Political positions of Preston Barton

This article is a summary of the political positions, views and voting record of Preston Barton, a Royalist Member of Parliament for Etiwanda (Inland Empire's 20th district) from 2016 until 2021, Chair of the House Royalist Conference from 2020 to 2021, and Shadow Attorney General from January to May 2021. Considered to be a member of the "Big Three", Barton's political views have great influence on the wider Royalist Party at-large.

Identification

Preston Barton self-identifies as a social conservative having spoken out against issues such as abortion and drug liberalization in the past and having voted in favor of legislation restricting both of them. Originally opposed to same-sex marriage, he would later reverse his position stating that he is supportive of legalizing same-sex marriage believing that marriage is "a deep personal matter that needs no intervention from the state", but has voiced opposition to legal protections for LGBT people and has low ratings among LGBT rights organizations. He's admitted that his positions are influenced by that of the Barton family, a famous conservative political family in Sierra based in both Kings and the Inland Empire.

Political analyists and commentators have assigned differing identities to Barton with some more favorable commentators calling him a compassionate conservative and a liberal conservative while those more critical have refered to him as a corporatist or a RINO, Royalist in Name Only, mainly among those that believe that Preston is too moderate for the Royalist Party and are critical of his alignment towards the Royalist Party establishment. Liberal and left-wing organizations and commentators have frequently nicknamed him "Diet Heartwell" due to him voting for most of her policies while being a vocal critic of her. Many critics of Barton have refered to him as a warmonger and a neoconservative due to his support for military action and an interventionist foreign polict, especially in regards to China and the Middle East, but he's denied such claims calling them "baseless" and "exaggerations" of his actual beliefs and stances.

After announcing his candidacy for the Senate primary race to replace Eric Pipitone, Barton would announce his support for the populist movement stating that the wider Anglo-American conservative populist movement was "the true and right projectory for the party" and said that his previous criticisms of the movement were "greatly misinformed". He would stated his continued support for O'Conner and that he would still back the movement, but did apologize for "compromising on Royalist principals".

Social issues

LGBT+ rights

Preston Barton's stance on LGBT rights has been described as contradictory and has varied over the years. While he was originally opposed to the legalization of same-sex marriage, he reversed his position and has moderated his views arguing that it should be legalized believing that neither the federal nor any provincial government should interfere with marriage believing it to be a personal matter. He's admitted that he's personally opposed to it due to his religious beliefs, but has stated that "my own personal bias shouldn't interfere with legislation nor get in the way of someone living their own lives" in an interview with RBS in 2018. In the same interview he admitted that Heartwell's support for legalizing same-sex marriage was one of the areas where they both agreed on and has also stated that no provincial government should be allowed to undo same-sex marriage legalizations.

While he has voiced support for same-sex marriage being legalized, a position that contrasts with those of his father, George Barton, and other elder family members, he has opposed most forms of LGBT-related legislation. He's opposed to laws that bar bakers and other business owners from refusing service to same-sex customers and couples accusing such laws of violating religious liberty claiming that "the state-sanctioned violation of one's own conscious is a recipe for the erosion of liberty". He's also argued that private businesses should have the right to serve whoever they want and that any interference from the federal government is a violation of personal liberty. Following the election of Susan Kwon as Prime Minister, he's accused her of attacking religious liberty due to her support for legislation barring the refusal of service, treatment, housing and employment towards LGBT people if it violates one's religious beliefs and has called her the "greatest threat to religious liberty in Sierra" in a 2020 statement.

Drugs

Barton is opposed to drug liberalization and has been a critic of the push to legalize marijuana in Sierra. In 2014 he claimed that marijuana was a gateway drug and that its liberalization would lead to the "undermining of Sierra's moral integrity and foundation" and also believed that marijuana would be used by the Democratic-Republican Party as a means of "electoral bribary" to convince young voters to support the party in elections. As the Barton family's unofficial legal advisor prior to 2016, he would work with his father George during his last term as Governor of Inland Empire and work to prevent the legalization of marijuana in the province. As an MP, he's voted against legislation seeking to liberalize the country's drug laws. Under McComb's premiership, Barton largely aligned with McComb's opposition to federal legalization of marijuana, but disagreed with his stance on allowing provinces to do themselves, though he would reverse this view in 2018.

Healthcare

Preston Barton has been a supporter for privatized healthcare believing that healthcare is better off being in the hands of the private sector arguing that free market competion will inevitablly create better outcomes. He voted against the National Health Protection Act of 2020 which established a nationwide single-payear healthcare system and nationalized all hospitals and healthcare clinics. Barton opposed the bill and called it "authoritarian" and an example of the Kwon government "overstepping its boundaries to push a radical agenda".

Foreign policy

Asia

China

Preston has been critical of China believing it to be an "unruly belligerent power" during a 2017 interview citing the annexation of Rehe Province in 2014. He's accused Ren Longyun of being a tyrant and has called for stronger sanctions against China calling the current ones too weak. During McComb's premiership, Barton supported his more aggressive stance towards China and viewed the trade war between the two countries as a "an inevitable result of Chinese aggression". After being elected in 2016, Barton stated his opposition towards withdrawing Sierran troops from CAS Forces – Manchuria stating that it was "the only thing protecting Manchuria's sovereignty" and would support McComb's decision to keep Sierran and CAS troops in Manchuria.

