Background on Principles & Values

Some analysts attribute Trump's victory to inflation or immigration. But the summer of 2024 was politically tumultuous; you can interpret any one of these major events as decisive for the popular vote:
• On June 27, Trump debated Biden, who came across as too old to run for re-election.
• On July 13, Trump survived an assassination attempt; his strong response clarified that he was not too old to run for re-election, even though he's only 3 years younger than Biden.
• On July 21, Biden withdrew, and then endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, even though she had never received any votes in any primaries, in neither 2020 nor 2024.
• On August 19, the Democratic National Convention nominated Harris without opposition, sparking complaints of an undemocratic process.
• On September 10, Trump debated Harris, who "won" the debate in the view of the pundits, but didn't gain enough support among undecided voters to win the election.

Political Diamond

Political philosophy in the US can be better defined based on one's stances in two dimensions, social and economic, rather than the typical one-dimensional right-left axis. This is most commonly enunciated by candidates in terms like "Socially liberal and fiscally conservative." The combinations of the two-dimensional philosophy are:
• Libertarian view: typically focusing on non-governmental solutions and private decision-making in both the social and economic dimensions. "Libertarian" is the philosophy that summarizes "socially liberal and fiscally conservative," although Libertarian Party members dislike that phrase.
• Progressive view: Progressives, like libertarians, often describe themselves as "socially liberal and fiscally conservative;" progressives do so from the liberal side while libertarians do so from the conservative side.
• Liberal or leftist view: typically focusing on helping needy members of society, and using government to achieve societal good; government intervention only in economic matters.
• Conservative or rightist view: typically focusing on fiscal frugality, strength abroad, and moral integrity; government intervention acceptable in social and personal matters.
• Populist view: typically focusing on local solutions instead of federal action, on decentralizing power, and on religion as the basis for societal good;
• Centrist or mixed view: typically focusing on reforming or amending existing institutions rather than replacing them.

The party structure in those philosophical terms is as follows:
• Republican Party: Generally conservative, but the "Religious Right" is much more populist. Republicans from the Northeast and the West Coast tend towards libertarianism, while those from the South and Midwest tend towards poplulism. The Republican Party currently controls the House of Representatives.
  2020 nominee: Donald_Trump
• Democratic Party: Generally liberal, but President Clinton redefined the party as "New Democrats," which is much more centrist, especially on economic issues. Democrats from the South and West are known as "Blue Dog Democrats," which implies fiscal conservatism and moral populism. The Democrats currently control the Senate, by a one-vote margin.
  2020 nominee: Joe_Biden
• Green Party: Generally liberal or leftist, especially on economic matters, where most Greens are populists. The Green Party holds no national offices in the US, but the international Green movement has been successful at electing offiicals in Europe.
  2020 nominee: Howie_Hawkins
• Reform Party: Generally populist and centrist, but the Reform Party split into three factions during the 2000 elections. Pat Buchanan led one faction to a more conservative platform, and Ross Perot maintained control of a second faction. The only nationally elected Reform Party candidate, Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura, split from both of those factions as well.
  2020 nominee: Rocky_De_La_Fuente
• Libertarian Party: Libertarian, as its name suggests. One member of Congress, Ron Paul of Texas, formerly was the party's nominee for President, but he was elected as a Republican. This is the largest of the "minor parties," with some elected officials at the local level.
  2020 nominee: Jo_Jorgensen
• Constitution Party: Religious Right.
  2020 nominee: Don_Blankenship
• Socialist Party: Leftist and populist. One member of Congress, Bernie Sanders of Vermont, calls himself a Socialist, but is not associated with this party.
  “Socialism” is represented by the Socialist Party in the United States, and in numerous countries abroad. The Socialist Party of America runs candidates for president (Brian Moore in 2008, for example), and has numerous elected mayors around the country. When Pres. Obama is accused of “moving the country toward socialism,” his accusers do not imply that he is secretly a member of the Socialist Party, but do imply that he ascribes to that party’s beliefs. Those beliefs focus on high progressive taxation; redistribution of wealth; and providing a wide array of social services free of charge. Most importantly, Socialists propose achieving those goals by revolutionary transformation as opposed to gradual changes, and reject policies like ObamaCare as too gradual. Obama’s policies are closer to the Socialist Party’s positions than are most Republicans’—but Obama has never advocated revolutionary transformation!
  2020 nominee: Gloria La Riva
• Natural Law Party: Populist and centrist.
• Tea Party: Not a party, but a movement to nominate candidates within the Republican Party. Click for outline of Tea Party issue stances.
• AmericansElect.org: Not a party, but a process to nominate a bipartisan ticket for the presidency.

