Poll: Republicans: Your take

[Xanadu84]

I believe that no matter how many times I am wrong, I must assume that any Republican has a reasonable, rational opinion that is simply (Probably) in opposition to mine, because opposition is the only real way to have a more robust opinion on matters. The fact that people like the most vocal and obvious of the Tea Party end up just acting batshit insane can make that difficult, but I'm sure that there are liberals who are just as foolish, and maybe it's easier to overlook that foolishness when they are supporting my perspective. Basically, I try my best to consider all people of a political persuasion reasonable, rational, and intelligent until proven otherwise, and I will not change that opinion no matter how many times I am proven otherwise.

I do respect Ron Paul. Occasionally he dips into crazy fantasy land, but its usually a stretch from fairly reasonable assumptions.

 

[sheah1]

My usual reaction is pretty damn negative but my friend is a conservative (England's version.... I think) and, well, he's my best friend. It does occasionally show in him though.

 

[teknoarcanist]

I don't care what political principle someone has, so long as that principle emerges as the result of careful thought and introspection, rather than just picking up a narrative on the news and running with it.

The idea that I can devote my thoughts to an issue, and my vote has equal weight to someone who just flips a coin, smacks of being sort of antithetical to the methodology whereby democracy is supposed to produce government/legislation of moral quality.

 

[Puzzlenaut]

Republicans talk a lot then don't actually do much. Democrats talk a lot and then go and fuck things up. I prefer neither.

Basically, i know Republicans are a little more traditional/right wing and Democrats are more progressive/left wing. Is that right?

I can't say i'm particularly savvy with the intricate ins and outs of the republicans and the democrats (i'm from the UK). But i watched this guy on You Tube called Bill O Reilly and i thought he was a complete tosser for the way he treats people on his shows. Is he a republican or a democrat? I'm not going to base my whole opinion structure on that one person, but i'd just like to know.

Bill O'Reilly is non-partisan.

Oh right, thanks!

No, Bill is a republican. I don't know where you get the idea that he is non-partisan...

(protip: if there's a Fox News logo located in the vicinity of a newscaster, then they are a Republican)

Yeah and if any other American news show is on you can assume they are liberals.

Lolwat?

Pretty much all news channels are right-wing douches.

 

[The Long Road]

"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are."
-Theodore Roosevelt

That quotation perfectly sums up why I am a Republican. I want small government and low taxes. Voting Democrat is nearly always counter to that, so the only way to move towards that goal is to vote Republican. Individual candidates may not have all the ideals I want to see, but over time several candidates will probably hit all the points I care about. Pretty standard use of deviation to the mean. America, for all of its hootin' and hollerin' from both sides of the spectrum, is a center-right country when averaged out. Therefore I do my part to speed that process.

Now I've read some posts on here that say "Republicans demonize whole groups of the population!" Have you ever heard a Democrat talk about "the rich"? If you didn't know better, you'd think anyone with money spent their days eating puppy stew and making immigrants dance for their amusement. Both sides have groups they consistently target, but at least Republicans don't do it to the people who run the economy.

 

[Gudrests]

I'm sorry if anyone takes offense but:

How many republicans does it take to screw in a lightbulb?

Spoiler

Three. One to hire a mexican to do it, and two more to deport him after he's done.

Again, no offense meant.

I am a republican and I laughed.....mainly at the mexican getting deported part but still...a laugh is a laugh...and me being only 18 and in NYC (BIGGEST DEMOCRAT AREA EVER!!!!!) but I do live in the last Republican "stronghold" its funny to see why some people vote democrat.....because every republican would take all that welfare money away from thoes people...I kid you not. There are soooo many people who vote for them and for such a dumb reason. I do admit I voted Democrat for the congress....only because...well...I knew the guy and he gave me a congressional nomination to West Point....(not easy). That and the Republican came to my door at 10AM(it was public knowledge that I had recieved the nomination so he wanted to sway my vote) And spoke with me for an hour....I was tired...And in my PJ's..... at least he won lol

 

[Alrocsmash]

Both sides are idiots. I'm fully waiting for a hybrid system that does not want to give all of our money away to lazy morons, or hold on to 2000 year old out dated unfounded religious dogma.

 

[MagicMouse]

The biggest problem I have with Republicans is that everybody thinks of them when the word conservative is mentioned. I consider myself a conservative, not a Republican. The difference being I want little government control over both fiscal and social aspects of the country, were as Republicans want little fiscal control, but a lot of social control(anti-gay marriage for example).

 

[jpoon]

I'm not a republican but I do want a slim government that stays the fuck out of my own business. Republicans and Democrats are basically the same thing.

"The argument that the two parties should represent opposing ideals and policies, one, perhaps of the right, the other of the left, is a foolish idea acceptable only to the doctrinaires and academic thinkers. Instead, the two parties should be almost identical, so that the American people can "throw the rascals out" at any election without leading to any profound or extreme shifts in policy." -Carrol Quigley

 

[Lance Arrow]

I don't really have a problem with all republicans in general. It's the beer drinking, nascar and Fox News watching, backward ones that really need to disappear.

It's such a shame that only the crazy political activists who say extreme shit with no goal other than to draw attention to themselves or their party get media exposure, which makes some people generalize said political party/parties. Well I say don't judge anyone until you've met them in person.

