Why are you Dem, Rep, Ind or Lib?...

[FishaholicAZ]

Just wanted to know why people vote the way they do and why they choose the sides they do. What makes you a Demecrat, Republican, Liberal, ect. What factors help you choose for whom to vote for and for whom to support?
Hope this makes some sense... Looking for good responses.

Thanks.
Romeo

[FishaholicAZ]

Oh... One more thing. If you could, please say whether you are a D, R, I, ect... Not needed but it would be nice to know where everyone stands...

Thanks.
Romeo

Oh... I am on the right. Republican.

[Tanner]

Why????? I think you are opening a can of Cobras here.

[CATCH AND EAT]

CLOSE THIS THREAD NOW!!!!!!!!!! DANGER, DANGER, DANGER.

[Just_learning]

DEMOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOCRAT!!!!!!!


Because, as my dad would say I think back-A$$wards..

[Woody]

I wonder who's gonna light the match that blows this one to bits? KAAAAAAAAABOOOOOOOOM

[willametteriveroutlaw]

In the history of bad ideas, this thread is a kin to screen doors in helicopters.

[Tanner]

Republican but not opposed to voting for members of other parties if I like what they are all about. The problem with political parties is they all have politicians in them. (duh :smile: ) I have often thought that if we made it illegal for lawyers to become politicians the world would be a much better place to live.

I am a Republican because Michael Savage, Rush Limbaugh and Bill O'Reiley tell me I should be.

[lost_sailor]

I can't possibly screw up any more than I already have today... :blush:

I bailed from the D party a few years back when I realized they weren't much different than the R party. Rich guys in suits willing to say anything to anyone in order to obtain power. Blue ties instead of red ties.

I registered as a member of the Pacific Green Party because their platform lined up with more of my personal views than any other established party. Particularly environmental protection and drug reform. I don't support the platform in its entirity. I tend toward some libertarian views, but everyone who runs as a Lib seems insane.

Also, I'd like to see more "minority" parties gain some legitimacy, because (especially at the state level) so much is lost to party squabbling and the power game ... "well, that's a good idea, but I can't support it because it was THEIR idea, and the party leaders say I must not support it."

I did not, will not vote for Ralph Nader and wish he would not run for President.

[I Fred]

I'm a Democrat because my late grandfather told me early on "you have to be mighty rich or mighty stupid to be a republican". I never achieved either one. Please appreciate the attempt at humor :grin:

[CATCH AND EAT]

Gee, thanks Fred.... :whazzup: :grin:

[I Fred]

You're welcome Bernie, my Grandfather was a yellow dog Democrat through and through. :smile:

[jocose]

i dont align myself with any party, in washington you dont have to declare aliegance too a party to register, at least i didnt. there are plenty of bozos running for all political offices.. i study the issues, if i added up all of my votes,(i am 49 on nov 6 and havent missed a election yet) i tend to vote more conservative then liberal but there is no rule of thumb, no party line, i study the issues and make a decision. some of my votes have been good others were mistakes. it doesnt matter to me how you vote... i dont put signs in my yard, i dont try to convince anyone i am right... i do whats right for me and my family and i am the only one who can judge that.
oh one more thing.... Go Cougs

[ 10-29-2003, 04:48 PM: Message edited by: jocose ]

[happybrew]

I am Republican for lack of a better alternative. Every election, what I vote for fails, what I vote against passes. Except the last one, when Jackie Winters won.

happybrew

[Pilar]

Hard line cynic. I refuse to associate with a political party although I am registered as an independent. I vote the issues and the candidates which support the ones I care about.

Politics is the worlds second oldest profession featuring wishful thinking, self interest and deceit. There is no discernable difference between the ability of either of the two parties to maintain status quo and make no significant progress on the issues of our society.

What they can do is pay their supporters with political favors. Check out the tax code and the industry and sometimes even business establishment specific loopholes to get an idea about this.

Whack, whack, whack, that ought to stir up the hornets nest! :grin:

[Snapset]

I am a registered Republican because the Libertarians keep trying to legalize drugs. Otherwise, I would be a Lib.

[Thumper]

I am a conservative and thus usually vote for Republicans. I feel that people that don't agree with me are inadequate human beings. :tongue:

[BrokeItOff]

I am a registered Democrat mainly to vote in primaries. My views are pretty conservative fiscally and more middle of the road with social issues. I try to vote from a common sense (as I see it) point of view but often that is like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole (especially after reading the voter's pamphlet for the last several elections).

