Who Are You Politically? Time to Think About it and Back it Up!

(SALEM) - Did you ever give thought as to why you proclaim yourself a Democrat or a Republican? Ever wonder why you think of yourself as liberal or conservative?

I have been giving it some thought and wondered why I actually declared myself a liberal Democrat when most of my family are or were conservative Republicans.

I first took a step back in time (my time) and remember asking a friend, “What is the difference between a republican and a democrat?” I was simply told, “Republicans are for the rich and big corporations. Democrats are for the poor and disadvantaged.” Since I was poor and felt very disadvantaged, I said, “Well, I must me a Democrat.”

Later I decided I was liberal because I was broadminded and believed in personal freedoms, as long as those freedoms did not hurt any other individual or group, and I believed in social equities and also believed in the right to become whatever you aspire to become.

Today, I decided to do a little research, with the help of the Internet, and get the “true” definition of “liberal”, “Democrat”, “conservative”, “Republican” and came to the conclusion I am still a liberal democrat, although I became highly confused when reading all the information available on the Web.

“The Democratic Party's predominant positions since the 1930s have generally been considered liberal.

“Since 1896, the Democrats have been the more liberal major party (in the modern American sense of the word, i.e. center-left). The pro-working class, activist philosophy of Franklin D. Roosevelt has shaped much of the party's agenda since 1933; his New Deal coalition controlled the national government into the1960s. The Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, championed by the party despite opposition at the time from its conservative Southern wing, has continued to inspire the party's ideas and principles.

“The Party advocates most civil liberties, social freedoms, equal rights, equal opportunities and a free enterprise system tempered by government intervention. The Party believes that government should play a role in alleviating poverty and social injustice, even if that means a larger role for government and progressive taxation to pay for social services.”

“American conservatism is a constellation of political ideologies within the United States under the blanket heading of conservative. Included are fiscal conservatives, free market or economic liberals, social conservatives, and religious conservatives, as well as supporters of a strong American military, opponents of internationalism, and proponents of state’s rights.”

“The Republican Party has been more socially conservative and economically libertarian of the two major parties, and has closer ties to both Wall Street (large corporations) and Main Street (locally owned businesses). Republicans have a strong belief in personal responsibility, smaller government, and corporate entrepreneurship. In his 1981 inaugural address, Republican President Ronald Reagan summed up his belief in limited government when he said, "In the present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem. “

We need to understand the issues, believe in what our political leaders are saying, stand by them, and then vote for whatever party we stand for. If you don’t understand the issues or the politicians, then get the information and glean out the information that is important to you and vote on what is relevant to your beliefs.

It is important to understand there are other parties representative of our government.

·Libertarian Party
·Green Party
·Constitution Party (formerly the U.S. Taxpayers Party)

There is so much information on the internet. I have listed several other links for you to follow if you have any questions concerning the topics I have referred to in this commentary.

If you believe in the war and what Bush and his party is saying and doing, then you may support and back up the philosophy of the Republican Party. If you believe in what former President Clinton said in his interview with Chris Wallace then you might be inclined to support the Democratic Party. And remember most importantly, that you have the right to disagree with your own party!

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Lela October 3, 2006 10:45 am (Pacific time)

Hi Albert. I know you are right, but there are many people who don't. Hopefully news information such as Salem-News.com can keep running articles that create more indepth thinking on the subject. Comments from aware people like yourself will also help the thinking process and hopefully bring more people to the level of the awareness you have. My hope with any of my articles is to get people to start thinking "out of the box."

Albert Marnell September 29, 2006 11:56 am (Pacific time)

It does not matter who is in office. Remember the global bankers and multinationals rule all. Politicians are just their puppets. Use common sense, if a a global banker is worth say 100 billion dollars (many assets disguised of course), do you really think he does not have a great deal of control vs. a Senator or even a President. Come On!

Lela September 27, 2006 9:43 am (Pacific time)

Thanks, Henry. Will certainly put those sites in my "must see" file. There is so much information on the internet it sometimes is confusing on where to start. So, the information from you is really appreciated.

Henry Ruark September 26, 2006 11:00 pm (Pacific time)

Lela: Great job, esp. all those links. Don't forget wikipedia is written by public and needs close-check via authentic historians - but often start-there myself. Will contribute list of other-links when time permits, and couple authentic-liberal American History sources, too. AND don't forget to check "Norquist" and "Abramoff" for late-word on cabal active in Oregon's major problems-now !

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