Foreign Policy

Lamar Alexander supports strategic alliance with Israel. (May 2002) The United States of America should encourage trade with all nations and develop entangling alliances with none.

Lamar Alexander doesn’t support US military action under UN command. (Aug 1995). Actually the US should with draw from the UN and evict the UN form American soil. All troops serving under the UN, NATO, or SEATO should be brought home as soon as possible.

Lamar Alexander proposes formation of blue-ribbon commission to investigate China spying. (May 1999). We do not need another bureaucracy to deal with this problem or any other problem. The job of the Department of Defense is to defend our country, this job includes investigating and stopping spying of other nations within the United States of America. Congress should simply ask the department of defense to do their job.

Lamar Alexander supports that the U.S. monitor human rights in Uganada-Sudan crisis. (Aug 2004). Congress has no Constitutional authority to monitor human rights violations in other nations. According to Amnesty International the United States has lead the world in Human Rights violations since September 11, 2006. Congress should be more concerned about Human Rights violations by the united States than human rights violations of other nations. Congress should begin by abolishing the U.S.A. Patriot Act and the Military Commissions Act. Many Human Rights advocates including the UN have declared the Military Commissions Act to be a serious threat the human rights.

Free Trade

Lamar Alexander supports a fast-track helps farm exports. (Mar 1999). Congress should put all exports on a fast-track. Congress should remove any regulations that hinder American products from being sent to other countries.

Lamar Alexander is for Normal Trading Relations with China. (May 1999). We should have free trade with all nations.

Lamar Alexander voted yes on promoting free trade with Peru. (Dec 2007), voted yes on free trade agreement with Oman. (Jun 2006), Voted YES on establishing free trade between the US and Chile. (Jul 2003), and voted yes on establishing free trade between US & Singapore. (Jul 2003). Lamar Alexander also voted yes on implementing CAFTA for Central America free-trade. (Jul 2005). The problem is that all of these supposed “free trade” agreements are actually highly regulated trade. The CAFTA agreement for example is over 800-pages, divided into 24 sections, accompanied by 2800 pages of new tariff schedules. This is not free trade. A free trade agreement should simply state we will not regulate trade between the U.S. and your country.

Government Reform

Lamar Alexander supports a two-year budget to reduce pork barrel spending. (May 2002). It is doubtful that this would curb pork barrel spending. A much better idea would be to require each item in a spending bill or law to cite which section of the Constitution authorizes that expenditure or law. Another good idea would be a read the bills law.

Lamar Alexander says campaign finance reform is wrong, and abridges free speech. (May 2002). Congress should abolish all campaign finance laws.

Lamar Alexander would like to complete Reagan Revolution with term limits & line-item veto. (Aug 1995). Term limits are not necessary if we limit government to its Constitutional functions and remove the motivation for special interest groups to be involved in politics. The line-item veto is also unnecessary if we simply limit Congress to its Constitutional functions.

Lamar Alexander believes the Supreme Court should interpret Constitution literally. (Jun 1999). The Supreme Court has no Constitutional authority to interpret the Constitution. Article VI, Section 2 states:

This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding.

Lamar Alexander thinks Campaign Finance should have fewer restrictions & fuller disclosure. (Jul 1996), which ultimately means more regulations. Just because someone donates to a political candidate doesn’t mean that should be an open public record. Even disclosure violates the privacy of those contributing to candidates. Simply limiting the role of government to its Constitutional functions would end any concerns over campaign finance regulation and disclosure.

Lamar Alexander voted no on granting the District of Columbia a seat in Congress. (Sep 2007). Since the District of Columbia was created by Cession of particular States, and the Acceptance of Congress, Congress should allow the people living within the District of Columbia to be citizens of the state that formerly owned the property upon which they reside. This would give the people representation, without the necessity of creating additional representative seats in Congress.

Lamar Alexander voted yes on requiring photo ID to vote in federal elections. (Jul 2007). Article I, Section 4 gives states the power to regulate elections, but allows Congress to make changes to the rules for the manner of holding federal elections. Congress is authorized to regulate elections, but it would be wiser to allow each state to se their own rules regarding elections.

