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Sullivan, Tom "VA Moderate"

CANDIDATE DETAILS

Affiliation


	0001-01-01

Name

Tom "VA Moderate" Sullivan

Address

Fairfax County
Alexandria, Virginia , United States

RexTyrrannos3@aol.com

Website

None

Born

March 31, 1988 (36 years)

Contributor

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Last Modifed

411 Name Removed
Dec 29, 2009 02:53pm

Tags

Single - Censured - Reprimanded - Agnostic -

Info

About Me:

I currently live near Washington D.C. I fit into the "fiscal conservative, social libertarian" category. I am originally from Manhattan, and I moved to Virginia eight years ago.

I don't mind if you IM me at : RexTyrrannos3

My Beliefs:

I believe passionately in good government that can encourage and protect individual rights and freedoms. I believe in limited government, but I also believe in activist government. There are some problems that cannot be solved through the market alone. The market can creats an orderly society, but it cannot alone make a society great.

My positions on the issues:

Abortion: Abortion is the ultimate can't-win issue, because both sides are ultimately right. I cannot envision myself ever being in a situation where I would have to deal with abortion. It should be legal because you cannot legislate stupidity or morality, and you can never truly eliminate abortion altogether.

Military Intervention: Preemptive military operations should take place only if the national interests of the United States are threatened. I supported and continue to support the war in Iraq, as it was strategically a brilliant manuever. There is nothing wrong with multilateralism, but the opinions of other nations should not be the ultimate guiding factor in United States foreign policy. If they approve of the actions of the United States, then that is of course a good thing, but it is not pivotal.

Missile Defense: This is a worthy use of defense department funds. Missile defense should be a high priority because of threats from nuclear nations. Cutting missile defense funding to increase the size of the army is extremely unwise.

Congressional Redistricting: In 2002 only four challengers were able to unseat incumbents in the general election. The partisan redistricting deprives voters of a choice in the name of picking up a few extra seats. The congressional redistricting in Texas and Pennsylvania by Republicans and in Maryland by the Democrats is a perfect example of this. In Maryland the Democrats decided to remove two Republicans from the eight-member congressional delegation. Rep. Connie Morella was defeated narrowly by Chris Van Hollen because of this and Rep. Robert L. Ehrlich was removed from his district because of gerrymandering. Ehrlich got his revenge when he was elected Governor in November 2002, but the redistricting was blatantly unfair. In Pennsylvania there are 450,000 more Democrats than Republicans although the Republicans hold a 12-7 congressional edge because of partisan redistricting. Voters need to have the right to choose their own representatives.

Trading Policy: I support free trade in most instances, and I resent protectionist elements. Tariffs should be kept at as low a level as possible. Outsourcing is not a significant threat to the economic health of the United States, at least not yet. If it ever becomes a significant threat to the economic health of the United States, then I will support action to stem the flow of jobs to other countries.

Stem Cell Research: I support stem cell research, because it can save lives. I draw the line when pregnancy is intentionally terminated merely to obtain material for stem cells. The research should not be restricted to embryos that are not capable of life, as there are other embryos that are capable of life but will not be used. Yes, it is true that there have been no actual clinical trials of this research, but that is because opponents have blocked it. These trials cannot be conducted until restrictions on it are lifted.

Affirmative Action: Affirmative action is a wrong-headed policy that has good intentions. I believe that there is nothing wrong with preferring minorities unofficially when all things are equal. There is a difference between that situation and racial preferences that have been employed in government and education for years. Some of these policies have even been implemented under the table in some situations. This practice must be stopped so that true equality can be achieved. I would prefer actual financial assistance to merely adding extra points regardless of merit. This would help to solve the root cause of the problem.

Taxes: The power to tax is the power to destroy. The government should tax and spend lightly and should raise taxes only with great reluctance. Regressive taxes such as the payroll tax should be repealed becuase they impose an unfair burden upon those who make less than $80,000 a year.

Separation of Church and State: This is a constitutional principle that is very important to me and dear to my heart. There are those on the religious right who seek to force people to accept Christianity, even in public schools. There are some on the left who seek to destroy the ability of people to practice their religion freely in the name of telerance. They are not as numerous as those on the right would have you believe, partially because they are not very well organized. Freedom of Religion is also very important to me, and the government should not take any action that restricts the ability of religious institutions to practice their faith.

Gay Marriage: Homosexuals should have the legal right to get married in the same manner as heterosexual couples. This should not force religious institutions to recognize gay marriage however, because this is repressing religion. In my state there is a law that bans civil unions and might restrict the ability of homosexuals to contract with each other. This law is unjust and should be repealed. It can be interpreted as to restrict hospital visits and other things of that nature. This is discrimination.

Capital Punishment- The Death Penalty should be reserved for only the most extreme cases, such as war sriminals. The problem that I have with the death penalty is that there is no margin for error. Also, it costs the states too much money because of the appeals process.

Drugs: The problem in society is not with drug use itself, but with the violence and theft that is associated with drug use. Drug use needs to be fought at the demand side rather than just the supply side. As long as there is demand, there will be people who will find a way to supply drugs. Marijuana should be legalized, as this would mean that the market for it would no longer be controlled by criminals. Hard Drugs such as Cocaine, Heroin, and LSD should remain illegal, because these drugs pose a threat to others besides those who use them.

Health Insurance- Health coverage in the United States is designed to avoid sick people. There ae certain diseases that you are basically not allowed to have until you have been working somewhere for two years. Workers are fired because companies want to save money. The solution is to end the involvement of businesses altogether in health coverage. This is one of the few government programs that I would be willing to support. Health Care should be a right for all Americans. There should be a basic level of healthcare that is payed for by taxpayer money. If anyone wants more than that level than they should have to pay for it.

Alaska Oil Drilling- Drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife refuge should be done only as a last resort. The ultimate solution is to develop vehicles that consume less fuel. There should be a revenue-neutral consumption tax imposed on SUVs. Every penny of this tax would be given back through reductions in other taxes.

Gun Control- Gun ownership is a constitutional right that should not be restricted by the government in most cases. The only guns that should be restricted are heavy firearms such as rocket and grenade launchers. Conceal-and-Carry permits should be investigated further before they are implemented on a wide scale. The issue is not so much actual danger, but rather percieved danger.

Sexual Harassment: Many government agencies and businesses have instituted policies designed to prevent what is termed as "Sexual Harrassment." The main flaw in these policies is that the intention of the recipient is percieved as greater than the intention of the person engaging in the behavior. If the person who regarded the action as harrassment were required to ask the person to stop before filing a complaint, then it would go a long way toward correcting this problem. If the victim feels too intimidated to ask the person to stop, then they should be required to have someone else ask the person to stop.

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