Currently I think I am a minarchist.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minarchism

When I was a kid growing up in the farm country of MN, I thought of myself as a Democrat.  Not Democrat as defined in 2006, but a Democrat defined in the 1970's in MN.  A Hubert Humphry Democrat if you will.  

When I turned 18, the first Presidential election I could vote in was the Bush-Dukakis election.  I hate to say it, but being in college at the time and brainwashed for the past 18 years, I voted for Dukakis.  Damn I was dumb back then.

A year later, I went active duty and then my whole outlook on life started to change.

The next election that came up was Bush-Clinton.  By this time in my life, I voted for Bush, didn't really like him that much, but voted for him anyway.

Then came the Clinton-Dole-Perot election of 96.  I was still in the Army at that time and I knew the damage Clinton had done, but I didn't think Dole would be able to handle the job, so I voted for Perot.  Perot was a little crazy, but at time, we could have used some crazy in the White House.  

Then came the Bush-Gore of 2000 and I voted for Bush.  By this time I felt I was solidly Conservative.  I loved listening to Rush and was about Conservative values.

Stayed the same when 2004 came around, and again I voted for Bush.  I still think that was the best vote I ever cast.  I think Bush has done allot right, but still he leaves me wanting something more from a President.  His illegal immigration stance drives me the wall.

So now it is 2006, and the midterm election is only a few days away.  So I thought I would look to see where I stand on the issues and how my views have changed over the years.

Some of the bigger events of the past few years have tainted me on today's Conservatives and the Republican party.

The "Kelo" decision was a big one for me.  The Republicans in Congress should have immediately created legislation to nullify the SCOTUS ruling, but they did not.  It would have been a huge win for the Republicans.

The next was the battle over what to do with illegal immigration.  Huge problem, lots of posturing, nothing getting done.  Easy but expensive solution in my mind.  Round the illegals up, I don't care if it would take 30 years to do so, but round them up, and send them packing.  Build a big damn wall and man it with armed guards with the ROE to shoot on sight if someone peeked over the wall.

The next one for me is taxes.  Cut them down farther, the hell with Gov programs.  It has already been proven that Gov tax receipts increase as taxes are cut.  No brainer really, but it some people can't figure it out.

Next is gun control.  The Republicans in mind have caved on this issue.  Too many RINO's in Congress to get the issue resolved.  Also Bush said he would sign the reauthorization if it hit his desk, which I thought was a precarious position to put himself in.  We got lucky on this one.

Abortion is next.  Roe vs. Wade should be thrown out.  I don't care if you call the baby a fetus or not, or care if the baby feels pain or not.  That little fetus, if it is healthy, will eventually, after 8 or 9 months, will come out a HUMAN BEING.  We all know this to be true so why do we allow this to happen any longer?  Instead of abortion, how about the Gov offering free tubal ligation to any woman that wants it.  That way no babies are killed and the woman can have all the uprotected sex she wants to and she will not be inconvienced in anyway.

And last was the confiscation of guns in NO.  When Nat Guard agreed with the decision to disarm everyone, I knew that I had had enough.  Even though the laws are now on the books to stop this in the future, that is not enough.  The NO Pollice Chief, all the police officers and all the Nat Guard Commanders should have been arrested and thrown in jail.  It was a goddamn travesty of our rights and it broke the camels back.


By this point in life I am tired of politics as usual.  I hate the goddamn political adds.  They are nothing but lies and BS.  The politicians are nothing but greedy, power hungry little minded people who could give a rats ass about you or me.  More and more freedoms are restricted or taken away, or being brought up to be taken away every day.  How can anyone justify banning trans-fat?  Who gives a rats ass what someone else eats?  I could give a shit if someone wants to eat themselves to death.  For christ sake, what is wrong with people these day?  Banning smoking is also driving me nuts.  I smoke and every day I relish the fact that I can still smoke a cigarette if I want to.  Soon, that won't be the case.  Someday soon, I will be looking around the corner to see if the cops are going to arrest me for having a smoke.  Where is this country headed.

So I finally found the political belief that seems to fit my beliefs, at least for now.  Minarchism.  It took me quite a while to find, but it seems to fit pretty closely.

So, where are you at in your political belief cycle?

Quoted: Then came the Clinton-Dole-Perot election of 96.  I was still in the Army at that time and I knew the damage Clinton had done, but I didn't think Dole would be able to handle the job, so I voted for Perot.  Perot was a little crazy, but at time, we could have used some crazy in the White House.

