So what'll it be? And try to be civilized in your answers. Bush bashing and Hillary bashing is an automatic disqualification for the ten points. If the points don't matter to you-then by all means- bash away!
2006-10-20 03:05:25 · 30 answers · asked by Coo coo achoo 6 in Politics & Government ➔ Politics
I would suggest you not even vote for the person, but for the philosophy and ideology which hopefully anchors the candidate.
I am a conservative registered Republican who votes and financially supports as my convictions and beliefs lead me. I have voted for an occasional democrat, I've eschewed more than a few republicans. Weigh yours as well.
On many issues the latest push is for compromise.... is such a thing viable. There may be many areas where compromise is impossible and even dangerous, vis-a-vis the war and terrorism. For example, where would you draw the line.
Sift through issues not only with your heart, but your head.
How much government control do you feel is necessary. Liberals for the most part want much. Conservatives are much more wary. How much taxes do you like paying? In your opinion does capitalism create wealth. Which do you see more dangerous excesses of capitalism or excesses and restrictions of government. Which sector is more efficient, the private or public?
Where has incentive and inventiveness come from more often.
Is media biased helping one philosophy more than the other.
Who is arguing from rhetoric and who from facts. You even have to check HOW you gather and accumulate data. Do you give more credence to television or radio or newspapers or the internet? Look not at "headlines" only, but do your sources hide information on page 4 that is as important as what is on page one. Why does your television place one opinion at the top of the show and an opposing one for 5 seconds just before going to sports (if it allows one at all!)?
Make your choice then.... I've made mine.
2006-10-20 03:28:29 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
Why choose right now?
You only need to declare a party affiliation during primary elections, not general elections. The upcoming November election is a General Election, not a Primary Election. Primary elections are when political candidates are chosen by the individual parties to run in the general elections against the opposing parties candidate. When you vote in a primary election you are asked which ticket (Democrat or Republican) you want to vote on. By answering either Democrat or Republican you are declaring your party affiliation. It will be two years before you vote in another primary election. That gives you two years to decide. Maybe by then there will be a formidable third party immerging that you can closely associate with. .
As it stands right now, you are the proverbial golden egg that the goose laid!! Both Political Parties want and need you. Use that to your advantage.
Pay attention to the issues. Look beyond the words and look to the actions of the candidates. Check out their voting records. Check out their campaign finances. See what interest groups they are affiliated with.
All of this information can be attained by going to the Project Vote Smart website.
http://www.vote-smart.org/index.htm
Good Luck...
Actually RepublicanMom, I was wrong but not about what you think I was wrong about. I named only two parties that could be choosen to align yourself with, Democrat and Republican. There are numerous parties that a person can choose to be affiliated with during a Primary Election. Others include, Green Party, Communist Party, Libertarian Party, Constitution Party, Reform Party and even the Natural Law Party.
As for what I said other than that, I am not wrong. The elections you are talking about which take place in "off years" are "special" elections where issues are voted on, not people. Unless of course there is a recall election. That is an all together different situation.
I stand by what I told Stormy Knight. Until such a time that they feel it necessary to vote in a Primary Election where a candidate is being chose to run in a General Election then there is no reason AT THIS TIME to choose a party affiliation. Period.
2006-10-20 03:18:57 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
The United States of America is all about being independent. Many people pride themselves on calling themselves an Independent, but in reality their political persuations will fall or lean to one side or another. First and foremost you need to be grounded in what you believe in and know yourself. There are lots of quizzes, tools and other things out there to see where you truly fall on the political spectrum. Once you determine that, you know which Party more closely represents what you believe in.
I am a Republican because 90% of the time, the values, politics, economic and social factors are a clear match for my core beliefs. Does that mean the I vote straight party ticket - no. And the vast majority of people that call themselves Democrat or Republican don't either. There are blind lemmings in both parties however and that's where most of the hatred comes from (at least on this site).
Here are some internet definitions (not from the vast right-wing conspiracy web sites either):
Republican - having the supreme power lying in the body of citizens entitled to vote for officers and representatives responsible to them or characteristic of such government
Democratic - characterized by or advocating or based upon the principles of democracy or social equality
Republican: member or supporter of one of the two major US political parties, the Republican Party; a conservative. Supports the U.S. constitution, individual responsibility, capitalism, the right to life and the war on terrorism.
Democrat: A member or supporter of the Democratic Party in the United States. In modern terms a Progressive or Socialist.
BTW: proud 2b american is dead wrong on elections. There is a primary/caucus and general election in your jurisdiction EVERY SINGLE YEAR. There are townships, cities, school boards, state, county, park districts, fire districts elections EVERY YEAR. Vote as often as you can, not just when the media pays attention every two or four years!
2006-10-20 03:28:37 · answer #3 · answered by Republican Mom 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
It's such a tough one. Me personally, I believe more in the Republican vision and mission than the Democratic one. However, the Republican party today does the OPPOSITE of their vision and mission (equality for all, fiscal responsibility, smaller government, etc.). Therefore, I switched from being a Republican to a Democrat because I believe that the Democrats are trying to help the little guy and not just the rich. I believe that they understand that security comes not just from keeping terrorists in check, but also in making sure that the environment is clean (as poor environment creates as much if not more danger than terrorists), they want to make taxes fair, and not just advantageous to the super rich (someone taxed at 33% with a $30,000 per year income is going to hurt a LOT more than someone taxed at 33% with a $10,000,000 a year income, when we could tax the lower income less and the higher income more. EVERY major society in history has done that, and when they've tried to flat tax everyone, he gap between the rich and poor widens), and they want to make sure that those who need help (we ALL hate welfare people who take advantage of the system) for a temporary amount of time are given the help that they need.