[ 10-29-2003, 05:23 PM: Message edited by: BrokeItOff ]

[Silver Hilton]

I'm registered republican, because there are better people to vote against in the primaries. I voted republican for president in 1988, 1992, and 1996. Voted democrat in 2000. Shoulda voted twice.

I don't think the party mechanism works to adequately represent my views. I'm fiscally conservative, socially about where Arnold is, and a bit libertarian come around 5:00pm. I think I can be trusted with guns, so the democrats don't want me. I think the environment can use some help, so the republicans sneer at me. I don't like tin hats, so the libertarians are out, and Nader gave us Bush, so I'll spit on sidewalks he's walked on for the rest of his life and ten years after that.

The two party system is little more than a permanent employment system for incumbent legislators. It is the boil on the buttocks of our lives that is the government.

So, I don't feel real tied to it. Ya know what I mean? :grin:

[AllThumz]

I refuse to associate with a political party although I am registered as an independent. I vote the issues and the candidates which support the ones I care about.

<font size="2" face="verdana,arial,helvetica">I'm in total agreement here. I do miss not being able to vote in the primaries, though.

For a long time now I feel like I'm voting for the candidate I dislike the least :depressed:

John

[Cool Texan]

Originally posted by willametteriveroutlaw:
In the history of bad ideas, this thread is a kin to screen doors in helicopters.

<font size="2" face="verdana,arial,helvetica">You're looking for "screen doors on a submarine", right?? :grin:

I am a member of the Green party because it matches the color of my teeth :grin:

Stew,
Does that meen I have to be in the Brown Party because of my shorts :shocked: Having only 1/3 of a colon is a terrible thing :depressed:


The last party I belonged to was the Alaska Independence Party. I don’t have much use for either of the mainstream parties.

[ 10-29-2003, 07:19 PM: Message edited by: Keta ]

[Jimmy Carl Black]

I must admit to being more and more moderate all of the time, sometimes finding it hard to know where to stand on most of the issues that come around.

I have been liberal through most of my upbringing and my family are Michigan dems. I still lean this way and truly believe that most of the democrats are in it for the betterment of life for the average citizen.

Now, this sounds extremely gullable, I know but think about it... if all the dems were in it for power and money... why not just be a Republican candidate.

I guess my basic philosophy is that I don't mind having my tax dollars go to social programs that help people in need. I know I'd want some of those programs to be there if and when I need them. Hey, we should do a poll on how many of us have collected a UI check over the last few years.

We are a democratic republic though, and I always support relinquishing these things to the individual state while referring most if not all tax increases to the general public. We should decide as an electorate and resist overly-bloated government bureaucracy.

[1pump]

I turned 18 during the disaster of the Carter administration, so I registered as a Republican. Then after a couple years of the Ron & Nancy show (and chronic unemployment) I switched to Indy.
Then, tired of being locked out of the primaries, I made the jump to Demo about 5 years ago.
It's largely symbolic anyway. I don't vote along party lines.

[pdxkevin]

I am Politically Homeless. You won't see me out on the street corner panhandling for votes though. The two major parties are both heading for the same cliff; one is running and the other is speed walking. Most of the other parties seem interested in finding thier own cliff to take the country off of. I have yet to miss voting on an election, be it small or large. The only time I voted single party was when there was only one position being voted on.

So that pretty much leaves me politically homeless.

[pdxkevin]

This might be helpful for some.... The Guide to American political Parties

---overlooking which individuals were associated with the various parties (since one bad apple could easily sour the whole lot), I looked over the various things that each party is, according to this list, aligning itself with. There isn't one that I agree with completely, though some more than others. The following sound the most appealing, based on the listed goals, are the America First Party and the American Party. Unfortunately there are colorful members who detract from the stated goals of those parties.

These goals sound good to me..."protect our people and our sovereignty ... promote economic growth and independence ... encourage the traditional values of faith, family, and responsibility ... ensure equality before the law in protecting those rights granted by the Creator ... [and] to clean up our corrupted political system."

From the American Party..."Beyond the pro-life, pro-gun and anti-tax views that you'd expect to find, the American Party also advocates an end to farm price supports/subsidies, privatization of the US Postal Service, opposes federal involvement in education, supports abolition of the Environmental Protection Agency, supports repeal of NAFTA, opposes minimum wage laws, opposes land use zoning regulations and opposes convening a Constitutional convention. Of course, the AP also opposes the United Nations, the New World Order, communism, socialism and the Trilateral Commission."


