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If you don't declare a party, you can't vote in the primaries. Other than that, a person of any party can vote for whomever they wish.
The difference of the parties to me is that Democrat programs have suppressed personal initiative and caused generations of folks to be doomed to a cycle of poverty and dependence. Most rich Democratic politicians think they know what is best for "the poor". But what they think is good enough for the poor would not be good enough for their own families. Like, they want to live traditional family values, but they have disdain for those who openly profess those values. A very cynical person might even say that they need to create dependency in the sweaty masses in order to retain any power at all. They even favor amnesty for illegals because they think the illegals will be likely Democrats.
It seems to me that Republicans are in favor of more freedom to the individual to thrive without interference from government restrictions. Less government is more beneficial to society in general. More freedom for business to thrive, so that they can employ more people, and everyone benefits.
thats a damn joke.. business' offer everything the union does. and i seem to remember a time where ppl wanted to work and not sit around like a waste. dont get me wrong yes the union does offer that and yea thrs big money in the union but union boss'(not all) do exploit thr workers so they can put extra green in thr wallets
If you don't declare a party, you can't vote in the primaries. Other than that, a person of any party can vote for whomever they wish.
The difference of the parties to me is that Democrat programs have suppressed personal initiative and caused generations of folks to be doomed to a cycle of poverty and dependence. Most rich Democratic politicians think they know what is best for "the poor". But what they think is good enough for the poor would not be good enough for their own families. Like, they want to live traditional family values, but they have disdain for those who openly profess those values. A very cynical person might even say that they need to create dependency in the sweaty masses in order to retain any power at all. They even favor amnesty for illegals because they think the illegals will be likely Democrats.
It seems to me that Republicans are in favor of more freedom to the individual to thrive without interference from government restrictions. Less government is more beneficial to society in general. More freedom for business to thrive, so that they can employ more people, and everyone benefits.
this i can completely agree with..
kno wat i believe?
i believe democrats r ppl who can afford w/e they want and wish the gov would tend to thr every need.. and republicans are hard working ppl who just want to make a living so they can put food on the table without the gov taking every bit of hard earned money they worked for
Virtually every step forward in our history has been a liberal initiative taken over conservative opposition: civil rights, Social Security, Medicare, rural electrification, the establishment of a minimum wage, guaranteed bank deposits, the Federal Reserve, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Food and Drug Administration, the National Park Service, the National School Lunch Program, the Voting Rights Act, collective bargaining, the Pure Food and Drug Act, and federal aid to education, including the land-grant colleges, to name just a few. Many of these innovations were eventually embraced by conservatives only after it became clear that they had overwhelming public approval for the simple reason that almost every American benefited from them. Every one of these liberal efforts strengthened our democracy and our quality of life. Democrats/liberals are the party of the people as its history attests.
Democrats/liberals exhort job training and retraining programs, both public and private, while Republicans/neocons cut funding. These are indispensable in an era when trade and technology bring rapid change to the job market, and these programs need constant retooling and reexamination.
Cutting education in the Information Age is like cutting defense at the height of the Cold War. The cold hard truth is that many students who are unable to go to college will end up on welfare, on the street, or in jail if they aren’t subsequently taught skills now in demand.
Democrats/liberals think low wages are a problem. Republicans/Neocons think low wages are a solution.
JFK said “If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.”
Some of the democrats’ achievements:
GI Bills
Earned Income Tax Credit
Americorps
Peace Corps
Head Start
FEMA
Human Genome Project
Clean Water Act
Medicaid Medicare
Brady Law
Ban on CFCs
Direct Student Loans
WIC
Social Security
Meals on Wheels
Who are Reps/Neocons?
Conservatives curse the middle and working poor class and refer to them as useless to the economy. It is the labor performed by poor as well as middle-class persons that makes possible this nation’s productivity and wealth, including job opportunities. Where would Wal Mart be without the middle and working poor class? Not on the Dow.
Republicans unclear philosophy claims the rich will work harder if given more breaks and the poor will work harder if given fewer breaks.
Republicans have and will continue to cut programs that help parents with children get food stamps, provide breakfasts and lunches for low-income schoolchildren, nutrition for poor pregnant women and infants and the Medicaid program which offers healthcare for millions of ill and disabled children. They want to eradicate proven programs like the Family Leave Act, Head Start, childcare, earned-income tax credits and affordable housing for low-paid workers.
I think there is a difference between modern day liberals and libertarian and most advances you spoke of came from libertarian views which by the way some of whom were or are Republican in party.
If Republican ideals are for the rich only then how come I'm a middle class guy who has never earned more than 50k a year yet most of their ideals I agree with?Why?...because the ideals are more complex then rich vs poor.Actually it's ideals of individualism I think define Repubs compared to Dems.Though these days too many Repubs don't act in this manner.
And I disagree that the Dem party is the party of the people,they are the party of government....which is in direct conflict from the ideals of the Bill of Rights,constitution and individualism.
