You want the US to become a Muslim country? A country in which Christianity is outlawed? A country in which Der Trihs sets the rules on religion?
And you’re for mandatory miscegenation? With the person in the US furthest from your own racial and cultural background?
I guess I am around 16.
Well at the least this could be entertaining. We just wouldn’t let him execute any violators.
Taking Obama’s word for it that he was, at any rate, born. (You don’t want to hear about the theories alternative to that.)
Seriously, though, why would you need or want to listen to even a moderate conservative?
I don’t want the country to “become” anything, I think it isn’t Christian. I think if we invaded Iraq because W felt like it, and didn’t begin impeachment procedures immediately when we found out, that’s not a particularly Christian attitude (that whole “thou shalt not kill” thing). Likewise, I don’t think the US as a country has done particularly well by the native Americans (whether you think smallpox was the government’s fault or not), Chinese laborers, Africans, Japanese internees, and, really, any time the predominantly-white government has had to interact with a non-white group, it really has not gone well.
That’s my job, thank you. To start with, I decree everybody has to wear special devotional underwear, which is kinda like the Mormons’ but a whole lot kinkier. You’ll all be receiving a catalog in the mail soon. Praise our new God, the Marquis de Sade!
Eh, what the hell. I’ll play straight up.
[ul]
[li]Debt ceiling 3 - Congress (or at least those with R’s after their names) is stupid to argue about this; if they want the government to borrow less they should either raise taxes or cut spending. Only they, having the power of the purse, can do this. That said, we probably do borrow too much money. Though, on the other hand, with the record low interest rates, it’s not that bad. We should curtail this as the economy gets better, sooner if possible.[/li][li]Immigration 2 - Immigration should be a human, inalienable right. I know that if I couldn’t find a job to feed my family, I would immigrate regardless of what various laws said. That said, people should contribute to or benefit society in some way if they come here… I believe that immigrants contribute more to society than than take away and would contribute even more if there was a way for them to become mainstream.[/li][li]Taxes 3 - Taxes are too high but government provides important benefits to society. Perhaps if we stopped fighting these expensive wars around the globe, stopped spending more on our military than then next 6 largest countries combined, stopped incarcerating more of our population than any other country (private prisons no less), and stopped letting people profit off our social safety net we could cut taxes. [/li][li]Gov’t spending 3 - Too high, but not by all that much. Cut military, reform medicare. I am OK shooting for ~20% of GDP. [/li][li]US as Christian country 1 - Last I checked the US was secular. I think it says something about that in the Constitution.[/li][li]Abortion 2 - Should be safe, legal, and rare.[/li][li]Obamacare 3 - Ugly bill, but it can be viewed as progress from some angles. Single payer might be better. Laws disconnecting healthcare from employers would be better. Obamacare sucks, but what was there before sucked worse. [/li][li]Birtherism 1 - These are people of the land. The common clay of the new West. You know… morons.[/li][li]Racial equality/ civil rights 1-2 - Should exist without question. What is the 5 here, that whites should have extra privileges? I’m confused on what the right/left scale is here. Perhaps you should spell it out.[/li][li]English as official language of US 1-2 - Same as above. What is the 5 here, that non-english speakers should be screwed anytime they deal with a legal issue? I think this whole issue is stupid, manufactured outrage. Never really got what the big deal was with printing stuff in multiple languages…[/li][/ul]
Total: 20-22
AINut?
I know where I stand on these issues, but I don’t know where the rest of the country does, so I’ll just summarize my positions:
Debt ceiling: Obama does not have the Constitutional authority to pay any heed to the debt ceiling. Congress has, as is their prerogative, authorized a certain amount of spending, and they have also, as is also their prerogative, collected a certain amount of tax revenue. The President is not allowed to overrule either of these, therefore, there is a certain amount of debt. This is true no matter what the Republicans think, and they have already “allowed” Obama to ignore the ceiling by passing the budget they did.
Immigration: We should completely open the doors, and allow nearly anyone in who wants, with a clear path to citizenship. OK, I do know that this viewpoint is pretty extreme, compared to the country as a whole.
Taxes: Capital gains and inheritance should be taxed the same way as any other income, and we need brackets for income tax that go significantly higher than they do now.
Gov’t spending: There are a large number of things that private industry simply can’t do, and a similarly large number that they can do, but which the government is better at. It is fully appropriate that the government do all of these things, and that means spending money.
