Today I am a Democrat (ideology, myth, politician, bias)

[Icy Tea]

I'm a libertarian who gave Ralph Nader a protest vote. I wouldn't vote for Duhbya Bush and I saw right through Al Gore for the a hole he was, so I figured give an honest guy a vote even if he might not be a good POTUS. And you'd spite the other two. I feel the same way about Sanders. He might not be a good POTUS but he's honest which Hillary definitely is NOT. And you know she'd be a terrible POTUS just like the last three. Trump is a question mark. In many ways he's an independent that grabbed the GOP nomination( most likely). I'm not sure if he can be trusted, but his enormous ego might make him be harder to control and be compromised. We need someone who isn't a sell out and a complete stooge like Bush and Obama have been and someone who isn't easily manipulated and coerced into betraying the office like the Clintons.

[hawkeye2009]

Originally Posted by allenk893

Lol, it's always the same story from life-long liberals. "I was once a die-hard Republican and saw how crazy the party was becoming and I came to my senses and now vote Democrat." Is originality too much to ask? The desperate attempts to denigrate the Republican Party at all cost, even creating stories about your own voting patterns is truly remarkable.

Agreed-

These libs all seemed to have been right wing conservatives in thier past. It is a tired tale that has been used a few too many times.

If you are a lib, great. Just don't create some fanciful tale about your "evolution" to become a lib. Most people, of course, become more conservative as they get older, not the other way around.

[dsjj251]

Originally Posted by hawkeye2009

Agreed-

These libs all seemed to have been right wing conservatives in thier past. It is a tired tale that has been used a few too many times.

If you are a lib, great. Just don't create some fanciful tale about your "evolution" to become a lib. Most people, of course, become more conservative as they get older, not the other way around.

Actually, they become more liberal, at least from a conservative stand point.

[Clark Park]

Originally Posted by Goinback2011

Yeah, the Dems have such a diverse set of old white people running for President.

Well ... to be fair ... one is Jewish and the other is female.

How many Jewish candidates or female candidates are running on the GOP ticket.

About diversity ... who, on the GOP side, is actually making an attempt to talk to and court the millions of Americans who are either in the LGBT community or supporters of the LGBT community?

[geekigurl]

Originally Posted by hawkeye2009

Agreed-

These libs all seemed to have been right wing conservatives in thier past. It is a tired tale that has been used a few too many times.

If you are a lib, great. Just don't create some fanciful tale about your "evolution" to become a lib. Most people, of course, become more conservative as they get older, not the other way around.

That's a myth. Most people become more liberal as they age.

The stereotype of a cranky old man, set in his ways, getting more conservative by the day, is an enduring one. But new research has debunked the myth that people become more conservative as they age.
By comparing surveys of various age groups taken over a span of more than 30 years, sociologists found that in general, Americans' opinions veer toward the liberal as they grow older.



"All the evidence we have found refutes the idea that as people age their attitudes become more conservative or more rigid," said Nicholas Danigelis, a sociologist at the University of Vermont. "It's just not true. More people are changing in a liberal direction than in a conservative direction."



Busting Myth, People Turn More Liberal With Age

[ChiGeekGuest]

Originally Posted by Clark Park

Well ... to be fair ... one is Jewish and the other is female.

How many Jewish candidates or female candidates are running on the GOP ticket.

About diversity ... who, on the GOP side, is actually making an attempt to talk to and court the millions of Americans who are either in the LGBT community or supporters of the LGBT community?

Admittedly this is a sidebar but I just realized the other day that we have 3 New Yorkers in the mix (Mr. Sanders, Mr. Trump & Ms. Clinton). When was the last time that happened?

[Listener2307]

Originally Posted by turkey-head

Man I never thought it would've come to this. If you'd told me 10+ years ago that I would be a registered Democrat... I'd have told you that you were full of ****. But here I am- switched my voter registration (formerly Libertarian) yesterday so I could caucus for Bernie.

And lemme tell you- it was a freak show in there. On the Sanders side of the room it was all bearded hipsters, cute college gals with their silly hipster glasses, along with a few manly women and girly men. On the Clinton side of the room it looked like a nursing home plus a few black people. Pretty sure I was the only redneck in the room, my clean-shaven face and big bald head sticking out like a sore thumb among all the beanies and beards on the Sanders side.

Sometimes I wonder if the Republican Party left me or if I left them. Really I think it was some of both. I mean, this is NOT the part of Bush 41, Bob Dole, and Arlen Specter. The GOP these days is driven by talk-show loons, blatantly selling out their supposed constituents (poorly educated white people) to their REAL constituents the banks, Wall Street, billionaires, etc. The Republican Party of my childhood at least had the decency (for the most part) to be discreet about selling out the middle class. Now corporations are people, and privileged rich sons are lauded as "job creators" as they lay off workers in the thousands and offshore jobs. They're worshiping at the feet of a loud, xenophobic, orange billionaire (lauded as a "job creator" though he inherited his fortune and has squandered much of it). How can I support such madness?

