Which political party represents me the best?

Recently I was asked the above question along with what does that party do for me, so I thought I'd share my answers. They are in random order.

1. One that provides a safety net for the poor, the sick, the old and the unemployed. In a wealthy nation such as the US, we can afford to provide for the "least of these" among us. People say this should be the job of the church, but imagine if the church had to provide for all those needs, it would fall terribly short. It takes an entire nation to take care of and provide for the needs of a nation.

2. One that believes in the sanctity of life from the unborn to the end of life and everything in between. I call it hypocrisy to encourage a woman to not abort her baby but vilify that same woman if she needs government help to provide for that child. I was disturbed during the nomination process by the cheers of the audience when one presidential candidate announced how many executions he had approved of in Texas and another suggested electrocuting those trying to illegally enter the US. If you are pro-life, then it has to be consistent, even for convicted murderers. If you are fine with condemning murderers to death, then you should be fine with giving a woman an OK to abort a baby produced by rape or incest. I also expect elected officials to know some basic facts about the reproductive process in that a woman can't turn off her cycle under rape situations.

3. One that allows for a fair tax rate. If a person makes more in one day than the average American makes in one year but only pays half of the taxes of that same average American, then something is seriously wrong with this picture. For too long those making big dollar figures (over $250K/ year constitutes that and then some for me) have been given a large tax write off and have contributed to the bloated deficit. They have paid lobbyists to broker huge tax benefits for themselves. If you are looking to blame entitlements for our financial woes, take a look at where the real monied entitlements lie.

4. One that provides basic health care for it's citizens. The US pays more than any of the other developed countries for it's health needs but has one of the lowest survival rates. For those who can afford the high premiums and have good insurance, it's wonderful. For those who can't, they are one step away from a medically induced bankruptcy. Either that, or they wait until they get Medicare to take care of issues which could have been dealt with more effectively and cheaply had they had access to preventative care before reaching their golden years.

5. One that respects the religions of all the people. Would I have a preference as to what I would want that to be, yes absolutely, but nevertheless, people should be free to worship their god in whatever building they prefer. Or not.

6. One that respects the human rights of the citizens of the world. That would include respecting the life of the Palestinians as well as the Israelis. Upholding the treaties signed with the world to protect POW's and habeas corpus. A party that approves of torture would not be representing me.

7. One that calls an opportunistic jester and clown, who's bent on getting some free advertising and adept at using outrageous birth certificate claims to do so, what he is, rather than paying attention to his vapid ramblings.

8. One that treats premarital sex, adultery, multiple marriages and divorces and homosexuality with the same consistent approach, for we have all sinned and fallen short of God's glory. One is not any worse or better than the other in God's eyes. Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.

9. One that values an educated citizenry and provides a way for those who are smart, but poor, to have access to our finest universities. One that has an immigration process flexible enough to allow doctors, or whatever profession we have a shortage of, that are educated in this country, and do not have criminal records, to become citizens. One that will not rip families apart in the name of immigration integrity while giving a pass, nod and wink to those who benefit from cheap labor.

10. One that values research and development to bring new products and ideas onto the world market. Particularity when it comes to alternative fuels. Anyone who has read anything about 'peak oil' has to see that the country who comes up with an alternative will rule the world in the future.

11. One that represents both the needs of business and protects the rights of the consumer. There are scammers in both categories and we need watchdogs to prevent the next installment of American greed.

12. One where the leaders of the country follow the example of it's founding father who said "if we do not hang together we will surely all hang." Politicians should be willing to fight and die for the country they desire to serve and not get preferential treatment for themselves in the form of multiple draft deferments. They should be willing to send their own children to fight wars they start instead of having the poor and minorities to do their dirty work.

13. One that will have the guts to take on the NRA and make stringent laws regarding the type of weapons and ammunition made readily available to the general public. No one needs machine guns to go out and shoot a deer or an elk!

There's probably more, but that's all for now anyway.