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bdunbar asked me "what could Republican candidates do to appeal to you?" I replied to his comment in an off-the-cuff fashion, but thought that a more detailed and considered answer to the question would make a good post. Here's my more extensive response:
Regulation: What I like about Jerry Pournelle is that he recognizes the need to regulate the markets. He's got a quote to the effect of "a totally free market would see people selling baby meat." So, if a Republican wants my vote, they need to recognize that fact. They can argue that, for example, the EPA goes too far, but since I like my rivers to be not on fire, saying "abolish the EPA" without an alternative is a non-starter.
Freedom: What irritates me about a lot of Republicans is that freedom begins and ends at low taxes. Cops busting down your door looking for pot, warrantless wiretaps while hunting for terrorists under your bedsheets, and telling gay people "get back in the closet" is anti-freedom. This is why I find Ron Paul attractive. His "go back to the gold standard" is just crazytalk, which is why I won't vote for him.
Internal consistency: I'm concerned about the deficit. I don't think it's a critical problem right this moment, but it needs to be fixed. Having said that, don't come to me with an explicit tax cut and vague, amorphous, spending cuts. Show me your spending cuts first, then if they actually happen we can talk tax cuts.
Practicality: One of the things I like about Newt Gingrich is that he looks at problems and says "how do we solve them?" I think about a week ago I defended his stance on illegal immigration, which was unless we call the Gestapo we can't deport 20 million people. In the debate, I really liked his line to the effect that "if the American people aren't buying into Ryan's Medicare plan maybe it's not a good idea."
So, I guess a Republican who's a cross between Ron Paul and Newt Gingrich would get my vote. I would note that neither of those men seems to have a snowball's chance in hell of getting through the primaries.
bdunbar asked me "what could Republican candidates do to appeal to you?" I replied to his comment in an off-the-cuff fashion, but thought that a more detailed and considered answer to the question would make a good post. Here's my more extensive response:Regulation: What I like about Jerry Pournelle is that he recognizes the need to regulate the markets. He's got a quote to the effect of "a totally free market would see people selling baby meat." So, if a Republican wants my vote, they need to recognize that fact. They can argue that, for example, the EPA goes too far, but since I like my rivers to be not on fire, saying "abolish the EPA" without an alternative is a non-starter.
Freedom: What irritates me about a lot of Republicans is that freedom begins and ends at low taxes. Cops busting down your door looking for pot, warrantless wiretaps while hunting for terrorists under your bedsheets, and telling gay people "get back in the closet" is anti-freedom. This is why I find Ron Paul attractive. His "go back to the gold standard" is just crazytalk, which is why I won't vote for him.
Internal consistency: I'm concerned about the deficit. I don't think it's a critical problem right this moment, but it needs to be fixed. Having said that, don't come to me with an explicit tax cut and vague, amorphous, spending cuts. Show me your spending cuts first, then if they actually happen we can talk tax cuts.
Practicality: One of the things I like about Newt Gingrich is that he looks at problems and says "how do we solve them?" I think about a week ago I defended his stance on illegal immigration, which was unless we call the Gestapo we can't deport 20 million people. In the debate, I really liked his line to the effect that "if the American people aren't buying into Ryan's Medicare plan maybe it's not a good idea."
So, I guess a Republican who's a cross between Ron Paul and Newt Gingrich would get my vote. I would note that neither of those men seems to have a snowball's chance in hell of getting through the primaries.