US as Christian country: We’re certainly a country where people are free to be Christians, and it’s a matter of fact that more people here identify as Christian than any other religion. That doesn’t mean that we’re a “Christian country”, though, and there’s no excuse for us having “In God we Trust” as our motto.
Abortion: Should be allowed before some fetal developmental milestone, and prohibited after (I’m open to debate on precisely when that milestone should be). And regardless of whether it’s allowed or prohibited, the most effective ways of decreasing the abortion rate are fact-based sex education, societal (which probably means governmental) support for prenatal care, and societal support for families after birth.
Obamacare: A step in the right direction, but without a public option, it’s far weaker than it ought to be.
Birtherism: Pure unalloyed lunacy, full stop.
Racial equality/ civil rights: Everyone should have full equality of opportunity, and unfortunately, that is not yet the case. One can reasonably debate the best way to provide more opportunities to those who are currently lacking, but the need for the equality of opportunity is definitely there.
English as official language of US: To the extent that we have any official language at all, it already is, and that’s not going to change any time in my lifetime. No further action is needed.
DrumBum and I were separated at birth.
Debt ceiling - the creditors know it will be raised. Therefore it is meaningless.
Immigration - Remove all governmental impediments to immigration.
Taxes- Abolish the income tax and replace with a sales tax and fees for service.
Gov’t spending - Cut spending by at least a 1/3 first year and eventually balance the budget. The federal government shouldn’t be performing any tasks not explicitly enumerated in the Constitution.
US as Christian country - there are many Christians here, yes. Shouldn’t have anything to do with our foreign or domestic policy.
Abortion - life starts with the onset of brain activity. Anything after is murder. Shouldn’t be funded by government at any point in development.
Obamacare - complete nonsense. Should be abolished along with Medicare.
Birtherism - Birthers haven’t provided any reliable evidence that I’m aware of.
Racial equality/ civil rights - everyone is equal under the law. It’s been that way for some time now. As long as folks aren’t getting their voting rights violated, the federal government has no role in racial issues.
English as official language of US - don’t care.
Assign the numbers if you wish.
I largely agree with Chronos, but I think “equality of opportunity” for African Americans will only be available when their lifespans and incarceration rates are not significantly different from whites (not likely to happen within my lifetime).
As I have a moment and am moderately bored…
**Debt ceiling **3
The entire thing is a bit of a bother, as (as I understand it) the result of not raising it would be for us to default on our debt due to being unable to meet the debt service requirements. This shouldn’t require us to have an epic battle every few months. On the other hand, it’s not so bad that we ought to think about how much we’re borrowing.
**Immigration **1
Come one, come all, subject to some very modest requirements regarding health and background.
**Taxes **3
Taxes should be as modest as possible, and should be completely overhauled. By technocrats. With a background in economics, and no political constituencies. But everything I’ve ever wanted, I’ve had to pay for. I see no reason why the federal government should be exempt from this, and I rather want to make signing a pledge to never raise taxes, no way, no how, to be grounds for removal from office.
**Gov’t spending **3
Possibly I should be a 4 on this. Probably I should be a four on this, now that I think about it–I would vastly reduce the defense budget, as well as eliminating all manner of subsidies. On the other hand, I would leave entitlements more or less as is, and would prefer a single-payer universal health care system. Maybe I should be a 2. 
**US as Christian country **1
Can’t I be a zero? It isn’t, never was, and never should be. Get God off our currency, out of our schools, out of our courts, out of our legislatures, out of everything the government does.
**Abortion **1
Fine with free access to. Not really sure what this one means, to be honest.
**Obamacare **2
As stated earlier, I’m disappointed we didn’t get something better. Still, it’s better than nothing, I guess.
Birtherism 1
Duh.
Racial equality/ civil rights 3
Yup, I want folks to be racially equal and stuff. Not so interested in affirmative action.
English as official language of US 1
See Christianity above. I am, however, willing to permit its continued use in the functions of government. 
Total of 20.
I get a total of 17. An average of 1.7 sounded kind of low, but then I realized these are mostly right wing fear issues.