2012 Election Principles & Values Issues

"Socialism" is represented by a legal political party in the United States, and in numerous countries abroad. The Socialist Party of America runs candidates for president (Brian Moore in 2008, for example), and has numerous elected mayors around the country. One member of the Senate, Bernie Sanders from Vermont, calls himself a socialist, but is not a member of the Socialist Party. When Pres. Obama is accused of "moving the country toward socialism", his accusers do not imply that he is secretly a member of the Socialist Party, but do imply that he ascribes to that party's beliefs. Those beliefs focus on high progressive taxation; redistribution of wealth; and providing a wide array of social services free of charge.

2020 Election Principles & Values Issues

Separation of church and state

• [OnTheIssues introduction]: The First Amendment says "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." That means the United States has no official religion (as occurs in many countries, both Muslim and Christian!). There is no Constitutional rule "separating church and state;" it's all up to political interpretation….
• Census statistics on Religion: (percentage of population in each group)
  • Protestant: 70.6%
  • Catholic: 20.8%
  • Mormon: 1.6%
  • Jewish: 1.9%
  • Muslim: 0.9%
  • Buddhist: 0.7%
  • Hindu: 0.7%
  • Atheist: 3.1%
  • Agnostic: 4.0%
• ANTI-Separation of church and state: There is a point in the pope emeritus' notes: "A society without God--a society that does not know Him and treats Him as non-existent--is a society that loses its measure. Western society is a society in which God is absent in the public sphere and has nothing left to offer it." (Van Thuan)
• PRO-Separation of church and state: Figuring out where to draw the lines with purely private institutions such as churches: Individuals and groups have the right to determine how they will behave but they have no right to determine how others will behave. (Reason)

• TRUMP: Our country, blessed by God, has a special purpose. (Aug 2020)
• BIDEN: Religion informs my values; my reason dictates outcomes. (Jul 2007)
• PENCE: I'm Christian, conservative, & Republican, in that order. (Jul 2016)
• HARRIS: Co-sponsored Do No Harm Act: keep church and state separate. (Aug 2018)

Christian Heritage

• Origin of "Separation of church and state": The origin of the "wall of separation" concept came from Thomas Jefferson who used the phrase to reflect his understanding of the First Amendment's religious clauses during the struggle for religious liberty. Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black explained that "the First Amendment has erected a wall between church and state. That wall must be kept high and impregnable." (MTSU)
• PRO-Christian heritage: In the debate over the so-called "separation of Church and State" versus America as a Christian nation, we have to look at our Founding Fathers to see the truth about America's Christian heritage. While it is certainly true that our Founding Fathers did not intend for America to be established as a Christian nation in the same way Iran, for example, is established as a Muslim nation, they did intend for America to promote, endorse and encourage Christianity. (Top 10 Proofs)
• ANTI-Christian heritage: The U.S. Constitution is a wholly secular document. It contains no mention of Christianity or Jesus Christ. In fact, the Constitution refers to religion only twice in the First Amendment, which bars laws "respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof," and in Article VI, which prohibits "religious tests" for public office. Both of these provisions are evidence that the country was not founded as officially Christian. (AUSC)

• TRUMP: Cherish and defend our Christian heritage. (Sep 2016)
• BIDEN: Reconsidered priesthood after losing wife in car crash. (1973)
• PENCE: Designate first weekend in May as Ten Commandments Weekend. (Apr 2011)

