Why are you a Democrat?

[Nutmegger]

There has been a lot of discussion here about the party itself and all that after the reaction to Feingold's censure. Whatever these people do, my politics will not change!

I believe in the rights of the worker supersede those of the corporation.

I believe that our environment should be protected and not corrupted by these polluting industries.

I believe in universal health-care for all. It's sickening that the richest country in the world has 45 million uninsured citizens.

I'm a proud Democrat! :patriot:

[SeattleGirl]

1. I have always had a Democratically-leaning mind,

Truly, it seems that as far back as I can remember, I have felt that people are more important than the government, that those who are struggling deserve a hand-up, that our rights should be protected, and that equality was meant for all.

I, too, am a proud Democrat! :patriot:

[More Than A Feeling]

2. Gay rights kept me out of the Republican Party

In the late 90's I was a Clintonista (to the extent that I was politically aware at all), and I initially supported the war in Iraq. Looking back now, I was pretty conservative on a lot of things. I was opposed to affirmative action, didn't see the need for unions, had no contact with feminist thought, and was pro-death penalty. It's ironic because in junior high I was a big fan of affirmative action and feminism (I wanted to be on the right side of history, and the textbooks convinced me that supporting African-Americans and women was the right side. I have now returned to this belief:D)

But the Republican Party would not give gays their rights, and that above all else was and is unconscionable.

Now-a-days, the Democratic Party is my home because I believe that the days of aristocracy need to remain dead and gone. The economic playing field is not equal. Not everyone has an equal chance at the beginning and Something Must Be Done(tm). Economic inequality is increasing, and the average person is falling farther and farther behind, thanks to a tax system that benefits the rich and powerful, and a political system that follows the golden rule: he who has the gold, makes the rules. I can't afford a lobbyist, can you? Unions must be revived, and the tax structure made more fair.

I am a Democrat because I am a Christian who isn't interested in enforcing my religion on the rest of society. Institutional power corrupts Christianity. Mark 8:36: "For what should it profit a man if he should gain the whole world, and lose his soul?"

I am a Democrat because I believe in preserving the environment, not selling off our natural heritage for the sole purpose of making a quick buck.

I am a Democrat because the death penalty makes no sense and must be abolished.

I am a Democrat because women are nowhere near achieving egalitarian relations with men.

and Yes, I am a Democrat because gays are people, too.

[Nutmegger]

8. Looking back I thought kind of conservatively

as a teen. I really had no interest in those "unions" and was pro-death penalty.

Then I began to educate myself and came to my senses. :D

[Mythsaje]

3. Everybody Matters

From the tiny child laying in its crib, burbling in happiness, or wailing with hunger, to the arthritic fellow making his way to his mailbox to look for a letter from his grandchildren--from the young woman on the bus taking her from her childhood home to a dream of greatness in the city to the old woman sitting on her porch, cat in her lap, calling cheerfully to the neighbors tending their garden. From the homeless child sleeping on the school steps to the woman walking down the university steps, diploma in her hand.

From the guy standing in the unemployment line, trying to find another job after his was eliminated or outsourced, to the CEO who gave the order. From the long haired, bearded busker playing guitar at the market, voice raised in a song of hope or despair, to the slick haired concert promoter hob-knobbing with the stars.

Everybody matters.

We are all participants in what was once considered a grand experiment, a society in which we, the people, were all considered equal before the law, that insisted that each of our voices could be heard by those we elected to represent us.

It wasn't always true, of course, but it was a work in progress. One by one, the barriers were torn down and each segment of society became yet another to join their voices in the song of freedom. We believed that by working hard we could make a better world and a better life for our children.

When we stood and opposed the robber barons, fighting for the right to workplace safety, and the right to see our children to go to school rather than being forced to work alongside us, we did it for everyone. We did it for our children, and the children of our neighbors, and the children that would be born to them as well.

When we went off to fight the tyrant who tried to consume Europe, we did it for those who were dying, and those who were not yet born, because the hope of the future deserved it.

