John Edwards' Views
His new 2004 Presidential website
Since Instapundit mentioned someone who is avidly supporting Edwards for 2004, I glanced around and discovered his webpage. He has sections titled "Defending Our Homeland," "Energizing The Economy," "Renewing The Promise Of Education," and "Restoring Purpose To Foreign Policy." I'll deal with his beliefs on domestic defense first. Future postings will cover the other issues. My comments are italicized.
Homeland Security
Create a Homeland Intelligence Agency to take over the intelligence functions of the FBI so it could to a better job and be subject to stronger civil liberties protection.
I'm lukewarm about this until I hear further. One thing I will say is I definitely want to hear how Edwards would protect civil liberties better and still keep law enforcement effective in persecuting terrorism cases.
Better information sharing among "front line" law enforcement officials.
More than reasonable to me. This is a no-brainer, really.
Mandate higher standards for state-issued ID cards and have the federal government help pay for the job.
I'm undecided whether we need government-issued ID cards (things like driver's licenses I do NOT think we need) but I certainly don't think I should be forced to pay for the holographic watermarking machines Iowa may need, the database upgrades Montana may need, or the print outsourcing Florida may need. This should remain a state-level endeavor, in my opinion. An arguement could be made that this is a national security issue and as such is applicable to the functions of the federal government, so I'll remain lukewarm about this as well.
Hire 10,000 more INS agents, border guards, and consular officials, because "the current system is broken."
I see much humor in this. He wants to increase the ranks of a broken system and he believes this will fix it. No, man, it won't. Either refine your view or find something else.
Improve security at seaports through higher-tech screener systems and moving towards an "E-Z Pass" system to speed legitimate things through checkpoints.
Sounds fine. Need more details.
Federalize the nation's nuclear security forces, similar to the nationalization that occured with airport security.
I'm seriously conflicted here. Again, the libertarian/objectivist view on the legitimate functions of government allow for national security...so this could qualify. However, it is still the socialization of a private work force, something I intrinsically dislike.
Ask the new Department of Homeland Security to issue minimum security standards for skyscrapers and arenas. Edwards also called on the insurance industry to lower rates for those businesses that meet the standards.
I bet the insurance industry would do that in some form anyway, like how they give discounts when you install car alarms in your vehicle. I'd make those minimum security standards advisory and voluntary, not mandatory.
Provide funds to improve security in transportation centers like subways, trains, and automotive tunnels.
This is a daunting task, one that would be very expensive and time-consuming. I'm not sure if the threat justifies the potential expenditures, which for something on this scale would be guaranteed to go over budget and schedule.
Require the government to fix "obvious" holes in it's computer systems, with a time limit of 9 months.
All I can say is, Duh. This shouldn't even be a problem! Fix your fucking computer systems, gawddamn it!
Provide $1.5 billion in federal money to pay for the hiring of "first responders" such as police, EMT, and firefighters.
No mention of what the employers (the states and municipalities) should do once that money runs out and they are stuck with thousands of new employees (many likely to be unionized) and no funds to pay for them. This sounds too much like throwing money at the issue. I think a better idea would be to ask the employers of those first responders if they have a documented manpower problem and work with it from there.
Revamp and modernize our early warning system.
Sounds fine.
Offer a 4-year Homeland Security Scholarship for those who work for 5 years in a HS capacity where there is a shortage of manpower.
I don't see a problem with this at the moment. I believe something like it was passed in the recent HS bill.
Give the National Guard more power to contribute to HS through a newly-created division of volunteers.
No biggie.
$10 million in investment to "forge partnerships with the private sector" so warnings could be distributed effectively.
I thought this was covered in the above revamping of the early warning system? Needs clarity.
Offer federal money to communities that encourage every citizen to "serve;" a timeframe example was given of one weekend per year.
Don't like it. Sounds like a waste of time, money, and more like benign propaganda.
Cut the number of federal employees outside HS by 10%, cut "unnecessary" spending, close loopholes in the tax system, and stop new tax cuts "for the most fortunate."
Hell, cut the number of federal employees (and the programs they administer!) by 50%, beat "unnecessary" spending with a Clue-by-Four, and close loopholes in the tax system by moving to a simple flat tax. Ahhh, much bettah.
UPDATE(11/11/2003 9:51pm)
More here and here.
Posted by Drizzten at January 08, 2003 12:52 AM