I'm so torn - XDTalk Forums - Your HS2000/SA-XD Information Source!

StanMac · 03-08-2007, 10:34 PM

I can't decide if i would classify myself as Liberal or Conservative... I mean I know I'm a pretty middle of the road moderate, I just there was a party for me. One that didn't want to take my new AR from me, and that wanted to protect the country, yet also one that felt that it was the governments roll to take care of its people that needed help the most i.e. the poor (more welfare programs, just implemented with the right standards and fail safes to keep them from being abused) and the sick (universal health care) It sucks having such a polarized policical scene where I have to pick and choose the things i care most about while leaving things i care a lot about to never get the chance to be acted upon.

rockerz71 · 03-08-2007, 11:51 PM

I'm sort of in the same situation -- I'm not really a Republican but not exactly a Libertarian either.

slugger6 · 03-09-2007, 04:55 AM

I would advise you not to get hung up with labels. Research the issues and do your best to vote for those who best represent your position on them. I know its not easy, but at least you will have the satisfaction of knowing that you have exercised your rights in an intelligent and informed manner. I'm impressed that you care enough to be concerned. I wish more people were like you.

FrankRizzoXD40 · 03-09-2007, 05:44 AM

This is an interesting thread. I also find myself torn between certain ideologies....

For example, I am NOT religious at all. I also believe in evolution. Those are two things that are not very common views for a mainstream Republican to have.

With all of the rinos stomping around out there lately, I'm starting to wonder if I should even remain registered as a republican.

I'm not quite a libertarian either. I tend to view myself as an "independent conservative". I am sure that term has been used before, but I coined it for myself. I don't march lock-step with Bush and the republican party. While I support Bush (voted for him both times), I disagree with him on SEVERAL issues.

Face it, nobody will ever find a candidate or party who they agree 100% with. Hell, I really admire Reagan but I even disagreed with a couple of his ideas. You've just got to pick the issues that are most important to you and vote based on those.

Thanks for starting this thread, StanMac. You took a big risk posting something like that. I am sure someone will come along and label you a "fence straddler", or something to that effect. I think that it was good how you approached the subject in a rational, well-thought out manner.

It's not really THAT important to make sure that you tie yourself to a certain party. It is MORE important that you know where you stand on the issues and vote for the candidate based on the issues. Party affiliation really doesn't mean all that much.

Frank

XDinNC · 03-09-2007, 06:09 AM

Stan, you fence straddler

j/k

I also voted for Bush twice, but I have real problems over some of his views - illegal immigration is the biggest for me.

- I am pro-life and anti gay marriage.
- I like low taxes (preferably flat tax) and I think charity should be returned to the local community.
- I am pro-defense since being reactionary is never a good stance.
- I am for legal immigration.
- I think kids should be able to read their Bibles and pray in school.
- I don't think burning the flag should be illegal.

There are many more points, but you get the idea. I consider all views of a candidate on a weighted scale and will vote for someone who most closely matches my beliefs, regardless of party. I don't consider myself Republican, although in the past their positions have coincided with mine.

slugger6 · 03-09-2007, 06:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FrankRizzoXD40

Party affiliation really doesn't mean all that much.

Not anymore it doesn't.

FrankRizzoXD40 · 03-09-2007, 06:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by slugger6

Not anymore it doesn't.

Do you mean that it used to?

Just wondering what you meant.

Frank

rockerz71 · 03-09-2007, 06:52 AM

- I don't like gay marriage but its fine with me if you give them the same tax advantages as married people. Adding an amendment to our constitution to define marriage seems ridiculous to me.

- I am against abortion.

- The government spends way too much. Stop all entitlement programs, and anything else that is too far from the basics: defending our country and protecting the rights to life, liberty, and (pursuit of) property.

- Any tax system that forces me to pay more than anyone else is crap -- including the progressive income tax and any flat percentage-based system. People who are more successful than average don't owe anything to anyone because of it. The government should keep its hands away from my property (especially my money and guns)

- I am for legal immigration. Illegals should be treated as what they are, criminals. I don't know if they can right now or not, but they sure as hell shouldnt be able to get any of my tax money to feed the kids they can't afford.

- The government should not establish an official religion. Praying/ Bible reading/ Christmas trees/ whatever should be allowed wherever people want to put them.

- I really dont believe that a strong federal government is the right way to manage a country this size and with the number and different types of people we have here...government power should be kept as local as possible. If people in minnesota think universal healthcare is a good idea that's fine with me -- as long as I don't have to pay for it.

So I'm mostly libertarian, my main problems with that party are its views on war and abortion.

RuffRidr · 03-09-2007, 07:05 AM

This is a great topic, thanks for posting!

I think most everyone goes through dilemnas like this when voting. I'm actually more scared of the people that don't!

Here's basically what I try to do. I write down all of the issues that I feel are important to me. Then I rank these from most important to least important. Then I assign a weight to each of the issues, with the most important issues having the most weight. Finally, I look carefully at each candidates past voting records and see if they support my issues or not. If they do, then I add that weight to their score. If not they don't. Sometimes I'll give partials. Highest score gets my vote.

Anyway, this is what works for me. It's interesting because the result is not always what is expected. Also, you might have to be willing to vote for a non mainstream candidate.

