Question concerning Republican vs. Democrats

[Goddess_Babe]

Explain to me why everything in America tends to either be liberal or concervative ....is there no middle way?

Do those supporting the Democrats REALLY believe that everything the Republicans say is wrong or do they merely HAVE to say that everything the Republicans say is wrong BECAUSE they support the Liberals. And vice versa of course

Why so extreme? Tis strange. Even if I have a singer that I enjoy, if I thought one of their songs was crap I would say so and not just say :Ooo...I like that song because of the singer. Life isnt always black or white...but sometimes also different shades of grey

 

[pinkstarfish]

Read: Moral Politics

 

[Goddess_Babe]

Read: Moral Politics

thank you ma'am, I shall look into it

 

[linuxgeek]

The democrats suck. The republican's blow.

I really feel we need a couple strong 3rd party political parties to give the people better choices than the 2 parties lines we have to pick from these days. Yeah, there are independent parties, but none of them seem to have enough public and/or financial backing to win any races regularly.

 

[bisexplicit]

I find this funny.

Don't you know that both republicans and democrats are both extremely middle-of-the-road?

Now, if it was you could vote communist or you could vote facist, then I'd agree with you.

 

[Goddess_Babe]

I find this funny.

Don't you know that both republicans and democrats are both extremely middle-of-the-road?

Now, if it was you could vote communist or you could vote facist, then I'd agree with you.

well if this is the case then why isnt there only one major party in the USA?

 

[MakersandIce]

Yeah, there are independent parties, but none of them seem to have enough public and/or financial backing to win any races regularly.

Way too much money spent in electioneering.

 

[Lost Cause]

One wants to be your mommy one wants to be your daddy.......they'll give you everything but freedom~

www.lp.org

 

[Wok]

Yeah, moderates.

 

[linuxgeek]

Way too much money spent in electioneering.

true, but that's how big business gets to vote.

 

[bisexplicit]

well if this is the case then why isnt there only one major party in the USA?

Ah, you bested me with a rolleye emoticon.

And how much more middle-of-the-road can you get then the US? There really isn't that big of a difference between the two, aside from minor idelogical squabbles.

 

[revelator]

The premise of your question, and your understanding, is flawed. Here's a pretty good rundown of the reality in the US:


http://usconservatives.about.com/od/politics/a/conlibdemo.htm

More people call themselves conservative than liberal -- 35 percent to 22 percent -- but a plurality of Americans say they're a moderate, 43 percent. Politically, most people who call themselves conservative, 51 percent, say they're a member of the Republican Party. Twenty-two percent of conservatives support Democrats, with the rest saying they were independents, supported another party or didn't know.

The Democratic Party draws support by 50 percent of liberals while 9 percent of liberals support Republicans. Moderates split more closely with 22 percent supporting the GOP and 36 percent supporting Democrats.

Religiously, a majority of evangelical Protestants, who make up a quarter of the country, overwhelmingly call themselves conservative, with 55 percent conservative and 14 percent liberal. The rest called themselves moderates. Evangelicals are churches such as Southern Baptists.

Mainline Protestants, such as Methodists, split 34 percent to 20 percent over whether they're conservative or liberal. They make up about16 percent of Americans. White Catholics, who make up 17.5 percent of the public, split 33 percent to 20 percent.

On the liberal side, Jews tend to be more liberal than conservative 46 percent to 19 percent. Unaffiliated believers, secularists, atheists and agnostics call themselves liberal 32 percent with 20 percent saying they're conservative. Jews make up 1.9 percent of the public while unaffiliated and atheists account for 16 percent.

Black Protestants are 9.6 percent of the population and consider 27 percent of them consider themselves conservative while 25 percent liberal. A quarter of Latino Catholics, who are 4.5 percent of the population, say they're conservative while 28 percent say they're liberal.

 

[Goddess_Babe]

Ah, you bested me with a rolleye emoticon.

And how much more middle-of-the-road can you get then the US? There really isn't that big of a difference between the two, aside from minor idelogical squabbles.

lol....so sorry about the rolleye...won't happen again I asked my question because I've seen many threads on the discussion boards where democrats and republicans try to rip themselves to shreds...and I'm just trying to understand why. Enhance my general knowledge a bit

 

[Le Jacquelope]

Explain to me why everything in America tends to either be liberal or concervative ....is there no middle way?

