But wait, you gave up the Republican party because they no longer wanted a smaller government. So why join the Democrat? Unless, of course, your complaint about the Republicans no longer favouring a smaller government was only an excuse.
I was a republican up till Ronny Ray gun but he just scared me too much and became a Democrat. But sometimes I wish they would resorect (ms) the Bull Moose Party. But then again they would have to bring TR back to life.
I am not buying any of these "I was a Republican until they changed, so now I'm a Democrat" (I would not buy it contrary-wise either). Yes, for those of you who live at 50/210, that means I'm calling them liars. Unless you were a Republican an hundred years ago, there is nothing appealing in the Democrat platform that would cause you to change parties like that. Nothing. At best, you would have become a Libertarian. So there was some other reason you called yourself a Republican, perhaps the "cool" factor, or peer pressure, until you finally grew a pair and came out of the closet, as it were.
Well given that both of the major parties support a larger more powerful government I had to start looking at where they stand on other issues. 1. As a life-long Christian I have increasingly become alarmed about how the Republican party has declared itself the protector of all things Christian. The Ten commandments states that "Thou Shalt not kill", and I don't recall there being any exceptions to that rule. The Republic party seems content to beat the drums of war while avoiding peace at all cost. This does not align with the peaceful teachings of Christ, and they do not represent me on this subject. 2. I am a veteran of the US Navy and served in the Persian Gulf. I'll be the first to stand up to protect this Country, but I am tired of our boys dying over the lies told by President Bush that took us to war in Iraq. Our attack of a sovereign nation was illegal, and I cannot support a candidate for President that thinks otherwise. 3. The US is the richest Country on the face of the earth. It is within our power to insure that everyone has adequate healthcare coverage and that basic life-sustaining needs are meet. People die in this Country from starvation and lack of heat in the winter. People “with” health insurance die and leave their families with insurmountable healthcare debt. While this represents a major change in thinking from my days as a Republican; We can and we should help those that can't help themselves. I would say that’s my top 3 reasons why I left the Republican party. There are many issues that I still side with the Republicans on, but for the most part I just don’t see eye-to-eye with the party any longer. Thanks for listening to my 2 cents, Steve
I'm sorry. I'm just tired of people trying to scare others with words such as socialism and communism. We live in a world that has real scary issues that need immediate attention. This is not a time in history to resort to name calling. Really...I love our Country, and you love our Country. So we have a difference of opinion on how to fix it...so what? We really need to start looking past our differences and find some common ground. If anyone would like to engage in an intelligent conversation about the problems we face today please let me know.
I agree that we have to find a common ground on all sides, but I just don't see Obama as the leader of that common ground!
There are more than two parties. You do realize that, prior to Mr. Bush Sr., all of the modern day wars (including police actions, etc) were under Democrat Presidents, right? World War I - Woodrow Wilson World War II - Franklin Delano Roosevelt Korea - Harry S Truman Viet Nam - John F. Kennedy (Kennedy originally sent "advisors" Lyndon Johnson escalated it into a war) Lies? Iraq was in violation of their surrender agreement and the US was well within it's powers to return to war. Also, the US was not the only country to go to war in Iraq, there were forty some odd other countries that joined us. I'm not sure what this has to do with your "choice" to become a democrat. Poor reasons indeed.
Steve, there are a couple of different ways to handle this with the quotes to make it easier to see your comments vs. the comments you are quoting. Some people use a different color or different font (bold or italic) for their comments. What I do is copy the opening quote tag at the beginning of each section, and type a closing quote tag at the end. The opening quote tag looks like this: quote=sacosta;340338 inside square brackets []. The closing quote tag is just a slash and the word quote inside square brackets. Then I type my own comments in between. Either way, you might want to preview your post before submitting it until you get used to doing it. By the way, I don't think I have commented on any of your posts, but I have been reading them with appreciation. You express yourself clearly and cogently, and it's a pleasure to read what you have to say.
Thanks for the advice KDs Grandma. I went back and bolded all my responses. I've stayed out of the conversations for a long time, and just thought I'd try to bring some civility back into the discussion.
