On 14th July I received three pieces of political mail – a flier from Rob Bishop promoting his Americans For American Energy Act; a request for dues to the Republican National Committee; and a Congressional District Survey. To give you some idea of my politics I consider myself an Independent though I vote Republican about 80% of the time. I don’t have any one issue but do favor fiscal responsibility and do not favor abortion or gay marriage. I spent my first 28 years of life in rickety old England so I have some perspective on socialism and government programs. Anyway, I will comment on the survey today and perhaps write about the energy act another day. Each survey question, except for the last, can be answered Yes, No, or Undecided. I will list the question, then respond afterwards by rewording the question and adding commentary.
The Survey
1. Do you feel voters in Utah’s 1st District support making all of the Bush tax cuts permanent?
Rephrase: Do you support making all or some of the Bush tax cuts permanent?
Comment: Although I have only been affected by it once, I believe the Alternative Minimum Tax should be abolished. Eventually action will have to be taken because the AMT is not indexed to inflation. Priority should be given to reducing the deficit even if some taxes have to raised.
2. Do you support the House Democrats’ “slow-bleed” strategy to “choke-off” funding for our troops in Iraq, leading to their withdrawal and a perception of American defeat?
Rephrase: Do you support withdrawing troops from Iraq?
Comment: Obviously very few would answer yes to the survey question, even though they may be in favor of withdrawal.
3. Should Republicans continue fighting for full implementation of a ballistic missile defense system?
Rephrase: Leave as-is.
Comment: I don’t know much about this. It sounds like a program expansion which could be expensive.