Poll: Where do you stand politically?

I just thought of this poll! I logged in to submit it! Ack! :)

I find that as I age, I become more fiscally conservative, while my social stances still live way out on the left where the busses don't run. :-)

I can't use the word 'liberal' or someone might think I actually voted for the current PM. ;-)

I find myself to be near the middle of the road, though still firmly on the conservative side on many issues.

My dad, who's considerably more conservative than myself, likes to point to a quote which I think he attributes to Winston Churchill: "If you're not a liberal by the age of 18, you have no heart. If you're not a conservative by the age of 50, you have no brain."

YMMV -- Your mileage may vary.

-- Pauley

Where's the "I don't give a rat's ass about politics" option???

I'm the same way.. I had a hard time picking an option. I'm a Libertarian to be specific. I want the government out of my life. That just happens to line up with conservative fiscal policies (lower taxes, and fewer government-provided services) and liberal social policies (let people live their lives and stop trying to legislate morality).

here's my thing... I haven't voted on anything as of now. not a single issue. not a singe election. this is not becuase I'm in some blissfull cloud of ignorance. I wont vote for someone who isn't real. unless I see a personality up there. with ACTUAL opinions, its not enough for them to take a stance, I need them to actually feel those opinions personaly and passionately. I want someone who'll tell the goddamned truth to the people... in other news: you know those signs up every-f*cking-where that have the names of the various candidates on them? well there are new ones in my area... "if you're sick of the signs honk. provided by Zil for govenor" "stop the bullshit, vote Zil. provided by Zil for govenor" "a real person for real people, vote Zil" ...... I just want people to think.

I'm way out to the left, possibly slightly less so than when I joined the Young Socialists in college, but not much less. I used to consider myself a Democrat, but that party has moved so far to the middle, that I have a difficult time building up any confidence for their candidates anymore. I'm a big believer in the Massachusetts Green Party, and I would give them lots of money if I had any. I do believe in government, but I think it needs to be changed radically. I think it needs to be run by actual human beings, not plastic, groomed politicians who have sold their souls to someone to get where they are. Right now, money runs the country, and those without are simply left for dead (or used by the rest of us as slaves, to do all the jobs we can't bear to do ourselves... y'know, until they die). I am not sure what the answer is to all this, but I know there is one, and so far the Greens have come the closest to real plans that could work and make real change within the existing system, if that is still possible.

So that's me. Lefty. A revolutionary trapped in a dumpy old administrator/washed-up-singer's body.

M

I find that when it comes down to it and I talk to people, I'm far more liberal than the liberals and far more conservative than the conservatives. I'm not moderate. I just am. I tend to vote for liberal candidates because they tend to be the only ones with brains. I have some libertarian tendencies, but I believe in taxes. I admire people like Lawrence Lessig and I like Mike Bloomberg. What I can't stand is people automatically taking a position on something without thinking because some leader or party tells them to... and that happens on all sides with every faction. So I don't associate myself with any. That's all.

Ewww... runny busses suck.

ooohh, north american politics. don't understand, never will :D

Heh... me either.
:)

don't bother trying. North American politics is barely worth it.

I�m unquestionably on the (somewhat) far left of the spectrum. While I�m not a full-fledged socialist, I�m fairly close. I tend to favor more social services (which doesn�t necessarily mean I want more taxes, just less waste/different spending). Ideally, I think that there should be free public school through college (at the very least, something like community college). I�m also all for an eventual national health-care system, more library funding, and so on. Not to mention the fact that I think we need at least some restrictions on bigger corporations in order to allow capitalism to actually work. (I can hear Ayn Rand cursing me from beyond the grave as I type that ;) Of course, I also realize that things like this won�t happen over night, these are more what I think things can (should) lead to eventually.
Still, there are some things that I suppose I fall closer to the libertarian camp with. While I might be for some government intervention on the economic side, most things on the personal level bother me. A lot of these things are still fairly leftist stances (church & state, 1st amendment, drug-decimalization etc.), but there are some places where I fall away from at least the mainstream left on these. I don�t like any form of official censorship, even for violence. Even though I don�t smoke, I hate the idea of citywide smoking bans. Guns are a somewhat gray area for me. I�m all for control and a lot of restrictions, but I don�t think I could vote for a complete prohibition of them.
Anyways, I could go on a lot longer with this (which is why I still want a politics forum here ;) but I think this works as at least a rough sketch.

