Why do you belong to your political party?

I’m fiscally conservative, and socially liberal. This makes me a card-carying Democrat.

I’m conservative. I am prochoice but only to a point. Once the baby begins to be aware of it’s surroundings (responds to it’s mothers voice, etc.) it can’t be considered a blob of cells, it’s a life. I support equal rights for everybody, not just minorities. I believe in helping the least fortunate of us to help themselves, but not to support them unless they are totally incapable, physically or mentally to do so themselves. I believe we have to live within our means and excessive debt will destroy the country and our way of life. I believe in limited government and government works best when it is local. I believe in capitalism and the right of every individual to control their own destiny. And I believe that Republicans most closely align with my beliefs.

I support equal rights for all, a minimum standard of living for all (though luxuries must be earned), am pro-choice, support religious freedom (and I don’t mean “free to worship Jesus however you choose” type freedom), and support many of the ideals of the traditional Republican party.

That is why I am an Independent. The current incarnation of the Republican party does not align with any of my beliefs, and the Democrats don’t fit other criteria, so I cannot fully support them either.

I don’t belong to a political party.

I am definitely staunchly left-leaning so I am ideologically drawn to the Australian Greens because of their social welfare and envionmental policies. However, my ‘lefty’ tendencies are tempered by my awareness of the need for rational fiscal policy so I would prefer to vote for the Australian Labor Party unless their social welfare platform includes policy that significantly bothers me (censoring the Internet, mandatory detention of asylum seekers).

In Australia, our major parties are now both quite centrist. There really isn’t much to choose between them. Also, smaller parties such as the Greens have no chance of gaining control of the House of Reps so in the past my vote has wavered between the Greens and the Australian Labor Party who are slightly left-of-centre.

I am not a member of any political party but I support the Green Party as I think environmental issues are vitally important, the SNP because of nationalist sentiment and Labour as they are left wing and on the side of the average man.

I’m a “small L” libertarian (I gave up on the party as a waste of time) because I believe in freedom in general and in freedom of choice on everything.

I don’t “belong” to a party in the sense of loyalty to a brand name. However, I tend to vote for Democrats and Greens because they most closely claim to espouse the positions I do. For example, I’d like to see us eschew buying incredibly expensive, unneeded weaponry and re-invest that back in our people, by making sure that even the poorest have a decent, healthy diet and education in order to have a shot at “equal opportunity.” I think it’s important to invest especially heavily when times are bad, and pay off that debt when times are good. While I think some shared values are necessary to cement us together as one society from diverse beginnings, I see those values as primarily fiscal (do you pay your taxes – or make some other contribution, even if you’re too poor to pay taxes? You’re in!) instead of cultural and religious.

However, unlike any major political party in the United States, the issue I see as most important and most pressing is that of climate change, and I think we should be doing a lot more to ameliorate, if not reverse, what we’re in for. If we don’t, it won’t matter if we’re gay or debt-ridden, not even a little bit. I am still looking for a party that really represents me.

I’m actually not part of a political party, but I agree with some ideologies on both parties. I’m pro-life (unless giving birth or carrying will kill the mother, of course). That’s the only extent pretty much to which I agree with the Republican party. On the other side, I advocate same sex marraige, passing of the ERA, general civil rights socially, etc.

I don’t belong to any political party, but I have adopted the dreaded “lesser of 2 evils” thing. While I am socially and fiscally way to the left of the Democrats, I have given up believing that Greens or any third-parties can make it in the U.S., so Democrats get my vote. Yep, it’s cynical and lazy. But I can’t do it any more.
So, while undeclared, I suppose I should just change it to Democrat. Hmm….

That’s hard. Because “what are you for” is different from “what party do you usually vote for”.

Things I am for: reproductive rights, and a society that helps to educate people about their various reproductive and sexual choices and provide services that help make those choices a viable option. Universal healthcare. Free education that continues though higher ed, and education that is formulated more like Finland’s than like No Child Left Behind. Regulations on the economy that keep both businesses and people honest and forthcoming. Queer rights (of which gay marriage is really low down on the list for me). Affirmative action. Gender, racial, and sexual equality. Freedom from violence. The end of the Prison Industrial Complex, of rape culture, and of child abuse (yes, I’m including spanking). Taxing the shit out of the extremely rich. Various social programs and safety nets.