Lamar Alexander voted yes on allowing some lobbyist gifts to Congress. (Mar 2006). If we limit the Federal government to its Constitutional functions we will no longer have to worry about things such as gifts from lobbyist to Congress, because lobbyist will have no reason to give gifts to Congress.

Lamar Alexander voted no on establishing the Senate Office of Public Integrity. (Mar 2006) This job should be performed by the Senate Ethics Committee, but is not being done correctly. More than likely creating another office to over see Senate ethics will not solve the problem either. Instead the Senate Ethics Committee should be called upon to enforce ethics. Article I, Section 2 give the House power of impeachment. Senators concerned about ethics violations or a lack of enforcement by the Senate Ethics Committee should call upon members of the house to file articles of impeachment against the members in question.

Gun Control

Lamar Alexander wants to repeal the assault weapon ban; enforce existing laws. (Jun 2002). The second Amendment clearly states “… the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.” All federal gun laws should be repealed. Lamar Alexander says criminals--not guns--cause crimes. (May 2002). He however ignores the fact that areas with the most restrictive gun laws have the highest crime, so should repeal all Federal Gun Laws.

Lamar Alexander wants to strictly enforce gun laws instead of making new ones. (May 1999). We should repeal all Federal gun laws.

Lamar Alexander thinks more gun laws won’t prevent another Littleton. (Apr 1999). He ignores the fact that school shooting could be prevented if the people could be armed to defend themselves at their work place, even if that work place is a school.

Lamar Alexander voted yes on prohibiting foreign & UN aid that restricts US gun ownership. (Sep 2007). Congress has no Constitutional authority to offer an sort of foreign and UN aid. The United States should withdraw from the UN.

Lamar Alexander voted yes on prohibiting lawsuits against gun manufacturers. (Jul 2005). Lamar Alexander voted no on banning lawsuits against gun manufacturers for gun violence. (Mar 2004). The merits of a law suit should be decided by a jury, not Congress.

Healthcare

Lamar Alexander favors a patient’s bill of rights with four principles; but not suing. (May 1999). The patient’s bill of rights is another slap in the face of the Founders' original Bill of Rights, which helped secure our genuine rights against government interference. The patient’s bill of rights is really a Bill of Regulations that invites more government activism and intrusion.

Lamar Alexander supports church-based Health Care Networks for uninsured (May 1999) Faith-based programs can improve health outcomes. These programs should be implemented without government funding or regulation.

Lamar Alexander would like for Medicare to provide a menu of plans, some with add-on costs. (May 1999). Congress and the Federal government have no Constitutional authority to operate Medicare. Medicare should be replaces with a charitable insurance plan funded by voluntary contributions.

Lamar Alexander voted yes on adding 2 to 4 million children to SCHIP eligibility. (Nov 2007). State Children's Health Insurance Program is Title XXI of the Social Security Act and is jointly financed by the Federal and State governments and administered by the States. The government has no Constitutional authority to operate SCHIP. SCHIP should be replaces with a charitable insurance plan funded by voluntary contributions.

Lamar Alexander voted no on requiring negotiated Rx prices for Medicare part D. (Apr 2007). Congress and the Federal government have no Constitutional authority to operate Medicare. Medicare should be replaces with a charitable insurance plan funded by voluntary contributions.

Lamar Alexander voted yes on limiting medical liability lawsuits to $250,000. (May 2006). The amount awarded in any lawsuit should be determined by the jury, not Congress. When Congress begins to limit the powers of a jury, they are tampering with the foundation of American juries prudence.

Lamar Alexander voted no on expanding enrollment period for Medicare Part D. (Feb 2006). He voted no on increasing Medicaid rebate for producing generics. (Nov 2005) He voted no on negotiating bulk purchases for Medicare prescription drug. (Mar 2005) And he voted no on $40 billion per year for limited Medicare prescription drug benefit. (Jun 2003). Congress and the Federal government have no Constitutional authority to operate Medicare. Medicare should be replaces with a charitable insurance plan funded by voluntary contributions.

