What makes you Identify with the Party you do?

[Хahar 🤔]

I am not white, you see.

[Hatman 🍁]

Because the NDP is the party that most closely aligns with my political views. Even in provinces where they've been corrupted by pragmatism, they are still better than the neo-Liberals and Conservatives. And the Greens are a vote siphoning joke party.

[Rockefeller GOP]

Because of tradition, mostly.  I'm still more conservative than I am liberal, so I almost never vote for Democrats (especially in Maine), but even if the day comes where I never vote Republican anymore (because of some drastic realignment, I'm guessing), I'll likely keep my registration.  I have a vision of what the Republican Party should be and what I believe it once was (pro-business, strongly pro-civil rights and pro-environment), and the only way to realize that vision is for more "moderates" to remain Republicans.

[Sumner 1868]

Mostly as a tribute to the Democratic Party's past as the party of the New Deal and the Great Society, and because I believe, given it's base, it is the party a genuine change in this country would emerge from. There is nothing good about the current yuppie-infested, soft neoconservatism of the present DNC leadership or the Oval Office, though, and I feel free to "waste" votes when they run awful candidates.

[Torie]

Public employee unions, particularly teachers' unions, is the lynchpin these days, for this particular quite cross pressured voter.

[The Free North]

I was libertarian leaning until I realized a lot of the crazy things they want to do make no sense (abolish the fed, etc)

As of right now, no party matches me ideologically. Perhaps a CTRattlesnake party is in order....

 

[The Other Castro]

I was libertarian leaning until I realized a lot of the crazy things they want to do make no sense (abolish the fed, etc)

As of right now, no party matches me ideologically. Perhaps a CTRattlesnake party is in order....

 

Connecticut for Lieberman 2.0, I'm on board

[badgate]

Muh freedum

[Mr. Illini]

I cannot conceive of supporting a party that does not accept the science behind climate change and its causes. That's my number one issue.

Outside of that, I support the idea that as a very well-to-do society, all Americans ought to have basic needs guaranteed to them, and therefore I am in support of food assistance, housing assistance, and universal health insurance.

I am strongly supportive of ensuring that education can be used as a tool of social mobility rather than a system that keeps everyone in their place on the social ladder.

I am strongly supportive of the idea that any one religion should not decide our laws and I support full equality for the LGBT in marriage and all other areas.

Therefore, I am a Democrat.

[ElectionsGuy]

I don't identify with a party.

[Lief 🗽]

I don't identify with a party.

 ???????

[ElectionsGuy]

I don't identify with a party.

 ???????

Yes, I'm a libertarian, but I don't identify with the libertarian party.

[Mr. Illini]

I don't identify with a party.

 ???????

Yes, I'm a libertarian, but I don't identify with the libertarian party.

Don't you vote almost all Republican?

[ElectionsGuy]

I don't identify with a party.

 ???????

Yes, I'm a libertarian, but I don't identify with the libertarian party.

Don't you vote almost all Republican?

I admit I probably wouldn't vote for a Democrat in many cases but no. I probably would've in 2014 for all the elections involved to where I live, but that's an exception. I would've easily voted for Gary Johnson and Kexel for Senate in 2012. Might want to check my endorsements for the 2014 cycle.

[Miles]

Why I'm not a Republican: 1) neoliberal economics, especially when it comes to subverting public education 2) their obsession with voter restrictions.  

[Maxwell]

I don't identify with either party because the Democratic Party here is embarassingly bad and the Republican Party is basically Mike Huckabee's dreamland.

[RFayette]

April fool's day answer:  God, guns, and gays!

Serious answer:  I have big disagreements w/ both parties.

[Deus Naturae]

They're the only ones who don't want to control my life and take my stuff.

[DC Al Fine]

Canada: The Liberals stand for nothing more than power and patronage. That leaves the Tories and the NDP. The Tories are massively better than the NDP, and their platform is far more beneficial to me, particularly in terms of child care, and family policy.

America: To be honest, my avatar is only representative of my Canadian affiliation these days :/

[Joe Republic]

I used to be an insufferable Wulfric, until eventually I realized:

The Republican Party as it is now and has been for a couple decades is completely and utterly insane. Like, every once in awhile I have to step back and remind myself how crazy it is that this is a party where Ben Carson can be a leading candidate in a primary. Where someone like Sarah Palin can get millions of votes for Vice President. Where thinking Moses is basically an honorary founding father is completely normal, believing we should allow guns in bars is sane public policy, and one of the party's most prominent Senators can waltz onto the Senate floor with a snowball as proof that global warming is a hoax.

I can't think of literally any issue in American politics right now where the Republicans offer a sane and reasonable alternative. Their positions on womens rights are terrible. On gay rights they're terrible. On police brutality, they're terrible. On healthcare, the environment, drugs, taxes, welfare, campaign finance, torture, trade, guns, wages, uniformly terrible, if not downright childish and occasionally evil. When it comes to foreign affairs they routinely expose themselves as cocksure incompetents who don't even maintain coherent positions, across the board. It also goes without saying that I grew up during the time of a President (Bush) that probably deserves some sort of medal for handling just about anything he ever tried tackling awfully. In fact, I may as well just repost an old quote of mine instead of retreading the same ground:

6. George W. Bush.
*Bush deserves the last spot on here for being the most directly damaging Presidents on this list, as well as having the unbelievable skill of being able to f**k up damn near everything he attempted or did.

