Question:  WHY are You a Republican / Democrat /or Other ? ? ?
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I know, it seems like a childish class project, but I'm curious to know. I think it may help those of us who participate on this board to understand more about one another, and maybe accept one another a little more, and be willing to have discussions and debates, rather than ranting and raving and trying to out SHOUT one another, and start a pissing match in every thread.

As I stated in another post I think more people are really in the middle more than they admit, maybe even to themselves.
So, WHY are you part of your political party ?
- Just followed in line with your parents.
- Followed the lead of some politician you admired.
- To protest some politician you didn't.
- Because being in that party would somehow benefit you.
- Because you thought that party believed in the same things you did.(and if so, do you STILL think that ?)

Just some examples not trying to answer for you, would rather it be in your own words anyways.

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Part 2 Bonus: Would you ever consider switching Parties ?

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I hope people participate more than they did on the idea to have SOMETHING each side, HAS to say NICE about the Other.
That sadly was a BIG FLOP !

Maybe we can try that question again if this one works out.


-- Modified on 6/15/2004 4:50:06 PM

I would have no qualms about registering as a Republican in order to support a candidate like McCain or Powell in a future election, and I had done so in the 2000 primaries to support McCain.

Frankly, I have no allegiance to any Political Party, as they are two of a kind, pandering to an extremist base prior to trying to con and thus co-opt the center in general elections.  Philosophically, I am an almost pure Libertarian, but I have no desire to squander my all too important vote on a minor candidate that can't win.

Democrat...Simply because I cannot stand the "holier than thou  zealots whose primary goal in life is to overturn Roe V. Wade, enact amendment to ban gay marriage, & blame Hollywood & porn industry for all the worlds' ills.....The religious right is a scary & dangerous bunch......Thus, like in 2000, I'll just vote a straight democratic ticket in Nov....Several people at work blasted me when I told them I voted a straight ticket last time, but sorry, that's the way I am about conservatives....For a group that preaches LESS Government, they sure as hell like to play "Father Knows Best" & tell everyone how to live their lives....The moral majority wants the govt. to regulate and/or censor everything that doesn't fit in tune with their liking, why do you think Howard Stern is off CC stations?.....

Freedom of religion also means freedom from religion......

I'd be considered a Liberterian on social issues, but let's face it, no liberterian is going to see the White House any time soon.......So I will go Democrat....

-- Modified on 6/15/2004 6:11:27 PM

  Party affiliation has always seemed to me a mindset that marginalized, diminished, and weakened democracy itself.  Far too many Americans will salivate like a hungry dog, and protect like a wounded lioness her cubs a political party the moment a R or a D is flashed in front of a name.   Justification after justification and more endless justification on any and all acts no matter the depth of transgression of decency, judgement, and thought displayed by a political name is practised by citizens in the name of party affiliation.  No one has said we cannot seek a political parallel between a party and a philosophy, however, even the most aggregious violators and violations of the greater good are forgiven in the name of a party.  And that is a threat greater than WMD's, Osama, the Taliban, or any other danger we have faced since our inception.  It is the greatest threat because we face it from within, rooted in a deep ignorance and blind allegiance.  
  This from a country with the largest number of universities and an access to information unparallelled in human history.  If most people had the courage and conviction to be more proud as Americans rather than Republicans or Democrats our great nation would achieve greatness that would make angels of heaven envious of mortal humans.

not an endorser of any party.

Always try to pick the best choice.

Not blaming just you I see others got into it within the body of their reply, but that wasn't the point of my attempt here.
Oh well

Can't say WHY I am a Republican. I have had these beliefs as long as I remember and my folks are not Republicans.

I would not consider switching parties for the simple fact that the principles the democrat party push are not mine. Case in point, the democratic party seems to want to equalize a lot of things by taxing the rich, etc. I believe that the constitution guarantees equal opportunity, but not equal outcome. Where you land is your own responsibility...

I'm a Republican, because I believe in a party of ideas, not one which merely seeks power --- political, and over people's lives.

I believe in free markets, not government control over the economy.

I believe that government should protect life, liberty, and property.  That includes the lives of children, 45 million of which have been aborted since Roe v. Wade.

I believe government should not enable the plunderers, who blame "fortune," or "bad luck," or the "greedy rich" for the consequences of their own bad choices.

I believe government should serve as a hammock for those who are not willing to live with the consequences of their own bad choices (pregnancy; poverty; etc.).

I believe government should not be so powerful as to empower those who would taken the fruits of my labors to buy the votes of others who make bad choices.

I believe in free minds and free speech.  And yes, that includes the right to believe and express belief in whatever moronic views you hold about racial superiority.  History has proven them wrong, and free debate debunks them every time.

I believe government shouldn't pick winners and losers.  I believe government shouldn't decide to discriminate against one group because of perceived "injustice" --- whatever that means --- against another.

I believe that the death penalty should be imposed swiftly and more frequently against the most heinous of offenders, to include child molesters and multiple rapists.

I believe that the United States is the last, best hope of mankind for freedom in the world, and in American exceptionalism.  I don't apologize for being an American, or for the policies America pursues overseas.  The world would be a better place if more places were like America.  That's why many come and want to come here.  Immigration is the sincerest form of flattery.

That having been said, the GOP is, in the words of Samuel Francis, frequently "the stupid Party," usually because people belong to it who confuse it with the Democrat Party (like McCain, all too often).

Would I ever consider switching parties?  No.  Not so long as the Democrat Party is the haven for crypto-socialists, pro-abortion femi-Nazis, and those who fail to recognize the limits the Constitution places on government action.  And the Democrat Party has been that for decades, with some notable exceptions on some issues, like Zell Miller.  I might leave the GOP... when it pursues as policy those courses.

Because the Republicans don't want me in their party, and recipricolly, and I have nothing to give to it.

Whereas, I can fit into the Democratic party, and have something to offer it.  

Switch parties?  When the Republicans tell the fundamentalists to go fuck themselves and to form their own party.  But then, what would be left of its agenda after that?  

/Zin

Libertarian. Until the Libertarian Party gets it's shit together, I'm most often forced to vote for Republicans as the lesser of the two evils. The fact that the haters on the left continually howl and moan that Republicans are the most evil entity in the universe gives me comfort that I am doing the right thing.

RLTW