If only I could mix the two together and cull the best from both.... than get it to stay on track without getting hi-jacked.

[ 10-30-2003, 06:34 AM: Message edited by: pdxkevin ]

[FishaholicAZ]

Hey now... I wasn't trying to open a can of worms... Just get some honest and good, old fashioned disscusions and it seemed to work. I am thankful to all who replied so far. It has been a welcome conversation and it has helped me kind of understand how some of you think. Being 24 I still tend to drift from side to side. I started out Democrat and supported Clinton for the longest time because of his enviromental issues and his stance on Salmon. However as I got older, I began to notice that so many other factors they support, I souldn't align with and it seemed that more things than not where against what I believed. So I switched over to the Replican party... However, I didn't vote for Bush...

Good posts everyone... Keep them coming. I enjoy getting to know the people of this board. It is a very diversified bunch and yet we all have one thing in commin... Fishing!... Thank God for fishing...

Fish on...
Romeo

[Albacore Tuna Captain]

When I was young and uneducated, I was a Democrat. As I grew older and worked for a living I became disenchanted with the liberal welfare system that rewarded lazy individuals and helped to keep people on the dole. I worked for years in the government (law enforcement) and witnessed the results of a heavy government society that was more interested in keeping the government going and growing for their selves. I liked the Republican Party basic stance which is that government needs to be kept in check and should not be trying to do everything for the individual from the crib to the grave. I felt that the Republican stance was more to enhance the individual by making him stand on his own two feet. Unfortunately, this seems to make the Republican party look a little uncaring. I'm for less government, less tax, less interference in my life, more for individual control of my destiny and therefore, I tend to vote along the Republican lines. Though sometimes I side with a Democrat, that doesnt' make me all bad does it?

[Straydog]

Registered as a Republican in 1971 at age of 18 due to my admiration for Tom McCall and most of what he stood for.

Still registered as such but don't vote party lines. The party has shifted farther right since that time although there is still hope. I have been getting involved with a group called Mainstream that is working to get moderate R's elected.

If it were not for the primary election rules in Oregon, I would likly be registered Independant.

The reality is, "I'm happy to be here at all....."

"...All of my neighbors are all up in arms about something they saw on TV.
Seems some politician got busted for something that won't make any difference to me...

Well, I'm sure it's all true and I'm tired of that too, but I can't wish for someone to fall..

Let all of those people do what people do, I'm happy to be here at all.

Happy to be here,
just happy to be here at all........."

Todd Snyder
Oh Boy Records

[ 10-30-2003, 09:45 AM: Message edited by: Straydog ]

[River Ranger]

Rep all the way,No DEMONcrats here.Like my guns too much.

RR,
Not all D's are anti and not all R's are pro gun. They're all politicians and need to be watched constantly

[dampainter]

I gave up the habit long ago.

[fisheromen]

Wow, this thread has actually stayed civil! Woohoo, congratulations guys!!!

Straydog, my mind is spinning and I've got to sit down

I'm registered Republican because they're the party that has a chance of winning whose platform I agree most with (of the two parties that have a chance of winning). If only we could vote for a platform instead of a person! Just doesn't work that way.

I get more and more cynical the older I get - part of me wishes I had a more accurate picture of the forces at work in the halls of power in this country and part of me thinks I'd become too disillusioned if I did.

[ 11-02-2003, 04:28 PM: Message edited by: fisheromen ]

[Silver One]

Registered R because they come closest, (but not close enough), to following our founding documents.

But as Keta says, "Not all D's are anti and not all R's are pro gun. They're all politicians and need to be watched constantly".

I do not believe in a so called "Living Constitution". D's generally do and the R's generally don't as noted. In the end, the politicians who would believe in a "Living Constitution" would be the same politicians, who, like political weather vanes, are alway pointing with the political winds of the day.

If history is any guide, and I think it is, the day we officially throw out our constitution in favor of an eternally evolving one will be the beginning of the end. Till that day, guns will be legal and un-registered and I'll vote for those protecting our documents and our rights.

[2LEYS]

I am conservative so I vote rep. Most dems are pro-choice and anti-gun and want to give my money to lazy people so I could never vote Dem.

The Reps are mostly pro-life and pro-gun and don't care much for most social programs so that is where my vote lands.