Politically I've come full circle during my adult life. Early on with my first union job, I entertained the idea of 'conservative democrat', but quickly abandoned it in favor of conservative Republican (mostly based on gun rights and xenophobia). Over the years I progressed to Libertarian and now to Democrat. And the fact is that this political shift has progressed as my education level and life experience has progressed. I mean a poor, ignorant, maladaptive kid like I was can be forgiven for rejecting the notion of global warming, embracing xenophobia, and voting against their own interests based on a half-baked sales pitch like 'trickle-down'. But no longer. Over the years I've met and worked with people from all over the world. Partially via college and partially via self-education, I've got a pretty good grasp these days of science, math, economics, politics... even doing ok at history. So I can no longer accept that narrow world view I had as a dumb kid fresh outta the mountains. Now that's not to say there aren't Republicans even brighter than I am, and better educated... there certainly are. But as far as I can tell, you gotta have an exceedingly self-serving nature, limited life experience, and some serious confirmation bias to be simultaneously educated and Republican. I tried, and I just couldn't do it

So where do I go from here? I don't know... but I've learned to never say never. If Bernie gets the nomination (unlikely I know), then I'll definitely vote for him and may even CAMPAIGN for him. But Hillary? I dunno if I can bring myself to vote for somebody like that. I mean, our dishonest, unnecessary, murderous and destructive Iraq War was one thing that REALLY made me start examining my world view long about 2003. Not only did Hillary support it... frankly I don't think she's ever met a war she DIDN'T support. A no-fly zone in Syria? Is she crazy or stupid?? If I do vote for her- and that's a big 'if'- it will ONLY be for the sake of the Supreme Court. But if she steals the nomination via dishonest means (and it's already looking that way), that MAY just end my association with Democrats. We'll see.

But if so... where do I go from here? Certainly not back to the Republicans. Maybe I can finally learn the lesson I should've figured out by now... which is that it really doesn't matter what I think. The powers that be are gonna do what they're gonna do regardless.

Horse-Pooky.

You've been knocking "right wingers" in your posts as far back as I cared to look.

You've always been a lefty.

Nice try.

[Podo944]

Originally Posted by turkey-head

Yeah man... it feels great

People of your son's generation grew up in a totally different world than you or I did. The self-serving hypocrisy of their elders is on full display... and time is on their side. They WILL get their piece of the pie in time.

I don't expect Bernie to get the nomination... but hoping I'm wrong. Wouldn't be the first time. But if European-style socialism isn't ushered in by Sanders, it WILL be by somebody else.

We can do this the easy way or the hard way. The easy way looks like an old Jewish guy from Vermont. The hard way looks more like the riots in Ferguson.

Then I guess my question is, do you now philosophically embrace expanded government and European Socialism, or is it pragmatism because you see the writing on the wall and it's inevitable?

[Roaddog]

So your voting for Trump.

[Three Wolves In Snow]

Originally Posted by hawkeye2009

Agreed-

These libs all seemed to have been right wing conservatives in thier past. It is a tired tale that has been used a few too many times.

If you are a lib, great. Just don't create some fanciful tale about your "evolution" to become a lib. Most people, of course, become more conservative as they get older, not the other way around.

For the most part, yes.

Originally Posted by dsjj251

Actually, they become more liberal, at least from a conservative stand point.

This also has some truth to it...a shade of truth.

Of course when I was a kid, you would probably have called me a lib. I was against borders altogether, I wanted everyone to have money and couldn't understand why Hollywood would spend so much money on their clothes or cars when there were starving people everywhere. I thought that they should be giving their money to people less fortunate, and not living in million dollar mansions. I thought that they were greedy, and I really didn't like them. I thought it was unfair that some people in this world didn't have much while others would push their grocery carts around like gluttonous pigs, overflowing with goods that they didn't actually "need". That was before I ever had to earn my own way in the world. Real easy to spend someone elses money.

As I got older, and more educated, I shifted towards Conservative. I got to a point where I was extreme Conservative (minus the religion) but then I started hanging out with other extreme Conservatives, and that's when a slight shift back started to happen. I'm still very extreme fiscal Conservative, but I have "softened" on some of my previous extreme Conservative ideals.

I used to be 100% against legalizing marijuana. Now I don't care if people hurt themselves with drugs. I used to be against gay marriage, ONLY for the use of the word "marriage". I've never given a damn if two gay people want to live together, what do I care about that. I just didn't want them using that word. Now, whatever. I used to be 100% against helping anyone with any kind of welfare (minus disabled and old people). Now, I understand that sometimes, carp happens, and people need some help. I'm still against it as a way of life, but I also understand that what people write down on paper "how it should be done" (meaning "life"), it doesn't usually actually go like that. I've always been pro-environment, but not in the way that some of the extremists are. Many times they do more damage than good, and I think a lot of them have ulterior motives but use the "environment" as an agenda to push what they really want.

I'm even more Conservative than I once was when it comes to borders, because I got to spend some time in a country with strict borders, and it worked. It worked well. Until Merkel came along, that is.

So it is possible to shift your views over time. That's not "flip-flopping" like some fools say...depending on who the candidate is that says it and how bias they are, it's evolving. I'm not liberal like I was as a kid, I'm not extremist Conservative like I was as a young adult. I'm extremely fiscally Conservative, and a bit more towards the middle with social issues. Still more to the right, but not as right as I used to be.