You thought that Perot would have made a better president than a man who was a war hero (partially disabled while defending his country) and had served in Government for most of his adult life?



The first presidential election that I voted in was the Clinton/Dole election and I am proud to say that I voted for Bob Dole. He would have made an excellent president.

Veteran or not, in my mind at the time, Dole was a bore of a man.  I liked Perot for the fact that he got his people out of Iran on his own, the Gov could and did nothing.  Perot was a huge supporter of the Armed Services.  Shit, he used to, and may still, buy rifles for the Dallas SWAT Team.  He was a sincere patriot and loved the country.  He could not be bought by any special interest group or lobbists.  He had more money than he knew what to do with.  He was honest and stood by his beliefs.  He was just a little crazy at times.

Quoted: By this point in life I am tired of politics as usual.  I hate the goddamn political adds.  They are nothing but lies and BS.  The politicians are nothing but greedy, power hungry little minded people who could give a rats ass about you or me.  More and more freedoms are restricted or taken away, or being brought up to be taken away every day.

+1 Sometimes I wish we had a multiparty system like pretty much every where else in the world. As for politics, I consider myself to be a bit right of Libertarian. I voted for whoever the NRA endorsed this election (Republicans and Democrats)

Since I was born in CA...I started on the VERY liberal side. Except for my position on gun rights-most likley because my Father and Step father were both military men. My stepfather drilled into me the reasons why we must own weapons-be they knives or guns.

I was really liberal..untill the first time I voted just after my 18th birthday. There was a funding bill for the local libraries on the ballot that would raise the property taxes to pay for it. My parents at the time could barely make their house payments-that extra tax may have put them in the hole.

I mentioned it school, and of course, all the other liberals were spouting on how important the libraries were. I replied with "how about we institute small user fees and nail people on late/lost books. That way everyone pays for it-not just a people who happen to own property". And, you guessed, the liberals went off on how land owners had enough $ to pay for it so they should and other socialist/communist dogma.

That was when I realized that hard left liberals/socialists would screw EVERYTHING up if they got too much power. I was not too thrilled by the Republicians, but heck..it was better than Democrats!

You can now put me in the "socially liberal(for the most part), economic conservative" category. I am not registered to any party because I think party/partisan politics are destroying this country.

I lean to voting for the R over the D most of the time though-the R will normally do less damage for the most part over the D.

I am believing less and less in democracy every day.

I've learned that the people in power will seek to reach dumber and dumber voters to stay in power. Up to and including bringing over 20,000,000 people from south of the border to vote for them. Arizona has a voter lottery on the ballot this year [barf]. As if motor voter laws and such weren't pandering to the dumbest possible section of society.

The first requirement for voting should be accepting responsibility, not demonstrating irresponsibility.

I long for the days of a representative republic where the people who vote don't vote themselves the treasury. I also desire term limits, like 1 term.

My thoughts pretty much mirror the original poster's.

It's depressing.

Quoted: Veteran or not, in my mind at the time, Dole was a bore of a man.  I liked Perot for the fact that he got his people out of Iran on his own, the Gov could and did nothing.  Perot was a huge supporter of the Armed Services.  Shit, he used to, and may still, buy rifles for the Dallas SWAT Team.  He was a sincere patriot and loved the country.  He could not be bought by any special interest group or lobbists.  He had more money than he knew what to do with.  He was honest and stood by his beliefs.  He was just a little crazy at times.

Perot also wanted door to door gun confiscation in the ghetto. Not my kind of guy.

I grew up Roman Catholic in the Bible Belt.  Many times it wasn't much fun since Fundamentalists were quite up front with their hatred of Catholics.

When JFK was President, it was nice.  Someone high in government that had our same values (or so we thought).  When he was killed, we were saddened at his death and disappointed that our new President was a Texas Baptist.

I accepted that LBJ was okay because he was a Texan.  Mom and Dad were Democrats (I think) though they never discussed politics in front of us kids.

My first Presidential election was '76 and I idealistically and sadly voted for Carter.  By the time of the next election I was ready for any Republican.  We received Reagan (from on High) and I have been a straight GOP voter since.  As time has gone on, I have become more and more conservative.

I will not vote for the party of the Babykillers, the Democrats, ever again.  The Dems are trying to destroy the country that my dad fought for in WWII (the Pacific), Korea, and VN.