I would rather spend double the money on the welfare program in order to make sure the people on it need it and aren't just leeches.

I have started to lean towards the enviornment lately (due in part to this board) but I think the reps have a little to.

[willametteriveroutlaw]

CT,
Thats what I meant, but their not much use in a helicopter either.. (I had a moment)

I generally Vote republican although I am pro choice (kinda, but really could give a crap less, it doesn't effect me) I am against the legalization of drugs (can't stand stoners, addicts, and other dumb ***** who can't deal with reality) Although I am just a poor college student, I still dislike giving the thought of higher taxes espicially when they go to programs that I deem worthless. I am pro gun, pro enviroment and all about taking responsibility for my own actions. If i screw up, I take responsibility.

[Straydog]

Originally posted by willametteriveroutlaw:
..... but really could give a crap less, it doesn't effect me) I am against the legalization of drugs (can't stand stoners, addicts, and other dumb ***** who can't deal with reality)

<font size="2" face="verdana,arial,helvetica">Wow, interesting statements.

1. Sorry to burst your bubble, but most things do "effect" you, one way or another.
2. If you don't care about anything that dosen't affect you, why do you care about "stoners, addicts and......"???
3. I think I see a new conservative mantra in the making... "I couldn't care less, it dosent effect me!"

BTW, did you know you are getting a hand out by attending college.........? Oh yea, that benefits you so it is ok.

[Jimmy Carl Black]

WRO-

I understand not supporting loafers' tendencies,
but if I were upset about inefficient, expensive government programs, I would consider further your opinion of drug laws in tandem with the DEA's budget.

[True]

Independent only because I don't like people telling me who or what I should vote for. There are too many Savages, Limbaughs, Moores, and Mahers telling you what to think and too many idiots out there that can't filter out the truth from the pulp (unlike everyone on this board :grin: ).

Republicans and Democrats both have their good and bad points but as it's been stated above they are more similar than they are different.

True

[willametteriveroutlaw]

Originally posted by Straydog:

2. If you don't care about anything that dosen't affect you, why do you care about "stoners, addicts and......"???
BTW, did you know you are getting a hand out by attending college.........? Oh yea, that benefits you so it is ok.

<font size="2" face="verdana,arial,helvetica">On the college thing, to a certain extent yes, I do get some handouts and I support monies and federally sponsored loans for colleges. This, unlike supporting some person who screwed up their life, goes to the betterment of society.
"stoners, addicts and......"??? Effect everyone, They show up on our rivers, have illigetimate kids we have to pay for, and unfortunately show in my summer work schedule (construction). Alot of guys fry their minds, and then we as taxpayer have to pay for the reparcussions and "rehabilitating" them.
As far as not caring about abortion, who the hell am i to tell women wheather its okay or not okay to have an abortion.
I do care about things that effect me, but as for peoples personal decisions, they are not my business. And programs that I deem worthless are my own opinion (great thing about the U.S. I can actually have one of those) there for I can vote yea or nea on them. But I don't vote on items I have no familiarity with.

[ 11-02-2003, 10:26 PM: Message edited by: willametteriveroutlaw ]

[Straydog]

Originally posted by willametteriveroutlaw:
"stoners, addicts and......"??? Effect everyone, They show up on our rivers, have illigetimate kids we have to pay for,......
As far as not caring about abortion, who the hell am i to tell women wheather its okay or not okay to have an abortion.

<font size="2" face="verdana,arial,helvetica">WRO,

Not trying to give you a bad time or pick a fight, just trying to point out what I see as an overlap in your thinking. The quote above shows quite clearly how abortion or lack there of affects your world. Outlaw abortion and, good or bad, you will have more illegitimate kids to support.

Again, not arguing for or against your opinion, just pointing out how most everything does affect us all, one way or another.

[ 11-02-2003, 10:33 PM: Message edited by: Straydog ]

[willametteriveroutlaw]

Thats true straydog, But its still not my place to tell someone I don't know what to do yea or nea.

[kayakfisher]

Try reading "If God Had Wanted Us To Vote He Would Have Given Us Candidates", by James Hightower.

This book illustrates the undue influence that big corporate and big individual money has government....it is a convincing illustration of what many people believe to be true, but don't have the facts...this book presents some sad illustrations of the facts, but also suggests some possible answers to the questions it raises.

Well written...James Hightower was also the Sec of Agriculture in Texas for a while.

Mike