Anyone else in the gray area between Dem and Rep. ?

acoustic guy

I lean more towards the right side but I disagree with their views on gay rights and abortion. I just don't agree with those two topics at ALL.
But for the most part I agree with everything else. I also don't agree with sending labor over seas when we can do it right here.

RolandTD20Kdrummer

left and right is an illusion to me. It's like picking a sports team.....they both have different plays, but in the end the game is still the exact same.

But you know how a lot of people are......pick your side...and defend it to the death before admitting you're wrong and just getting played...

It's a slow learning curve

LikeAnOpeningBandForTheSun

i cant tell if im in the middle or just extremely sociallly liberal/fiscally conservative. i think i just piss off everyone equally.

the problem is people look at it as liberal<---->conservative, which is pretty arbitrary.

cincybearcat

acoustic guy wrote:

I lean more towards the right side but I disagree with their views on gay rights and abortion. I just don't agree with those two topics at ALL.
But for the most part I agree with everything else. I also don't agree with sending labor over seas when we can do it right here.

Yep...I'm fiscally conservative (tax cuts & spending cuts), believe abortion is murder, want privatized social security, think welfare needs a HUGE overhaul...etc..etc..etc..

But, I also am for Gay rights, am for the gov't getting out of people's houses, believe we need longterm energy independence, and think W abused power in Iraq.

acoustic guy

RolandTD20Kdrummer wrote:

pick your side...and defend it to the death before admitting you're wrong and just getting played..

LOL good stuff

jeffbr

acoustic guy wrote:

I lean more towards the right side but I disagree with their views on gay rights and abortion. I just don't agree with those two topics at ALL.
But for the most part I agree with everything else. I also don't agree with sending labor over seas when we can do it right here.

No gray area here. I don't belong in either party for black and white reasons. There are parts of both parties I like, and parts of both parties that preclude me from considering being a member or supporter of either.

Rider

I think we need to downsize the federal govt, cut spending, balance the deficit, get out of foriegn countries militarily, I support the right to bear arms and dont like abortion. This used to make me a Republican. But, the current repubs are getting most of the above wrong. I liked Ron Paul but I am leaning towards Obama now. The Palin pick last McCain's last straw for me.

jhinkle1114

I think everyone who actually takes politics serious and thinks for themselves is never 100% with one party or the other.

I'm definitely pretty far to the left and generally a pretty solid democrat. But I still don't always agree with the democrat stance on everything.

But I wouldn't put myself in the gray area, I'm thoroughly liberal. Just not blindly liberal.

tybird

Yes, both parties are selling us turd sandwiches and giant douches.

digster

I'm kind of stuck. In theory, at least, I think the government needs to stay out of people's lives as much as humanly possible; a government, particularly one that is the size of our government, are easily corruptable and often wasteful. I'm distrustful of the motives and machinations of the government in general.

However, over time, especially in the last fifty years, I think the private sector in this country has proven incapable of getting the necessities of a safe life to its citizens, such as health care, education, and civil rights reform. So I think government has to take a more proactive role than they did seventy years ago. For example, I don't see us committing to rapid move to energy independence on the strength of private enterprise alone. Same with health care, same with education becoming affordable.

I'd say as far as social issues go, I'm liberal, although I'm willing to consider aggressive diplomacy and possibly even military intervention in regards to humanitarian crises/genocides.

LikeAnOcean

I lean more towards the left, with a mess of Libertarian and a touch of Green mixed in.

TDMize15

I like this thread.

I'm definitely in the middle. I consider myself a moderate Independent. I vote for the person, not the party.

I think blind following of one party or the other is the biggest problem with politics in our country.

gabers

I lean left, but would never want to consider myself a Democrat. That's too constrictive. If the McCain of 2000 ran against Hillary I would seriously consider voting for him. I'd wait for the debates to decide. And if there were a strong enough 3rd party candidate, I would go that way. So I usually vote Dem, simply because I mostly agree with their platform. The execution isn't always there, but really when is it?

DeLukin

Don't Know Myself wrote:

I think blind following of one party or the other is the biggest problem with politics in our country.

You said it. I was watching a documentary on Larry Flynt last night (I just watched it for the articles, honest), but he had a great quote that I'm not sure is his but it struck home with me: "Apathy is the enemy of Democracy." How many bad politicians have been elected in this country just because people are too lazy to find out who they are voting for and just go right down the party line? It's crazy. I'll never understand how people can take the responsibility of electing our country's leadership so lightly, if they bother at all...

drew0

In terms of philosophy I am the same, but not in terms of party. I have absolutely no respect for the Republican Party.

LikeAnOpeningBandForTheSun

at this point i dont see any way you can be a fiscal or small government conservative and a republican. they've raised spending and given more power to the federal government to points democrats could only dream of.

a 'tax and spend democrat' is still better than a 'dont tax but spend anyway republican'.

digster

MrSmith wrote:

at this point i dont see any way you can be a fiscal or small government conservative and a republican. they've raised spending and given more power to the federal government to points democrats could only dream of.

a 'tax and spend democrat' is still better than a 'dont tax but spend anyway republican'.

Indeed...that's why I don't think you could call the Republican Party of today a proper conservative party, certainly not in fiscal matters. It's a rather large shift from where they were at even 40 years ago, and in my opinion, the big shift happened with Reagan. They moved away from fiscal responsibility and personal liberty and towards wedge social issues. I'd say (for the most part) being a Republican today fairly or unfairly means social conservatism, and this is what has made the Republican party of today so odious in my opinion. I think in many ways McCain was a great example of the best kind of Republican lawmaker but he has drastically shifted in the last eight years because after 2000 he realized he would never win over the base with his stances on most issues.