Left or Right, Conservative or Liberal?

[2046]

This is just an informal poll regarding your political affiliation, since I'm trying to double-check an interesting correlation I noticed way back when but didn't realize the full import of.

So, briefly, where do you stand?

(I'm going to guess that several would fall left of center, with some to the right. Check me on that.)

Thanks!

[2046]

(If specific example cases would help, consider the following:

Iraq War: leave or stay?

Immigration: Kick 'em out or keep 'em?

Communism or capitalism?

Taxes: Raise or lower?

Media: Liberal bias, or good, or Conservative bias?

I'm not really looking for a debate, though that's up to JMS . . . this is just a survey of where people stand in the spectrum.)

[Dragoon]

I consider myself a libertarian, although I support a basic government safety net and public education.

[GStone]

(I'm going to guess that several would fall left of center, with some to the right. Check me on that.)

I'm on the other side and yet...we often agree on things in the TvW debate. It's a nightmare!! ;-)

(If specific example cases would help, consider the following:[

Iraq War: leave or stay?

Leave.

Immigration: Kick 'em out or keep 'em?

Dude, I'm for one big ass mass transport, if it were possible. Since it isn't an option, I'll say kick 'em out.

Communism or capitalism?

Ccapitalism in the world as it is today, but I'm not against replicators. We'll get one one day.

Taxes: Raise or lower?

Raise on the wealthiest.

Media: Liberal bias, or good, or Conservative bias?

I think it's good in general.

I'm not really looking for a debate, though that's up to JMS . . . this is just a survey of where people stand in the spectrum.)

You, sir, are on the other end of the political spectrum than I. I must disarm you. By that, I mean I must take off your flesh and blood arms and beat you senseless with them. :-P

[sonofccn]

conservative/Republican

Iraq War: leave or stay?

Stay

Immigration: Kick 'em out or keep 'em?

No opinon.

Communism or capitalism?

Capitalism because Communism just doesn't work.

Taxes: Raise or lower?

Lower

Media

In most cases? liberial bias

[sonofccn]

I'm curious what was the interesting correlation? Will you share it after you have accumulated the desired data?

[watchdog]

Me, Liberal. You Conservative.

Iraq War: leave or stay?

I'd like to see an ordered withdrawal myself.

Immigration: Kick 'em out or keep 'em?

Personnally I'm a bit devided on this, I wouldn't mind kicking out illegals but I'm not going to go crazy over the subject.

Communism or capitalism?

Capitalism, I need to be rich, I just dont like people who put greed above everything else (plutocrats)

Taxes: Raise or lower?

Raising taxes dont really affect me, I'm poor enough to where I get a bit back every year. You cant abolish taxes though, the government would quickly go broke.

Media: Liberal bias, or good, or Conservative bias?

Conservative bias in many regards.

This is just an informal poll regarding your political affiliation, since I'm trying to double-check an interesting correlation I noticed way back when but didn't realize the full import of.

I always thought that many of our pro trek debaters were of a definate conservative frame (kinda funny when you realize how liberal TNG seemed to be). Aside from yourself the only definate conservative/pro-trek debater that I'm certain of was E-1701 back on old spacebattles.com.
Is this the correlation you were thinking of?

[Jedi Master Spock]

IMO, it's OK if you guys would like to debate politics, but it would probably be best to create individual threads on topics.

If you're surveying, you should put me down on the left. You probably already expected that. Trekutopia forever!

[Socar]

I'm a liberal.

Iraq War: leave or stay?

Leave.

Immigration: Kick 'em out or keep 'em?

Depends. I'm somewhat lenient...

Communism or capitalism?

Capitalism.

Taxes: Raise or lower?

Raise.

Media: Liberal bias, or good, or Conservative bias?

Depends. I've seen both, and I guess it depends on your overall outlook on things, but overall I get disgusted at the media no matter what.

[CrippledVulture]

I'm a social libertarian, a moderate when it comes to economic matters and rather conservative when it comes to taxes and government in general.

I feel that the American government was never empowered to regulate personal choices, from who we may marry to what we can put in our bodies. Any interference in these areas is a grievous affront to the principles we claim to support.

I feel that it is better for everyone when power is dispersed, and I don't distinguish between political and economic power. Governments and corporations can both control our lives and they should both be de-centralized. Admittedly, I have no idea how this can be accomplished.

When I say I'm conservative concerning taxes, I do not propose cutting social programs, rather that the government should trim the fat, use technology to cut wasted time and money and generally save all the money spent on really frivolous stuff for useful things like education and healthcare. Basically, cut taxes and get our priorities straight.