When we stood up against the war in southeast Asia, it wasn't just for ourselves, but for the children of all Americans, and the people there who also deserved to live in peace, to try to determine their own fate. We didn't do it because we don't believe in America, and what it's supposed to represent, but because we do.

When we protested the dumping of toxic wastes into the earth, the rivers, and the sea, it wasn't just to protect ourselves, or our own children, but to protect ALL of us, and all our children. When we fought for clean air, it wasn't to ensure our own breaths, but to ensure that all of us could continue to breathe air that didn't make us sick. When we stood up against the decimation of forest land, it was so all our children could enjoy the wonders of nature as we had. As our ancestors had.

America is more than a land mass, more than a nation of people. America is an idea. The idea that everybody matters, from the lowest to the highest, that everyone has a right to a decent life, and has a right to watch their children grow up in a world better yet than the one that they themselves remember.

Isn't that what everyone wants? That their children inherit a world in which more things are possible, in which they have every chance to succeed no matter where they were born and into which walk of life?

That's the one thing we liberals have been trying to say all along. That the farmer's daughter in Ohio, or Kentucky, is just as deserving of a chance to succeed in life as the CEO's son in New York or Chicago or Los Angeles. That's why we stand and fight against those practices and policies that make it that much harder for them. Because if we didn't, who would?

We believe everybody matters.

Don't you?

[CrazyOrangeCat]

7. That is some marvelous writing.

Indeed, everyone should matter, in this society.

[Mythsaje]

18. Thanks...

I had a Freeper call it trite and cliche today. LOL.

Talk about not getting it.

[CrazyOrangeCat]

22. Oh, that's choice.

Cliche's are the only form of communication that Freeps and Dittos are comfortable using.

The game's almost up for these playground bullies, though. Some exploding heads--coming to a radio near you . . .

[Mythsaje]

24. I simply replied

that he was wasting bandwidth even offering his opinion and that his time would be better spent chewing on a dog toy.

[CrazyOrangeCat]

25. !

:spray:

[Mythsaje]

26. This is why I don't argue with my friends...LOL

And why I never played the "insult game" when I was younger. I can really piss people off.

[Nutmegger]

9. Wow - this sums it up perfectly

Thank you for sharing.

[Mythsaje]

20. Glad you like it...

It was the best response I could think of to the question. :)

[SofaKingLiberal]

4. I think,

therefore I am a Democrat.

[Daphne08]

23. Ditto!

:thumbsup: :)

[CrazyOrangeCat]

5. Because Repukes have such . . .

. . . bad toupe's. (Cat-Killer Frist's is made of 10 gauge wire, with all-weather, polyuerethane coating. The orange cat wants to swipe it and stash it in the coal bin.)



:evilgrin:

[Aristus]

6. There's not enough hate in me to be a Republican.

I enjoy peace, goodwill, and justice for all. Repukes hate those things.

:patriot::dem: FOREVER!

[Hippo_Tron]

10. Because I acknowledge that while capitalism is the best system we know...

It is still inherently flawed in that it will ALWAYS leave some people behind. I am a Democrat because I believe that those people left behind are left behind by the system and not by their own fault. I believe that it is society's obligation to balance out the negative effects of capitalism by taking care of those who are left behind by it and by regulating it so that it leaves fewer people left behind.

Personally I consider my politics dead center because I believe in a balance of capitalism and socialism. Of course, by American standards I'm a far leftist because I even mention the word socialism in my political views.

[Nutmegger]

14. OMG, SOCIALISM!!!

LOL, actually I favor some socialist principles as well. I totally agree with your analysis of capitalism and the need for those who are left behind to be taken care of.

Thank you for sharing. :)

[Broken_Hero]

11. I'm a democrat because...

1. I believe in division of church/state, and what I see the RW's wanting, in that regard, is totally ridiculous.

2. Civil Liberties. I see RW's saying they believe in civil liberties, but i see that through their actions, its not the case. On the Dem side, I see it consistantly.

3. I believe that the people should vote for their officials, and the election of 2000, when the RW forced the supreme court to DECIDE who should be president, I knew the Dems, were my party.

