What party am I (mostly)

I know it’s impossible to completely agree with a party-line without being a fanatic, but I’m really obsessing lately with identifying myself in some manner. I used to be republican, but now I’m independent. I can’t seem to make the leap to democrat either, although I agree with them on some issues too. Anyway, here goes, and if this is in the wrong forum, sorry.

I’m in favor of equal rights for gays- marriage, insurance, etc.

I’m an agnostic or atheist depending on which day you catch me.

I’m against mixing government up with religion in any fashion (school prayer, government prayer, etc.)

I don’t go along with creationism and it shouldn’t be taught in schools IMO.

I’m against affirmative action.

I think people should generally be able to cross borders more freely.

I think marijuana should be legalized.

I don’t like the NRA all that much, but the government can take my gun when, well you know.

I think Bush mostly sounds stupid when he talks, but I don’t like Gore either. I generally agreed that the dems wanted to keep counting until they won.

I don’t really believe the idea that the impending war is about “oil”. I really don’t get that, mostly because people just say that and then provide nothing to substantiate it. I am not in favor of going to war with Iraq. I was in favor of war in Afghanistan.

I don’t like giving the FBI more and more power.

Thanks in advance and sorry this is so long.

I forgot two biggies…
Abortion…can’t see the state enforcing a pregnancy, but I don’t like it one bit

Death penalty…In principle not practice.

If you’re looking for a basic two party R/D comparison, you’re definitely on the left of most things (from what I can tell in your post). More of a moderate liberal. But, if you want a more in-depth but still quick analysis, check out The World’s Smallest Political Quiz

You sound libertanian leaning to me, but what is your position on taxiation and social programs?

You , like many of us are really a libertarian. Check out the quiz results from the link in Xjetgirlx’s post. Basicly we believe in a smaller, less intrusive government.

The people who actually have a shot at being in power who are closest to libertarianism are of course… Republicans.

:slight_smile:

From a purely technical standpoint, if you are not actually registered with a specific party, then you are an independent. From your self-description you sound like a social libertarian, but you haven’t really said anything about your economic philosophy. If you would characterize yourself as classically conservative (taxes bad) you would probably feel at home with the libertarians. If you have a more progressive fiscal view (taxes good) then you would pretty much fit the mold of a moderate Democrat.

Thanks for the replies. It’s very confusing to be half republican and half democrat (seemingly) I’ll have to check into the libertarians more. Someone else told me that I sounded like a libertarian, but that most of them were religious…don’t know if this person knew what he was talking about though. As for economic policies, I don’t know anything except that when I see how much of my check goes to taxes I think “something’s wrong here”. I was able to find an interesting web site called the Democratic Freedom Caucus. They are against taxing labor, but for taxing property, and they are for gun rights. I have a feeling hardly anyone’s ever heard of them because that’s the only web site. Anyway…thanks again

Thanks for posting this, Murasaki… like you, I’m curious to what party my beliefs fit in with and also have most of the same beliefs you do with only a few exceptions. If I’m allowed, I’d like to ask what everyone thinks I am as well.

(The link XJETGIRLX posted isn’t working for me.)
*I’m in favor of equal rights for homosexual marriage, insurance, etc.

I’m an agnostic or atheist depending on which day you catch me.

I’m against mixing government up with religion in any fashion.

I don’t believe in creationism and believe it should not be taught in school, even as a theory. It’s taught in church to begin with.

I’m against affirmative action.

I think people should generally be able to cross borders more freely.

I think marijuana should be legalized.

I believe in the right to bear arms but think that anything other than hunting rifles and small handguns should be illegal.

I loathe Bush. I liked Gore. Clinton too. (Maybe this alone makes me a Democrat?)

I am not in favor of going to war with Iraq. I’m not sure what my thoughts are/were on Afghanistan.

I don’t like giving the FBI more and more power.

Homeland Security frightens me.

I have no issues with taxes as a whole. They may be a little too high but the government needs money.

I’m in favor of a state tax. At least in my state… we’re pretty screwed economically and need all the revenue we can get.*
Sorry for the hijack but I thought it’d be better to ask here than just make a copycat thread. Thanks.