But do I see Democrats as doing that? Eh, not really. Some do, but it’s often very compromised; many believe in healthcare reform, but universal healthcare is too far. Civil unions might be ok, but marriage isn’t, and they won’t spend time strengthening civil unions (and obviously, GLAAD has informed us there are no LGBT issues other than marriage). Abortion should be legal, but let’s be honest, ladies – you do need that counseling and that mandatory waiting period, minors should have to get their parent’s consent, spending taxpayer dollars to pay for one is obviously wrong, and for god’s sake, once the pregnancy is past x weeks, the fetus deserves more rights than you do. We should have sex ed that teaches kids how to use condoms, but not sex ed that teaches kids how to use dental dams, or how same-sex couples have sex (that doesn’t involves saying “by raping kids”, obviously), or a realistic and accessible talk on what domestic abuse looks like. Public school should exist, but we’re not going to look into seriously reforming it, or making sure that kids who live in an inner-city ghetto receive the same level of education as kids who live in a rich white-flight suburb. We really do need to bomb Middle Eastern countries, because each Dem candidate will appear too liberal/feminine/pansy-assed to actually win a campaign. So, despite your rather explicit instructions about not defining it in terms of what we are against, I cannot say that I vote for Democrats because they do things I like, I vote for them because the other option is Republican or splitting the liberal ticket and giving Republicans a de facto win.

Because I had to declare a party in order to vote. It is by default. Otherwise, I would prefer to be independent.

I changed from Green to Dem to vote for Obama. I have returned to the Green Party because they adequately reflect my true values and beliefs. I’m never going back to being a Dem and I will not vote for Obama.

I would like to think of myself as an independent, however I have never voted for a Republican. When I was in college in the sixties, I had a conversation with the president of the local SDS organization. I said that I was a liberal, but she said I was a conservative. I am still a conservative liberal, although today that might be regarded as being left wing.

I am pro-choice, I am for equal opportunity, I support the right of gays to get married, I think that trans-gendered people need to be protected as much as any one else, I am for universal health care (being treated by a doctor should not be determined upon a person’s wealth or lack there-of) & I (like @Bill1939 ) have never voted for a Republican. My political views are decidedly Liberal & left-leaning….. so I guess I could be classed as a Democrat.

I think that I’m likely a slightly left leaning liberal, and I generally have been registered as an independent throughout my voting years. On my own political scale liberalism is in the center of the graph, not on the left side!

I support gay marriage, abortion rights (but not late term abortions), legalizing (or at least decriminalizing) marijuana, reasonable economic regulations, reasonable enviromental regulations, protecting endangered animal species, the right to carry a concealed weapon, the right to own firearms (again with reasonable restrictions) and I support most social help programs (with reasonable regulations that is). I oppose the military adventurism that we have been veering towards for the past 50 years now, I would oppose a military draft and I oppose affirmative action laws.

I don’t know exactly where I fit in. I’ve never declared myself to be anything except “pretty liberal”.

I’m pro-choice and pro-gun. I believe we need universal health care but am not a fan of Obamacare. I’m pro-death penalty and pro-gay marriage. I believe in equal rights for all and that nobody is special enough to deserve their own set of “helpful” rights. We should definitely help the poor (I’m one of them) but we shouldn’t force the rich to foot the bill. The environment needs to be protected but we should also focus on using more of our own natural resources to achieve energy independence. I would like to see marijuana decriminalized and a tighter reign imposed upon the pharmaceutical industry. I am also in favor of leaving the rest of the world to sort out it’s own problems while we focus on fixing all the broken shit right here in the U.S.

I don’t identify with a political party per se, but I vote Democrat. My line of thinking is that either a Republican or Democrat will win elections and have a major hand in controlling what happens in the country. I could be Independent or Green, but in order to (attempt to) make my vote count, I vote Democrat.

My beliefs? I’m for human rights. I’m for people doing as they please as long as it doesn’t harm anyone. I’m for helping those in need and not being selfish with millions and billions of dollars. Im not sure who needs that much money anyway. I’m for putting the good of the people before money/profits/economy. I’m pro-choice, even though I hate that some babies are killed and aware of it. I’m for cannabis legalization. Seriously, they might as well outlaw nutmeg and dandelion; they and many other herbs will also awaken your brain. I’m for protecting and respecting the earth. I’m for laws that make sense; non-violent criminals should not be put in cages with other violent criminals where they can be influenced. It creates a cycle that keeps mainly minority males in the prison system. Enough already. Above all else, I’m for goodness. I vote according to character because when it comes down to it, I want a good, genuine person in charge of protecting and serving the American people.

I’m having a rough day, so I’m going to be lazy right now and simply say: I agree with what @Jaxk said.

I am a registered Democrat, which is different from being a card carrying Democrat, although I have given them money. I don’t give much.

I support them because they are far closer to my views and have the best chance of getting elected. I’d register as a Green if they had any chance, but third parties will almost never have a chance in our system. All they can do is spoil things for people who are left of center, and throw the election to a radical conservative.

