Political Manifesto of a Moderate with Conservative Leanings (and a few Liberal ones too)

I have never really been inclined to engage in a great deal of political discussion. I basically know what I believe, vote for the individual instead of the party, have defined myself as a Moderate, and am a registered Independent.  I have never been fully Conservative or fully Liberal. Typically more on the Conservative side than the Liberal. The reason I don't engage in a lot of political debate is not because I don't have firm convictions about my beliefs, but because my relationships with my friends have a basis which has nothing to do with politics. I have friends and loved ones who are extreme Liberals, friends and loved ones who are extreme Conservatives, and most who fall in the broad range between the two extremes. If you are my friend, I welcome you and love you whether I agree with your political position or not. In addition, I simply don't care to put such divisions between myself and others who are wonderful individuals, but who don't share my political views. We don't have to agree, I'm not the best debater, usually don't have enough facts to fully support my views, and don't feel the need to convert others. I'm the same way with the other big divisive issue . . . religion. In that, I try to live my Christian beliefs and believe in influence by example.

This whole topic arises because I have been told that I am unwilling to share my political views out of fear that I would alienate my more Liberal friends. In that sense, I could just as easily alienate my more Conservative friends. However, I believe that those who disagree with me will love me anyway, no matter how misguided they may think I am. I could be wrong, so if my "Friends" number drops on Facebook, I suppose I'll know. I don't think I'm wrong though.

So what is it that I believe? I'm not very good at articulating such things, but I'm willing to give it a try.

• National Defense/Security: I believe in complete military support! Our troops are of the utmost importance, they risk their lives for us on a daily basis, and they must be completely supported and praised. I believe that our military must remain strong, and this requires a firm military defense budget. There is never justification for sending our troops into harm's way without the proper training and equipment. I would like to see the waste in the defense budget cut but would not endorse military spending cuts in general. I believe that we need to do a more adequate job of securing our borders, especially in Mexico, but I'm not completely sure what the answer there is. I believe that diplomacy should generally be the first line of defense in an international situation, but that we should always be ready and willing to retaliate when our national interests are threatened. I do not believe that we need to police and democratize the world. However, I do believe it is necessary to have military bases throughout the world so we are better able to address issues if needed. I believe that international support is almost always optimal. I believe our international reputation and image has been badly damaged, and needs repair. I believe terrorism is an ongoing threat and we must seriously improve our "intelligence" community.
• Health Care: I believe Obamacare is a disaster!!! I do not believe in government-run health care. I believe in health care reform, primarily by reducing the waste of malpractice law suits, that dramatically raises the overall cost of health care. I believe that Medicare and Medicaid fraud must be clamped down on. I believe there are better solutions to our health care crisis than universal health care. I'm not completely sure what the best option is, but I am sure that Obama's plan is only going to make things worse. I can attest to this from my own experience. The government bureaucracy will only multiply the problems astronomically. 
• Energy: I believe that we must become energy independent! We must continue to explore energy forms such as nuclear power, clean coal, natural gas, solar, wind, geothermal, hydroelectric, and yes, drilling. While we must do this in an ecologically sound way, we also need to be reasonable in regulations. Too many unnecessary regulations limit development, and are keeping the country from being able to create new jobs and develop new industry. Cap and trade legislation will keep us from developing in these areas.
• Education: Do away with "No Child Left Behind"!!!!!!! What a freaking disaster! Eliminate the Department of Education! Funnel all of those monies to the states, and allow the states to control their education programs. There should be some national standards, certainly, but the federal government bureaucracy should not be running the show. This is one political topic that I actually am, and have been, vocal about, so I won't go on too much here. I can say that one of our biggest problems is the notion that every kid should go to college. We MUST begin to encourage students to learn technical and mechanical trades or our jobs will continue to go overseas. 
• Economy: What a mess! I am NOT better off now than I was three years ago. In fact, I'm much worse off. Legislation has limited our free-market economy and there is far from adequate growth. Consumer confidence is gone. The economy was doing much better when it was allowing capitalism to function. We must have tax incentives to promote small business and stimulate job growth, but we don't need to go back to the New Deal of FDR and put job creation in the hands of the government. The government can't afford it and can't run such programs efficiently   .
• Judicially: The role of the judge is to interpret the law, not make law. (That one is pretty simple.)
• Pro-Life or Pro-Choice: Both. Yes, I know, how can I be both? I DO NOT believe that women should be able to use abortion as a birth control method. However, I do believe that a woman should have the right to have the choice. I would never encourage it. I am for life, not in the radical Pro-Life sense, but I would always encourage life first. 

Ok, I think that's all I'm going to get into for now. I've covered some of the biggies. I realize that many on both sides will think I am horribly misguided, and that's OK. Please don't feel the need to enlighten me. I approach politics at my own pace and in my own way. I watch both Fox News AND CNN, but I avoid MSNBC. I have watched every Republican debate in an effort to understand the candidates better, one of whom, I believe, will be our next president. I drank the Kool-aid in 2008 and supported Obama. I simply couldn't have supported McCain, but may have voted Republican if it had been a different candidate. I had great hope for change with Obama. I didn't agree with everything he stood for but hoped my support would be rewarded with positive change. My world at that time, as for many others, was falling apart financially, etc., and I thought there had to be something different. Well, different is what we got, but not for the better. I am not speaking of Obama on a personal level here when I say I am unbelievably disappointed in what we got. The change has not been good, we are not better off, etc. I will be voting Republican in 2012. 

So there you have it. My very, very generally spelled-out views. I am not afraid to express them, and as I said before, I don't believe others will judge our friendship on my views. If they do, then we probably don't need each other. More than anything, I pray for a return to confidence for our nation, better education for our children, stronger financial status, a more positive international  presence and image, and peace. We have an amazing nation which can never be replicated. It is the best nation in the world, but we need to preserve it.