On Feb 22, 2006, at 9:20 AM, Roberto Mello wrote:
On Wed, Feb 22, 2006 at 08:58:24AM -0700, Richard K Miller wrote:
I was going to vote for Urquhart too before he dropped out of the
race. I went to the Saturday meeting with Pete and was really
impressed. I wonder if he's conservative enough to be elected in
Utah, but I think he's a good guy with guy ideas. (I took notes on my
blog: http://www.richardkmiller.com/blog/archives/2006/02/pete-
ashdown-campaigning-for-us-senate)
In your blog you say:
"Pete faces an uphill battle in conservative Utah, and I’m not yet
sure if
he's conservative enough for me. (I like his positions on technology,
science, education, and alternative fuel sources, but I need to learn
about a few more issues.)"
In all honesty, I don't understand the distinctions between
conservatives
and liberals that self-professed conservatives and liberals label each
other with. Every time I've tried to look at them, they seem to be
artificially placed by the opposing side.
So, I ask, what makes a person "conservative enough" for you?
As I mentioned, I like Pete Ashdown's ideas on technology, science,
and alternative energy sources. I even drank the Kool-aid a bit on
healthcare when he suggested examining Japan's hybrid model of public
and private insurance. That's the "public-est" form of health care
I've ever considered being in favor of -- definitely a liberal idea.
I can empathize with a small business owner who has gone to enormous
expense to insure his employees; I think our healthcare system needs
help.
But there were other issues on which Pete and I differed. Two that
came up were internet pornography and social security. He's in favor
of offering porn filtering to consumers who want it, but no
government involvement. I, OTOH, think the negative societal effects
of pornography are big enough that it ought to be treated more like a
drug. (I.e., the government doesn't let people enjoy cocaine in the
privacy of their own homes, nor child porn for that matter.) On
social security, he seemed apt to keep the program and other
"entitlements", while I'd be apt to get rid of it or completely
privatize it.
It's okay if you disagree with my positions on these issues, but the
point is that if Pete and I disagree on (enough of) these issues,
then I won't feel comfortable voting for him. I don't strongly about
voting for Orrin Hatch either, so I'll have to weigh it out. And
Pete comes with the extra baggage of being a junior senator.
Richard
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