4. Health care, Social Security, Welfare, Unions(even though I have had my issues with those bastards), workers rights, and a long list of other reasons...I am a democrat.

5. I value human life/liberty more than MONEY...

6. I am a democrat, because the Republicans want to get rid of the BIA, and other services for the American Indians. They underfund IHS, and higher education...and this reason, is probably my number one fight, as a DEM...:)

These are just a few reasons, why I'm a dem. Even though I disagree with some of the Dems, as i'm sure, everyone at this site does, from time to time, the Democratic Party, is where I'm at!...:) Plus, the Dems, bring better beer...:P

[Pierogi_Pincher]

35. You bring the beer...

I'll bring the pierogis! :beer:

I'm a registered Democrat and +Believer.
My Dem standing is inherited from my family. The Dem party is appealing to me 'cause most all of these public servants have INTELLECT, and make SENSE and DELIVER when they open their mouths. The ways of the republicon party brings great distress to my spirit.
:patriot:

[Broken_Hero]

65. Sounds good to me...:)

I'll bring some George Killians, and some Rolling Rock...:)

[rwenos]

12. I'd Add Civil Rights and Regulation of Corporate Power

In addition to (1) workers' rights; (2) environmental protection; (3) universal health-care, I'd add:

(4) equal opportunity for all; and (5) regulation of corporate power -- if those bastards got their way, we'd all be indentured servants, in debt for life to the Company store.

[Pryderi]

13. I used to be a Republican, until

I went through a series of bad times and met my wife who pointed out that I wasn't wealthy or powerful enough to be a republican. :P

Seriously though, I came to realize that democrats were the only ones interested in helping the unfortunate and the poor.

Now I'm fairly well off, but will never forget the hardships and the party that's willing to help.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

15. It's the lesser of two evils.

The "not as bad" wing of the Nationalist/Capitalist oligarchy.

[alittlelark]

16. My forefathers came over on the Mayflower

I support what they attempted to create.

[TahitiNut]

17. I'm not.

I'm a liberal. I'm a democrat. I'm an independent.

I don't believe corporations have rights. Only people have rights; corporations have entitlements. Entitlements are privileges created and enforced by government - and they can be terminated. Rights are inalienable.

[PinkUnicorn]

19. Mmm

The catch though these days is that anyone who doesn't scream 'Seig Heil' at the top of their voice while masturbating over a picture of the Chimp is considered a left wing or a Democrat. I was what would be considered Centrist with a touch of left, now I'm considered moderate left, simply due to the incredibly skewed measure - the right wing has gone so far right it's in danger of running into itself.

So I guess I would be considered a Democrat even though I'm not a US citizen, or ascribe to all of the various platforms put out by the Democrat party. After all, having a functional brain pretty much eliminates me from the alternative :P

[Lone_Star_Dem]

21. I'm a progressive because I care about much more than myself

I'm a Democrat because they were the party I thought came closest to representing me my feelings.

[Neil Lisst]

27. cause I gotta be something, and this is IT

I'm a reluctant Democrat, in the sense that I generally despise organization, dogma, doctrine, and joining any kind of group. But it's the logical choice if you believe, as I do, that it's the only reasonable way to keep somewhat in check the excessive power of certain elements in the world.

There's something in my beliefs to offend almost every serious Democrat, so I have plenty in my personal port folio to put me off party processes.

In short, there really isn't much choice, so I choose the only other viable contender, this beat up, old, Democratic party. It needs a face lift and a make over.

[tjwash]

28. Because I was born with a silly little thing called a conscience.

nt

[IsItJustMe]

29. It's hard to explain why, but I can give you a good example.

As I watched the poor black people begging for help after Hurricane Katrina, my heart was full of pain. I asked myself, Why in gods name are these people being treated like this? America is suppose to be one of the most greatest countries on earth.

As the days went by I began to notice that the news media started to heavily concentrate its reporting on a few people looting. The media no longer seemed to care about the 20,0000 or so starving and going without water.

I thought myself, how insane. Don't these idiot reporters know that the more they report this, the more they will scare people from going in there and helping. Don't they know this?

