# What Would Your Ideal Political Party Platform Be? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [May 13, 2013, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-your-ideal-political-party-platform-be/658213 "2013-05-13T05:20:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2013, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-your-ideal-political-party-platform-be/658213/61 "2013-05-15T04:49:12Z")
> [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](#): > > Most of what I advocate isn’t too different from current policy IMO Regime change? Cyberwarfare? Assassinations? ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2013, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-your-ideal-political-party-platform-be/658213/62 "2013-05-15T14:04:13Z")
In addressing Qin’s claim that “Most of what I advocate isn’t too different from current policy IMO.” : > [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Regime change? Cyberwarfare? Assassinations? GWB organized two major regime changes; under Obama regime change has been supported at least in Libya. Targeted assassinations happen. Through N.S.A. we’ve been indulging in “cyberwarfare” for decades. U.S. and/or Israel engaged in cyberwarfare against Iran. China engages in major cyberwarfare against U.S. The U.S. is committing large resources to cyberwarfare, whether mostly for offense or defense I’m not sure. I don’t know how I feel about all this. Except when a patent nincompoop occupies the Oval Office, ignorant septimus is willing to defer to the man who gets daily intelligence briefings. Much of your program is too radical for me, **Qin** , but I’ll just pick one nit: > [@](#): > > -Institute mandatory sterilization for sex criminals I think you meant “castration” or “emasculation.” Eliminating sex urge and preventing reproduction are two different things. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2013, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-your-ideal-political-party-platform-be/658213/63 "2013-05-15T16:14:45Z")
> [@WillFarnaby](#): > > If I were able to predict something as fickle as the political caprice of the American public, I’d have a better paying job. That said, I could see the ACA being nullified if the health care costs rise enough. Let me see if I can clarify… With jury nullification, for example, if it were widely practiced, I could easily see murderers walking away because they picked the “right” victim (of a demographic that the community disapproved of, for example — prostitutes, homosexuals, racial minorities, etc). Can you imagine anything like that happening on the macro level with state nullification? This is not the only example I can think of, of course, but I think balancing that against the good it can do is a discussion worth having. What I was trying to get at is that there’s a lot of talk about the positives (federal pot laws), but the potential downsides seem to be ignored, and unless you think there ARE no downsides, I’m not sure there’s a good conversation to be had. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2013, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-your-ideal-political-party-platform-be/658213/64 "2013-05-15T17:33:25Z")
> [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](#): > > This is why in the last few months, I have shifted my support and sympathies by and large to the Democrats. Just because I’m curious as well, you didn’t answer his question, is abortion THE issue for you that still pulls you towards the GOP at times? > [@2sense](#): > > So yeah, some of that I have a problem with but most of it I find acceptable and some of it I enthusiastically second. > > **Huangdi/Sosoth 2016!!!** Yes! Finally a supporter! Please make out your campaign contribution to just me though…cause I’m the treasurer and stuff… \>\_\> ---
**Author:** ![AtomicDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@AtomicDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AtomicDog)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2013, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-your-ideal-political-party-platform-be/658213/65 "2013-05-15T17:38:40Z")
> [@2sense](#): > > I don’t like space funding. I think humans need to solve our problems here on Earth before we go spreading out into the great beyond. This statement is predicated on the assumption that there will be a time when all of the problems on earth will be solved, and no new ones will arise. Do you honestly believe that this will be so? If not, why should manned space exploration wait for a future that will never come to pass? ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-your-ideal-political-party-platform-be/658213/66 "2013-05-16T00:10:11Z")
> [@WillFarnaby](#): > > Our only foreign policy interest should be protection of our own citizens. In what ways do China and Russia present a threat to our citizens? I disagree that considering the US is a superpower with numerous commitments to our allies our sole concern is the US itself (although that obviously is the top priority). Russia and China are supporting authoritarian regimes like Assad in Syria or the North Korean government while engaging in aggressive moves against our allies such as what happened in Georgia in 2008 or the current disputes between China and Japan over the Senkakus. > [@](#): > > If you mean to continue our mercantilist agenda of maintaining hegemony over the oil, we just disagree. It is not because of that. After all I advocated opposing the Saudi regime too, which many are reluctant to do so due to the threat to our oil supply. > [@](#): > > Except for the examples you listed. You forget by targeting a country through sanctions, you are destroying their economy and starving their citizens. This is just adds to any oppression you claim is present. Nevertheless, the embargo led to war. Would such a war be justified and/or desirable with any of the countries you listed? > [@](#): > > What happened to your policy of isolating Russia and China? China wants resources. They’re smarter than us. They’re buying them. They’re not a threat to Korea or Japan. They have too many internal problems to pose a threat anyway. Same with