Bringing Out The Worst In People

There's nothing like a hotly contested election to really get people going! I usually get my morning news from ABC News because I like their format. I like that I can hit "print" on the top right of the article and it opens all in one page in a brand new tab in my Firefox browser. I also like MSNBC because they tend to have all their article on one page.

But even better than reading the news, especially when it comes to politics, is checking out the red hot discussions going on at the bottom of the pages. And do you know what I find? I find people so determined to cut the other guy/girl that is running for office down that the issues which are so important to American voters like myself, go undiscussed. Well, other than saying what absolute left-wing or right-wing agenda will "magically happen" once so-and-so gets elected. Like once the doors close on January 20th (or whatever the date is) some bells are going to ring and all those things that your candidate said they would "do" will suddenly come to fruition. You know, like the rest of the government doesn't exist.

I won't say who I have voted for (since I voted on Sunday) but I will say that the person you vote for shouldn't get your vote because of something like their voting record in the senate. Not that their voting record isn't important, but you should be voting for someone who shares your core beliefs. And most people are either a Republican or a Democrat in their core.

Let's take a quick look at the definition of each. And since a Republican or a Democrat is just a member of their respective party, we'll look at the basic party beliefs and values.

Democratic Party: Historically, the party has favored farmers, laborers, labor unions, and religious and ethnic minorities; it has opposed unregulated business and finance, and favored progressive income taxes. In foreign policy, internationalism (including interventionism) was a dominant theme from 1913 to the mid-1960s. In the 1930s, the party began advocating welfare spending programs targeted at the poor.

In recent decades, the party has adopted a centrist economic and more socially progressive agenda, with the voter base having shifted considerably. Once dominated by unionized labor and the working class, the Democratic base now consists of social liberals who tend to be well-educated as well as the socially more conservative working class. Today, Democrats advocate more social freedoms, affirmative action, balanced budget, and a free enterprise system tempered by government intervention (mixed economy). The party believes that government should play a role in alleviating poverty and social injustice, even if such requires a larger role for government and progressive taxation.


Okay, the Republican Party Wiki is structured a little differently, so it will look a little different.


Republican Party: The Republican Party believes that making law is the province of the legislature and that judges, especially the Supreme Court, should not "legislate from the bench." Republicans emphasize the role of corporate and personal decision making in fostering economic prosperity. They support the idea of individuals being economically responsible for their own actions and decisions. They favor a free market, policies supporting business, economic liberalism, and fiscal conservatism but with higher spending on the military.

A majority of the GOP's national and state candidates are pro-life and oppose abortion on religious or moral grounds, and favor faith-based initiatives. Most Republicans support school choice through charter schools and school vouchers for private schools; many have denounced the performance of the public school system and the teachers' unions. The party has insisted on a system of greater accountability for public schools, most prominently in recent years with the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. Today, the Republican Party supports unilateralism in issues of national security, believing in the ability and right of the United States to act without external or international support in its own self-interest.



Now that you know what each party's "core" beliefs and values are (even if it is in a nutshell), make your decision based on that. Because people trying to get elected tell you what they think you want to hear, not necessarily what they can or will be able to do once in office.

And also check out FactCheck.org. They have all the FACTS with none of the hullabaloo you see in the news and on discussion forums. They are UNBIASED, which is a great relief in this day and age.

Personally, I'll be teaching Willow to judge a book by what's inside, not by how pretty the cover is.