On certain issues–Obamacare, Race, Taxes, Abortion–you have some real potential as a true nut, though I’d like to hear your positions in further depth. But mainly I’m qondering why you decline to assign numbers, which makes your position difficult to tell, as on “English” (does “don’t care” mean you wouldn’t care if English were outlawed? If Spanish were mandated in every school? IOW, a 1. Or just that you’re in themiddle on this question?) or on a “Christian US”–no one’s arguing that there aren’t many Christians here, but if you don’t want that to influence foriegn or domestic policy at all that makes you a flaming liberal, in my book–is that accurate? It’s fine to be all over the map on particualr issues, I’m not being critical of you for it, but I just want to know where you think you stand on issues. Asking what your numbers are is something only you know best. I can’t interpret your answers and come up with a reliable number.
BTW, if anyone has any real good acid-test type questions that I haven’t thought of, or better ways to phrase the ones I have, please feel free to suggest them. Two I’ve thought up since making up my original test, with the help of the SD and today’s Times, are “UN–good or evil?” and “States’ Rights.” I’m wide-open to suggestions.
Debt ceiling (1)
Dumb. It’s only an issue because the Pubbies keep using it as a bargaining chip, or a bludgeon, take your pick. It’s funny though, aint it? When the Pubbies have the reins, suddenly it’s crickets. Debt ceiling, schmebt ceiling. Pfft. Next?
Immigration (1)
Talk to me when immigration rules are applied equally for everyone. Anyone who doesn’t have a criminal record, wants to get here, and does get here, should be allowed to stay and become a citizen, and it should be a SIMPLE PROCESS. My wife’s Hispanic. Do you know how many YEARS it took her to become naturalized? Whatever you’re thinking, tack on another 3 years as she was in the middle of her process when 9/11 hit. Ridiculous. …and anyway, weren’t the Meheecans (hat tip to South Park) here first?
Taxes (2)
Yeah, taxes suck, but they’re necessary. I have no problem having them raised on those making $250K or more, which would include the collective incomes of me and my wife. Raise 'em!
Government spending (2)
LawMonkey mentioned lowering the defense budget and eliminating subsidies upthread. I am with him …or her, as the case may be. That done, then, and only then would I be willing to talk about what the Pubbies call entitlements.
US as Christian country (1)
I want to live in a country in which Der Trihs sets the rules on religion.
Abortion (1)
Should be accessible and free everywhere, to anyone who wants it.
Obamacare (2)
As stated upthread, it’s not single payer, it’s not even the public option, but I guess it’s somewhat better than what we had.
Birtherism (1)
Masked racism
Racial equality/ civil rights (1)
Yes and yes. Next?
English as official language of US (1)
Another example of stupid Pubbie quasi-jingoistic nonsense
That makes 13 for me.
I have this clear memory of 1976: James E. Carter was a conservative, that made us a little anxious. Governor McCall and Senator Hatfield (Oregon) were Republicans who were good and decent men. Your scale is worthless to me.
Jimmy Carter gets about a 16, I figure. Meanwhile, liberal Republicans have disappeared. Your worthlessness is stuck in the 1970s. But thanks for trying.
The list is just about the right length. If anything, I would suggest you drop “Birtherism” and “English as official language of US” as these positions would only be argued by people whose glial cell count is well below average, and would just be a waste of your time.
If I was to add anything, it might be global warming, evolution, voter fraud, and the Iraq War.
Global Warming
1- It is a proven fact and we need to take immediate action
2- It is proven, but what ya gonna do?
3- Maybe it’s true, maybe it’s not
4- It’s just natural cycles
5- Climate gate PROVES it was all a fraud!
Evolution
1- It is simple scientific truth and should be taught as such
2- It is the most likely theory
3- It should be given equal time with intelligent design
4- It’s a theory, but I don’t believe it
5- It’s a plot to turn people away from JESUS!
Voter Fraud
1- It’s a made up controversy with the purpose of suppressing Democratic votes
2- I’m OK with voter IDs but they should be free and easy to get
3- Duh! Doesn’t everyone already have a driver’s license?
4- I’m really concerned about dead people and illegals voting
5- ACORN stole the election for Obama!
Iraq War
1- Holy Christ what a clusterfuck!
2- We should have never gone in there, but we had to fix what we broke
3- I don’t mind that Saddam is gone, but we stayed way too long
4- I’m damn glad that Saddam is no longer a threat to us!
5- 9/11! 9/11! 9/11! 9/11! 9/11! 9/11!