--RuffRidr

rockerz71 · 03-09-2007, 07:20 AM

I usually just do what I can to keep democrats out of power. I like to vote for libertarians whenever there is a republican in the same district who is likely to win, but republicans definitely get my vote if theres any chance of a democrat win. Parties are very significant, and while voting for whoever shares your priorities the most is usually the way to go its not smart to ignore the party that could end up in power because of your vote. Plus after they get into office theres a good chance they could suddenly stop caring so much about the issues that made you vote for them.

03-08-2007, 10:34 PM	#1
StanMac XDTalk 100 Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Minnesota Posts: 150	I'm so torn I can't decide if i would classify myself as Liberal or Conservative... I mean I know I'm a pretty middle of the road moderate, I just there was a party for me. One that didn't want to take my new AR from me, and that wanted to protect the country, yet also one that felt that it was the governments roll to take care of its people that needed help the most i.e. the poor (more welfare programs, just implemented with the right standards and fail safes to keep them from being abused) and the sick (universal health care) It sucks having such a polarized policical scene where I have to pick and choose the things i care most about while leaving things i care a lot about to never get the chance to be acted upon. __________________ A real patriot is the fellow who gets a parking ticket and rejoices that the system works. ~Bill Vaughan XD9 High Standard HSA-15 Remington 870 more....

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03-08-2007, 11:51 PM	#2
rockerz71 XDTalk 2K Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Norcross, GA Posts: 2,861	I'm sort of in the same situation -- I'm not really a Republican but not exactly a Libertarian either.

03-09-2007, 04:55 AM	#3
slugger6 XDTalk 10K Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Ohio Posts: 19,361	I would advise you not to get hung up with labels. Research the issues and do your best to vote for those who best represent your position on them. I know its not easy, but at least you will have the satisfaction of knowing that you have exercised your rights in an intelligent and informed manner. I'm impressed that you care enough to be concerned. I wish more people were like you.

03-09-2007, 06:09 AM	#5
XDinNC XDTalk 1K Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 1,120	Stan, you fence straddler j/k I also voted for Bush twice, but I have real problems over some of his views - illegal immigration is the biggest for me. - I am pro-life and anti gay marriage. - I like low taxes (preferably flat tax) and I think charity should be returned to the local community. - I am pro-defense since being reactionary is never a good stance. - I am for legal immigration. - I think kids should be able to read their Bibles and pray in school. - I don't think burning the flag should be illegal. There are many more points, but you get the idea. I consider all views of a candidate on a weighted scale and will vote for someone who most closely matches my beliefs, regardless of party. I don't consider myself Republican, although in the past their positions have coincided with mine.

03-09-2007, 06:52 AM	#8
rockerz71 XDTalk 2K Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Norcross, GA Posts: 2,861	- I don't like gay marriage but its fine with me if you give them the same tax advantages as married people. Adding an amendment to our constitution to define marriage seems ridiculous to me. - I am against abortion. - The government spends way too much. Stop all entitlement programs, and anything else that is too far from the basics: defending our country and protecting the rights to life, liberty, and (pursuit of) property. - Any tax system that forces me to pay more than anyone else is crap -- including the progressive income tax and any flat percentage-based system. People who are more successful than average don't owe anything to anyone because of it. The government should keep its hands away from my property (especially my money and guns) - I am for legal immigration. Illegals should be treated as what they are, criminals. I don't know if they can right now or not, but they sure as hell shouldnt be able to get any of my tax money to feed the kids they can't afford. - The government should not establish an official religion. Praying/ Bible reading/ Christmas trees/ whatever should be allowed wherever people want to put them. - I really dont believe that a strong federal government is the right way to manage a country this size and with the number and different types of people we have here...government power should be kept as local as possible. If people in minnesota think universal healthcare is a good idea that's fine with me -- as long as I don't have to pay for it. So I'm mostly libertarian, my main problems with that party are its views on war and abortion.

03-09-2007, 07:05 AM	#9
RuffRidr XDTalk Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 97	This is a great topic, thanks for posting! I think most everyone goes through dilemnas like this when voting. I'm actually more scared of the people that don't! Here's basically what I try to do. I write down all of the issues that I feel are important to me. Then I rank these from most important to least important. Then I assign a weight to each of the issues, with the most important issues having the most weight. Finally, I look carefully at each candidates past voting records and see if they support my issues or not. If they do, then I add that weight to their score. If not they don't. Sometimes I'll give partials. Highest score gets my vote. Anyway, this is what works for me. It's interesting because the result is not always what is expected. Also, you might have to be willing to vote for a non mainstream candidate. --RuffRidr

03-09-2007, 07:20 AM	#10
rockerz71 XDTalk 2K Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Norcross, GA Posts: 2,861	I usually just do what I can to keep democrats out of power. I like to vote for libertarians whenever there is a republican in the same district who is likely to win, but republicans definitely get my vote if theres any chance of a democrat win. Parties are very significant, and while voting for whoever shares your priorities the most is usually the way to go its not smart to ignore the party that could end up in power because of your vote. Plus after they get into office theres a good chance they could suddenly stop caring so much about the issues that made you vote for them.