9/11? He ignored all reports and threats of terrorism before it happened. Bin Laden? Couldn't get him. (Thanks Obama!) Tax cuts? Were so wasteful and unstimulative that he did them twice. Medicare Part D is one of the most incredible stories of legislative clusterf**kery that you could ever read, and was a total mess to boot. The PATRIOT Act. No Child Left Behind? Plenty, actually. Afghanistan? Mismanaged. Iraq? A lie from the very beginning. All told, his middle eastern excursions will cost us trillions of dollars that we could've used for anything else. His first veto? Killing a stem cell research bill.

Illegal wiretapping. Torture. Rendition. Sold his plan to privatize Social Security to the public so hilariously badly that it was abandoned within weeks. Completely lied about his promise to reinstate the Assault Weapons Ban. Riddled mining and oil drilling regulations with loopholes for his industry friends and raised a middle finger to every environmental cause he came across. Neutered FEMA due to a lack of any interest in qualified governing, and New Orleans paid the price. Wanted to appoint Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court, for Christ's sake. Vetoed a children's health insurance program expansion bill that was fully paid for. Ruined America's image abroad and made us the laughing stock of the first world. This is just the stuff off the top of my head.

In addition to all of that, his term ended with the worst economic collapse since the Great Depression, the damage of which will be felt for generations. Everyone who acts like we can't treat Bush like a terrible President because he's too recent and we're biased? Screw you. George W. Bush is one of the worst Presidents in the history of the United States. End of story.

What makes all of that worse is that, in the ensuing years of such complete and utter demonstrable failure a party traditionally retreats into the minority for a few cycles, moderating and maturing, emerging as an alternative after the governing party grows stale and tired. The exact opposite happened here, for some bizarre reason. They've only become more bats**t.

Over the last year, for unrelated reasons, I've grown to despise hackish thinking in general. I don't like partisans. I generally think you should try to listen to everyone, regardless of who they are, regardless of background, regardless of other crazy s**t they've done, to try and come to a greater understanding. But there really is nothing, anything at all that I can think of, that is well-reasoned and has a basis in reality from the Republican Party that I can support. And this is so astonishing to me that every once in awhile I feel like I'm being too unfair, that there must be something that they have over the Democrats, or just have a decent idea about in general, because for that to not be the case in any way whatsoever is so logically unlikely. But they really are that incompetent, from top to bottom, at this point in time.

[All Along The Watchtower]

I'm a  Democrat/generic liberal (with some left-wing sympathies, but out of respect for our actual leftists I won't be so bold as to call myself one) because  I was raised in the (sub)urban SF Bay Area in the 1990s/2000s, both of my parents have advanced degrees, and so my party identification flows from there.

Similarly, I really can't relate to the concerns of the Republican Party-certainly not in its current form as exemplified by the national party and the California affiliate.

Pretty straightforward, really.

[Reaganfan]

This is a perplexing subject for me. I turn 27 this year, so I don't even really fit into the "18-25" demographic anymore, but the very reason I identify with the Republican Party is because of how extreme the Democratic Party has gotten.

Let's say when I was becoming a teenager, around the time of Bush vs. Gore in 2000, I heard extremely profane lyrics on the radio. I would think, "This stuff is vulgar, maybe kids shouldn't have to hear this crap." Now...George Bush the Republican would agree with me. But so would Al and Tipper Gore, the Democrat. See? Even though one was Republican and one was Democrat, certain common sense things (The Defense of Marriage Act, signed by Democrat Clinton) would keep everyone in agreement.

In 2004, I thought Gay Marriage was pushing boundaries too far. President Bush, the Republican, had an official position against it. But so did the Democratic nominee, John Kerry.

When I was a kid, it didn't matter who was in the White House, D.A.R.E. programs and the importance of staying off drugs was applauded. It didn't matter if you were Ronald Reagan or Bill Clinton or George Bush or Al Gore. Now? We have a party that wishes to make drugs legal and a President who openly has joked about drug legalization. How disgusting is that? THAT'S normal? That's not the Democratic Party I knew as a kid.

Do you get what I'm saying? Yes...being a Republican does make you more close-minded, maybe the harsh reality makes you come across cold-hearted. But I'd much rather be a more traditional conservative then take this drastic far left leap into unknown territory.

It didn't matter what party was in the White House when I was growing up, because Clinton, Reagan, or either Bush, you knew it was "One Nation Under God", you knew it was "Just say no to drugs". You knew it was "One man and one woman."

Today's Democratic Party doesn't feel any of that. That terrifies me. THAT is too extreme. I'd rather be with the party of the mainstream than with a radical party which currently is what the Democrats are. To me, the Republican Party is pretty much the same that it's been all my life.

[TheDeadFlagBlues]

The Republican Party is an insane troll fascist cult, and the Democratic Party is the only party with a realistic chance of preventing them from gaining further power.

^^^
I don't identify with the Democratic Party so much as I abhor the Republican Party.

[King]

This is a perplexing subject for me. I turn 27 this year, so I don't even really fit into the "18-25" demographic anymore, but the very reason I identify with the Republican Party is because of how extreme the Democratic Party has gotten.

Life is only gonna get harder for you, son.

[Reaganfan]

This is a perplexing subject for me. I turn 27 this year, so I don't even really fit into the "18-25" demographic anymore, but the very reason I identify with the Republican Party is because of how extreme the Democratic Party has gotten.

Life is only gonna get harder for you, son.

What the hell does that mean?