A week later, I had two groups of RW relatives come to visit. All they could talk about was those low life hoodlums looting. My relatives said that these people had no respect for the law. Their comments seemed to be directed at everyone in New Orleans.

Now, this is the way I see it.
Democrats will concentrate on the 20,000 starving people.
Repukes will concentrate on the 20 people looting.
It's that simple. It's a matter of where we place our emphasis.

Two men looked out from the prison, one seen the heaven and the other seen the bars.

[CrazyOrangeCat]

33. Well said.

Those poor people . . . starving and dying in that fetid heat . . . waiting for days for buses.

I couldn't believe the media making them all out to be monsters.

I couldn't believe it was happening in this country.

And the president was the only one in the whole damned world who wasn't glued to a TV or the internet.

These Repukes that came into power in the last couple of generations are absolutely incapable of empathy. We are being led by insane, incompetent sociopaths.

[tularetom]

30. I got tired of listening to all the rednecks in my family

blaming the blacks, the Jews, and any other scapegoat minority they could think of for their own troubles. Of course at the time they were all Democrats as were many racists in those days. Since then they fell for the puke pitch to racists, now they all mouth the repub line but it really all still comes down to "we hate all minorities".

[Rainscents]

31. Because... I care!

[flaminbats]

32. I know why I became one..not why I am one

I became one because one of my parents was a die-hard Democrat. I was raised to ask questions like..why do we spend so much for nukes on this impoverished and heavily populated planet, why do Republicans always cut taxes and spend borrowed money so wastefully, why do we pay so much money to doctors who only make us wait so long for such short visits, why do Republicans love the AMA and hate labor unions, how can Republicans defend insurance companies which collect premiums but refuse to provide adequate coverage in return, and why did Republicans throw Jimmy Carter out for bringing back all of the Iranian hostages back alive? Another reason I became a Democrat..they were the majority party on all levels of government, so the only way I could have a voice in state or local politics was to be a Democrat. Also..a close friend of mine, who I knew as child, later grew up to become a Democrat. The rough times he endured and how that made him stronger over time made a lasting impression on me. He isn't alive now, but his political views and morals live on. :cry:

Why am I a Democrat? Democrats are no longer the majority on national, state, or local politics. They aren't running a candidate in my Congressional district. They rarely offer opposition to Republicans in Congress or this President. Democrats in power don't commonly embrace universal healthcare anymore, many support this war in Iraq, and most Democrats in office think we should cut taxes regardless of this booming national debt. Yet Democrats don't want to borrow as much as Republican do. Democrats don't want to kill as much as Republicans do. Democrats don't want to destroy our environment as much as Republicans do. Democrats don't use religion as a means of judgment as much as Republicans do. This doesn't make me a Republican, so am I still a voice in this party?

[demosincebirth]

34. I'm all of the above

and a little conservative too

[hfojvt]

36. uh on the matter of "uninsured citizens"

I think our whole system of "health insurance" is screwed up.
Which is not to say that I have an easy answer to it.

A big problem with our system is that it's typical answer to everything always starts with a wallet-ectomy. Health seems to be secondary, or tertiary from removing as much money as possible from the patient (or the patient's insurance company) as possible.

Another is the desire to cure everything with a pill, and this is being pushed, of course, by the people who sell pills. Do you have discolored toe-nails? We have a pill for you - twice daily. Which is all fine and dandy, but I really hate seeing things like that or whatever serious health issue that Levitra is supposed to cure being paid for by the general public.

But I certainly believe in health care for all. I think my bottom line on this is that people should be decent to each other - good neighbors as the recent article said. And the other major party - Republican encourages selfishness and $$$ ahead of decency and community.

[pacalo]

37. Because I love this country & care about its welfare.

The Constitution & the Bill of Rights, which reflect my conscience, are what attract me to the Democratic Party.

[PBass]

38. Because I care about social safety nets

Only the government can address big problems and issues like
hunger,
unemployment,
health care for the elderly
creating educational opportunities for the poor
and a million other 'safety net' issues that make America great (when they are allowed to work properly).