Russia. If you want peace through strength, you have to realize you achieve a position of strength through economic might. Mainland US hasn’t been attacked in 200 years because of our geography and economic might, not because we meddled in others business. I should have clarified that I don’t support the same sort of policies of sanctions and aiming at regime change towards Russia and China as I did toward North Korea or Iran. Nonetheless, I do support keeping our economy strong, hence the rest of my platform. > [@](#): > > The reason no democracies have made war on eachother is because the US has maintained hegemony over virtually the entire democratic world. Of course the US would not allow, say, Korea to war with Japan when she maintains bases in both countries. During the reign of the Soviet Union, no communist dictatorships made war on eachother. Does this also become a rule: communist dictatorships do not make war on communist dictatorships? > > Has not Israel made war with both Lebanon and Palestine? Communist regimes have made war on each other. Off the top of my head, the USSR and China had nasty border clashes. So did China and Vietnam, while Vietnam actually invaded Communist Cambodia and imposed their own puppet regime. > [@](#): > > Is this form working? Is al-Qaeda ready to throw in the towel? Meanwhile we are killing civilians by the hundreds in Pakistan and creating further instability. Considering much of al-Qaeda’s leadership has been decimated, I’d say the policy is working. > [@](#): > > You want to free the people of these countries by bringing economic chaos and/or warfare to their soil. I’m seeing a disconnect. If the people of these countries felt like they were being oppressed let them overthrow the government. If the rebel movement isn’t fully supported by the people you’ll have abortions like the proxy war in Syria. How much “full support” does a rebel movement need to be legitimate? It is almost certain the majority of Syrians support the opposition but the rebels haven’t triumphed yet because the army of the Assad regime has far superior weapons. By this logic, the American Revolution was merely an “abortion” since a majority of the colonists did not support it. Also, in the end the French and other European allies proved instrumental in supplying the Patriots and securing their victory. > [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Regime change? Cyberwarfare? Assassinations? [ > [@septimus](#): > > In addressing Qin’s claim that “Most of what I advocate isn’t too different from current policy IMO.” : > > GWB organized two major regime changes; under Obama regime change has been supported at least in Libya. Targeted assassinations happen. Through N.S.A. we’ve been indulging in “cyberwarfare” for decades. U.S. and/or Israel engaged in cyberwarfare against Iran. China engages in major cyberwarfare against U.S. The U.S. is committing large resources to cyberwarfare, whether mostly for offense or defense I’m not sure. > > I don’t know how I feel about all this. Except when a patent nincompoop occupies the Oval Office, ignorant septimus is willing to defer to the man who gets daily intelligence briefings. In addition to what **septimius** said, I’ll emphasize that “regime change” means setting it as a strategic goal rather than direct regime change by launching an invasion like we did in Iraq. > [@](#): > > Much of your program is too radical for me, **Qin** , but I’ll just pick one nit: > > I think you meant “castration” or “emasculation.” Eliminating sex urge and preventing reproduction are two different things. I support chemical castration too but I support sterilization as a way to avoid pregnancies resulting from rape should God forbid the rapist strike again. > [@YogSosoth](#): > > Just because I’m curious as well, you didn’t answer his question, is abortion THE issue for you that still pulls you towards the GOP at times? In what sense? In the sense that it make me use the same arguments or support the same bills as Republicans, then yes. But the same goes for free trade and a few other issues too. However most Republican candidates I’d actually support over a Democrat (mostly in state and local levels such as Governor Chris Christie) tend to be moderate on the abortion issue. ---
**Author:** ![WillFarnaby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/willfarnaby/32/514_2.png) [@WillFarnaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WillFarnaby)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-your-ideal-political-party-platform-be/658213/67 "2013-05-16T04:35:27Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > What I was trying to get at is that there’s a lot of talk about the positives (federal pot laws), but the potential downsides seem to be ignored, and unless you think there ARE no downsides, I’m not sure there’s a good conversation to be had. There are potential downsides but I can’t think of any serious ones. Btw jury nullification is legal, yet none of that happens as far as I know. > [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](#): > > I disagree that considering the US is a superpower with numerous commitments to our allies our sole concern is the US itself (although that obviously is the top priority). Our major disagreements stem from this. > [@](#): > > Russia and China are supporting authoritarian regimes like Assad in Syria or the North Korean government while engaging in aggressive moves against our allies such as what happened in Georgia in 2008 or the current disputes between China and Japan over the Senkakus. Japan is just as much to blame over the island dispute. The US supports authoritarian regimes when it is in her best interest as well as known terrorism sponsors like Israel. We are committing aggressive acts against their allies. Such as the military buildup in Asia and cyberwarfare against Iran. We have also been involved with attempting to overthrow Assad since nearly the beginning. > [@](#): > > Communist regimes have made war on each other. Off the top of my head, the USSR and China had nasty border clashes. So did China and Vietnam, while Vietnam actually invaded Communist Cambodia and imposed their own puppet regime. And