I am going to clearly state my core principles.
Markos is exactly right that our politicians are afraid to lead and afraid to clearly state their core principles. I will tell you why.
If you read nothing else, please read my conclusion.
MY CORE PRINCIPLES
I believe in God, the Eternal Father, in His Son Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost. The Founding Fathers were inspired (religiously speaking) to form and fight for that the democratic system we know today. It is incumbent upon us, the people, to insure that their vision of a
"more perfect union" remains both viable and vibrant. The current trends that funnel an unreal amount of money into and through the pockets of our elected officials is destroying that vision. Our currently elected president is a product of
rapant voter apathy,
dirty politics by Washington insiders, and the
uncontrolled political power of the rich and socially influential.
Religious people have a crucially important role to play in governing of the United States. Our personal morals are not defined by our laws, laws are defined by our personal morals. The Republican party and the so-called "Christian right" have hijacked this idea by focusing on a few turn-key issues that have little or nothing to do with governing this country. These days, the term "values voter" means nothing more than "Republican party-line voter." Well, I say, what values? Corruption, lies, war, greed, anger, and a complete unwillingness to accept personal responsibility. That is the result of "values voting."
SOME SPECIFIC PRINCIPLES
WAR I am a pacifist, but a realistic one. There are peaceful, diplomatic options to almost every international problem. However, war can be a form of justice and there are crimes so great that only a war can effectively hold the guilty parties responsible. Saddam Hussein is a criminal, but the war we started in Iraq is not now, nor has it ever been an effective or intelligent way to hold him responsible. Since starting the war, we are spending more money than ever and have less control over an already dangerously unstable region. Regardless of what a sizable minority still believe, Saddam Hussein had nothing to do with 9-11. He now stands trial for crimes he allegedly committed in the early 80's (I say "allegedly" because of the innocent-until-proven-guily principle that I actually believe in), but Iraq is a wreck of a country that still, 3 years into the war, has neither formed a stable government nor turned the electricity back on. That is not only unjust, it is unintelligent.
INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMACY The United States is viewed by the international community as an over-forceful brute who acts before thinking. The Republican party is almost entirely responsible for this attitude, but our Democratic leaders in Washington have also ignored or been unwilling to attempt peaceful resolutions to our problems. This attitude must change if we are going to save our democracy and restore our standing in the world. This doesn't start in Iraq, it must start in Washington. Whatever you believe about the Man, Christ was right when He said, "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you." More recently, the Beatles restated this truism when they said, "All you need is love."
ABORTION I believe abortion is not only a bad choice, but that it is evil when used as a form of birth control. I agree with President Carter when he says he believes that "every abortion is an unplanned trajedy." The natural byproduct of a pregnancy is a child, and stopping a pregnancy stops a child from entering the world regardless of when that child actually became a viable human (and I do not believe that occurs at conception).
However, and importantly, there are very real, very important times when a mother must make the decision to end her pregnancy. Those reasons vary so wildly that I will not give you a "short-list" of exceptions. Criminalizing a woman for making a choice about her own body is wrong. Criminalizing the doctor for performing this voluntary procedure is unusual. Prevention is the best way to slow the tide of unwanted pregnancy. Prevention includes both contraception and wide-spread sex education that includes, but is not limited to, abstinence as the safest and only perfectly secure option.
LOBBYISTS The right to lobby our politicians sits side-by-side with the freedom of speech and of the press. However, current lobbying practices are so far outside of the original meaning "to petition the government for a redress of grievances" that it not only misses the point, it ignores the people for whom the First Amendment was written. American citizens are drastically under-represented in Congress and multi-national, multi-billion dollar companies are dangerously over-represented. It is their right (and it is ours) to lobby politicians, so it falls upon politicians themselves to stand up for their constituents, regardless of how much money and influence is promised by a professional lobbyist. As such, we, the people, must elect representatives who refuse to be swayed by corrupt and misguided lobbyists.
I will be honest, it is difficult to be a religious Democrat. I cannot tell you how many times fellow Democrats have argued with me about my religious beliefs. Frankly, I'm sick of it. I find myself explaining my convictions to both my liberal and conservative friends, as if being religious means I'm not allowed to be a Democrat. The first amendment affords us all the right to believe or not believe whatever we like. Disagree with me? Good. You're American. That's why this is still the greatest country on the planet.
CONCLUSION
We may not like it or like to admit it, but our roots can be just as judgmental and mean-spirited as the roots on the right. For all our talk of being universally accepting, we are still too angry. We have fallen into the trap that the Christian Coalition set for us in the 90's. What does the Democratic party stand for? We're pro-choice, pro-gay, anti-war, and anti-religion. We did not pick this agenda, the Republican party did. We spend the bulk of our time talking about these issues, and we didn't even come up with them.
Why are politicians afraid to stand up for what we believe? Because what we believe isn't what we believe. How do we stand by an agenda we didn't even invent? We need a Democratic agenda for the future.
My suggestion: Pro-Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.
Shall I explain?
Pro-Life: Yes, the term has been hijacked by the far right, so bear with me. Pro-Life should stand for health care for everyone, rational and well-funded national security, and an end to optional war (by all nations, organizations, and terrorist groups)
Pro-Liberty: End the corruption in Washington by voting for morally strong leaders, stand up for the protection of of our rights and our privacy, and intelligent immigration reform.
Pro-the pursuit of Happiness: Stand up for the right each person enjoys to live how they choose, and to choose how they live. Anger will only feed the already wide divide that exists in Washington.
Let the Republicans hold on to their wedge issues, they can talk until they're blue in the face, but it won't change the fact that they are using wedge issues. Let us begin the era of bridge issues.
Who's with me?