I don't care how many baloney sandwiches a Faith-Based Initiative church group passes out, it will never be adequate in addressing the problem of hunger in America. Our counterpoints on the right typically don't even think that hunger is a problem (Google search on Hunger in America if you don't think it's a problem) or they don't think the government should be involved in fighting hunger, or that hungry people "aren't winners" and that's just natural selection at work... all of which I consider dead wrong.

Just one facet that explains why I am a Democrat.

By the way, WE VOTERS DEFINE THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY, not those dopes currently holding office. Don't let some crappy Senator turn you off to the party, kick them out of office instead of leaving the party.

[pacalo]

68. Excellent. The same goes for me.

:hi:

[Raine]

39. The environment

it's the single most important issue to me and always has been. Long, long ago I was a repuke but got turned off when Raygun began his run for president. The repuke stand on the environment was what turned me into a Democrat.

[Peter Frank]

40. I'm an Independent...

...who's sick of hypocrisy -- whatever the source.

The single most angering issue I have with this admin is the intimidation. Dissent is the engine which founded this nation; but you are labeled as unpatriotic if you voice dissent today.

This doesn't pass the smell test -- let alone the Constitutional one.

[Celeborn Skywalker]

41. First and foremost, I believe in fairness

Fairness to the workers
Fairness to gays and lesbians
Fairness to women
Fairness to minorities

To me, being a Democrat is all about being fair.

[Peter Frank]

42. Fairness doesn't fit into Bu$h's religious system...

Too bad he's not a practicing Christian. Christ wrote "the book" on fairness.

[wickerwoman]

43. Because I'm a woman who wants more from life

than a bun in the oven for the next twenty years.

How could I ever join a party that expresses such open contempt for me simply because of the way I was born? And by extension, how could I ever join a party that expresses contempt for anybody based on the way they were born?

[bowens43]

44. JFK said it best....

" I believe in human dignity as the source of national purpose, in human liberty as the source of national action, in the human heart as the source of national compassion, and in the human mind as the source of our invention and our ideas. It is, I believe, the faith in our fellow citizens as individuals and as people that lies at the heart of the liberal faith. For liberalism is not so much a party creed or set of fixed platform promises as it is an attitude of mind and heart, a faith in man's ability through the experiences of his reason and judgment to increase for himself and his fellow men the amount of justice and freedom and brotherhood which all human life deserves.

I believe also in the United States of America, in the promise that it contains and has contained throughout our history of producing a society so abundant and creative and so free and responsible that it cannot only fulfill the aspirations of its citizens, but serve equally well as a beacon for all mankind. I do not believe in a superstate. I see no magic in tax dollars which are sent to Washington and then returned. I abhor the waste and incompetence of large-scale federal bureaucracies in this administration as well as in others. I do not favor state compulsion when voluntary individual effort can do the job and do it well. But I believe in a government which acts, which exercises its full powers and full responsibilities. Government is an art and a precious obligation; and when it has a job to do, I believe it should do it. And this requires not only great ends but that we propose concrete means of achieving them.

Our responsibility is not discharged by announcement of virtuous ends. Our responsibility is to achieve these objectives with social invention, with political skill, and executive vigor. I believe for these reasons that liberalism is our best and only hope in the world today. For the liberal society is a free society, and it is at the same time and for that reason a strong society. Its strength is drawn from the will of free people committed to great ends and peacefully striving to meet them. Only liberalism, in short, can repair our national power, restore our national purpose, and liberate our national energies. And the only basic issue in the 1960 campaign is whether our government will fall in a conservative rut and die there, or whether we will move ahead in the liberal spirit of daring, of breaking new ground, of doing in our generation what Woodrow Wilson and Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman and Adlai Stevenson did in their time of influence and responsibility.

