Ted Haley
Theodore Reuben Haley was an American politician in the state of Washington. He served in the Washington [House of Representatives] from 1975 to 1979 and Washington State Senate from 1979 to 1985 as a Republican.
He was a political moderate in keeping with the Washington State tradition of electing moderates to public office. He billed himself as a social liberal and a fiscal conservative.
He had always had a libertarian streak and eventually lost patience with the Republican Party at the national level as the Republican Party (United States)#Progressive Republicans|right wing gained dominance]. Later in life he ran for public office as a Libertarian without expecting to win, but mainly to get his ideas into public discourse. His 2004 platform included a few progressive ideas that by now have become law:
- Give gays equal protection including marriage in the United States|marriage], adoption in the United States|adoption], military service.
- Washington [Death with Dignity Act|Legalize assisted suicide] like Oregon.
- Cut fossil fuel use.
- Increase wind, sun, water, nuclear, hybrid energy.
- Enact an income tax, reduce sales tax + eliminate the B&O tax as most experts advise.
- Eliminate corporate welfare, farm subsidies, tax breaks for wealthy.
- Give teachers more pay, smaller classes.
- Enact health care for all, stem cell research, human cloning.
- Spend less on military.
- Allow the UN to have its own military, lessening our policing the world.
- End Cuban embargo.
- Reduce discriminating immigration rules.
- Treat Palestine, Israel equally.
- Require registration, locks on handguns. Sell ammo to permittees only.
- Legalize, tax, sell marijuana in state liquor stores.
- Legalize all drugs. The war on drugs is an expensive, colossal failure.
- Legalize prostitution
- Provide free birth control, abortion, sterilization, for 3rd world's poor.
- Change to the metric system.
- Create 2nd spelling of English. Help foreigners learn this difficult language.