Do those supporting the Democrats REALLY believe that everything the Republicans say is wrong or do they merely HAVE to say that everything the Republicans say is wrong BECAUSE they support the Liberals. And vice versa of course

Why so extreme? Tis strange. Even if I have a singer that I enjoy, if I thought one of their songs was crap I would say so and not just say :Ooo...I like that song because of the singer. Life isnt always black or white...but sometimes also different shades of grey

Actually, there are many "free market with moral restrictions" middle people like me. We're actually the majority in the US.

 

[Goddess_Babe]

The premise of your question, and your understanding, is flawed. Here's a pretty good rundown of the reality in the US:

QUOTE]


Ahhh, thank you Sir, that helps

 

[JammieDodger]

The democrats suck. The republican's blow.

I really feel we need a couple strong 3rd party political parties to give the people better choices than the 2 parties lines we have to pick from these days. Yeah, there are independent parties, but none of them seem to have enough public and/or financial backing to win any races regularly.

I think the whole presidential system is absolutely daft.. its ridiculous.. how on earth could the average person ever expect to get into politics.. and how do minorities get a chance to air their views via an election?!?

I find this funny.

Don't you know that both republicans and democrats are both extremely middle-of-the-road?

Middle of the road from an american's perspective, maybe..

..but I do agree, they're both similiar (right wing)..

..which is why its so bizarre that people seem to be either staunch republicans or democrats.. its completely absurd because often they seem to end up molding their ideas around their party's. And its not just that, its the stereotyping as well.. yes over here we have stereotypes for conservatives, labour.. lib dems.. etc. but a) there are several stereotypes for each that vary and b) people don't say "shut up, you're not welcome in this conversation.. you're a <insert political stance here>".

I must admit though that perhaps my view of american politics has been drastically warped by LT and ishmael's "antics".. in that they've made it look dumbed down.. heavily..

..I would like to say however that I am thinking of voting either for the conservatives or lib dems come the next election.. now, if anyone knows anything about british politics they'll understand that these two parties are DRASTICALLY different.

 

[JammieDodger]

Actually, there are many "free market with moral restrictions" middle people like me. We're actually the majority in the US.

But you spend large amounts of your time insulting everyone on the republican party and anyone who isn't a democrat..

..and whats more worrying is you bang on about liberals being intelligent..

..but there is no way you are a "liberal" under the rest of the world's definition.

 

[revelator]

Ahhh, thank you Sir, that helps

You're welcome. And don't confuse the anonymity of the Internet with the real world.

There are lots of bitter losers of both extremes go online for the sole purpose of fighting about politics, because it makes them feel alive and powerful.

Some people fight because they are fed up with the lies they hear from "the other side."

There are other reasons, I'm sure. But that covers most of what you see.

Now, stand back as some bitter loser takes umbrage with my characterization and starts fuming. In 5, 4, 3, 2 . . . .

 

[MakersandIce]

true, but that's how big business gets to vote.

Too much of that too, but I was talking more about taxpayer dollars--as in matching federal contributions.

 

[Queersetti]

The increased partisanship in American politics is, in large part, a product of the increased democratization of the party system.

At one time, decision making within the parties was, for the most part, controlled by a relatively small number of bigwigs, in the storied "smoke filled rooms". Whether they were Democrats or Republicans, they belonged to a power elite that had more in common with each other, across party lines, than they did with the grassroots of their own parties.

That all began to change in 1964. In that year's presidential campaign, the rank and file supporters of Barry Goldwater defeated the Republican power structure and took control of the party. At the Democratic convention that same year, the alternative Mississippi delegation, composed of civil rights activists, was seated in lieu of the segregationist official state delegation, beginning the same process of grass roots activism within that party.

 

[JazzManJim]

Explain to me why everything in America tends to either be liberal or concervative ....is there no middle way?

Do those supporting the Democrats REALLY believe that everything the Republicans say is wrong or do they merely HAVE to say that everything the Republicans say is wrong BECAUSE they support the Liberals. And vice versa of course

Why so extreme? Tis strange. Even if I have a singer that I enjoy, if I thought one of their songs was crap I would say so and not just say :Ooo...I like that song because of the singer. Life isnt always black or white...but sometimes also different shades of grey

INdeed sometimes life is shades of grey. But sometime it isn't.

Many of the differences between liberal and conservative are irreconcileable. For instance, you can't believe that the government is the first and best way to end poverty and also believe that the government should get out of the way of the upwardly mobile and the creation of wealth without those two beliefs seriously impeding each other at critical points.

Mostly, these days, the clash between ideologies is really the clash between two political parties seeking lasting power. It's not much conservative vs. liberal but Republican vs Democrat.