Lamar Alexander was rated 0% by APHA, indicating a anti-public health voting record. (Dec 2003) The American Public Health Association (APHA) rated Lamar Alexander 0%, indicating an anti-public health voting record. (Dec 2003). According to the APHA web site: "The Association aims to protect all Americans and their communities from preventable, serious health threats and strives to assure community-based health promotion and disease prevention activities and preventive health services are universally accessible in the United States." This means the APHA wants more government regulation on public health related issues.

Homeland Security

Lamar Alexander wants to stop the free fall in defense spending. (Aug 1995). At the time American defense spending was in a decline. Since September 11, 2001 U.S. military and defense spending have been increasing. The War in Iraq alone has cost over $500 billion. The world has 192 countries or independent states. U.S. military troops are located in 135 countries. The United States has troops in 70 percent of the world’s countries. Regular troop strength ranges from a low of 1 in Malawi to a high of 74,796 in Germany. World War II, ended in 1945. Not counting Bosnia or Kosovo, the US military has about 90,000 (as of 2005) personnel in Europe. The Korean War ended in 1953, but we still have about 26,477 (as of 2005) troops in South Korea. We must end the age of building a global military empire and focus on genuine issues of national defense.

Lamar Alexander supports the development and deployment SDI. (May 1999). The Constitution gives the federal government the responsibility of shielding the American people from external attack. The defensive nature of SDI makes it something that Congress should support and fully fund.

Lamar Alexander wants to upgrade Aegis to include allies under missile defense. (May 1999). The Aegis combat system is an integrated weapons system used by the United States Navy. It is both an integrated single ship system and a ship-to-ship network. The Aegis combat system is one of the most advanced and most capable defense systems currently in use. It is also used by the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, Spanish Navy, Royal Norwegian Navy, and Republic of Korea Navy. The Royal Australian Navy has selected the Aegis system for placement on their new destroyers. A total of 108 Aegis-equipped ships have been deployed in five navies worldwide. America’s primary mission should be to protect America. We can make technology available to other nations, but should not commit actual U.S. military resources to the defense of other nations.

Lamar Alexander wanted to amend ABM treaty to allow SDI, or withdraw from it. (May 1999). President Bush has withdrawn the United States from the ABM treaty in 2002.

Lamar Alexander wants to upgrade retirement and health benefits for veterans. (May 1999). In truth, caring for our veterans is too important of a task to be handled by the government. The Federal government should pay for benefits for veterans, but should allow the private sector to provide the actual services. This way, veterans obtain total autonomy over choosing which services they receive. Companies would compete to provide the best services at the lowest possible cost to veterans on an individual basis.

Lamar Alexander voted no on limiting soldiers' deployment to 12 months. (Jul 2007). First the U.S. drastically reduce the number of troops we have deployed overseas. We must stop being the world’s police force. The DOD has repeatedly stated that our troops are being deployed too long and too often. The long terms effects of long deployments are not known. Troop rotation should certainly include a rest time at least twice as long as the time of deployment between deployments. No doubt adjusting the priorities of our military objective would do much to solve the problems of deploying our troops for too long and too frequently.

Lamar Alexander voted no on implementing the 9/11 Commission report. (Mar 2007) The assumption of the 9/11 Commission report is that 9/11 resulted from a lack of government action. No one in Washington has raised the question of whether our shortcomings, brought to light by 9/11, could have been a result of too much government. The Report offered nearly 30 recommendations, which all mean more government and more government interference in our lives. Expanding the role, power, or scope of government is rarely the answer to problems.

Lamar Alexander voted no on preserving habeas corpus for Guantanamo detainees. (Sep 2006). In common law countries, habeas corpus (Latin: [We command] that you have the body) is the name of a legal action, or writ, through which a person can seek relief from unlawful detention of himself or another person. The writ of habeas corpus has historically been an important instrument for the safeguarding of individual freedom against arbitrary state action. Habeas corpus goes back to at least 1305. Denial of habeas corpus represents an egregious departure from the foundations upon which America was built.

Lamar Alexander voted no on requiring CIA reports on detainees & interrogation methods. (Sep 2006). The CIA and all other government agencies must have some sort of accountability for their actions. Such reports should be submitted to Congress.

