Friday, August 25, 2006

Questioning Liberal Philosophy

I hear many conservatives get into a debate with a liberal about what kind of legislation the liberal would pass if given the chance. But often times, the conservative asks the wrong opposing question. Well, I'm here to ask the RIGHT questions. Let's look at Russell Shaw of Huffington Post, and his changes he would make.

1) Roe V. Wade - Block the next Supreme Court appointment, one which would surely result in the overturning of Roe and the death of hundreds if not thousands of women from abortion-prohibiting states at the hands of back-alley abortionists

First off, all Roe v. Wade does is ensure that there can not be a federal law denying the right to an abortion. If it was overturned, then the decision would go to the state.
My question; Why NOT let the state, county, or even city decide whether or not to have legalized abortions? (Obvious exceptions are rape, incest, etc. Third trimesters in my opinion should be outlawed. There is no medical evidence that an abortion that late is needed)

2) Health Care - Save hundreds of thousands of American lives by enacting universal health care

Question: Who would pay for Universal Healthcare? Would you use the money hemorrhaging Tenncare as a reference? Would you use the ineffective Canadian Socialized Healthcare as one?

3) Environment - Save untold numbers of lives by pushing for cleaner air standards that would greatly reduce heart and lung diseases;
More enthusiastically address the need for mass transit, the greater availability of which would surely cut highway deaths


Question: Isn't heart disease caused by bad eating and exercising habits? and isn't most Lung disease caused by smoking, not smog? And are the liberal/Democrat voting Union workers (who employ the lobbyists) of GM, Ford ,and Daimler Chrysler going to want to shift from gas powered cars to cars more green friendly than E-85? Won't the oil lobbyists that are "in the pockets of Republicans" just move to the Democrats if they do gain power?
(Mass Transit I can deal with. After being in NYC/NJ for a week, it's VERY easy to accept when needed.)

4) Gun Control - Enact meaningful gun control legislation that would reduce crime and cut fatalities by thousands a year

Question: Do you really believe that gun control leads to lower crime? What about the overwhelming statistics that show violent crime INCREASES as the gun control laws become stricter?

5) Stem Cells - Fund stem cell research that could result in cures saving millions of lives

I have no real complaint about stem cells. There was a recent article about a new method, and if it can cure some currently incurable diseases, I'm all for it.

6) Minimum Wage/Crime - Boost the minimum wage, helping to cut down on poverty which helps spawn violent crime and the deaths that spring from those acts

Questions: If you raise minimum wage to $7/hr, what do you then call $7/hr? What percentage of people making minimum wage would be better off if they didn't live someplace like NYC, LA, or San Fran, where it costs so much to live? Were the people who shot Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac poor, or was it a consequence of their social environment?

7) War on Terror/Iraq - Be less inclined to launch foolish wars, absence of which would save thousands of soldiers' lives- and quite likely moderate the likelihood of further terror acts

Questions: Didn't Islamic militants like Osama bin Laden and other terrorists hate us BEFORE Bush took office? Didn't Al-Queda attack us in 1993, during the Clinton Administration? Do you remember what the Islamic Arab reaction to 9/11 was?

Liberalim is full of ideal world situations, but so is Economics. However there are, as conservatives discovered, unintended consequences. Little hiccups in the real world that are not seen in an ideal plan, and often times lead to another even greator problem.

Examples of Unintended Consequences:
  • Prohibition and the rise of organized crime.
  • Viox and heart troubles.
  • Government controled housing becoming slums/projects
  • Rabbits being released in Australia, then overpopulating the continent.
  • Strict gun control and the huge jump in murders in D.C.