Why are you a Liberal / Democrat / Centrist ?

[tjwash]

Just curious. Personally, I am a registered Democrat. I am not of a particularly liberal stance, but I do support the broad goals of the Democratic Party and oppose the "morals-based" legislative agenda of the Republicans. I think the turning point came for me, after I got out of the military in the late seventies, and Reagan got elected shortly after. The combination of seeing more of the world than gets popularly advertised in our country, and listening to Reagan's insane lies and deranged, senile babblings on the news each night, caused me to develop a lifelong antipathy to the twisted Newspeak of the Republican Party. That and the fact that every conservative I have ever known, have been so selfish with their "it's MY money why should I pay ONE RED CENT to help the POOR"-orientation, that I changed my voter status in 1981, and never looked back.

[Angelus]

1. The reason why I'm a Democrat and a liberal is...

because of Paul Wellstone. After I have seen what he has done for people, I've decided I want to do the same.

He was a good man and I really miss him. :cry:

[tjwash]

3. Paul Wellstone, Rest In Peace...

We all miss you.

[sui generis]

from an ex-republican family

Well, my parents considered themselves fiscal conservatives, not social conservatives, but changed parties when they saw how profoundly stupid Bush appeared in his first debate with Gore. I always thought an IQ test should be part of the constitutional requirement to run for president.

As for myself, if we are a nation of laws, we are also a nation of individuals to whom those laws apply. The only way for our government to justify itself is to not distance itself from us, and to work in support of our common welfare. We are the government, us, the little guys. We are the reason it exists. I don't want corporation X pissing in the river upstream of me just because our government has decided to deregulate their industry. Some industries, including energy, utilities, and commercial transportation need to be very heavily regulated. I am a liberal because I want the best for everyone, and because I believe in the freedoms of individuals, not corporations. I am willing to contribute to social programs that help out our growing aging population, to educating our poorer neighbors and to giving our children the best public education possible from preschool to college.

[rhino47]

2. Liberal

Basically I believe I`m my brothers keeper.
I feel a moral duty to care for those that have
problems in caring for themselves.

[LastKnight]

4. registered dem...

but apparentley im a 'radical leftist communist heathen' but thats just what people call me.

no, but seriously im a registered dem, raised by a liberal family but free to form my own viewpoints and it turned out ok i think...

-LK

[lovedems]

5. Because of Raygun

I was in High School in the 80's and I wasn't that interested in politics but I knew that I didn't like Raygun or what he stood for. I thought republicans made it about "me" while democrats made it about "us" and I liked the notion of "us" a hellava lot more.

[Whitacre D_WI]

6. Well, it IS "morals-based" for me.

The GOP platform is FUCKING EVIL.

Screw the poor, bomb everybody, deny basic human rights to whomever we deem "unfit" -- that's evil, my friend.

[fudge stripe cookays]

7. Any woman who's ever seen a blue stripe....

when she was not equipped to handle it is most likely a progressive. I count myself in that group.

I felt a lot of guilt for a long time, but now I know why it was supposed to happen. It took awhile for me to become hardcore (with the Dean movement), but I have been able to wake others up to what's going on. And I feel lucky to have that kind of power (experience).

[tjwash]

13. "Progressives"

That another thing that steams me. The use of the word "liberal" has been so thoroughly demonized, and run through the wringer by the likes of Rush, Hannity, et-al, on AM hate radio, and the rest of the corporate media, that a lot of my liberal friends don't even refer to themselves as liberal anymore. They call themselves progressives now. I was, and am a huge Wesley Clarke supporter, because among other things, he was not afraid to use the "L" word.

[Whitacre D_WI]

17. "Progressive" is an old term with a proud heritage.

Look no further than old "Fighting Bob" LaFollette.

The term "liberal" has not only been twisted around and abused by the right, it has also been coopted -- more and more of them are calling themselves "Lockean liberals" these days.

I consider myself a progressive (I also consider myself a liberal, BTW) because I believe in PROGRESS. Moving forward, not trying to retreat to the Dark Ages, like many of my right-wing brethren wish do do.