I am worried about the this election.  My hope rests in God.  Whatever happens, God is still in control.  I pray for my Country.  I love her dearly.

I'm a simple guy; both a fiscal and social conservative.

In college, I was a liberal because I was supposed to be. In retrospect, I really didn't have a clue, either from knowledge or personal experience. Most of the liberal attitudes that young folks latch onto are based in selfishness: wanting someone to pay your way, or relieve personal responsibility or to condone some personal destructive impulse. As one ages, they realize that none of this is good, both on a personal and a societal level.

I grew up an ignorant country boy.  We moved out here to Virginia, and it was pretty hard for me to adjust to city/suburban life.  Through high school, I was pretty neutral in my viewpoints, but I felt that civil liberties were very important, and that was foremost in my mind.  I felt that Bush was a pretty poor President, and still do.  We could do worse, however.

Once I graduated high school (2005), I got an honest job.  Seeing the huge swath that the government cut through every single one of my paychecks did not please me.

In late 2005, I took an interest in firearms; I'd used them before, having grown up in a fairly rural part of Kalifornistan, but now I felt a need for one of my own.  Y'all being fellow gun owners, I'm certain you understand the reasons why.  I've slowly been sliding to the right as my political education continues, but I still will not align myself 100% with Republicans.

These days, I'd say I'm a small-government fiscal conservative mixed with libertarian.  I think the government's role is to protect the freedoms of the people from outsides aggression and from those among the people who would seek to repress others as well as seeing to the day-to-day operation of the country.

I'd be a Republican, if they weren't so liberal.  Small Government, States decide for themselves the issues.  A LOT less federalism.  

Is there a chance the libertarians or another 3rd parth will ever get into power?  Not just one or two seats in Congress, but majority holders of power and maybe President?  

Quoted: Is there a chance the libertarians or another 3rd parth will ever get into power?  Not just one or two seats in Congress, but majority holders of power and maybe President?

I wouldn't dismiss the possibility out of hand, but I don't consider it a very high probability that it will happen anytime soon.

I'm about ready to vote for Alfred E. Newman.

I'd say I fit the Libertarian bill the most.  
I've been around guns most my life, so that pretty much nipped any chance of voting Democrat right in the bud for my early years.

I grew up as a republican, but after seeing how much they shit on personal freedom in some areas I have become more libertarian, little L kind.

I'm in favor of a fixed set of laws (think Hammurabi code), no legislature that can make new laws (oversight function is fine) and no voting rights if you recieve assistance from the government of any kind other than contractual guaranteed benefits (VA, Retirement from working for gov).

No, have been a republican for all my voting career, I don't trust any politician, be it Foley, Kerry, etc.

I just vote who I think will do less damage to this once great country the least.

Quoted: Quoted: Veteran or not, in my mind at the time, Dole was a bore of a man.  I liked Perot for the fact that he got his people out of Iran on his own, the Gov could and did nothing.  Perot was a huge supporter of the Armed Services.  Shit, he used to, and may still, buy rifles for the Dallas SWAT Team.  He was a sincere patriot and loved the country.  He could not be bought by any special interest group or lobbists.  He had more money than he knew what to do with.  He was honest and stood by his beliefs.  He was just a little crazy at times. Perot also wanted door to door gun confiscation in the ghetto. Not my kind of guy.

I don't have a problem with that, doing something that in hopes could cut down gang violence.  Door to door should mean "where violent felons live" otherwise I agree with you and NIMBY

If I had to "sum-up" my political "Philosophy" in a one-liner it would probably be something along the lines of this:

"Your life is NOT my fault".

I'm tired of being the "Bad-Guy" because I want to keep what I EARN (Or at least as much of it as I can) and I'm not too crazy about bein' told that MY ability not to completely F**K my life up is the result of being "Lucky" (I struggle with it everyday!)

God, Guts, and Guns!  America, love it or leave it!  English as the official language.  Secure borders.  Shut down the liberal media.  Reign in big business.  Health care for all.  Minimal government.  Two years mandatory military service for all high school graduates.  Slant toward isolationism and a withdrawal as the worlds police department.  And more.  I have yet to figure out what if any political mold I fill but I vote Republican for the lack of any better.

Oh!  And prepare for a second American civil war.  It is coming.

And I've pretty much been this way since birth thank you..

I find that as I get older, my political views are getting more libertarian. Less government interaction in my life is better. I don't understand how the dems think that more .gov programs are better and the more taxes, the better.