The problem with commenting insode a quote is that it can't be easily quoted, so bear with me. 1. Since neither party fits, did you ever think that voting for a party that does sends a message that you are displeased with the status quo? Part of the problem of today's politics is that people want to be part of the winning team. There will be people in this very state which will look at the polls and see Mr. Obama ahead and will vote for him so they can say the voted for the winner. Which is more important? Voting for the winner or voting your belief? 2. That does not address your comment that you chose to change to the Democrat party because they were not war mongers. The fact is they are, you just have to decide which war your for. But don't give me that "Thou shalt not kill" crap as a reason for voting Democrat. 3. There were five reasons we went into Iraq. WMDs were ionly one of the reasons, and the one the media focused on. 4. The Republicans believe (or believed) that the best government is the least government. Every government program carries with it a beauracracy whose sole purpose is to continue it's existence. Democrats tend to believe that more government control is always better, and they take your (and my) money to pay for it.
Cliff, I have some things I have to get done, so I'm probably not going to be able to give you a real response until tomorrow. Didn't want you to think I've cut and run. Now that I've gotten some advice on the correct way to quote it should be better next time. Later, Steve
Whatever, it's all good. For the record, I really don't care how you choose to vote, as long as you have a logical reason for it (and do vote). I just found it a bit odd that the reasons you claim to have abandoned the Republican party make no sense for you to then join the Democrat party.
First, thanks for the thoughtful debate. I've enjoyed it. I'm sending these messages by voting for Obama: 1. I do not support the war in Iraq 2. I do not support Bush's attack on our civil liberties 3. I do not support Bush's or McCain's bully tactics towards the International community 4. I do not support a denial of global warming caused by man 5. I do not support an economic plan that caters to irresponsible wealthy corporations, while the rest of us are losing our retirement savings. 6. That "Drill Baby Drill" is an unrealistic energy plan when the U.S. only has 3% of the World's oil reserves. 7. That access to basic healthcare is a "Right" not a privilege 8. ...And the list could go on and on Voting for the winner has no importance at all. I am voting for Obama because I believe he will make a positive impact on our government. The only examples you give of Democrats waging war are all over 40+ years old. In my humble opinion I believe the Democratic party has become the more peaceful of the two major parties in that 40 years. Even if you don't buy that, the fact of the matter is that Obama has clearly stated that he will remove us from this war in Iraq. He has also stated that he will use negotiation over force where possible. I believe that his desire to promote peaceful solutions is better aligned with the teachings of Christ. The Bush Whitehouse made the hard sell to the American people that WMDs were the primary reason to invade Iraq. They didn't have any WMDs and I believe that Bush knew that. The second primary reason for the invasion of Iraq was that they were supporting terrorism. It is arguable that al Qaeda had little or no presence in Iraq prior to our invasion. If anything our occupation has intensified terrorism in Iraq. I don't believe we would have invaded Iraq for the other 3 remaining items on the list, as evidenced by our lack of help for the people of Darfur. In the end Iraq did not pose an eminent threat to the security of our Country and we should not have invaded. I'm more than willing to give some of my money to help people in need. I don't want more government control; I want the government to help. We have increasingly become a Nation that wants to ignore our dirty little secrets. You don't have to drive too far into the NC coastal plains to see that there are people that still live in shacks, there are kids with no shoes, there are people that work 2 or 3 jobs but aren't supplied and can't afford health insurance. There are people that live in the streets of Raleigh, not because that are lazy, but because they have mental disabilities that are untreated and people would just prefer that they were invisible. The day when we want to just hoard all of our money to ourselves, at the cost of helping a fellow man that is down, is the day we cease to be American. I'm not trying to convince you to convert to a Democrat or vote for Obama. I'm just stating that I am, and my reasons make perfect sense to me. Thanks, Steve
sacosta, Will all that, you were never a Republican as you claimed in Post #20. You were and are a Democrat. Every single item you named referred to a Democrat position you agreed with or a Republican position you disagreed with. What I don't understand is why you lied and claimed that you were a Republican.
No lie my friend. I was a Republican for 25 years, and stood up with the most extreme conservative on their positions. I just feel like I have finally seen the light, and the error of my old ways.
And yet, as soon as they started looking like Democrats, you became a Democrat. Yep, that'll teach them.
