Conservative or Liberal?

Question

I am going to be able to vote for a presidential canidate for the first time this next election. I was wondering what I should register as. I like veiws from both sides, I just don't know what side to join. I would like some opinions.

Answer 1

Conservative or Liberal are not political parties. The parties are Democrats, Republicans and Independents.

Answer 2

Having been involved in the process for close to fourty years I can tell you a couple of things, think about them if you will, then decide for yourself.

It really sounds nice to say you will vote for the person, it makes you feel good and it appears you are a very open and sensible person. The truth of the matter is the person is going to vote more or less in lockstep with his party and the ONLY time this will change is when the party is going to dump him. Lieberman new he was not going to get the Dem Presidential nomination so he figured why not start now as an Independent.

If you vote for someone who you like but they are in the wrong party, the party that more closely aligns with your base beliefs, you will be voting against your base beliefs. If you will look at the link about votes, look at how the votes went on the first pass of a bill and you will note that the Democrats always voted almost unanimously together, if they were in the majority two things would have happened, the bill would have never made it through committee or they bill would have lost in the first vote, so you see DESPITE WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT THE PERSON, THEY WILL VOTE WITH THEIR PARTY. The republicans seem to be more divided in their votes, maybe they represent their constituents more than their party, who knows.

Now the big question is which party is best going to represent you. There are three links below that are tests to kind of tell you where your base beliefs fall. I would suggest that you vote for the person that fits those same beliefs and party.

The only time I ever vote against a party is if the candidate promises term limits in congress, it is my one and only burning desire, to term limit congress, and I will vote for anyone promising that, unfortunately they have failed to deliver.

Thanks for listening and hope this helps.

Answer 3

I would look at your elected officials and party representatives. Call your state parties and ask for their stance on specific issues that might interest you. Then choose a party. You are not required to vote for your parties candidate in the general election. The primary reason for registering as a Republican or Democrat is that you get to vote in the Primary and help select a candidate for your party. Of course, many times the Democrats make their choices behind closed doors - the Republicans don't do this and usually have the more spirited primaries. This is costly to the Republicans since the Democrats don't spend much money in the Primary - they've made their choice.
Also, in local elections your vote counts tremendously. You want to look at all elections - not just the Presidential. Your vote does count.

Answer 4

You should investigate your local political situation. I grew up in a virtually total Republican county, so whoever won the primary won the general election, so to have a choice at all, I would have had to register Republican. If a situation like this is true in your locality, then you have to choose to register with the dominant party so as to have some kind of choice.

But if that is not an important consideration, then you can register as "no party affiliation." You won't be able to vote in primaries, but you can vote in the general election. And of course, no matter what party you register with, you can always vote in the general election for anyone you want.

Answer 5

Both the Republican and Democratic parties are hopelessly liberal at this point. Both are big spenders. Both have inside-the-beltway, stay-in-power-at-all-costs mentality. Both cater heavily to lobbyists - just from different industries. Sure, the Republicans are more corrupt, but the Democrats wouldn't be that much better if they were in power.

If you are really interested in smaller government, individual liberty, a return to constitutional values, and an end to the war-mongering nanny state, only one party fits that bill: the Libertarian Party.

http://www.lp.org

In answer to your real question - what should you register as - I'd recommend registering as an independent. That will save you from endless direct mail and telemarketing from the Republican and Democratic parties around election time.

Answer 6

Go to the links and learn about the ISSUES, not about the pretty faces who are running for office.

Select the party that best represents YOUR view.
No doubt, you will find favorable positions in both parties.
Weigh out the views and make your choice.

Now, when you vote in the primary elections (when same party candidates run against each other) again, select the candidate that best represents YOUR views.

Personally, I don't swing to the far left or far right.
What this country needs is a third party that is both fiscally and socially responsible.
We need to balance the budget, secure our borders, help our poor, educate our children and work to have a better health care system...all the while staying OUT of our private lives.

If you know of a third party with that agenda, please let me know.

Answer 7

Welcome to the thinking world !!!
Now you need to question what you believe in and why .
Not an easy thing to do , but if you are to vote intelligently , you must .
A word of warning , some are going to tell you what to think and why to think it . they may even be rude . Ignore them.

I want you to do 1 thing , just 1 .

Read ,The Bill Of Rights .

Where it says " the right of the people shall not be infringed " or other words that limit the power of government , under line them .

Our forefathers argued for years over this document and it's wording . They'd just won freedom from an all powerfull government and had to pull a new country together out of chaos .

It's not a choice to be made without thought , carefull thought .

If you come to believe that government should be as small as possible and that people should be responsible for their actions and for their own lives , you are conservative .

if you come to think government should take care of you and provide your every need and tell you how to think , you are a liberal .

if you are somewhere in the middle , you are a republican .

Answer 8

You can register in whatever party you like, but you do not have to vote for that party's candidates. Trouble is, you don't register, you have no say in whomever the parties select to be their candidates. You may feel, for instance, that Dick is a better candidate than Melanie to run in the Democratic primary, but you won't get to express that opinion if you're not a registered Democrat because you won't be allowed to vote in the Democratic primary. For myself, I registered Independent so as not to be beholden to either major party. Seeing who the likely candidates are for the next general election, I may be changing that approach!

Answer 9

No one should vote purely on party lines.

Vote for the officials you think are most capable. Not just because of the letter after their name.

Research your candidates, I'm sure your state's website will have information. And if not, go to your city hall. I've gone there to get info on elections and they've always been helpful.

Answer 10

You can register as any one really, and still can vote for the others in a general election. Party Registration matters in primaries.