{"id":3965,"date":"2010-06-06T10:15:00","date_gmt":"2010-06-06T17:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cahighways.org\/wordpress\/?p=3965"},"modified":"2010-06-06T10:15:00","modified_gmt":"2010-06-06T17:15:00","slug":"ballot-positions-the-people","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cahighways.org\/wordpress\/?p=3965","title":{"rendered":"Ballot Positions: The People"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is the second of my posts on the upcoming California primary. This one looks at the people. My positions on the propositions were discussed in this post<\/a>.<\/p>\n

First, some political background: I\u2019m a Democrat, learned from my mother. I tend to believe that government can do good and has a responsibility to do good, and to help the people it governs (this falls under promoting the general welfare, and supporting health, happiness, and the pursuit of liberty). I think partisanship has destroyed the effectiveness of our system, with politicians voting against things just because the other side proposed them. We need to be electing politicians that do the best for the people they represent, whether or not that is in the interest of their party. I believe our budgets should be balanced, and that government enterprises should be run as efficiently as possible<\/i>. However, I recognize that running a governmental entity is not the same<\/i> as running a business, and often good business skills make people bad public servants. In the large, I\u2019m against \u201cpork\u201d… but I also recognize the political reality that sometimes it is necessary (remember the old adage that laws are like sausages \u2014 it is best not to see them being made). Socially, I\u2019m liberal: I believe women should be able to make the decisions regarding their bodies, and that relationships are matters between consenting adults, whatever their form. I believe that religion should be the provance of the churches, synagogues, and mosques, and the state has no business imposing religious views (such as in the area of prohibiting abortions or marriage practices).<\/p>\n

That said, here\u2019s my thoughts:<\/p>\n

State<\/b><\/p>\n