Posted by caraher on August 30, 2007, at 11:54:57
In reply to How do you know if you are democrat or republican, posted by Happyflower 1 :-) on August 29, 2007, at 21:18:52
I truly believe very few Americans are really Democrats or Republicans simply because the "two-party system" is so artificial and limited relative to the full spectrum of political views. That's not to say people don't tend to identify more with one party or the other, and there's no shortage of, say, Republicans who really might be Libertarians except that they feel third party votes are wasted, or Democrats who would be happier as Greens.
The two major parties are marriages of convenience, and neither really has a consistent intellectual basis. There are tendencies, of course, but they tend to be most accurately described in terms of their dominant constituencies. So for instance, many Republicans will say their party opposes "big government" yet seem to acknowledge no limits to increasing the military and security apparatus of the federal government (and to the spending that goes along with that). Similarly, while Democrats position themselves as champions of the working class they offer no meaningful alternatives to increasing concentration of wealth and power in the hands of corporate interests.
Probably not very helpful... but I guess I just don't believe there's an "objective" way to figure out whether you're "really" a Democrat or Republican. I'd say you need to figure out what your principles are independently then make pragmatic choices based on who will deliver something closer to your wishes.
poster:caraher
thread:779626
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/poli/20070708/msgs/779751.html