Lamar Alexander Voted YES on reauthorizing the PATRIOT Act. (Mar 2006). The PATRIOT Act compromises the First, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth amendments. It allows certain domestic labor or civil rights demonstrations to be classified as “terrorism” if the government says they “appear to be intended … to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion”, in breach of the First Amendment’s right to assembly. It lets the government get individuals’ medical, mental health, financial and school records, reversing the Fourth Amendment’s right to be secure “in their persons, houses, papers and effects”. It lets the government spy on what books individuals buy or check out of the library and where they go on the Internet, also in breach of the fourth’s right to security. It allows government agents to search individuals’ homes without telling them until later, removing the fourth amendment’s shield against unreasonable search and seizure. It lets the government lock up immigrants indefinitely without charges and in secret, in breach of the Fifth Amendment’s protection against imprisonment without “due process of law” and in breach of the Sixth Amendment’s right to be informed of the nature and cause of an accusation or charge. The USA PATRIOT Act effectively repeals the Fourth Amendment by eliminating the need for probable cause for an investigation. The USA PATRIOT Act allows the Executive Branch’s use of surveillance that were initially removed from them as a result of the 1975-76 Church Hearings that documented extraordinary federal abuse. The USA PATRIOT Act allows the procedures used against foreign spies to be used against US citizens. This is the real effect of what the government calls “breaking down the wall” between intelligence gathering and criminal investigations.

Lamar Alexander voted yes on extending the PATRIOT Act's wiretap provision. (Dec 2005). The PATRIOT Act's wiretap provision already violated the Bill of Rights and doesn’t need further expansion. The Preamble to the Bill of Rights reads in part:

THE Conventions of a number of the States, having at the time of their adopting the Constitution, expressed a desire, in order to prevent misconstruction or abuse of its powers, that further declaratory and restrictive clauses should be added: And as extending the ground of public confidence in the Government, will best ensure the beneficent ends of its institution.

These were designed to be restrictive clauses to prevent misconstruction or abuse of the Governments powers.

Lamar Alexander voted no on restricting business with entities linked to terrorism. (Jul 2005). Congress has no Constitutional authority to restrict business. Lamar Alexander voted no on restoring $565M for states' and ports' first responders. (Mar 2005). Congress has no Constitutional authority to fund states' and ports' first responders.

Immigration

Lamar Alexander wants America to enforce against illegal immigrants; appreciate legal ones. (Jul 1996). Our borders are currently neither open, closed, nor secure. The legitimate function and obligation of government to protect the lives, rights and property of its citizens, requires awareness of and control over the entry into our country of foreign nationals who pose a threat to security, health or property. Political freedom and escape from tyranny demands that individuals not be unreasonably constrained by government in the crossing of political boundaries. Economic freedom demands the unrestricted movement of human as well as financial capital across national borders.

Lamar Alexander voted no on comprehensive immigration reform. (Jun 2007) This was a no vote on the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007, or, in its full name, the Secure Borders, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Reform Act of 2007. America has an illegal immigration problem in part because it has a legal immigration problem. Anyone who enters the system exposes himself to an arbitrary, capricious, whimsical bureaucracy. This law would have created more bureaucracy and not addressed the real problems with immigration in America.

Lamar Alexander voted yes on declaring English as the official language of the US government. (Jun 2007). This law appears to be more or less a non-effectual informal gesture, which would be difficult to implement. For the most part government functions in the executive, legislative, and judicial branch are being carried out in English. A number of Federal laws have called for providing information to people in other languages. Under existing law, immigrants must show a proficiency of English in order to be naturalized. English is already the de facto official langue of the United States and in practice the de facto official language of the United States government. Our founding fathers recognized America as a nation of immigrants and did not see it essence to enact an official language, nor enshrine one within the Constitution. Congress doesn’t appear to have any Constitutional authority to declare an official national language.