so have [democracies](http://users.erols.com/mwhite28/demowar.htm). > [@](#): > > Considering much of al-Qaeda’s leadership has been decimated, I’d say the policy is working. How hard is to replace these people? Apparently not too hard considering they have spread far and wide since we started our war with them. > [@](#): > > How much “full support” does a rebel movement need to be legitimate? It is almost certain the majority of Syrians support the opposition but the rebels haven’t triumphed yet because the army of the Assad regime has far superior weapons. [Bah](http://m.guardiannews.com/commentisfree/2012/jan/17/syrians-support-assad-western-propaganda) > [@](#): > > By this logic, the American Revolution was merely an “abortion” since a majority of the colonists did not support it. You’re talking about colonies fighting for separation from a long distance overlord. That’s completely different from a faction rising to gain control over a government. Every government rules with the consent of the manority of people. Whether this consent is passive or active often determines whether a revolution will go over. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-your-ideal-political-party-platform-be/658213/68 "2013-05-16T10:40:46Z")
My “platform.” Many of the ideas would require much work on details, but I’ll focus on broad brushstrokes. [ul][li] Prioritize issues. Gun control, for example, given the huge emotions on both sides of the debate, is a distraction which obstructs attention to more urgent and solvable issues.[/li][li] Reduce the power of money in politics. Overturn _Supreme Court vs. H.sapiens_, by Constitutional Amendment if necessary. Re-implement and strengthen public campaign financing, controls against media concentration, etc. Ban public officials from retiring to serve as lobbyists.[/li][li] The on-going degradation of the Earth’s habitat must be a very high priority. This includes, but is not limited to, CO2 increase in atmosphere and ocean. Carbon fuels should be taxed heavily. Alternate energy, incl. nuclear, should be subsidized.[/li][li] Strengthen financial and anti-trust regulations. That Washington still panders to Wall St. after recent debacles should shock Americans.[/li][li] Improve U.S. education, especially for the earliest years. I offer no details, but admit reducing union power may be part of a solution. Vouchers may be part of a solution _but not as proposed by right-wingers who seek to degrade **public** schools_. **Any education plan must focus first on improving _public_ schools.** [/li][li] A taxpayer-financed Universal Health Care system should be created, operating in parallel to private system.[/li][li] Abortion rights could be defined state-by-state. (I assume a woman could travel to another state to get an abortion and return to her home no-abortion state without facing prosecution.)[/li][li] (I’ve deliberately ignored some important issues, e.g. immigration and foreign military actions, on which I would seek a flexible middle way.)[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![o\_rion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/278dde/32.png) [@o\_rion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/o_rion)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-your-ideal-political-party-platform-be/658213/69 "2013-05-16T14:11:57Z")
Ain’t got a whole platform, but a couple things I’d like to see would b …stick with one, the other one I don’t have phrased properly- I signed up to some rightwing emailimgs, just to see, Lefties might have the same deal, dunno. In the newsletters, Ingram, that little …Gingrich… the biggest topic everytime was puttin yer money in offshore tax free shelters. Use this country and economy to make scads o wads, then spirit the wealth out, Fuck puttin any back in. Initial reaction, Gingrich did run for pres, after all, was rage, for quite a while. That’s still there, along with sadness, and wondering why all these hooked up sobs and dobs would b advocating this. Like they maintain mailing lists for how to rob this country to bones, and top it off with seven diff Recipes for bone soup. Personally, I consider them all traitors. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-your-ideal-political-party-platform-be/658213/70 "2013-05-16T15:31:51Z")
Before you jump on him, **o’rion** has previouslywritten that he is posting from a phone that won’t autowrap messages. ---
**Author:** ![o\_rion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/278dde/32.png) [@o\_rion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/o_rion)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-your-ideal-political-party-platform-be/658213/71 "2013-05-16T17:24:28Z")
Great Danes! Thanks, Czarcasm. ---
**Author:** ![o\_rion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/278dde/32.png) [@o\_rion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/o_rion)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-your-ideal-political-party-platform-be/658213/72 "2013-05-16T17:28:31Z")
(It does, but its like the cursor almost becomes untethered in a reply box, and makes it difficult to navigate. Extremely so) ---
**Author:** ![2sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/e47774/32.png) [@2sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2sense)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2013, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-your-ideal-political-party-platform-be/658213/73 "2013-05-16T20:00:41Z")
> [@AtomicDog](#): > > This statement is predicated on the assumption that there will be a time when all of the problems on earth will be solved, and no new ones will arise. Do you honestly believe that this will be so? I believe that our big problem is Us vs Them. People are civil and humane to others of their kind but not so much with outsiders. I think that we should work to bridge that gap. To eliminate Them and include all humans as Us. If we had a world government without major regionalism and an ideology of inclusion then at that point I would support spreading out from Earth. So, no time soon. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-your-ideal-political-party-platform-be/658213.md?page=3)