I'm am so confused which way to go - Republican or Democrat, liberal or conservative. Help!?

Question

Right/Left – Liberal/Conservative – Republican/Democrat – Weenie/Redneck – Prolife/Prochoice – AntiClinton/AntiBush – Iraq War Sucks/We must win the Global War on Terror (“GWT”) – Welfare Moms love kickbacks/Tax-Avoiding Capitalists loving tax breaks – Inside 9-11 Job/Extremist Muslims DidIt – Sean Hannity-loving/Allan Combs-loving / BushStoletheElection /BushWontheElection – Hillary’s bowing to the ChinComs/Mitt is bowing to the LDS Church - WMDs existed in Iraq/Chaney’s a neocon megalomaniac - Republican National Committee is evil/Democrat Leadership Counsel is co-opting everything - Craig was looking on the floor for toilet paper/Kennedy was driving across a bridge too narrow – the soldiers are patriots/the soldiers are dupes – Abortion is killing babies/abortion is a constitutional right to privacy – Bush is a simpleton/Clinton is an adulterer

“Family Values” are about making sure parents who work very hard (no matter what their income) have the resources to give their children a better life/”Family Values” are about instilling Judeo-Christian values so that no one ends up being damaged by bad behavior – free trade is good /free trade is bad – Illegals ought to have rights/illegals ought to be deported or shot – James Carville looks like a lizard/Karl Rove looks like a homosexual – Rush is an unfair target for the “DBM”/Rush is addicted to hydrocodone – Democrats are *******/Republicans are fascists – Republicans hate poor people/Democrats hate rich people – 9-11 was all Clinton’s fault/9-11 was all Bush’s fault – The Republicans are religious fanatics/the Democrats are god-hating atheists – Barney Frank is a queer/Larry Craig is a queer – the housing bubble is Bush II’s fault/the housing bubble is WJ Clinton’s fault/the housing bubble is Bush I’s fault/the housing bubble is HR Clinton’s fault

Answer 1

Here's where the rubber meets the road:

If you like your money and want to keep more of it, go Republican.

If you really don't like your money and you enjoy sending it to Washington in taxes so they can make choices for you, go Democrat.

Answer 2

It's easy to be confused in today's mixed-up world, but don't feel as though you must adopt some ready-made political label. Don't let other people force you into their mold. Examine the arguments and then go with the position that best fits your personality and core beliefs.

Also, don't get the idea that Right/Left are your only options. Take some time to consider Libertarianism, which grants people the right to be themselves and pursue their own goals, independent of what others want.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libertarianism

Nor are Republican/Democrat your only choices. There are other parties out there where people who do not like being limited to the "big two" are trying to find alternative solutions. A few friends of mine and I recently started such a group:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/American_Freedom_Party/

This group is libertarianish, but none of us are satisfied with the Libertarian Party itself (for one thing, the LP doesn't seem serious about winning elections), so we're working on ways of creating a new party that would overcome the problems of previous third party efforts.

Bottom line: To thine ownself be true.

Answer 3

You forgot Libertarian. Which is actually good since Libertarians seem to be under the radar but at the same time little better. They don't have as much restrictions sexuality or religious wise. True they are more conservative but the good thing is you won't be identifying yourself with just one party. Anymore it is too difficult to actually say one party because both parties: democrat and republicans, they are just all the same really. Corrupt and just want more money. Only difference is one is too strict and the other is do what feels right. And don't believe anything about equality. Because do you think the rich and ALL the rich politicians are going to give up their mansions to be equal to the public?

Answer 4

Valley R has it right exactly.

Democrats want to take your money and decide what to do with it.
Republicans decide what to do with their own money.


And democrats get away with way more than republicans. Hear anything bad about democrats these days? I don't think so. How much crap do you hear about Republicans? Tons. The media exaggerates so much nonsense about Republicans, it's ridiculous. If a Republican does one tiny wrong thing everyone freaks out. But if a Democrat does the same thing, everyone ignores it. It is all crap!

I also think it's extremely stupid to say "Bring our troops home." or "War is not the answer". No one should say that because, what then, is the answer! Just give psycho Sadam Hussein and all those other terrorists "bread not bombs" so we can talk them out of it? I don't think so.

Vote Republican!

Answer 5

that could make you a rational individual. What people could desire to appreciate is that Republicans and Democrats at the instant are not the opposites to a minimum of one yet another. the two are liberal and conservative in diverse aspects. actually, there have been a brilliant spectrum of social and economic alterations even interior of a occasion. Political events are basically labels that have been diluted. flow with what you detect logical.

Answer 6

Now that you seem to have filtered out all the b.s. in politics, the rest is simple.

Don't worry about picking sides. Most people in America are moderates or have attributes of a Conservative and attributes of a Liberal. It is not as black and white as some would want you to believe.

For example, I am a Christian. I own guns. I am against abortion and I have never been on welfare in my life. Most would think that would make me a Conservative, yet many on here would classify me as a Liberal.

Good luck in your search.

Answer 7

Well, you've captured some of the 'sound bite' rhetoric from both sides, so maybe this will help sort it out:
-- Make a list of issues that are important to you and prioritize it. Most likely, you won't find a single candidate that you agree with on all issues, so it will help you compare candidates against your most important issues.
-- 10 question quiz; good info on political positions:
http://www.theadvocates.org/quiz.html
-- More in-depth quiz; world view of political positions, including US Presidential candidates:
http://www.politicalcompass.org/
-- each candidate has a website that lists their position on issues. Google will pull them up
-- If you want to dig deeper, candidates positions on issues, voting records and who's behind their campaign money
http://www.vote-smart.org/index.htm
http://www.opensecrets.org/index.asp

It's YOUR vote!

Answer 8

Keep your wits about you. Any political party is made up of people.
Power corrupts and when you put a POLITICIAN into a position of POWER, you KNOW he wants MORE POWER and will therefore be corrupt. Any existing political or economic philosophy, if taken to extremes, will cause injustice.
It astounded the WORLD when our Founding Fathers gave the power to the PEOPLE of America and rejected making themselves KINGS.
They were true servants of the people and gave us a Constitution that guarantees freedom and power to the citizens. (If we don't ruin it.)
THEN the power hungry immediately went to work using LAWYERS and specious arguments to distort the significance of their accomplishment.
Today, set high moral and ethical standards for yourself.
Support candidates that demonstrate a desire to be public servants. (Vote in the primary elections.)
NEVER vote for anyone who will take what little power you have from you. Your power is freedom of speech (in all its forms), the right to bear arms, ownership and control over your property and your money.
Anyone advocating increasing taxes, gun control, restrictions on property or speech should NEVER receive a vote. They want to take away YOUR power and put it under THEIR control!
They are tyrants.

Answer 9

Um, well I suppose your confusion is one of the biggest problems affecting this country right now. The media and extremely vocal idiots on the Internet will lead you to believe that every issue is a "this or that," "you're either with us, or against us," or that everything is black and white. Shades of gray don't exist. This is a very dangerous way of thinking. The issues aren't as simple as just "this is liberal, and this is conservative."

Answer 10

you dont have to settle on just one.
but heres a word of advice- dont fall into the trap of liberal propoganda (through the media esp. hollywood) like far too many americans have today. Get the facts.

I reccomend listening to/reading Rush Limbaugh.
and if you REALLY want a kick, get a load of Bill O'Reilly and Lou Dobbs.