Lamar Alexander voted no on eliminating the "Y" nonimmigrant guest worker program. (May 2007). Real immigration reform would drain a large part of the underground swamp that facilitates illegal immigration. It would reduce the demand for fraudulent documents, which in turn would reduce the supply available for terrorists trying to operate surreptitiously inside the United States. It would eliminate most of the human smuggling operations overnight. The vast majority of Mexican workers who enter the United States have no criminal record or intentions. They would obviously prefer to enter the country in a safe, orderly, legal process through an official port of entry, rather than put their lives in the hands of unscrupulous smugglers. By entering legally through a temporary worker program, they could travel freely across the border for multiple visits home rather than incurring the risk and expense of re-crossing the border illegally. As a consequence, legalization would drain the underground channels through which terrorists might try to enter the country. We need to create a legal channel for peaceful, hardworking people to enter our country temporarily--and to legalize those workers already here.

Lamar Alexander voted yes on building a fence along the Mexican border. (Sep 2006). We should not build a fence on America’s border. The Southwest border is not a frontline on the war on terrorism. First, Mexicans themselves are not a national security threat. No Mexican national to my knowledge has been connected with Al Qaeda or any other international terrorist network. Mexicans almost universally come here to work. Second, international terrorists have not viewed the Southwestern border as a preferred means of entry. The Canadian border is more attractive. It's twice as long, with far fewer border patrol personnel per mile. Middle Eastern nationals tend to stand out more in Mexican society than in Canadian society or at a typical international airport.

Lamar Alexander voted no on establishing a Guest Worker program. (May 2006). The guest worker problems in and of themselves are not the real problem with immigration. Those who would work to come to America and contribute to our society should be welcomed. Cutting off workers from seeking legitimate entry into America and forcing them into the underground job market creates far more problems than it solves.

Lamar Alexander voted no on allowing illegal aliens to participate in Social Security. (May 2006). Congress has no Constitutional authority to operate social security. Once it is privatized, who can participate in it will be up to the free-market.

Lamar Alexander voted yes on giving Guest Workers a path to citizenship. (May 2006). The path to legal immigration and citizenship should be readily available without compromising the integrity of the citizenship process.

Jobs

Lamar Alexander favors more export subsidies for farmers. (Jun 1999). Congress has no Constitutional authority to give any sort of farm subsidies.

Lamar Alexander favors expanding the use of corn-based ethanol to create jobs. (Mar 1999). Congress has no Constitutional authority to expand the use of corn-based ethanol. Far spread dependence upon corn-based ethanol is likely to impact the food supply and create food shortages.

Lamar Alexander supports the substitution Ethanol for MBTE in gasoline. (Mar 1999). Congress has no Constitutional authority to regulate the content of gasoline. MBTE, sometimes referred to as MTBE, is an additive to gasoline that replaces lead as an octane enhancer. By replacing the lead in gasoline with the oxygenate MBTE, the fuel essentially become much cleaner. Since the institution of Clean Air Act Amendments in 1990 higher amounts of MBTE have been used in gasoline in various parts of the world to fulfill the requirements set by the act. In essence the fuel burning process is much more complete with the addition of methyl tertiary-butyl ether and as such tailpipe emissions that may be harmful to the environment are greatly reduced. This would greatly increase the need for ethanol which is likely to impact the food supply and create food shortages.

Lamar Alexander voted no on limiting farm subsidies to people earning under $750,000. (Dec 2007). Congress has no Constitutional authority to give out any farm subsidies to anyone.

Lamar Alexander voted no on restricting employer interference in union organizing. (Jun 2007). Congress has no Constitutional authority to restricting employer interference in union organizing. Individuals have a right to organize themselves in order to better their condition. However groups of individuals do not enjoy any rights that the individuals do not enjoy themselves. All groups of individuals (unions, clubs, or governments) are bound not to use fraud or force against others. Compulsory union membership for employment is a use of force against others. The relationship between employers and their employees should be on that benefits both the best. A free-market with competition for workers and employment is the most beneficial for all involved.

Lamar Alexander voted yes on increasing minimum wage to $7.25. (Feb 2007) and again voted yes on raising the minimum wage to $7.25 rather than $6.25. (Mar 2005). Congress has no Constitutional authority to set a minimum wage. Minimum wage laws cause unemployment and underemployment and should be abolished.

Principles and Values

Lamar Alexander voted with Republican Party 88.1% of 319 votes. (Sep 2007). The Republican party has consistently become a party of big government that consistently ignores the rights of the world’s smallest minority, the individual. The Republican party also consistently advocates legislation for which Congress has no Constitutional authority. This means the Republicans in Congress largely ignore their oath to support and defend the Constitution.

