The following exchange is from Dialogue Group 14, Thread 16.

1. Why I vote Democratic.
Wed, Jan 27, 1999 - 2:16 AM/EST
incogNITA...

The reason I became a Democrat is (aside from their policies) is a personal one.

I lived in Dallas, TX during the 1984 Republican convention. Perhaps you remember that one, it's where the guy burned the American flag and started all THAT rigamarol. Well, I was there, and I know EXACTLY why he set fire to a piece of cloth.

Two instances happened during the GOP 84' convention that cemented my partisanship:

1)My friend George was sitting on his porch during that eventful summer. George had a Great Dane named Thunder. George was hanging out on his porch on a warm day. His front door was open and Thunder was in the house. George hears sirens and motors and looks up.

Driving down his street is an awesome calvacade: ambulances, police vehicles, limosines and motorcycles are barreling down the block. This was George Bush's posse coming down my friend's street.

Well, as the motorcade neared George's house, his dog Thunder became curious. Just as the mass of vehicles began to pass George's door, Thunder came bounding out of the house to check out the action. The moment that Thunder hit the sidewalk, the motorcade came to a screeching halt. Secret servicemen, police and state troopers all got out of their cars and pulled their guns on Thunder. Approximately 15 men surrounded a DOG and threatened to shoot the DOG. My friend George begged for them not to shoot his dog, got Thunder inside and all was well. This was instance #1 in my conformation that I did NOT want to be a Republican.

The second instance on my road to the Democratic ticket came a day later.

2)My friend Dana wanted to be a part of all the festivities of the convention. She drove to downtown Dallas to see all the hoopla.

Less than two hours later, Dana calls me and my friend Alan. Dana says to us: "Come and get me!" My friend Alan and I laugh a little and drive to downtown. We think Dana's fears are silly. Then, we hit downtown: The streets are cordoned off. Orange pylons and sawhorses (with armed soldiers to man them) block every street. The feel of the area is just, plain icky. Then I look up: On every roof of every building in downtown Dallas is a sharpshooter.

If you ever wondered what a police state looks like, Dallas Texas in the summer of 1984 looked just like one.

Perhaps, since Reagan was the victim of an assassin, the folks whose job it is to protect the President were just being cautious in 1984. Perhaps. Or, maybe this was an administration that in reality was run by the Vice President and the first lady. I to this day, have NEVER forgotten that George Bush was the former head of the CIA.

Maybe you had to be there. But when you see your town turned into a police state, well...I hope you never will.

I am a Democrat because I believe that my party would NEVER do to it's own people, what Reagan/Bush did to Dallas.

2. Why I am
Wed, Jan 27, 1999 - 1:23 PM/EST
sandy

I am a Democrate because I care about my fellow human beings. I feel that the democrates are more fair about believing in the human rights of individuals, no matter what their sex, class, nationality, sexual preference, or income level.
We care about health care for all, education for all, and food and shelter for all.

I am shocked by the narrow mindedness of many people. It scares me when I read the writings of white supremacists and bigots. How can people be so heartless? If someone disagrees with me- I do not think they should be wiped off the face of the earth, I think they have the right to their own opinion, even when I personally feel it is misguided. In general- Democrates have more tolerance.

3. Hmmmm
Wed, Jan 27, 1999 - 6:05 PM/EST
noname

I have to say, here, that I am neither a Democrat nor a Republican. I think that anyone adhering to any party can list a number of reasons why they like or dislike a certain party (hence their membership). While the democrats say that their party cares more about women, minorities, etc. the republicans say that they care more about family values, etc.

Realistically, neither party is anti-family or anti-women, etc. But people have different priorities and different ways at looking at the world. If they didn't, there would be no reason to have any more than one party.

My only gripe is that we seem to have to adhere to one of two, and the others are disregarded. If people don't completely agree with either party, they choose the "lesser of two evils." Why don't people search out the party that actually represents their beliefs? Why do these become wasted votes?

4. Why I vote
Wed, Jan 27, 1999 - 11:39 PM/EST
Jb2

I was 16 years old & living in Park Ridge Illinois during the summer of 1968 when the Democratic convention was held in Chicago. I was appalled at the behavior of the police and the Mayor at that time, but didn't really understand what was going on. (I liked boys more than politics). I did know that the "establishment" behaved pretty poorly.

The first time I got to vote I was 18. My parents pretty much formed how I thought & felt & since they were Republicans I voted for Richard Nixon. I really don't know why (didn't then either). After Watergate I decided that the Republican Party wasn't really for me. It was cynical, elitist and mean-spirited.

I swung to the Liberterian for awhile. Their promise of no government and no taxes was intriguing to me until I discovered that even the most conservative, "no fed's in my face" types still expect the federal government to perform some services. Some of the Libertarian arguments still attract me simply because they are designed around pure logic. Unfortunately I have discovered that humans are rarely purely logical.

I don't really like to label myself as one party or another. I would truly like to find a great 3rd party to support, but hesitate most of the time as I find myself voting against a candidate more often that for one.

I think we need some fresh voices in our leadership. Not Republican, not Democrat something fresh that will look at the challenges of the future with a fresh perspective and perhaps some creative solutions. We hang onto the two-party system like its part of the ten commandments. Its not and its almost like we keep trying to run our country as though its 1798 instead of 1999. While I love the constitution and would give my life for the freedoms that it embraces I think our future lies in looking ahead and not only behind.

5. I vote the other way...
Fri, Jan 29, 1999 - 2:18 AM/EST
BruceD

I personally vote pretty much straight Republican, and for what I believe are some very good, sound reasons. I don't vote with my feelings, but rather with my beliefs.

I believe that the less government we have, the better. I don't believe that every little detail of life needs to be dealt with on a national level. I believe that a central government should be limited to setting standards for the quality of life its citizens demand, and for enforcing them. I do not believe that a huge bureaucracy is necessary to maintain every sort of service the people need or want, thereby costing us a small fortune in annual taxes. I believe that states can better provide for their residents, and at a much lower cost than a federal effort. Recent developments are proving this. In that respect then, I believe that the federal government ought to get out of the welfare business, and turn it over to the individual states, including Medicare and Medicaid. The only thing the government should be concerned with in that regard is Social Security, and only because it is a standard program for every citizen of the country.

I believe that every program that can be justified as needing to be national in nature ought to be evaluated annually, and if it is no longer doing its job, it ought to be disbanded immediately.

I believe that national government ought to get out of the school business, and leave that to the states and local communities, including daycare, nutritional and "Head Start" programs.

I believe that the government's most active role should be in the area of protecting the nation in the international arena, either through diplomacy, or in extreme cases, war.

Basically, I believe that the federal government ought to be pushing as much as it can off onto the states, simply setting and seeing to it that certain standards are maintained.

A huge, centralized federal government almost always seems to breed bloat and wastage, to say nothing of abuse and corruption, which is to say, it costs us money in the form of higher and higher taxes to provide less and less in the way of effective, quality services.

8. Uhhhhh, that's republican?
Fri, Jan 29, 1999 - 3:56 PM/EST
noname

BruceD,
The views which you just stated seem more Libertarian than anything else. Although the Republicans say that they want less government intervention, they continue to ask for more and more money to fund their own interests. (After all, Newt Gingrich- Mr. GOPAC himself- was from the county receiving the most federal dollars in the US.) Saying you want the money from the federal government but not the intervention is more Republican than simply saying we should turn things over to the state.