Where do you stand???

My answer is simple actually.

I don't get involved in politics. I can't label myself a conservative or liberal or whatever.

Hence the reason I do not participate in political discussions.... Now get me on a "should exotics be keep as pets" debate, and I'm all for it.

Politics and religion are the only things I don't talk about. Politics because I don't know much, Religion because I'm non-religious (spiritual yes, religious no)

With both my feet planted firmly to the ground.

I'm definitely on the far left of the political spectrum. To put it in party terms, while I disagree many times with democrats, I find myself always disagreeing with republicans on all issues. Lol this sounds very one sided but it's so true. At least in my experience ...maybe it will change I have yet to find out.

My husband can debate politics until the cows come home but he knows not to do so with me because I simply don't take enough of a side to engage in a good debate. I suppose the most accurate answer is: I stand as far away from the political spectrum as possible.

Lifelong liberal treehugger here and registered member of the DFL (democrat-farmer-labor) party of Minnesota. I've also sucessfully converted my husband, an arab immigrant to these great united states, into a democratic party activist. The first year he was here, I drug him to a bunch of political events. We saw Jessie Jackson and Al Franken at Keith Ellison's night before the election rally, and he was hooked. After he had his picture taken with Al Franken, he wanted to know when he could run for office. Not until you become a citizen honey

Also, I see you're from my home state, which is also home to one of my favorite members of congress (after Keith Ellison) - Russ Feingold. I remember his 1998 senate run, when he refused any money from outside wisconsin, and the other side poured the money in and ran a ton of attack ads. He stayed classy and won. Stand up guy

Being Canadian, I am neither Democrat nor Republican. Having said that, in Canadian politics, I tend to evaluate what each party believes, how it is good (or bad) for us, the taxpayers. I don't generally care which party they are from if their platforms are something I agree with. I have voted for all three parties at different times in my life, depending on my state of mind at the time.

To the OP: funny, I feel like I am seriously outnumbered here..the opposite of you! I am proud to be a conservative Republican.

I'm an independent, with leanings Libertarian.

They told us in the Navy never to discuss religion, sex, or politics in the wardroom, because you never knew whose god, hero, or sister you might be insulting.

But my feeling is that no party or group has a pipeline to truth and wisdom, and our government is healthiest when the "ins" become the "outs" on a regular basis.

I'm a registered Democrat and proud to be one, but don't discuss politics with me, I won't do it!

The very first thing one must do in order to be a happy camper in this IMO forum is to grow a thicker skin. We can get pretty heated on many subjects, not just politics and religion and there are some strong opinions. As long as everyone is allowed their say and agree to disagree, then it's all good. It isn't the place for the faint of heart.

I've said for a long time that I am a Capitalist/Patriot. I lean socially liberal but am strongly fiscally conservative; meaning the government should stay out of my bedroom and bank account. I believe the federal government should place a strong emphasis on civil defense and states should put greater effort in education. States rights are a big "yes" in my book too, the less the fedieral government stays out of local dealings the better.

While I will vote Independent, Libertarian, Republican, etc... I will never vote Democrat. That's mainly because of the segregation/misogyny laws the party pushed and I feel continue to act upon to this day. Republicans disappoint me when they start getting too religious even though I'm a devout Christian. While I do believe the US was founded on the Judea/Christian belief system, at the same time the founding fathers were explicit in separation of church and state.

I know what you mean. I usually voice my opinion on here quite often, and I notice how there are a lot more people who disagree with me completely than those who agree. For some reason though, on this site a lot of the more conservative posters support each other and entice each other about how right they are...lol sorry to say it so bluntly but it's what I've noticed. I know there are a lot of liberals on here, but as it is in the real world there is no unity among liberals...we are a lot more diverse in opinions.

Interesting perspective.

Just from the posts, I would guess there are more Democrats/Liberals on here then Conservative Republications. I don't feel there are many on here that share my views and values on topics.

Everyone here will tell you I don't believe in the United States making policy based on "what other countries think of us". I think there are many countries that think we have a VERY weak President. Just what has Barack been able to accomplish, he won't tell us what went down with his meeting with Putin. Oh the transparency. He BOWED down to the Saudi King and there are Anti-Obama protests going on in Israel.

I will say I believe that this war that never ends, between the Pubs and the Dems was started, in large part by the Pubs, when they hounded Bill Clinton his entire presidency. The Dems got the Pubs back during the last eight years. Now the tables have turned again. Personally, I have stayed out of it pretty much since the election, at least for the most part. But this Health Care Bill and Cap & Trade Bill both have me fired up again. I am, vehemently against both of them.

I love it that both sides feel they are outnumbered gives you a little insight into "the other side" eh?

I personally am a liberal although I do hold a few traditionally conservative views. I do not always agree with everything a Democratic candidate stands for, but I almost always agree with them more than the Republican one I did vote for Obama and I stand by that 100%

I'm not much for debating politics, there isn't much that gets me into IMO to be honest, and if I do post, it's a post and run

I'm middle of the road enough to often be accused of being "one of them" by all sides.

Of course, one of the real problems is that here in the U.S. our "right" and "left" are not that far apart.

"Far left" would actually advocate the government seizure of all assets, no private property or private wealth, the elimination of all "useless" pursuits (such as pet ownership), and the government as the sole source of all income and benefits. That system's been tried, and it doesn't work, and not just because the people who ran it weren't smart enough to make it work.