Lamar Alexander has devised a Pledge Plus Three: daily patriotic affirmation in schools. (May 2002). In a "Pledge Plus Three" the school day starts with everyone saying the Pledge of Allegiance and a teacher or student spending three minutes talking about "what it means to be an American." Congress has no Constitutional authority to regulate anything regarding education. A socialist named Francis Bellamy created the Pledge of Allegiance in 1892. Lamar Alexander’s idea fits in well with the ideas of the originators of the Pledge of Allegiance to promote national socialism in America, along with the stiff right-handed solute that originally accompanied the pledge.

Lamar Alexander’s campaign focus is Education; lower taxes; strong defense. (May 1999). Congress has no Constitutional authority to legislate about Education. The word education is nowhere in the Constitution. Congress can only really lower taxes if they only do the things for which Congress has Constitutional authority. Lamar Alexander has shown a tendency to overstep Congress’ Constitutional authority.

Lamar Alexander voted yes on confirming Samuel Alito as Supreme Court Justice. (Jan 2006). According to the CATO institute Alito has a Libertarian streak. Alito has often voted in favor of the free exercise rights of minority religious groups, even against laws that are not deliberately intended to harm minority religions. Lamar Alexander voted yes on confirming John Roberts for Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. (Sep 2005). John Roberts’ short judicial record showed some doubts about his support of individual rights.

Social Security

Lamar Alexander wants to allow workers to manage their own retirement funds. (May 1999) Since Congress has no Constitutional authority to operate social security, it should be privatized.

Lamar Alexander wants to create Individual Security Accounts. (May 1999) This is a good idea, as long as the government has noting to do with the accounts, since Congress has no Constitutional authority to operate social security.

Lamar Alexander wants to fund IRA’s that individuals control themselves. (May 1999) Congress has no Constitutional authority to fund IRA’s.

Lamar Alexander voted yes on establishing reserve funds & pre-funding for Social Security. (Mar 2007). A reserve fund is not what is needed to fix Social Security, which is scheduled to run out of money by 2041. Since Congress has no Constitutional authority to operate social security, it should be privatized.

Tax Reform

Lamar Alexander wants a flatter, fairer, simpler federal income tax. (Aug 1995). These are good ideas if you want to continue a Congress that authorizes programs for which they have no Constitutional authority, but if we limit the Federal government to its Constitutionally authorized function we can eliminate the income tax and replace it with nothing. We should no just tamper with the Internal Revenue Service and Code, we should abolish the Federal Income Tax.

Lamar Alexander wants to end marriage penalty; raise child deductions; cut rates. (May 1999) We should no just tamper with the Internal Revenue Service and Code, we should abolish the Federal Income Tax.

Lamar Alexander wants to restore flatter 28% and 15% tax rates. (May 1999) We should no just tamper with the Internal Revenue Service and Code, we should abolish the Federal Income Tax.

Lamar Alexander wants to double the Charitable Deduction. (May 1999) We should no just tamper with the Internal Revenue Service and Code, we should abolish the Federal Income Tax.

For small business Lamar Alexander want to end quarterly filing and allow them to deduct health care. (May 1999) These are good ideas if you want to continue a Congress that authorizes programs for which they have no Constitutional authority, but if we limit the Federal government to its Constitutionally authorized function we can eliminate the small business taxes and replace it with nothing. We should no just tamper with the small business and Code, we should abolish the Federal small business taxes and regulations.

Lamar Alexander says America needs a “family-friendly” tax code. (May 1999). America really needs to abolish its tax code. Why just reduce the theft of family incomes by the IRS when can eliminate them.

Lamar Alexander offered a 6-point Tax Plan. (May 1999) Why just reduce the theft of family incomes by the IRS when can eliminate them.