That said as a whole the Repub party in many ways no longer reflects those principles either,which from now on I might vote for a 3rd party,except for members like Ron Paul who is what a Republican and Libertarian is suppose to be.
Well, for me, I find independants to be weenies. I mean, stand for something. I prefer those with strong opinions vs. middle of the road.
As a conservative, which I consider my self to be before I would call myself a republican, I am one for the following reasons: I support self-sufficeincy, free will, equal opportunity for all, right to life, limited legislation, minimal taxes, traditional values. I believe our founding father's had it right and do not want to alter the Constitution. I believe in limited local government and State's rights. I'm a bit too conservative to be a libertarian, so I vote Republican. But mostly, while liberal democrats want to change the future and detest the past, I as a conservative value tradition. I think that the past was pretty much right, with maybe a few wrinkles to iron out.
Left vs. Right is a false choice. They use emotional issues to keep us divided while advancing their own agendas. They get into office and all the campaign promises go out the window. There really is no difference, they just want us to think there is. Keeps us focused on OUR differences. Just re-read this thread, if you identify on one side or the other, you are hateful towards the opposing side in most cases. God forbid we should all work together, we might band together against all the corruption in DC. Think about it. UNITED WE STAND, DIVIDED WE FALL.
I agree on this,there are core issues on the founding of this country at matter,and too many in both camps when in power are leading us downward.
The fact is by nature people will refere to themselves toward a certain party based on issues,but as I have personally learned it doesn't mean the party will always stand by them.This country was never ment to have a large centralized government intruding into issues that were ment to be left to states or local government to deal with.
Last edited by lionking; 09-05-2007 at 08:38 PM..
Reason: thoughts on the 10th amendment
Well, for me, I find independants to be weenies. I mean, stand for something. I prefer those with strong opinions vs. middle of the road.
As a conservative, which I consider my self to be before I would call myself a republican, I am one for the following reasons: I support self-sufficeincy, free will, equal opportunity for all, right to life, limited legislation, minimal taxes, traditional values. I believe our founding father's had it right and do not want to alter the Constitution. I believe in limited local government and State's rights. I'm a bit too conservative to be a libertarian, so I vote Republican. But mostly, while liberal democrats want to change the future and detest the past, I as a conservative value tradition. I think that the past was pretty much right, with maybe a few wrinkles to iron out.
Middle of the road types, or independents don't have the luxury of picking a side and placing blame on the other, they actually have to THINK about each issue and take condemnation from both sides. People seem to think that this world is either left or right, this or that and that a person can't see the pro's and con's from each respected party, this absolutely baffles me.
As to your being a "conservative" who believes in limited local and state governments, I hate to inform you but you kind of got that backwards. Traditional conservatives generally call for reduction of federal government and states and local governments having more charge over their local constituents as it would more accurately apply to local demographics.
As to california_is_superior characterization of what conservatives are I would say is quite inaccurate. Many of todays Republicans are far from traditional conservatism, as the past 6 years has seen the largest increase in size of the Federal government since FDR, this is NOT a conservative platform. Bush ran on a "no new nation building" platform as well as many Republicans condemned Clinton's intervention into Bosnia and Kosovo, yet today we are building more nations than ever before, this is NOT a conservative platform. While cutting taxes may be a traditional conservative platform, spending like a drunken sailor in a wh*rehouse while borrowing the money to do it is NOT a conservative platform.
These actions are that of the expansionist neoconservatives, not that of traditional conservatives, there is a HUGE difference.
Middle of the road types, or independents don't have the luxury of picking a side and placing blame on the other, they actually have to THINK about each issue and take condemnation from both sides. People seem to think that this world is either left or right, this or that and that a person can't see the pro's and con's from each respected party, this absolutely baffles me.
As an independent thinker, I've never met a democrat or a republican who I totally agreed or disagreed with. Seems like just about every politician out there has at least one good idea....some more than others. I do my best to support the good ideas ( IMO ) and let the rest of the crap fall by the wayside. I can't imagine that I could possibly care any less than I already do about the labels: democrat, republican, liberal, conservative, independent, left, right, etc. Who cares! As you say, the keyword is THINK. It seems that once a person identifies themselves as a democrat or a republican the THINKING stops and the party can do no wrong
Well, for me, I find independants to be weenies. I mean, stand for something. I prefer those with strong opinions vs. middle of the road.
Join a team! Join a team! That's stupid. There are independents that are just as passionate about stuff as any Democrats or Republicans... you don't have to conform yourself to some party line or widely held political philosophy to have convictions. What about people who are virulently pro-life but also oppose the death penalty and the Iraq War? What about people who think we should "Stay on offense in the war on terror" or whatever but also think weed should be legalized and that the Patriot Act violates civil liberties? They're not wishy washy or "weenies," they're just passionate about a non-conventional combination of beliefs. America'll be a better place when we stop listening to the talk show hosts and pundits trying to divide the country into two opposing teams.
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