"Far right" would advocate the elimination of all government except for the things only government can do, such as the production of money and national defense. I doubt that will ever be actually tried, thank goodness. But you only have to look to Somalia or Pakistan to know what happens when the government has no control.

And the terms "conservative" and "liberal" don't mean much, except in the way we define it ourselves. As an example, in Russia, a "conservative" advocates the return to complete Communism (which is the ultimate "left"), and "liberals" advocate a move to more personal liberty and capitalism, which would be the "right" here.

But most foreigners have a hard time distinguishing between the two parties here in the U.S., and for good reason. Almost always, the party in power learns very quickly that their campaign rhetoric just doesn't work when you're responsible for 300,000,000 people. And there's a long history of this. Both Adams and Jefferson ended up doing things as President that both had railed against as revolutionaries, founding our country.

And you'll find few people today who truly "drink the koolaid." One of the darlings of the left, PETA, advocates the elimination of all "artificial" species of animals, including all domestic dogs and cats. Anybody here in favor of that? I doubt it. And there are equally wacko groups on the right.

So most of us ending up bowling pretty much down the middle of the alley, with the only difference just which side of the head pit we hit.

So much for no bashing..between the OP's explanation of why they've asked, to this post, that's gone out the window.

Yup, the way I see it too. But you can count me in, as probably agreeing with many of your views! I am surprised, and yet NOT surprised at how this site is crawling with liberals.

Now THIS is a very interesting and thought-provoking post!! Thank you for contributing! PETA is just one of the reasons that I have a GUT AVERSION to the left! And it is a big reason. I wonder how many here do not yet understand what PETA stands for? The same goes for the legislative arm, HSUS. Unfortunately I have become suspicious of and shun many such rescue organizations, thanks to their radical goals! It takes careful research to make sure you're supporting a good welfare org.

I would guess that almost any cat site would tend toward the left. After all, we ARE more sensitive and caring, right?

But remember what Winston Churchill said: "Anyone under 30 who is not a liberal has no heart. And anyone over 30 who is not a conservative has no head."

Meaning, of course, that most of us, as we go along, discover that the idealism of the true left is, in the long run, unworkable.

However, I reject the claims that such countries as Sweden are truly "far left." They ARE socialist, but by that definition, so is the U.S. The Swedes enjoy the results of hard work by the majority of their citizens, and I think, personally, that they have managed to construct a system that encourages everyone to be a true contributor to both the wealth and the culture of the country. They have the advantage of being a fairly homogeneous society. The same would be true of Japan, by the way.

First of all, OUCH! Thanks for biting me in the hand!
Studies have shown that conservatives are more generous than liberals.
The rest of your post is interesting. Thanks.

Have to admit I was more of a Democrat in my 20's.....but over the years seeing the truth of what happens/happened in various values, I'm Republican now.

The Democrats have NONE of my basic values any more. They are nothing more then wanting everyone to be the same, handing out money like they are printing it in the basement of the White House and more of an "any thing goes" attitude with every aspect of policy or values.

To the OP: You must have missed the great IMO debates pre election last year. We had so many controversial threads that they were all combined into 1 large one affectionately called "the MOAT" (mother of all threads). I think it's safe to say that Cindy and I had a large time with those threads!

I still have my Obama bumper sticker on my car, in spite of the fact that I live in a state where Obama lost by 17%. I campaigned for him, hosted families who drove across the country to campaign for him here (their states were a lock and he needed help in the states in my area), and donated for both his campaigns and Franken's when he looked to be in trouble (and he's not in my state). DH ran a political website for 6 of the 8 years that Bush was in office. You can't get more blue than I am.

I don't trust politicians in general, but I generally support the philosophies of the democratic party. The strongest issues for me are environmental (drill baby drill makes my skin crawl), religion (the influence of religion in the republican party turned me off completely), and the need to help our fellow man (not thru hand outs, but by giving opportunities for people to stand up on their own). But I'm also a fiscal conservative, so stay closer to the center on that topic.

I don't post here much anymore for a couple of reasons: 1) I got burned out from the elections, 2) it hasn't been as much fun since the co-founder of DH's website died in a car crash 2 days before the election, and 3) our party won and that spoke enough to me where the country's head is at right now.

This is what puts a divide between people on both sides. As a die-hard liberal, I get offended by this stereotype portrayal of me. I know you aren't targeting this at anyone specifically, but it's these types of stereotypical opinions that cause people from either party to not trust each other, and fuels the political debates.

And the opposite stereotype of conservatives by democrats is that conservatives are self centered people who have no generosity. That attitude also offends me.

We are very much a centric country with so much more in common than a lot of people realize. It's very easy to pick an issue from the opposing side and make a leap that if you support a party, that you support all views of that party. I don't think that is fair to anyone.

I appreciate your thoughtful post, MOM! I really do. A couple of other posts made me respond a bit harshly, yours does not. I apologize for sounding like I was lumping....I know that not all liberals are PETA fans..I was referring to the fact that PETA itself is leftist. Case in point....my BEST friend...my sister (not really my sister but feels like one!) is very liberal!! I have known her for almost 15 years and we bonded very quickly. I have been there for her when she needed me and she has been there for me. We have traveled together and we love to flea market together or just drink coffee and talk. What we DON'T talk about is politics...ever, or almost never heh heh....the thing is.....where it MATTERS TO ME...ANIMAL issues....she is on my side! That is the ONE place where she is conservative! And that's all it takes for me, really. We'll never agree on the other stuff..but it's not important to our friendship..we just don't go there and we are the dearest of friends. We almost got in trouble late last year....but we fixed it quickly.