Cenk Uygur - Political Views

Political Views

While in college, he wrote a column in The Daily Pennsylvanian criticizing affirmative action recruiting at the university and suggesting that all students should be "judged on their merits rather than their physical characteristics." He supported the pro-life position on the abortion issue, criticized the radical aspects of the feminist movement, and felt Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas was treated unjustly during his Senate confirmation hearings. He also criticized organized religion as based on mythology and as a divisive force between peoples.

He has stated that he worked for a time for Republican former New York Congressman Joe DioGuardi.

Uygur supported the Gulf War of 1990–1991, and supported the War in Afghanistan from its beginning in 2001 until 2009—though he has strongly opposed the Iraq War. He supported the 2011 military intervention in Libya.

Uygur expressed denial of the Armenian Genocide in letters published by The Daily Pennsylvanian in 1991 and Salon in 1999, in one of which (titled "Historical Fact or Falsehood?") he stated, "The claims of an Armenian Genocide are not based on historical facts. If the history of the period is examined it becomes evident that in fact no such genocide took place." Uygur's letters later drew criticism from the west-coast affiliate of the Armenian National Committee of America, the California Armenian American Democrats, and other members of Armenian-American community, who subsequently protested during his speech at the California Democratic Party's 2012 state convention with the support of Charles Calderon and Janice Hahn.

Uygur has changed his positions in recent years. On social issues, Uygur is now pro-choice on abortion and supports LGBT rights, including same-sex marriage. In 2009, he advocated the liberalization of drug laws, arguing that the War on Drugs has been a failure, as shown by the continuing violence in Mexico and the border region. He also opposes imprisoning non-violent drug offenders for marijuana possession. He previously supported capital punishment, but now opposes it largely due to multiple exonerations of death row inmates since its reinstatement.

Uygur has expressed support for a return to Clinton-era income tax brackets and has criticized the 2010 Obama–GOP compromise which provided for a temporary extension of the Bush tax cuts. Uygur has stated that he favored welfare reform as enacted under Bill Clinton. He has been critical of excessive regulation, but has argued that in recent decades, regulation of the financial sector has been inadequate. In particular, he faults the deregulatory policies of Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush. He views the repeal (which Clinton signed into law) of the Glass–Steagall Act, as a major contributor to the late-2000s recession. However, on many issues Uygur maintains that many of his economic positions have not moved (He describes himself as a fiscal conservative in many cases) instead the right wing has shifted by becoming more extreme even since the end of Bush's presidency, describing Texas governor Rick Perry as "George Bush on Steroids".

On national security and civil liberties issues, Uygur has strongly opposed the practices begun under the Bush administration, of indefinite detention, warrantless wiretapping and extraordinary rendition, and believes that waterboarding is an illegal torture technique. Uygur has been a strong critic of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the right-wing Israeli government and has stated that he is an advocate for a two state solution in the West Bank and has repeatedly criticized the Israeli government for its failure to materialize.