Oh, and I�d like to second Gella�s comment about �people automatically taking a position on something without thinking because some leader or party tells them to�. I think it�s find that people who fall on one side of an issue agree on a lot of others, but party affiliation should have nothing to do with what you believe. At most, you should associate with the party that you agree with on the most (or most important) issues. Even better though is to ignore the party, and don�t be afraid to stand apart from people on individual issues.

Just for the record (and this is in response to Gella's post as well) I wanted to make clear that the reason I support the Greens is because I believe in what they believe in. They just happen to fit me really well. I would never automatically take a position on something because they told me to. The Greens don't accept corporate donations (and only up to a certain amount from individuals) so they aren't beholden to anyone, and neither am I. That's part of why they fit me so well. I do believe that it is useful to support a party, however (if you have one you can really support) because a group can be a lot more effective than an individual.

M

That's actually where I am too. I support the Greens in general, but if they think something that I don't, I won't change to fit that (not that I think you would).

Right now though, I'm disapointed in all of the smaller parties for keeping quiet. Between the war and the economy, this would be a great chance for someone to step up and say something.

Well they are speaking up pretty loudly here in the state... I think nationally they have a rough time getting any media coverage.

Yeah, I'm way out on the left with Melinda. I Progressive is what I call myself.

A Progressive, that is.

heh, try understand english politics for a start. all those lords and ladies and MPs and things are bad enough :D and then there's american politics. like, whoa: senators? congress? supreme court? what? ;)

The Senate is based on the House of Lords. The House of Representatives is based on the house of commons. Together they make up Congress, the equivilent of Parliament. The big difference of course is that the Senate has real power here.

As for the supreme court we invented that here. Think of them as the referee.

Hmpf, left off ANOTHER survey. Oh well, such is our lot in life. I was left with having to vote "right wing shit", even though that probably describes religious right fanatics.

Republicans, Democrats, Greens (really should be Watermelon, green on the outside, red on the inside), religous right, etc.

They are all collectivists and socialists. We should give them all to Europe.

Yah, whenever someone says "I'm fiscally conservative, and socially liberal", I immediately direct them to http://www.lp.org and tell them to take the quiz.

Progressing to what? Socialist utopia? :)

The reason the politicians are whores is because they HAVE power to buy and sell. The trick is not to get "real people" in there, the trick is to get the power OUT of their hands.

Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Politicians will never do things the way YOU conceive them to be. Even if one did, it's only a matter of time before one gets in there who will take the power you gave to Good Politician and use if for Bad Things.

Heheh, I think it's funny whenever I catch a session of Parliment on CSPAN (yes I watch that channel sometimes, usually when I just want to watch politics and not hear some doofus give his biased interpretation on things), and everyone is going...

"Would the right, honorable gentleman from ...."

Even when they are obviously totally pissed off at the guy.

Yipes.

Don't you see the inherent contradiction in your own statements? You favor government intervention in the economy, but don't in personal matters? What's the difference? Either way, you are using force (government) to get what you want. How is that good in any way, regardless of where they do or do not intervene?

Oh (and this will definitely get me labelled a gun nut), but the 1st Amendment isn't worth anything without the 2nd.

Besides, show me where in the United States Constitution it authorizes the federal government to get involved with anything such as banning guns, regulating the economy, public schooling, national health-care (eeps, go ask a Briton or Canadian about their system).

Wow. That quiz says I'm a left-liberal.

Apparently, I'm more liberal than I thought. :-)

>We should give them all to Europe

Who's "we"?! Do you have a mouse in your pocket?

Wait, are you saying that you'll pay for me to move to Europe (or even Canada)? :D

Done and done. :-)

Nah, just everyone who doesn't believe they have the right to the fruits of someone else's labor, or that people should pay "their fair share". Fair? According to whom?

Were I unscrupulous, sure I'd pay to deport 'em all! :)

It says that I'm a libertarian.
hehe

So, anyone who doesn't believe precisely as you do should leave the country?!

Not a very Libertarian thought, that.

My own philosophy is that everyone who doesn't agree with me should give me chocolate.

and slipper socks

"Nah, just everyone who doesn't believe they have the right to the fruits of someone else's labor"

um, isn't almost everything we use the fruit of someone else's labor?

That depends? Is the tomato a fruit or a vegatable?

There's a difference between exchanging value for value (i.e. trading for someone else's labor) and siezing it via force (i.e. government).

Yes, generally most things you use are the fruit of someone else's labor, but the key is in thinking you have the RIGHT to it.

Which is why it was originally said tongue in cheek, and supported by the fact I said "were I unscrupulous". I have no problem with people holding different beliefs, so long as they do not wish to use force (i.e. government) against me or to sieze my property and redistribute it.

"Your right to swing your fist ends somewhere before my nose."