Religion Abroad and American policy

• [OnTheIssues introduction]: Christian groups in China and Syria are heavily discriminated against. Other religions are heavily discriminated against in other countries; these two are the most important for current American policy.
• Falun Gong: As fears of increased religious persecution grow for China's Christians, human rights advocates often point to the iron-fisted attack that the country has waged on a peaceful exercise movement called Falun Gong, a group the country says is a "cult." The name Falun Gong (the practice of the wheel of Dharma) refers to five sets of lotus postures and hand movement exercises set to Chinese music. (Christianity Today)
• PRO-Falun Gong: On April 25, 1999 more than 10,000 practitioners gathered near the Zhongnanhai government compound in Beijing to demand an end to official harassment. Then-party general secretary Jiang Zemin was reportedly enraged by the audacity and scale of the protest--the largest since the Tiananmen Square demonstrations of 1989--and demanded the movement be "defeated." (PRI)
• ANTI-Falun Gong: Li Hongzhi, the founder of Falun Gong, boasts to be the sovereign Savior. Li Hongzhi concocts a set of cultic doctrines to take followers in and swindles money out of them by exercising spiritual control. Falun Gong commits monstrous crimes in violation of human rights in Mainland China. Falun Gong illegally attacks people who hold different views. The religious circles declare Falun Gong to be a cult. (Chinese Consulate)
• Syrian Christians: More than half of the roughly 5,000 Armenian Catholics in Qamishli [Syria] have left. Trump said after the invasion that Turkey had committed to protecting religious minorities, including Christians. [Pro-Christian advocates] say the U.S. claims to protect Christians, but it cares more about Turkey. The Syrian community are descendants of survivors of the Ottoman genocide of Armenians a century ago. (NPR)
• PRO-Syrian Christians: In a report on violations committed against Christians in Syria, the Syrian Network for Human Rights documented "124 incidents of assaults against Christian worship sites by the main parties in Syria between March 2011 and September 2019." According to the same report, 75 of those attacks were carried out by the regime, 10 by ISIS, and 33 by armed opposition groups. (Syria Direct)

• TRUMP: Civil Rights No crackdown on China for repressing Falun Gong or Catholics. (Jun 2020)
• BIDEN: Refugee policy is an embarrassment. (Feb 2019)
• PENCE: Suspend the relocation of any more Syrian refugees. (Nov 2015)
• HARRIS: Welcome refugees and immigrants, instead of a border wall. (Feb 2019)

Emoluments and Impeachment

• Defining Emoluments: The Constitution describes two forms of emoluments [payments]:
• The Foreign Emoluments Clause: "No Person holding any Office shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any foreign State."
• The Domestic Emoluments Clause: "The President shall receive for his Services, a Compensation which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the Period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that Period any other Emolument from the United States, or any state." (FAS)
• PRO-Emoluments enforcement: An ethics lawsuit against President Trump that argues his business interests are conflicts of interest and violate the US Constitution can continue in federal court. The lawsuit argues that Trump's "vast, complicated and secret" business arrangements violate a constitutional provision, the Emoluments Clause, which bars the president from accepting gifts from foreign governments without the permission of Congress.
• Mueller Report on payments for presidential influence
• Impeachment Commentary 2019 impeachment did not include articles regarding emoluments
• Trump on impeachment: The president's self-defense including Mueller Report

Mainstream Media

• [OnTheIssues introduction]: President Trump has continuously called out the press as "fake news". In the past, the "fourth estate" balanced the power of the government by exposing its problems. The United States has suffered past periods of "yellow journalism" -- the current attacks surround the transition from traditional media to social media.
• PRO-Mainstream media: Major news companies post articles related to the popular topics/events daily. Major credible news companies (CNN, BBC, AP, etc.) are interested in reporting stories that attract readers; therefore, it is reasonable to assume news articles will reflect what's popular in the society. (UCSD)
• ANTI-Mainstream media: The mainstream media (MSM), at times referred to as the lamestream media for satirical purposes, are print and broadcast news organizations that report on news events. The common denominator is their censoring or downplaying stories that would lead viewers to conservative conclusions, and their use of photo bias, placement bias and other forms of deception to mislead viewers into drawing incorrect liberal conclusions. (Conservapedia)