 

[~hellbaby~]

I found this recently. it offers some distinctions.
The modified typology is based on the important concepts about the homogeneity
of various voting groups that we uncovered in our earlier research.

There are two core Republican groups:
Enterprisers:
Enterprisers are fiscal conservatives who hold positive attitudes toward business and are anti-welfarist. They are affluent, well-educated and well-informed. Enterprisers are much less likely than other Americans to agree with the popular notion that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer (43% vs. 81%). Their pro-business stance leads them to differ with most Americans on the idea that too much power is concentrated in the hands of big companies. While 82% of other Americans feel that this is true, only 48% of Enterprisers agree. Enterprisers are also less likely to completely agree that society should make sure that everyone has an equal opportunity (55% vs. 41%).
Moralists:
Moralists are highly religious, socially conservative and show low levels
of concern for personal freedoms. They are less affluent, older, and many live in the South. A vast majority of Moralists agree that books with dangerous ideas should be banned from public schools, which sets them firmly to the right of the rest of the public on the issue of censorship (89% vs. 39%).

There are three core Democratic groups:
Based on combined survey results from November 1991 and January 1992.

Sixties Democrats:
Sixties Democrats are strong believers in peace and social justice.More than any other segment of the population, they disagree with the idea that the best way to preserve peace is through military strength (88% vs. 44%). And two-thirds (65%) of Sixties Democrats completely agree that society should guarantee everyone an equal opportunity. This is a heavily female, middle class, middle-aged group that supports most of the policy positions of the national Democratic party.

New Dealers:
New Dealers are older Democrats who experience little financial
pressure and are more socially conservative than the national Democratic Party. Drawn heavily from the South, many of these old-time Democrats have party roots that go back to Roosevelt. Despite the end of the Cold War, New Dealers still universally agree that the best way to insure peace is through military strength (96%2).

Pocketbook Democrats:
Pocketbook Dems overwhelmingly agree that they don't
have enough money to make ends meet (98%). They are very concerned with social justice, and they believe that government should take an active role in the solution of the socioeconomic problems that plague them. One-third of Pocketbook Dems are minorities (32%), and many have less than a high school education.

There are three typology groups that are basically Independent:
Seculars:
Seculars lean to the Democratic party, but some identify more closely with the GOP on certain issues. They are strongly supportive of personal freedoms. Seculars are well-informed, relatively affluent, and more often found on the East and West coasts. Their defining characteristic is an almost total lack of religious conviction. While 87% of the rest of the public says that prayer is an important part of their daily life, only one in ten (12%) Seculars hold this view. Their support for personal freedoms is best reflected in their feelings about censorship: 97% disagree with banning books containing dangerous ideas from public school libraries, compared with 48% of other Americans.

Two of the Independent groups lean to the Republican party:

Disaffecteds:
Disaffecteds are personally alienated, financially pressured and deeply
skeptical of politicians. This middle-aged, lower-middle income group contains many blue collar workers. Disaffecteds are nearly twice as likely as others to agree that hard work offers little guarantee of success (69% vs. 36%). Their political distrust is such that threequarters (77%) disagree that elected officials care what people like them think.

Upbeats:
Upbeats are also independents who lean to the GOP, but their attitudinal
profile is almost the opposite of Disaffecteds. Upbeats are primarily young people who tend to be uncritical of government and other institutions. They also have American Exceptionalist values: 88% of Upbeats agree that Americans can always solve their problems, while only 55% of others agree
.
Finally, there is one typology group that is by definition apolitical:

Bystanders:
Bystanders have an almost total lack of interest in politics and public
affairs. This urban, lower socio-economic group contains many young singles. Forty-six
percent of Bystanders say they seldom vote.
The table below shows the percentage of the survey respondents in each typology
group for this survey.

 

[Bent]

You do realize that Conservatives usually behave liberally (spending a lot of money and resources on you name it) and liberals behave conservatively...such as they don't want money and resources used. Think about it.

 

[~hellbaby~]

You do realize that Conservatives usually behave liberally (spending a lot of money and resources on you name it) and liberals behave conservatively...such as they don't want money and resources used. Think about it.

Yup, thats true, what do conservatives actually conserve?? Not the environment, not the skyrocketing defecit and debt, and on and on..

 

[The Mutt]

Liberal: "We should take care of the poor. We might be poor some day."

Democrat: "We should take care of the poor. There's good money in it."

Conservative: "We should take care of the rich. We might be rich someday."

Republican: "Fuck the poor. Pass the caviar."