Finally, I used to be a teacher, and the No Child Left Behind Act made me leave the profession. I don't think the Republican party has ANY idea as to how to run education in this country.
That's my opinion. Others may think differently, but just something to consider. Thanks for listening.
2006-10-20 03:14:53 · answer #4 · answered by TrainerMan 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
The problem with being an independent is that you can only vote in Federal primaries and then you have to ask for a specific party ballot.Registering as a Republican or democrat does not mean that you have to vote a straight party ticket. You can be an independent thinker and be registered as a Republican or a democrat. I believe that in most states an independent can not vote in the Primary. This, particularly at the local and state levels, means that you have no say in who is going to run for office. The dems make their decisions in back rooms. That is why you will see the democratic party at the local level supporting one person in the primary. Anyone else is on their own. The Republicans are willing to wash their dirty linen in public - no officer in any Republican organization is allowed to promote any primary candidate in a contested race - that is where more than one Republican is running. Even in a General officially non-partisan race - if there are more than one Republican who made it thru the primary they may not help.
You should look at both parties. Neither is going to support everything you believe or disbelieve. Go with the one that for the majority of your concerns is aligned with your beliefs. Whether or not you are Republican or democrat you must research the issues that the candidates are taking a stand on. You must look at the voting record of the incumbent. No organization that is 100 or 400+ strong is going to have totally honest and upright members. The current trend to bash Republicans because one or two have done unethical things is idiotic. We don't condemn all Priests or Nuns because one or two are rotten apples. The dems have had just as many bad apples - I might remind you of Ted Kennedy and Chappaquiddick. How about the current issues of Harry Reid and his financial land deals? How about the Gay congressman who just died - when he came out of the closet and admitted to being gay and having an affair with a page - the dems stood up and applauded him. How about Bill Clinton? I will say that the dems are for redistributing your and my money. For the most part they are millionaires who want to give our money to others. I work hard for my money - I want to keep it.
The dems are offering no solutions. They just hate. Life is too short to spend it being hateful. If you love this country choose the party that wants to move forward and help everyone - not just their own. We need government reform, less taxes and less government - that's what the Republican party stands for.
Finally, investigate the Fair Tax. Go to Fairtax.org and see how they are proposing that you keep more of your mone.
2006-10-20 03:31:45 · answer #5 · answered by Faith White 2 · 1⤊ 2⤋
Heres what you can expect from both parties platforms.
Republicans
Huge Tax cuts to the Higher to middle class, they believe the people who pay taxes should be getting some money back, the low class pretty much gets nothing as they contribute little to none.
No gay marriage because the Republicans are very religous people and belive it's a sin.
They will be aggressive to other nations who are posing threats to the country and the world. IE North Korea, Iraq.
Democrats- Huge tax cuts to the lower class, welfare collectors as they feel bad for the poor even though they don't help with the taxes that much, basically screwing the good hard working people.
They use gay marriage as a platform to get the gay vote as they believe it will help them win.
They believe the US should go through the UN before deciding whether to help ourselves from other hostile nations.
2006-10-21 10:49:52 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Stay independent. Both parties have lost their true convictions and is good that you vote for the person that represents your values not only party. You don't follow the crowd. However, if you want to republican or democrat it depends if you are conservative or not. If you are pro-life, anti gay rights, and support war in iraq then vote republican but if you're not oryour're not content with the administration's policies vote democrat.
2006-10-21 10:59:28 · answer #7 · answered by cynical 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The whole system is broken, Republicans want smaller government so they can have more money in their pockets, Democrats are in for more government funding so more average citizens and illegals become more addicted to their money and will always need to suck of the government (drones or zombies), Independants just have to eney meany miny moe...(I truly dont know how to spell that but you know what I mean), Vote anything the E Voting machines are already programmed to cause either party to argue the outcome....Just have a giant Wrestling Ring for a Senate rumble best politician is the last one standing.....
2006-10-20 03:10:57 · answer #8 · answered by lost&confused 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
If you are truly satisfied with the current administration's performance (remember that the Republicans control the Oval Office, the House, the Senate, and the supreme court), if you are happy with the economy, foreign policy, the Iraqi War, health care, Social Security, preservation of the Constitution--the overall integrity of our lawmakers, then vote Republican. If not, vote Democrat.
Another thing to consider: democracy works best when there is a balance of power. Currently, the Republicans control everything. Therefore, a prudent voter might want to consider voting accordingly to maintain balance. I'm not suggesting that you blindly vote Democrat, but as voters, we are often faced with "lesser of two evils" decisions.
2006-10-20 03:21:58 · answer #9 · answered by Hemingway 4 · 2⤊ 2⤋
Stay independent! Only a moron that can't decide for themselves would vote a straight party ticket. There is no way that either side can justify the things their own party has done while bashing the opposing party. They have both sold our country down the river.
2006-10-20 03:09:12 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 5⤊ 2⤋