Do you agree with "the other side" on any issues? (Ron Paul, wages)

[afoigrokerkok]

I'm very conservative on pretty much all economic/fiscal issues, idenitfy as a Republican, vote in GOP primaries (We don't register with parties in TX but, if we did, I'd be a registered Republican), and usually vote for Republican candidates. However, I disagree with the Republican party on several issues, primarily social issues:

-Gay rights - I'm for gay marriage and all other equal rights for gays. If I have the right, they should have the right.

-Capital punishment - I'm for it in theory, but the appeals process is too expensive, it doesn't really serve as a deterrent in practice, and I have concerns about the possibility of innocent people being executed.

-Abortion/related issues - I have mixed feelings about abortion and I'm pretty liberal on all related issues, such as contraception, comprehensive sex ed in schools, and embryonic stem cell research.

-Climate change - I believe in the climate change science. I feel the future of energy in America should lie in natural gas rather than oil, but also rather than ethanol, solar energy, wind energy, etc. for the most part, so I guess I have mixed views on energy policy.

There are other issues where I disagree with the Republicans, but these are some of the main ones. And, for the record, I'm not a libertarian. I believe in strong (but smart) defense and free trade - I don't agree with their views on foreign policy. I'm also very much against illegal immigration.

Are there any issues on which you disagree with your party/ideology?

[waterboy7375]

There is no other side for. Im an independant who has voted for candidates on both sides. Lots of times in the same election ( dem pres , gop house ect)
Im a fiscal conservative and a social liberal , and even that I dont follow to a tee.

[afoigrokerkok]

Originally Posted by waterboy7375

There is no other side for. Im an independant who has voted for candidates on both sides. Lots of times in the same election ( dem pres , gop house ect)
Im a fiscal conservative and a social liberal , and even that I dont follow to a tee.

There are a lot of independent thinkers on this forum, though sometimes you wouldn't know it with all the partisan rhetoric that gets spewed around. I really respect those who think through the issues individually rather than just buying into everything about a certain ideology.

[hoffdano]

I view myself as conservative/libertarian.

I agree with liberals on gay marriage, but I want the federal government out of marriage. Mostly I want marriage status to have no effect on taxes. Any other marriage related issues should be handled by civil statute.

I agree with liberals in many general environmental issues such as air/water quality. But I am unconvinced on the manmade contribution to global warming.

I am against capital punishment because I don't think it works, it is inconsistently applied, and it puts a few innocent people to death.

I agree with many liberals that many drugs should be legalized or at least significantly decriminalized.

[jackmccullough]

Yes. I'm a liberal Democrat but I do come closer to the Republican idea that we need to control illegal immigration.
Well, I don't share their position of hating brown people or speakers of other languages, but I am concerned about the downward pressure that illegal immigration creates on the wages of low-skilled, low-education workers.workers.

[Zembonez]

I'm a fierce Independent. I don't find much to agree with either side on these days. Everything has become "a Republican only win" or "a Democrat only win". Nothing is based on merit or its capacity for being good for the country.

The last 20 years have seriously gone to... well you know what I mean.

[steven_h]

Originally Posted by jackmccullough

Yes. I'm a liberal Democrat but I do come closer to the Republican idea that we need to control illegal immigration.
Well, I don't share their position of hating brown people or speakers of other languages, but I am concerned about the downward pressure that illegal immigration creates on the wages of low-skilled, low-education workers.workers.

Just, the fact that you'd type "I don't share their position of hating brown people or speakers of other languages" tells me loads about your view of who and what conservatives are, in your mind. Furthermore, I somehow think this was an attempt to sound reasonable.

One thing that's distressing are the referrals to Americans as "the other side" as if we are enemies. Welcome to pre-1860 mindsets. I'd say the age of transparency, and no racial boundaries has been a terrific failure, not because of racists, but because of people who don't want to let the racial innuendo fade away. Nothing like playing both sides of the field.

[Magritte25]

Illegal Immigration

[djacques]

Originally Posted by afoigrokerkok

There are other issues where I disagree with the Republicans, but these are some of the main ones. And, for the record, I'm not a libertarian. I believe in strong (but smart) defense and free trade - I don't agree with their views on foreign policy. I'm also very much against illegal immigration.

Everyone is for "defense." What this country chooses to call defense is not defending anything but imperial aggression.

Libertarians are for free trade, who told you they weren't?

[afoigrokerkok]

Originally Posted by djacques

Everyone is for "defense." What this country chooses to call defense is not defending anything but imperial aggression.

Libertarians are for free trade, who told you they weren't?

Free trade is a "classic" libertarian ideal, but a lot of libertarians or libertarian-leaning politicians (like Ron Paul) don't really seem to be huge supporters of it, regardless of what they say. A lot of libertarians are pro-isolationism on defense issues and, to some extent, on free trade as well.