 

[Jaxek13]

There's nothing wrong with parties or ideologies in general, the problem is the fact that there are people who go crazy over this stuff and therefore creates this "Us vs. Them" mentality. Extremism = insanity,

 

[CarlMin]

If have no problem playing CSS with my republican friend, despite being a die-hard democrat myself. But perhaps things would be different if I actually lived in America^^

 

[funguy2121]

There's a lot of talk about biasis in the media these days: Walmart underpays women, black men are targetted by the police, straight men are being corrupted by Dragon Age, etc. Today though I want to ask you about initial reactions to a simple demographic, one that encompasses about 50% of Americans - Republicans. Sure, that number's a bit off, but that's not really the point of this thread, what is is how you feel towards Republicans. What is your gut reaction to them? What is your perception? Would you date one, and would you feel different if a friend "came out" as being one to you? I ask this to you Escapists because let's be honest, this is a very Left-leaning website, and I'm curious just how much weight the "do not judge" mentality holds in the face of the Right Wing.

OP, less than 50% of Americans are Republicans. About 30% are moderate to fringe conservatives, including libertarians, about 30% are liberals, and about 30% are impatient idiots who swing back and forth faster than Tila Tequila.

Straight men being corrupted by Dragon Age - this sounds like Dr. Laura charlatanry. I'm not sure anyone's accusing Wal-mart of underpaying women, but Wal-mart has lost multiple class-action lawsuits by female employees for other reasons. If you look up racial profiling reports, black men ARE targeted by the police.

I don't assume all Republicans and conservatives are the same, but rational conservatives like John Stossel are in bad company with all the demagogues like Limbaugh and Beck out there and all their yes-men and -women and "dittoheads." The high priests of the far right fabricate such bullshit notions of American Exceptionalism and then use their newly made up fairy tale to demonize Obama, Pelosi or whomever is there target for the moment. American Exceptionalism, for example, has nothing whatsoever to do with America being an exceptional country. It has nothing to do with our perserverence or ingenuity. It's the idea that we're somehow special and better than everyone else. And the pundits love nothing more than coupling this with religious BS, as if America were the first Christian nation ever.

 

[cubikill]

The problem (this sound incredibly arrogant, sorry) is that people don't/can't separate their political ideology form the party that occupies the same general stance. Political parties are by nature are lying sacks of crap. So do you hate the party of the politician? To win elections in a two party, winner take all system(what we have in the USA) the parties must cater to the biggest base posable, the center. So to win they must lie to the people, tell half-truths, and and in general campaign. Also parties are made up of people, which we should all know by now are royally messed up. So parties are bull-crap. But the ideologies that they water down and pervert are not the same. That is why you get so many people in the center that say they agree with both parties. They don't really agree with ether party, rather they agree with some of both ideologies. They just don't/ can't separate the parties from the ideologies. Also in case you were wondering I subscribe the to political ideology of libertinism. I think that government should stay out of the economic system (mostly), as well as our society (mostly). As to which party i support, who ever supports these values the most, and has the highest chance at winning.

 

[BlumiereBleck]

Short answer: Republicans suck. Democrats suck. The best political party is the Libertarian party.

Libertarianism is the political ideology of spoiled children.
CAPTCHA: nolvedur 108,

*hats off* to you! I think the Republican party is the best answer for America's political leaders. Seriously would Thomas Jefferson and the rest of the Founding Bunch go democrat? Especially after hearing about carter and jackson? I think not!

 

[MagicMouse]

Both sides are idiots. I'm fully waiting for a hybrid system that does not want to give all of our money away to lazy morons, or hold on to 2000 year old out dated unfounded religious dogma.

Libertarianism is what you are looking for.

Spoiler: Look at this Handy chart!

 

[Timbydude]

Eh, I don't really like it when the terms "conservative" and "Republican" are equated. They're not at all the same thing. I'm (mostly) conservative, but I definitely am not a Republican. Committing yourself to a political party instead of a philosophy just doesn't make sense to me.

But, I can honestly say that the vast majority of conservatives are extremely intelligent people. Fox News is not indicative of all right-wings by any stretch of the imagination. It's just a money-maker that hires the most radical, sensationalist personalities in order to make a greater buck, at the expense of people who actually hold the expressed views for logical reasons.

Honestly, if conservatives were all really as stupid and illogical as the people you see on TV, the whole group would hold absolutely zero sway; people would eventually wise up and the whole movement would just die out.

 

[Grickit]

I'm a conservative, but I can't stand most mainstream republicans. The republican party has not stood for conservativeness for a very long time. They've been corrupted into this perverted combination of corporatism and theocracy.

Just look at what they've wasted our time with so far this year:

1. Abortion
2. Abortion
3. Abortion
4. Trying to repeal healthcare regulations
5. De-funding education
6. Abortion
7. Fighting gay rights
8. Abortion
9. Union busting
10. Trying to make sodomy a crime in Texas again
11. Abortion
12. Reaffirming (Whatever that means) the "in God we trust" slogan.
13. Abortion

Conservative governments should not be in our wombs telling us what to do. Should not be telling us who to love. Should not be in our beds telling us how to... you know. They should not be printing religious stuff all over the place. Et cetera.

For the past two years the republicans obstinately blocked anything proposed and demanded "WHERE ARE THE JOBS!?". But now they have a turn in the spotlight and they're letting us down even harder than the democrats did. What the heck?

And I won't even get started on Bush who we elected as a republican and then he turned out to be this massive spending loving, freedom stripping, liberal who totally broke the economy.

Apart from healthcare reform, I'd say that Obama has actually turned out to be more of a republican than Bush. Actually, on second thought, one could make an argument comparing healthcare reform to the patriot act in terms of which is more liberal...

Okay so I guess I did get started on Bush after-all.

tl;dr version: Republicans aren't doing what they're supposed to be doing. I'm a little peeved.