[tjwash]

22. Well it's been co-opted in the way that...

...democrat was in the eighties, IE "Reagan Democrats". I have no problem with the term progressive, don't get me wrong. The hard thing for me to deal with, is the context that we hear the word liberal in, in the popular media. If you listen to Rush (for about the five minutes I can stomach him), it is used in the same context that the Nazis used the word "Jew". My business partner actually thinks he is insulting people by calling them a liberal now.

[progdonkey]

26. admit it proudly

The Right was able to stain the word "liberal" because few public liberals will admit it and stand up for it. I consider myself a progressive liberal democrat lefty yadda-yadda, and I'll proudly state to anyone that I'm a Liberal or a Progressive.

One of the things I dislike about Kerry (still voting for him of course) is how he won't admit he's a Liberal. It's so easy for the Right to make Liberal seem like a bad word when obvious Liberals deny they are so. Hannity can get Kerry to stumble just like that by asking, "Are you a Liberal?" It's a pointless question with no bearing on the issue at hand, but Kerry of course stumbles and doesn't want to admit he's a Liberal. Of course, viewers see this and think being Liberal is something to be ashamed of.

[Burma Jones]

8. Four Reasons

1. I was raised that way.
2. I'm well-educated.
3. I believe that the world doesn't revolve around me or the USA.
4. I just can't be around republicans socially.

[boobooday]

9. I am a L-I-B-E-R-A-L

Because I believe in love, not war; in peace, not hate.

I believe that we should look at our world as a world of abundance, and ask, "How do we share?" Instead of looking at it as a world of scarcity and asking "How do we get as much as possible for ourselves?"

I believe we should work less, spend less, and live more, as the bumper sticker says. I don't believe that the profits of a few should come from the illness and incarceration and misery of others.

And like Sheryl Crow, I believe, "it's not having what you want, it's wanting what you've got."

In short, if I were to even approach a Republican political meeting with my bleeding heart, I know they would either try to harden it into a stone, or take it out and stomp on it. I prefer to stay with the non-violent people. We aren't perfect, but at least we are trying to go in the right direction.

I heard a right-winger say the other day: "Can you imagine if the Peaceniks got their way?" I had to close my eyes and smile, and think, yes, wouldn't it be beautiful? Wouldn't it be grand if we waged peace all OVER YOUR ASSES?

:-)



http://www.wgoeshome.com

[proud patriot]

10. I read

:hi:

[jdsmith]

11. I'm still mad about the day Strom Thurmond spoke at my high school

(Dorman High, Spartanburg, SC) in 1972. It was the student council installation and he was the featured speaker. There we were, a thousand or so ardent Nixonians and a few of us who were playing with the idea of McGovern. I was expecting Strom to do the decent thing and flatter the young'uns for doing such a good job in the election, etc.--for him to be cheesy, but polite.

Instead the miserable old gasbag (he was already old in '72) launched into a diatribe against "libbles" (Stromian for "liberals") which concluded with "Jeeyane Fawnduh is dah scoim ub dah oith."

"Damn," I thought (or maybe "Darn"--I was a good boy). "These guys will do anything to win this election, even rant in front of fifteen-year-olds."

So I decided that I would never vote for anyone with such ugly manners or anyone she or he spoke for.

[billybob537]

12. Hard left turn Clyde

The other choice is unacceptable!

[NuckinFutz]

14. Like Proud Patriot, I read.

Once having opened a mind, it's damn near impossible to close it narrow enough to fit in to the Republican mindset.

[tjwash]

18. Oh absolutely. Do you know that...

...there is a lot of talk from the right about banning services such as public libraries, and letting for profit libraries come into being? Never mind the fact that a lot of people in this economy can't even afford basic telephone service much less "luxuries" like a for-profit library. What would happen to the poor in a world where the Republican Party has closed down all the libraries (i.e., the creation of an illiterate, ignorant underclass) does not seem to matter to the Right. Depressing to even think about.

[Whitacre D_WI]

20. That's what they want.

the creation of an illiterate, ignorant underclass

Ever read "Brave New World?"

The GOP is trying to breed Gammas.

[Commendatori]

15. Because I had religion shoved down my throat as a child

and don't think government should be doing the same to others.

I also can't imagine a party stupid enough to believe that abortion laws would stop abortions any more than gun laws stop crime.