Iraq War:
For the supposed purpose of helping the poor people of Iraq, we have unleashed an endless war and stirred up the hornet's nest that is the Sunni/Shia conflict in the world's most divided mostly Muslim country. Do I think it will fix itself if we leave? No. Are we helping at all? No. Are we even able to help? No. Leave.

Immigration:
People are going to go where they have opportunities. It's not their fault they weren't born in an economically prosperous country. Let them come, it's only fair.

Communism or Capitalism:
Must we pick one? I think both have a lot to teach us, but we should learn from their mistakes and build something new. Maybe something that actually works this time?

Taxes:
I already covered this.

The Media:
Ha. The media. The media is not biased in either direction, although certain outlets may have a bias, the media as a whole is not monolithic in this regard. The media is biased toward money. No matter what they say, every major media company has to make money for their stockholders. If you're very lucky, accurate, unbiased reporting and level-headed, insightful analysis are distant second and third priorities.

[2046]

I'm curious what was the interesting correlation? Will you share it after you have accumulated the desired data?

Watchdog hit it pretty close:

I always thought that many of our pro trek debaters were of a definate conservative frame (kinda funny when you realize how liberal TNG seemed to be). Aside from yourself the only definate conservative/pro-trek debater that I'm certain of was E-1701 back on old spacebattles.com.

I wouldn't say that the Trek side features all-conservatives or anything. As I said with one of the first posts, I expected a spread here somewhat left of center, with occasional sprinklings toward the right. (The sci-fi & TV topics of the debate, and it being on the internet, would seem to tend to attract folks of a more leftward bent, anyway.)

But what I have noticed is that the SDN crowd's major Vs. players seem, almost to a man, to be way, way, way militant left. Left as in DailyKos or George Soros would be like "damn dude, settle down".

(They do have one war-happy guy who is suggested to be a staunch conservative, but he seems less like a liberal or conservative and more like as-yet-unmedicated.)

While I expected an overall left-of-centerness in my little straw poll here, I haven't had any indication of the SDN level of anti-establishment leftness. Even the self-described liberals here often have divergent opinions on particular matters, whereas the main SDN crowd generally votes the whole liberal ticket in one go.

Me, I'm something of a political oddball . . . sort of a conservative-leaning agnostic libertarian, though in answering my own points (i.e. Iraq War, etc.) I look like a pure conservative. Maybe I'm a libertarian-leaning agnostic conservative. Dunno.

But in any event, I find it interesting . . . I've often noted that the opposition has a very different mindset, but it's only been in the past little while that I've really started to ponder how deeply that truly runs.

I can draw some more general conclusions from this, but I'll save those for a later time.

[GStone]

I've found many of SDN that are more vocal in the debate come off (both in and outside the debate) more as authoritarianistic, though under the side of the Left, which is an oxymoron in itself...yet it seems to be true, but that's probbly better described as extreme liberalism that follows the views and principles of the 'organization' known as 'the Left'.

[Jedi Master Spock]

IMO, while the SDN population tends to be militant in all regards, Mike Wong isn't very liberal on the political spectrum, either in classic terms or in stereotypical terms.

Bear in mind:

• Strong militaristic leanings.
• Favors unfettered capitalism.
• Complains loudly about every little fashion in which the Federation appears even a little bit socialist.
• Holds up as somehow "good" the Empire in Star Wars, which is mostly modeled on Nazi Germany (a peculiar form of pseudoscience-loving extremist right-wing authoritarianism) with a few sprinklings of the Soviet Union (an equally peculiar corrupt morass of left-wing authoritarian bureaucracy) thrown in for good measure.

Perhaps an extremist, but not nearly as liberal as he could be - and so by extension the SDN community's marked tendency to be close to Mr. Wong's views means to me that SDN is not far left.

[2046]

He decries so-called Federation communism (and real-world communism) consistently, yes, though he's certainly not against socialism and/or mixed economies. On every issue where he's made board comments that I've ever chanced upon he's unwaveringly leftist on economic, national, and social issues.

By his standards and direct statement, there are "no leftists in American politics". Meaning strongly socialistic tendencies . . . such as Hillary's suggestion that we ought to directly seize oil company profits . . . are not leftist to him.

I think the issue is that his website text from which you seemed to base your opinion appears somewhat more moderate than his more recent comments. This may suggest a leftward evolution of his politics in the intervening years, one certainly supported by the SDN main members.

[Nonamer]

I consider myself liberal, but I try to keep my mind open as much as possible and not to stick to any particular ideology.