Our liberalism has its roots in our diverse origins. Most of us are descended from that segment of the American population which was once called an immigrant minority. Today, along with our children and grandchildren, we do not feel minor. We feel proud of our origins and we are not second to any group in our sense of national purpose. For many years New York represented the new frontier to all those who came from the ends of the earth to find new opportunity and new freedom, generations of men and women who fled from the despotism of the czars, the horrors of the Nazis, the tyranny of hunger, who came here to the new frontier in the State of New York. These men and women, a living cross section of American history, indeed, a cross section of the entire world's history of pain and hope, made of this city not only a new world of opportunity, but a new world of the spirit as well."

JFK - 1960

[B Calm]

45. Republicans = Individual Responsibility and Corporate Freedom

Democrats = Corporate Responsibility and Individual Freedom

[suziedemocrat]

46. People who don't like government - can't run government!

Someone said that on TV and I forgot his name - but it hits the nail on the head! Clinton had problems - but he was PAYING OFF the National Debt! We were for the most part a country at peace. Crime was down - and hey pro-lifers - ABORTIONS WERE DOWN!!! Carter tried to get us to think about energy efficiency almost 30 years ago!!

All the people I know are Republicans because they don't like handouts to the "undeserving poor" - but they support the United Way and the Red Cross - terrible charities. Carter has really pushed Habitat for Humanity - and they do charity work right - IMO.

Also - I'd rather trust the government with my safety, retirement, etc., than large corporations. Trusting anyone is risky - but the government beats GE and Halliburton IMO!! Also - if it were legal you know there would be child labor and sweatshops in this country. Even Ike didn't trust large corporations!!

I believe in the goodness of government - when it is run well and is by the people and elections work the way they should and war is seen as a bad thing. And - I don't give a shit if the POTUS gets a little something on the side if he does his job well. And if he can't do his job - it doesn't console me to know at least he is faithful to his wife!!!

On edit - I also don't care if gay people get married. And I'm pretty sure homosexuality is not contagious.

[tsuki]

47. 'Cuz Ah don't have a yellow dawg. n/t

[cmd]

48. I believe in working for the good of all

including people of all ages, skin colors, sexual orientation, nationality, religion. I believe in taking care of the environment and sharing wealth with the poor in our nation and in other countries. I believe eduction and health care are rights, not privilages. I believe in making a difference for others, not for myself.

[Earth_First]

49. Because I cannot afford to be a Republican...

But in all seriousness, I most consider myself a Democrat because of the environment.

[LWolf]

50. Horror with the rw republican agenda,

and hope that the opposition party could, and would, oppose them.

I spent my life as an independent; not really interested in party politics. I voted based on issues and individuals who worked for them, not party politics. Most of my votes went to democrats, because the party is closer to where I am on the issues than republicans. Some votes went to 3rd party members, because they are even closer on the issues. I became a democrat in 2002, determined to be part of the process choosing someone to defeat Bush in the general election.

I'm a democrat today because I'm still registered that way. My 4 years from inside the party has left me feeling that I was right all along. I don't like party politics. I still participate in the political process for the issues, not the party. I still choose candidates, not because the party chose them, but because they work for issues.

I support the issues that you posted. I don't see them as issues of the Democratic Party; they don't top the party's agenda. Do you?

Will I continue as a democrat? I don't know. I haven't felt the party reaching out to include me. I've gotten a "get in line or don't let the door hit ya on the way out" message. Being an independent at heart, the urge to slam the door hard enough to swing back on those still inside is sometimes strong. Still, I haven't made any decisions yet. We'll see what the party does with '06 and '08. So far, my voice has been easily "ignored." I don't feel like my input or vote is really valued. That's fine; it is certainly the party, and the party purists', choice. We'll see.

[Radio_Guy]

51. I believe in equal pay for equal work

Not just women's wages vs. men's wages, though that should be obvious. But If I've been at a job for 2 years doing the same thing as someone who has been there for 5 years, we should be getting the same pay. It is, after all the same work.

[mattclearing]

52. I wrote this a while back...Why I Am a Democrat...

I’m a Democrat, and I’ve been a Democrat for all of my life. I
have given it some thought, and I’ve come to some conclusions about why
I choose to affiliate with the Democratic Party. Here are some ways to
tell if you are a Democrat.