During the 2021 China–Sierra summit in Anchorage, Alaska in March, Barton would criticize the summit's outcome due to it ending with Sierra withdrawing its support for Manchuria's ascension into the Indo-Pacific Treaty Organization and accused Kwon of "betraying Manchu sovereignty in an accept of cowardly appeasement towards the tyrants of Beijing". He also criticized how the summit didn't invade representatives from Manchuria, Japan, India, and Myanmar despite China's territorial disputes and conflicts being addressed. He also critizied Kwon for supporting lifting sanctions on China and called for tighter sanctions and to end Chinese influence and dependence over the world economy.

Syria

The Barton family were vocal supporters of the 2004 invasion of Syria as well as the occupation of Syria from 2004 until 2011. Before entering into politics, Preston called Sierran involvement in the Syrian Civil War a "necessary act" and echoed the stance of his family. Since being elected to Parliament, he's voted against bills attempting to withdraw Sierran personnel from the country and has opposed ending combat operations in the country calling it "reckless" and believing that such a move can't be done until victory has been accomplished. During McComb's premiership, Barton had privately attended meetings where he reportedly convinced McComb to avoid a complete withdrawal of all CAS or Sierran troops from Syria thus continuing the country's involvement in the conflict. He also supported Operation Freedom's Edge which began in 2017.

North America

United Commonwealth

Barton is opposed normalizing relations with the United Commonwealth and has denounced the Commonwealth of being one of Sierra's greatest threats and has called the Continental Government "one of the greatest purveyors of evil in the world" and has called efforts and calls to normalize relations "foolish" and "needless appeasement". Barton has frequently brought up the human rights record of the United Commonwealth such as the infamous Kentucky Bend and other internment and re-education camps across the country. He's also brought up the aggressive actions tooken by the nation during the Cold War and its role in the Internal conflict in Myanmar as reasons for not supporting normalizing relations.

Barton has called for the Sierran government to classify Michigan as a territory of Superior under Continental military occupation and calls the decision by Steven Hong to remove such a claim a "foolish decision" and has made similar accusations against former Prime Minister Melinda Peters over the same move she made during her premiership. He's called for and supports reclassifying Michigan as an illegally occupied area of Superian territory and has donated and raised funds for the Friends of Michigan organization, a group dedicated to helping Continental exiles in Michigan escape the United Commonwealth. During Heartwell's premiership, Barton expressed mixed views on her stance towards the United Commonwealth calling her move to retain diplomatic contact a "necessity", but was critical of Heartwell being silent on the Commonwealth's human rights violations and for refusing to be more aggressive towards the nation when evidence of its involvement in Myanmar was unearthed.

Conference of American States

Barton has been critical of the Conference of American States like most of the Barton family and has described it as a corrupt and authoritarian organization and accuses the CAS of threatening Sierra's sovereignty as a nation. During the 2015 American Parliament election in Sierra, he helped campaign for various candidates for the American Parliament running on the American Conservative Coalition ticket and endorsed McComb's call for a referendum on Sierra's membership in the CAS promising aid in any attempt to push for one while campainging to be elected to the House of Commons in 2016. In 2017 he voted for the 2017 Conference of American States Membership Referendum Act and was a notable supporter of Vote Leave helping organize many rallies for the group during the 2019 Sierran Conference of American States membership referendum. When the referendum, officially called Proposition 88, ended with over 50% of voters choosing to remain in the Conference, Barton expressed his personal disapointment in the results and has since announced his personal support for a second referendum and has been a supporter of various groups pushing for a second referendum, most notably Proposition 89.

Despite his opposition towards Sierra's membership in the CAS, Barton has voiced praise to the Conference in certain areas such as supporting its military force, the Combined Armed Forces of America, and has described it as a "force for democracy and good in the world" and believes that more liberal and left-leaning officials in the CAS have prevented CAFA from "reaching its full potential as a strong multinational force fighting for democracy" in a December 2019 interview he had with EBN. He supported sending CAS troops to Manchuria and has also endorsed the International Security Assistance Force, a largely CAS-led force, fighting in Syria. He's admitted that if the CAS were to restructure itself and its institutions as well as reduce the size of its bodies, than he would be willing to reconsider his stance on the organization as a whole. He's a vocal supporter of Sierrexit.

Economic issues

Trade policy

During his parliamentary career, Barton supported McComb's trade policy and supported the calls to impose tarrifs on Chinese goods and to crackdown on outsourcing. When Heartwell imposed tarrifs on Chinese goods in January 2018 instigating the China–Sierra trade war, Barton supported the move accusing China of "using economic dominance to drain the Anglo-American industrial and economic center" during an interview with EBN in February 2020 when the issue of the tarrifs became a forefront issue in the federal election that year.

See also

• Barton family