that’s all there is to it.
I’m a liberal, but
I believe that schools need to be more honest in the feedback they give students. The Honor Roll means nothing when everyone makes it. Raise the damned standards for students and for teachers!
Stop with the free breakfasts for students. If they can afford one dollar for a bag of potato chips, they can afford their own eggs and toast at home.
Stop treating first offenders as if they didn’t know stealing cars or driving drunk is wrong.
Fred Thompson made a decent Senator for Tennessee.
You know, I don’t find these things to be really contradictory to being a liberal and I don’t find the things under the conservatives’ lists to be contradictory. It’s just an acknowledgment that none of us are the extremes and stereotypes that we are sometimes painted to be.
This is really a revealing thread.
I’m a liberal but…
– I support nuclear power because the newer technologies make much less waste and are much safer than the older plants and definitely better for people and the environment than burning filthy coal for electricity.
– I don’t walk around feeling guilty and evil for having been born white and in relatively good financial circumstances. I do like helping people and giving to charity, but not because I feel like I need to expunge the sin of being lucky.
– I think it’s very patronizing to minority groups to insist that everyone sanitize their language all the time to fit some perfect ideal of complete tolerance for everyone. People from minority groups are not going to wither and die if they hear a less-than-enlightened statement from someone, and encouraging people to lie about their prejudices just makes it take longer to flush out the idiots. (And, for certain fringe groups, it makes it almost impossible for someone who isn’t an idiot, but is just honestly ignorant of that group, to learn more without the offenderati descending from on high to chastise them for not using the right words.)
Yeah, right now honestly ignorant accidental offenders totally get gypped.
I’m a liberal, but…
I think nuclear power is a pretty good idea, at least for the time being until we figure out something cleaner and less wasteful.
Though I’m fundamentally opposed to the war, I’m not convinced immediate withdrawal is the best strategy for Iraq.
I get emotional about what people in the military sacrifice for our country, and I have been known to cry during the national anthem… especially on Memorial Day or the 4th of July.
Michael Moore, Jesse Jackson, et al embarrass me. Most liberal rhetoric embarrasses me. I don’t see the world in black and white. I don’t agree with it, but I understand fiscal conservativism and think it is intelligent and somewhat understandable.
Corporations are not the devil. Urban development is not necessarily a bad thing. For the most part, progress is good. (I didn’t feel this way until I spent a couple months in Mexico. Boy do I love my country.)
I’m difficult to offend. The only way you’re really going to get any vitriol from me is by being homophobic or racist or classist (so basically, a bigot.) Other than that I really don’t care what you think is morally right or morally wrong, whether you’re screaming your anti-abortion schtick from the rooftops or swearing over your Bible in court or saying ‘‘Under God’’ in the pledge I could give a shit less.
Oh, I’m also in favor of gay marriage (what the hell do I care? It won’t affect my marriage to Ivylad).
I also scored 19 (a fairly popular number around here, it appears).
I’m a liberal (sort of), but
If I never see another illegal alien I will be a very happy girl, indeed. (Addressed to the general public: I mow my OWN lawn, thank you, so don’t give me that crap about using their services.)
The children of illegals should be illegal.
Illegals and the children of illegals should have NO access to publicly funded health care.
There is NO excuse for Al Sharpton. None.
And another one:
I’m a liberal but I’m really thankful for certain decisions the conservative wing of the Supreme Court has made, especially U.S. v. Lopez. That damn interstate commerce clause was like a weed overrunning the Constitution.