If you would be willing to pay for a government that provides services
that matter to you, then you are a Democrat.

If you believe deep down that America’s diversity is the source of
America’s strength, not a threat to it, then you are a Democrat.

If you believe that homelessness, poverty, and a lack of healthcare for
the less fortunate among us reflect poorly on us as a society, and that
those are things the government can and should do something about, then
you are a Democrat.

If you believe in your heart that government-funded research can
provide us with the great scientific achievements of the future, just
like it gave us space flight, the Internet, and the human genome in the
past, then you are a Democrat.

If you believe that we can find better, more efficient, and less
politically volatile sources of energy that will create American jobs
and inspire good-old fashioned American ingenuity, then you are a
Democrat.

If you pray that there is more power in the peaceful march for justice
than there is in the deadly march of warfare, then you are a Democrat.

If you imagine that globalization might work a bit better for all
involved if we pushed for better labor standards worldwide, then you
are a Democrat.

If you think that thoughtful and respectful diplomacy can often more
effectively serve the United States’ interests than intimidation and
hard bargaining tactics, then you are a Democrat.

If you think that a balanced budget is a sign of a healthy and vital
government, and not a sign that taxpayers are being ripped off, then
you are a Democrat.

If you believe that the rich don’t need the government’s help to get
richer, but that maybe the poor could use it every now and again, then
you are a Democrat.

[ScreamingMeemie]

53. These days? I'm not sure why...

Sadly, I don't see much in either party that works for the good of the common man...common family. Women and men are weeping over caskets of soldiers...and innocent civilians, because only a handful cared to vote no. I became a Democrat because I believe in equality for all. I believe in people having a say in how they are goverened...not to be content with just being goverened. I became a Democrat because I wanted a bright and brilliant future...for my children and yours as well. I stay a Democrat because I believe in the core values of a party, a party that appears to be lost in selling its soul just to get elected. I intend to change that.

[mmonk]

54. Why am I a Democrat? I've been asking myself that

alot lately. The party at present seems way too weak to fight and too concerned about their image.

[Radio_Guy]

55. Maybe

But there is no way I could be a repuke. I have to sleep at night and look myself in the mirror in the morning.

[mmonk]

58. No, I would never be one of them.

Can't trust them. A nest of vipers if you ask me.

[theHandpuppet]

60. Me too

I've never been so discouraged about my own party than I am right now -- and I've been around a good long while. At this point I'm willing to give a third party candidate a good hard look.

[ProfessorGAC]

56. Very Fundamental Reason

I believe history has shown that government that does it best to reduce suffering, want, need and poverty are those that are the most stable and provide the highest quality of life to its citizens.

Republicans want to shrink gov't, or steal from it, and since i completely disagree with their philosophy on both civil liberties and economics, i have little choice.

BTW: I'm not a registered Dem. I'm an independent, but i think of myself as an ANTI-REPUBLICAN!
The Professor

[deutsey]

57. I am a democrat and am waiting for the Democrats to become so as well

I mean the national "leadership", not rank and file members.
:evilfrown:

[DanCa]

59. I am a proud Democrat as well

Two short answers (because my hands can't type this morning) that I am a Democrat: A: I want to help people, and B: The Democratic party - despite it's flaws - is the only party strong enough to stop the Supreme Court from a right wing turnover. There's more but I am really not feeling well today.

[LSdemocrat]

61. I like facts and I care about others

[B Calm]

62. Name me one bill the republican party ever passed to help the working

man of this country!!
..............................................


WHAT HAS GOP DONE FOR WORKERS?

CLINT C. GOLD
10/24/1999
Tulsa World


Not too long ago, my wife and I attended a TV football
party in south Tulsa. With a lopsided score, the
conversation turned to a livelier subject -- politics. The
crowd was, of course, top-heavy with Republicans. With each
point expressed their faces became more flushed, eyes
bulging a little more and veins popping in their foreheads
as they railed against the liberal programs.

Finally a lone, liberal voice asked: "Will you people
name me one bill your party ever passed to help the working
man of this country?" The question created much din and
clamor, and someone sputtered, "Well, what have the
Democrats done?"