• TRUMP: I could be more presidential if not for media fake news. (Sep 2020)
• BIDEN: Overturn FCC approval of media consolidation. (Mar 2008)
• TRUMP: LameStream Media are the Enemy of the People. (Sep 2019)

Socialism

• What is Socialism?: Republicans have used the socialist label to attack Democrats for decades, including over programs such as Medicare or Social Security. The Trump campaign argues that Biden's proposals to expand health care, offer free college tuition to some students and promote clean energy are evidence of socialist leanings. This characterization is wrong. Socialism refers to complete public ownership of all [businesses]; nothing in Biden's platform is remotely in that territory. (PolitiFact)
• Democratic socialism: Democratic socialists in the U.S. support a generous welfare state--which today includes policies like universal health care and free college education. Critics use the word socialism as a slur, conflating it with communism. (WBUR)
• Socialist Party: 2020 nominee of the Party for Socialism and Liberation: "Imagine a world where childcare is free; where a home is yours because the workers built it; where mass transit is free; where the earth can start to heal because we will stop all that insane production for profit. Where everyone's rights will be respected--all culture, all languages, all people." [Ed.: These are actual Socialist goals; from the campaign website of the Socialist Party website].

• Milk Money: OnTheIssues differentiation between Socialism and Democratic socialism
• Bernie Sanders: Democratic socialism opposes concentration of wealth & power. (Jun 2019)
• Socialist Party: Platform of the Party for Socialism and Liberation
• Gloria La Riva: Support global transformation from capitalism to socialism. (Aug 2020; Socialist Party nominee for president)

Dog Whistle Politics

• What is a dog whistle?: The phrase "dog whistle" has been around for years. It's political shorthand for a phrase that may sound innocuous to some people, but which also communicates something more insidious either to a subset of the audience or outside of the audience's conscious awareness--a covert appeal to some noxious set of views. (Vox.com)
• PRO-dog whistle: Trump's demands for "patriotic education" are a "dog whistle" for white nationalists. This isn't just a dog whistle; it's a dog bullhorn to try to signal to white nationalists that he is on this side of a false version of our history that denies the reality of slavery and Jim Crow and segregation. (Politico.com)
• ANTI-dog whistle: Trump announced, "You will no longer be bothered or financially hurt by having low income housing built in your neighborhood. Crime will go down." Trump uses uncoded language to get their voters to support racist policies. Any sentient human being can hear that message. (CJR)

• TRUMP: OpEd:"dog-whistle" racist language links "welfare" & "black". (Sep 2015)
• BIDEN: Put a black woman on the Supreme Court. (Feb 2020)
• BIDEN: I commit to nominating a woman as my Vice President. (Mar 2020)
• [Ed.: Joe Biden has used similar "coded language" to emphasize his support for minority and women's rights, culminating in his nomination of a minority woman for Vice President. But Kamala Harris was not this first in either demographic:] (Rutgers)
  • Women nominated for vice president date back to Marietta Stow, the 1884 nominee of the National Equal Rights Party.
  • Geraldine Ferraro, a Democratic member of the House, was the first major party nominee, running with Walter Mondale in 1984.
  • Illinois Senator Carol Moseley-Braun ran for the Democratic nomination for President in 2004
  • Alaska governor Sarah Palin was Republican party nominee Senator John McCain in 2008.
• [Ed.: Outside the United States, women leaders are much more common:] (CNN 1/28/2019):
  • As of 2019 more than 60 women have served as leaders of their countries. These have included (with year of their assuming office):
  • Indira Gandhi (India, 1966)
  • Golda Meir (Israel, 1969)
  • Margaret Thatcher (United Kingdom, 1979)
  • Corazon Aquino (Philippines, 1986)
  • Benazir Bhutto (Pakistan, 1988)
  • Angela Merkel (Germany, 2005),
  • Jacina Ardern (New Zealand, 2017).