guywithmonsters | Family Values Neo Conservative

I'm on a lot of right wing email groups so I know what they're up to. Over the past year I've noticed that they've branched out from the usual "Stop the Gays!" or "Deport Them All!" rhetoric and have actually started making a little sense.

Perhaps I am a closet conservative on some issues - mostly when it come to spending and kids.

Some highlights of "Conservative" measures I support (actually, I usually concur for different reasons) :

Programming on over the air television channels should be safe for family viewing until 8 PM. (After 8PM, if you're kid is old enough to be awake than you should be watching what they are watching, turning off the TV or putting them to bed.)
Cable companies should place non family friendly fare away from family fare. Don't put Spike or The Adult channels next to Nickelodeon. This is more a "courtesy" than anything that should be legislated. You can use the V chip but you don't want to have to explain the tweaker on "Cops" or the corpse on "CSI" to your 6 year old as you flip channels to "SpongeBob".
We should not spend more than we collect in taxes. Period. However, the specifics of who and what gets cut are very different for me than in the previous Republican budgets.
Government should tax as little as possible while providing for the needs of it's citizens. By this I mean frugal and efficient spending.
States should be the primary force in setting the legal rights of it's citizens. Federal legislature should provide the baseline upon which stricter measures can be added if the state deems that necessary.
We have an interest in the stability of other nations but I do not agree with the meddling that Republicans revel in. Provide support and use diplomatic means to resolve issues.
We can't pull out of Iraq. I don't agree that we should be there in the first place, but to leave now would not only result in tragic costs to the Iraqi people but it would also further the conviction of our enemies that we do not really care about the Iraqi (or any other non-Christian/non-white/non-western) people. We are responsible to these people for what we have done and we are responsible to resolve the situation we created.
The family is the most basic and crucial unit of our society. I do not think gay marriage is the best thing for marriage, not because I think gays and lesbians do not have the right to marry or for any religious conviction. Gay marriage fails to encompass the myriad of other non-traditional family units out there with out protection. Poly-amory, polygamy, grandchildren caring for grandparents and any "family of choice" combination you can imagine. Gay Marriage is a good step but it is important hat it is not seen as an end in itself.

The huge win that gay marriage would be for transgendered people seems to be completely beside the point for our community, which is sad, but it is a great advancement in tearing down gender role definition as well as validating their relationships. Health insurance and medical power of attorney should be available to any domestic unit, with out preconceived social definitions. There must be rules for insurance to work - I know that, but we must work to make sure we can all take advantage of the great health care system we have.