Whoops… forgot about abortion and capital punishment.

I’m pro-choice and also believe in the death penalty in theory but not so much in practice.

Sounds like “party” is the wrong word. I have a great deal in common with both of you, some differences, and no party affiliation. They just don’t HAVE a pigeon hole for me, and apparently, not you either.

I would agree with the others and say you are a moderate libertarian, Murasaki312a. While there are many religious libertarians, they are adament about seperation of church and state, so I don’t think you have anything to worry about there. The US Libertarian Party’s official platform is here:

http://www.lp.org/issues/platform/platform_all.html

It’s pretty dry reading though - so here are some useful excerpts, based on the criteria you listed:

I’m in favor of equal rights for gays- marriage, insurance, etc.

I’m an agnostic or atheist depending on which day you catch me.

*I’m against affirmative action. *

I think people should generally be able to cross borders more freely.

*I think marijuana should be legalized. *

I don’t like the NRA all that much, but the government can take my gun when, well you know.

I’d like to comment that saying “Yes” to all the questions on the quiz makes you a libertarian. The questions seem pretty leading too.

Also, the quiz is also a part of a libertarian website.

Hey, I’d probably definre myself as a libertarian, but I can see that that quiz is biased.

Agreed - that’s not a particularly great quiz. It’s designed primarily to tell people what they already know.

I’d just like to throw my two cents in here and say:

It doesn’t matter!

If you are politically aware enough to realize that a simple party definition does not apply to you, then you are head and shoulders above most people in the US.

The fact that someone knows what they believe in but tries to find a party to wrap around them just shows how pervasive the two party system/mainstream media has become.

Don’t sweat the details about which party you should belong to. Depending on your state, register as one or the other based on which primary you are most likely to vote in. Otherwise, voice your beliefs to other people, find the candidate you think will best represent your values, and then vote! Remember that you elect people to represent YOU, NOT your party!

Have fun!

** Murasaki312a **
You sound a lot like me - I would find it hard to vote for either party, and my issues with the Republicans are with the sorts of “moral” issues that you list.

This problem is solved by my not having a vote. However, I think the issue in my case, which may apply to you, comes down to religion. A lot of the Republican stance on “moral” issues is driven by their religious beliefs. If you are not of that religious ilk, then you may well have a problem with the Republican views. That is certainly the case for me.

However, I am a capitalist and hate socialism. That rules out the Democtratic party also.

If and when I get a vote, I will vote Libertarian (except they cannot get on the ballot in Georgia because of good old boy corruption).

As a Libertarian, you sound pretty Libertarian as far as your basic “values” go with regards to what you said.

I read a story in our local independent newspaper about a Libertarian (this was after 7 years of not voting because I felt the Dems and the Repubs were my only options) and after sitting there agreeing with everything they said in the article I did research on the Libertarian party and came up with the fact that I am a Libertarian and have found my nitch in the political end of society. I am a registered Libertarian, used to be a member of the party but been so broke lately I haven’t been able to renew.

Here are some other sites that might help you (other than the links above:

http://www.self-gov.org/

http://www.libertarianstudies.org/

http://www.free-market.net/

http://www.libertyjournal.com/Index1.cfm

Reading through those pages should help you decide whether or not you truly identify with the Libertarian philosophy.

It can be very complicated for many to grasp the Libertarian concepts though. Some seem way out that and hard to understand (like private property issues that are debated to a disgusting degree around here) but if your core agrees with the majority points, call yourself a Libertarian and vote Libertarian and against those Dems and Repubs laws you disagree with.

Thanks once again for all the helpful information. It will take me a while to read the many links, but so far they are interesting. I can already tell that there are some things I haven’t thought through very well yet, like what aspects of government I like having and to what extent. I don’t have to be completely libertarian, but from what I’ve read it comes fairly close. I mean, who’s completely anything? Like most of you said, it’s very difficult to define people in terms of the two-party system. I’m no expert, but maybe we need to encourage more diverse platforms.