To be honest, I do think the federal government is too big and that social programs should be left to individual states. However, three and a half years of the Chimp has shown me that the Republicans aren't any more interested in small government than the Democrats are, which leaves me with only one reason why I would even think of voting Republican: I'm extremely pro-gun. Unfortunately for Republicans that want my vote, I'm not a one-issue voter.

[Sporadicus]

16. I Lean Toward the European Social-Democrat Model

Because I believe government should remain an active force toward the benefit of all members of a society. I support higher taxes as long as the tax is progressive on income and the funds go toward universal health care, education and other social programs - not the military-industrial complex. I find it obscene that a CEO can earn 100 times - or more - the average wage of a worker. I also believe that organized labor should have a voice in the government's decision-making process, instead of being marginalized and minimized through union-busting techniques. I believe that liberal principles are the foundation of our freedoms and our democratic government. These principles - if followed - could ensure a decent standard of living for all of our citizens.

[pagerbear]

19. Because I care about people, dammit!

Now shaddap!

[indigo32]

21. Alot of reasons

For being a LIBERAL Democrat. First off, I was raised that way. It was the seventies and I was fed a diet of John Lennon and Free to Be You and Me records LOL (I also experienced the eighties and the difference in tone). I also beleive the liberal church I attended made a big difference. Jesus preached the golden rule and so did that church.
Basically I believe we are all in this together. That to do no harm is the very least I can do, and reading the Repuke platform... it is definitely harmful.

[progdonkey]

23. the selfishness and self-righteousness

I'm a liberal and registered Democrat because I believe we all should have the same basic oppurtunity to succeed in life. I come from a upper-middle-class family and I grew up overseas in countries with frightening poverty levels, so I have a good appreciation of how privileged I am, without ever having worked for it.

Both of my parents were the first in their families to go to college; my father went from working in his father's bakery in St. Louis to studying law at Yale and George Washington University, and my mother worked for the Government for 25 years. My sister and I were able to get private educations paid for by the US Government. I have received much and earned far less.

I want to make sure as many people get the oppurtunities and education I have had. The conservative position of "poor people deserve to be poor and the rich deserve to have whatever they want" is so disgusting that I can't express how much I despise it.

The other thing I hate about the Right is their religious self-righteousness. I'm not religious at all (father non-practicing Catholic and mother Atheist), so the fundamentalism of the Religious Right is alone enough to disgust me. What truly fills me with rage, though, is the public advocacy and hypocrisy of the Religious Right. They want to tell you over and over how pious they are and how evil you are; all the while they are engaged in actions that would make al-Qaeda blush.

Religion should not be a part of the political process at all; to me, a professed Christian is just as trustworthy as a Jew, Atheist, Muslim, Satanist, etc. (Actually, to be honest I'd probably trust the Atheist or Satanist more; not because I myself am an agnostic, but because they're taking a risk politically in admitting it.) Because someone can just as easily fake piety as practice it, there is no way to tell of someone is truly as religious as that person claims: at best, it's irrelevant; at worst, it's Bush.

The Republican party's use of religion as a political crutch is simply appalling. (Nothing gets me angry more than hearing someone say, "Well, I'm voting for him because he's a Christian." How do you know? Because he says he is?) They have nothing of value to provide the American people, so they just resort to the old theocratic method of threatening eternal damnation on those who do not submit.

[tjwash]

25. "Religion should not be a part of the political process at all"

It's never a good idea to put someone who relies on <<insert whatever religious belief here>> for their tough decisions in charge of the world's biggest economy and best equipped military. People who rely on this, have a funny habit of hearing their particular god tell them to invade countries, yet peculiarly never hear their god say to use it to provide better health or education to their own people instead.

[bloth]

24. Centrist

I'd call myself a centrist simply because I rarely agree/disagree with a person solely based on the party they represent. It is their specific ideas that draw me in or send me away. The reality is that neither party agenda as a whole appeals to me, however individuals do. It also seems to me that every time the country leans too far to the left or right it's countered by going to far the other direction.

[Catholic Sensation]

27. my catholic upbringing

i was taught to respect the poor and disadvantaged, respect everyone's personal beliefs, etc. it only makes sense that I'm a democrat, though a moderately liberal one.

[Zuni]

28. Two words: Common sense

Something GOP policy sorely lacks