I’m very conservative on some issues, and very liberal on others. I’m rabidly pro-life, I’m opposed to gay marriage,* in favor of the legalization of cannabis and universal health care, I think that the welfare system needs to be restructured to make it easier for working people to get aid if they need it, and more difficult for people who simply want to “work the system”.
I favor lower tax rates all around, and elimination of tax loopholes for the wealthy and for corporations to make sure that those who have benefitted most from our capitalist system can’t avoid paying their fair share.
I favor decreased regulation of small business as far as zoning and licensing requirements, and increased regulation of large corporations to keep them from being able to eliminate competition from the aforementioned, screw their workers, trash the environment and generally make the world a less good place to live.
I’m really up in the air about who to vote for in this election because really, neither party represents my beliefs about what a government should or should not do.
I’m sure that somewhere in the universe there exists a political party which has a platform or list of ideas and ideals that dovetail with my own.
If there isn’t, I’m sure that someone can make something up.
OK, come on Dopers. Label The Mango.
I do think there should be some kind of legal provision for long-term companions, which would include gay couples, as well as roommates, live in household help, etc. as far as power of attorney and inheritance rights, and health insurance issues.
I think that for one thing, you should be a little more realistic. I’m sorry if I sound caustic here, but I don’t think any presidential candidate in the near future will endorse your idea about long-term partner rights, no matter how superior you and I may think it to be.
Furthermore: What is the purpose of categorizing yourself?
Just for the record, I’m very much in line with what you espouse. I call myself a “radical,” but quickly explain that I’m “not the kind that kicks in Gap windows.”
I think one step might be to prioritize your beliefs and determine which ones are deal breakers for you.
Once you have a list from most important to least important you can then look at candidate’s platforms and make a decision.
You can also look at what a particular office is responsible for before making a decision on a particular issue. For example, the stance of a candidate on abortion won’t matter much if the candidate is running for city dog catcher.
I dub thee Pat Buchanan with Universal Health Care. bing
Actually, it’s been quite a while since I’ve heard Buchanan, but your views on most of these things sound like what he espouses. I’ve heard him called a populist.
This is one of the most appalling statements I have ever read on this board. Buchanan claims to be a traditional conservative. More in the mold of Goldwater than the current crop that have taken over the label. He has no populist stances whatsoever and is quite anti-populist on all the major issues.
*The Asbestos Mango, you’re a liberal. Note, that unlike the neocons, it’s perfectly okay to disagree with other liberals on many issues. “Political Correctness” only applies to the right where deviance on a single issue gets you labelled as a terrorist-supporting traitor.
He is for medical marijuana, attacks corporations, is rabidly pro-life, is against gay marriage, thinks the little guy is getting trampled on, wants to put restrictions on campaign financing and “Washington fatcats,” wants welfare reforms, wants to protect American business from overseas competition, wants to defend American borders, et cetera.
I can’t say what he actually believes, but these are the things he says he wants.
Populism? Arguably. He sets things up as an “us versus them” where the “us” is the average person and the “them” is the political elite and the wealthy corporations. Populism often has strong currents of nationalism and xenophobia. It can be right wing, which Buchanan is.
So, I would be interested to know why you are so shocked at the label.
Really, you would be in the minority on the cannabis issue, but altogether you could find a new home in the CDU, one of the two big parties in Germany (and the party of the former Chancellor Helmut Kohl.)
No matter what label I’d stick on you, The Asbestos Mango, I promise it would have a little edge-tab. That way the shopper who buys you in the grocery wouldn’t have to use a knife to get that #%&* sticker off.
I apologize for not being more political in this post. The GenQues forum has become a minefield for me. That’s my fault, mine. However, it’s gotten tough for me to release the Vise-Grips® when I move to another forum. That’s my misfortune (to misquote the old song,) and not none of yours. If I have become less interesting, we’ll just have to live with that. If you feel that I’ve become less of a pain in the orange stitching, I’ll ask you to remember that famous quote from Dick Cheney.
Click on the quizzes tab and take the 2004 presidential quiz. Select “Don’t Save”.
You can click on the individual multiple choice answers to get a more in depth explanation of that answer.
I think you’re a conservative except when there’s something in it for you to be otherwise. Lower taxes but since, I’m guessing, your wealth isn’t tied up in the stock of large corporations, you want a crackdown on corporate welfare. You are employed so you want welfare to be tightened up (restructured) but everybody can benefit from universal healthcare (including you) so you want that too even though it is a type of welfare. For some reason you make a distinction between small and large business where it is large business, according to your OP, that you want to be prevented from screwing their workers and environmental trashing. Is it fair to assume you don’t work for a large corporate?
Seems to me your outlook is driven more by self-interest than by ideology so perhaps any label, other than self-serving, would not be applicable. I’m inclined to think most people fall into this category and it is the reason the party of government in a democracy switches from time to time.
Thank you so much stpauler and Hampshire for posting the links. I found this thread by accident and have found the links to be enormously helpful. I even went to far as to email them to friends and family.