The liberal responded with a few programs and was
interrupted by howling and disdain. He noted that he had
not promised they would like the programs and he asked to
complete his statement -- a difficult task to ask of
Republicans.

He spoke of Social Security; Medicare-Medicaid; Peace
Corps; unemployment insurance; welfare (for the poor and
corporate); civil rights; student grant and loan programs;
safety laws (OSHA); environmental laws; prevailing wage
laws; right to collective bargaining (which brought about
paid medical insurance, paid vacations, pensions, etc.);
workers' compensation; Marshall Plan; flood-disaster
insurance; School Lunch Program; women's rights.

He spoke of the Fair Labor Standards Act, which
established a minimum wage, instituted child labor laws,
and set up time-and-a-half pay for over a 40-hour week.

He mentioned FHA-HUD with its public housing, urban
renewal and 44 million residential homes (before WWII
almost 70 percent of our nation were renters; by the 1970s
this had been reversed). And farm-conservation
subsidies -- USDA programs, Farmers Home Administration (the
bankers didn't want to make rural loans), small
flood-control lakes (more than 3,000 in Oklahoma alone),
rural water districts, rural electricity (REA).

The GI Bill was passed, which the Republicans at the
time bitterly opposed. They were salivating over millions
of returning veterans to hire as cheap labor. More than 8 million have used college benefits, creating millions of
entrepreneurs; most of us had never dreamed of college. For
the unemployed GI, there was $20 a week for 52 weeks to
help get started (a lot of money in those days). The
Veterans Administration provided more than 2 million home
loans.

For the bankers at the football party, it was pointed
out that the liberals saved their industry with the
creation of FDIC and FSLIC, insuring their deposits, and
saved Wall Street with the establishment of the Securities
Exchange Commission.

The oil men came on bended knees to FDR at a time when
East Texas oil was 4 cents a barrel and begged him to save
their industry. He did; prorationing overturned the rule of
capture and the days of flush production were over.
Prorating has served this great industry (and nation)
well.


And the list went on and on, but of course this group
didn't let him get halfway through. He noted they were
weary, inattentive, so again he challenged them to offer up
any Republican legislation examples.

"I'm sure your party has authored one or two comparable
bills from time to time, but I can't think of any, and
apparently you can't either. What it boils down to is this:
the liberals dragged you into the 20th century scratching
and screaming with your heels in the mud, fighting anything
that's progressive, everything that's made this country
great. You Republicans have never understood that the
spending power of blue-collar workers, obtained through
Democrats and unions, is what really made this country
great. You really believe "The Good Life" was obtained from
your own endeavors. You cloak your greed in religion and
patriotism, railing against any form of tax, never
comprehending that these programs have benefitted all of us
and our country."

Well, I almost didn't make it out of the house. My wife
and I didn't even get to see the end of the football game.


If Reps. Steve Largent or J.C. Watts had been there,
perhaps politics would never have come up, only the game
plan ... pity.
Clint C. Gold is former mayor of Moore and a retired
savings and loan executive.
http://www.MikeMalloy.com

[leftofthedial]

63. social justice

[Crazy Guggenheim]

64. To piss of the Greens and Libertarians ..........

:woohoo: :popcorn: :rofl: :patriot:

[walldude]

66. Because I am a masochist. n/t

[Donald Ian Rankin]

67. I'm not a Democrat,

But if I were American I would be, on the grounds that of the two possible parties of government they're imeasurably the better.

As it is, I'm a Labour voter, thinking about voting Liberal Democrat if things don't improve once Blair is gone.

[Iniquitous Bunny]

69. Because I care about humanity.

Globally and individually.

[Rocknrule]

70. Because (deep breath)

I'm not racist, sexist, or homophobic, because I believe gays are people too, because I think war is bad and peace is good, because I believe in freedom of and/or from religion, because I don't want to kill everyone who disagrees with me, because I don't think Bush is even a decent human being, let alone the 2nd Son of God, and because I believe in freedom and equality.