So I support the Democrats for a combination of them being the closest party to me (albeit far right of me) with a chance of getting elected. Also, in my town, we haven’t elected a Republican mayor in more than half a century. To vote in a Republican primary for local politics would be to throw away your vote. And in truth, local politics are what matter most.

This is a very interesting discussion – good question Auggie! How illuminating this topic is to point out why the 2-party system is problematic. How hard is it to vote Republican if you’re pro-choice? It’s too bad the issues are so polarized by party lines…

As for me, I’ve voted for both Dems and Republicans over the years..(more often Dem than Republican) but really don’t feel like I could say I belong to either party.

I’m strongly Pro-Choice and Pro-Same Sex Marriage..and actually can just say “ditto” to everything @Blondesjon said..except I think we need more gun control laws. (My husband, however, would cancel out my votes on anything related to that because he’s a card-carrying NRA member and hunts…)

I feel really strongly that we need a universal health care system (e.g. socialized health program) ...and probably most people would just call me “socialist-leaning”.

I think I’d be happiest living in New Zealand or Denmark (from a political standpoint) ...but for now however, since I’m born and in the US and married to a man who won’t move..I tend to vote DFL (Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party) most of the time.

I’ve never affiliated myself with anything, but I guess if I had to, I’d choose liberal, since it’s the closest to my own views, in general.

I am a registered Democrat. My position is similar to @wundayatta. My position is to the left of the party, but given the futility of voting for a third party candidate, I vote pretty solid Democrat. The only time I have ever voted Republican was when Bill Scranton ran for governor of PA against Bob Casey. I liked Scranton’s pro-choice stance.

@LostInParadise . . . You can’t blame a lot of solid Democratic voters for secretly helping give Reagan a 2nd term either. C’mon, Michael Dukakis?!?

@LostInParadise And I held my nose and voted for Casey. Politics can be so weird, sometimes.

In Massachusetts, If I want any meaningful voice in primaries for the state and local level offices, I have to be a registered Democrat, so I am. But I vote my conscience and the issues. Would that I might occasionally have the chance to vote for an independent, or some viable third party.

Like @ETpro, I vote according to my conscience and not strictly according to party, although amazingly enough it is more often Democratic than Republican. I feel that we need a third party of prominence. The two party system is ripe with corruption, and I think with a third party we could avoid much of the either/or choice we have now. I think that we need more than just two choices, and having more to chose from is a good thing. A big problem is that politicians like things the way they are now and as long as donations from large corporations are allowed we are stuck with this system.

Politically, I am to the left of progressive. Although I always evaluate each candidate on the ballot individually, I have always voted Democratic.

I’m a thearchist (thanks, Wikipedia!), except that’s not an option at the polls. I favor the conservative view on social matters. I tend to vote Republican on the belief that they’re sufficiently self-absorbed to leave most people alone. I don’t vote for Democrats because I fear that they’ll try to “help.”

@Nullo Are you spelling that correctly? Because when I google that, I don’t get wikipedia, I get autocorrect suggestions for The Anarchist’s Cookbook…

@Nullo and @Aethelflaed Me, too. Can you give us a link, @Nullo?

@Aethelflaed @augustlan Sorry, that should have been Wikitionary.
For your reading pleasure, I present Thearchy!

@Nullo Cool. So how is it different from theocracy? Same thing, different spelling, or…?

@Aethelflaed They’re pretty much the same, except that every time I use “theocracy” people think I mean a country governed by a priesthood, which I don’t. It is my hope that “thearchy’ is less ambiguous.
Plus, it brings “anarchy” to mind while meaning the exact opposite, which I find amusing.

@Nullo In a theocracy who would be trusted to interpret God’s law?

@Nullo In actual practice, theocracy does mean government by the priesthood. Merriam-Webster defines it as:
“a political system based on government of men by God : divine sovereignty : theocracy <in the Hindu thearchy there are two powerful and rival goddesses among manifold others”

So we could all just sit around waiting for a God or gods to occupy the branches of government and begin legislating; or we could go the way nearly all actual human attempts at thearchy have gone, and let the majority religion determine that it’s priestly set governs, and that all others must convert or die.

It’s okay, @Nullo. I read what you actually wrote. Didn’t agree with it, but I understood what you actually said.

@Yetanotheruser You see why I prefer direct divine rule? You wouldn’t have to worry about that.

@Nullo – no disrespect intended but I’m genuinely confused.

Would your system of direct divine government require some sort of active participation from a deity? Would there need to be a physical presence of some sort?

I’m not sure how to word it more respectfully, but religions are based on faith because there is nothing concrete proving them. If an omnipotent being wants to govern in a certain way, I don’t think they’re waiting on our permission. Right?

Hoping for discussion/explanation, not ridiculing in any way.