Lamar Alexander voted yes on repealing the Alternative Minimum Tax. (Mar 2007) He voted yes on raising estate tax exemption to $5 million. (Mar 2007) he voted yes on supporting permanence of estate tax cuts. (Aug 2006) He voted on permanently repealing the `death tax`. (Jun 2006) He voted no for military by repealing capital gains tax cut. (Feb 2006) He yes on retaining reduced taxes on capital gains & dividends. (Feb 2006) he voted yes on extending the tax cuts on capital gains and dividends. (Nov 2005) he voted yes on $350 billion in tax breaks over 11 years. (May 2003). We should no just tamper with the Internal Revenue Service and Code, we should abolish the Federal Income Tax.

Technology

Lamar Alexander supported high-tech by lowering taxes, tariffs, & litigation. (May 1999) Taxes and tariffs should be lowered, but Congress has not Constitutional authority to regulate litigation.

Lamar Alexander voted YES on $23B instead of $4.9B for waterway infrastructure. (Nov 2007). Congress has no Constitutional authority to fund waterway infrastructure or any other form of internal improvements. Historically internal improvements were a private function up to the 1830s in America. At this time many states began internal improvement projects. Widespread corruption, inefficiency, and high costs nearly bankrupted some states. Many prohibited internal improvements in their state constitutions. Abraham Lincoln was the first President to promote internal improvements on a national level. They have no constitutional basis for being funded by the Federal government, and should be privately funded.

Lamar Alexander voted no on restoring $550M in funding for Amtrak for 2007. (Mar 2006). Amtrak is not a constitutionally authorized function of the Federal government.

Lamar Alexander voted yes on disallowing FCC approval of larger media conglomerates. (Sep 2003). The FCC has no Constitutional authority for existing and should be abolished.

Lamar Alexander wants Congress to fund nanotechnology research & development. (Dec 2003) Congress has no constitutional authority to nanotechnology research & development.

War and Peace

Lamar Alexander wants us to have a “success strategy” as well as an “exit strategy”. (May 1999) The broad war on terrorism, by definition cannot have an obtainable success strategy, especially when we or our allies practice terrorism. When the exit strategy becomes contingent upon success, which cannot be achieved, then we also cannot develop an exit strategy. We still have troop in Europe and Word War II, ended in 1945. We still have troops in Korea and the Korean War ended in 1953. Obviously exit strategies are not on the table for U.S. military operations, and they will not be as long as we hold a military doctrine of building a global military empire.

Lamar Alexander voted no on redeploying non-essential US troops out of Iraq in 9 months. (Dec 2007). If we ever hope to leave Iraq we should begin by removing non-essential US troops.

Lamar Alexander voted yes on designating Iran's Revolutionary Guards as terrorists. (Sep 2007). This was a move in order to allow the Bush administration to tighten economic sanctions against the guard, which was done a month later. The Revolutionary Guards’ primary role is internal security, but experts say the force assists Iran’s regular army, which has about 350,000 soldiers, with external defenses. Border skirmishes during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s helped transform the guard into a conventional fighting force organized in a command authority similar to Western armies. Not everyone is convinced Iran’s role in Iraq is as direct as U.S. officials suggest. Others question what sanctions against the Revolutionary Guards or its foreign counterparts would accomplish. Efforts to slap sanctions on the country’s military forces could prove problematic, some analysts predict. Proposed sanctions illustrate the Bush administration’s misunderstanding of Iranian politics. Coercing a pillar of the theocratic regime erodes the possibility of a diplomatic resolution. These sanctions are another example of America resorting to force.

Lamar Alexander voted no on redeploying US troops out of Iraq by March 2008. (Mar 2007) He also voted no on redeploying troops out of Iraq by July 2007. (Jun 2006) American troops need to be redeployed out of Iraq as soon as is safely possible.

Lamar Alexander voted no on requiring on-budget funding for Iraq, not emergency funding. (Apr 2005). Funding for the war should be on budget, and congress should only fund wars if they make a formal declaration of war like required by Article I, Section 8. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were never officially declared by Congress as wars.

Lamar Alexander voted yes on $86 billion for military operations in Iraq & Afghanistan. (Oct 2003). Funding for the wars should be on budget, and congress should only fund wars if they make a formal declaration of war like required by Article I, Section 8. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were never officially declared by Congress as wars.

Welfare and Poverty

Lamar Alexander supports fully funding AmericCorps. Congress has no Constitutional authority to establish or fund AmericCorps.