How liberal or how conservative are you? Answer some questions here!

Okay, just want to do a fun game to ease our usual debates. Simply answer the question below by quoting me, lets get a sense of your political orientation.

• Are you in favor of legalizing marijuana - Yes
• Are you in favor of abortion - Yes
• Are you in favor of euthanasia - Yes
• Are you in favor of universal health care - Yes
• Are you in favor of legalizing prostitution - Yes
• Are you in favor of banning all guns - Yes
• Are you in favor of gay marriage - Yes
• Are you in favor of a muslin ban - No
• Are you in favor of "building a wall" - No
• Are you in favor of the death penalty - No
• Should states be allowed to display the confederate flag - No
• Should there be a term limit for congress - Yes
• Should it be illegal to burn the U.S flag - No
• Do you support The Patriot Act - Yes
• Do you support Affirmative Action - Yes
• Should employers be required to pay men and woman the same salary - Yes
• Should the U.S raise taxes to the rich - No
• Should the U.S continue the trade war with China - No
• Should government add regulations to combat climate change - Yes
• Do you support mandatory vaccine for children - Yes
• Should convicted criminals have a right to vote - Yes
• Should the U.S increase foreign aid - Yes
• Should the U.S continue to support Israel - Yes

Okay, so there's tons of more points I would have loved to add but saw that the list was getting a bit too long. I guess, I'm very left leaning but do have some more conservative postures like supporting Israel and not increasing taxes for the rich.

My answers are not too different.

I wanted to link my Isidewith, details as it provides a more detailed view and makes it easier to see differences, but that may give away real world information so I opted out of it.

Edit: "Are you in favor of a muslin ban": Who in their right mind would want to ban a fabric? I know what you really mean with this question, just having some fun here :P

Are you in favor of legalizing marijuana - NO

Are you in favor of abortion - NO

Are you in favor of euthanasia - YES

Are you in favor of universal health care - YES & NO

Are you in favor of legalizing prostitution - NO

Are you in favor of banning all guns - NO

Are you in favor of gay marriage - YES

Are you in favor of a muslin ban - YES

Are you in favor of "building a wall" - YES

Are you in favor of the death penalty - YES

Should states be allowed to display the confederate flag - YES

Should there be a term limit for congress - YES

Should it be illegal to burn the U.S flag - YES

Do you support The Patriot Act - YES

Do you support Affirmative Action - NO

Should employers be required to pay men and woman the same salary - YES

Should the U.S raise taxes to the rich - NO

Should the U.S continue the trade war with China - YES

Should government add regulations to combat climate change - NO

Do you support mandatory vaccine for children - YES

Should convicted criminals have a right to vote - NO

Should the U.S increase foreign aid - NO

Should the U.S continue to support Israel - YES

[1] Already is where I'm from.
[2] Not as a form of retroactive birth control. There needs to be proper sex ed and free contraceptives for men and women.
[3] Guns aren't an issue, it's the culture of violence combined with the extreme wealth inequality that's causing the stark increase in gun violence in the US. Guns are tools like any other. Does a hunter need a 30-round magazine for a fully automatic assault rifle? Fvck no.
[4] Why would anyone want to ban a simple weave cloth?
[5] Depends on the wall.
[6] It's defunct now isn't it?
[7] I like the idea of employers being unable to discriminate against someone in the hiring process for being a particular ethnicity, religion, sex or gender, etc. But I do not believe in the slightest that someone should be considered over someone more qualified for a position because they are of a minority group and the employer has a "quota" of minorities to fill. The best person for the job should get the job, period.
[8] The wage gap is largely a myth. Women are less willing to do certain jobs that pay more (i.e. industrial or hard labour jobs) and the way it is calculated, doesn't take this into account. Career fields that have women as the majority (nursing, teaching, etc) don't have any wage gap at all. Pay is based on seniority and training.
[9] They should be closing any and every tax loophole that allows the mega-rich to hide their wealth off shore and avoid paying taxes in the first place. Sure, the rate of taxes over a certain amount is something like 50%, but 50% of zero is still zero. The loopholes are why the US government isn't receiving more tax revenue.
[10] They should also cease the trade war with Canada. Trump needs to get his head out of his ass and realize just how much his economy relies on our resource production.
[11] They need to become a world leader against climate change. Even China is taking strides to change while the US wants to move back to coal. This is their number one failing right now.
[12] Mandatory across the board, including flu shots. A child should not be allowed in a public school without being completely up to date with their vaccines.
[13] Israel is it's own bag or worms, so I'll leave it at the US should stop giving them money to kill Palestinians.

• Are you in favor of legalizing marijuana - Yes
• Are you in favor of abortion - Yes
• Are you in favor of euthanasia - Yes
• Are you in favor of universal health care - Yes
• Are you in favor of legalizing prostitution - Yes
• Are you in favor of banning all guns - No - although I would like to see better gun control
• Are you in favor of gay marriage - Yes
• Are you in favor of a muslin ban - No
• Are you in favor of "building a wall" - No
• Are you in favor of the death penalty - Yes - but only in extremely heinous cases
• Should states be allowed to display the confederate flag - No
• Should there be a term limit for congress - Yes
• Should it be illegal to burn the U.S flag - No
• Do you support The Patriot Act - No
• Do you support Affirmative Action - Yes
• Should employers be required to pay men and woman the same salary - Yes
• Should the U.S raise taxes to the rich - Yes
• Should the U.S continue the trade war with China - No
• Should government add regulations to combat climate change - Yes
• Do you support mandatory vaccine for children - Yes
• Should convicted criminals have a right to vote - Yes
• Should the U.S increase foreign aid - No - at least not until we have better social programs for our own citizens
• Should the U.S continue to support Israel - No - I don't like their treatment of the Palestinians. They get us involved in situations in the Middle East that we don't need to be involved in.

• Are you in favor of legalizing marijuana - Yes
• Are you in favor of abortion - Yes
• Are you in favor of euthanasia - Yes
• Are you in favor of universal health care - Yes
• Are you in favor of legalizing prostitution - Yes
• Are you in favor of banning all guns - HELL NO
• Are you in favor of gay marriage - Yes
• Are you in favor of a muslin ban - No
• Are you in favor of "building a wall" - Yes, and no. I'm in favor of strengthening our border security.
• Are you in favor of the death penalty - Yes, if it costs less, no if it costs more.
• Should states be allowed to display the confederate flag - Yes, it's free speech. For the same reason you're allowed to display Mexico's flag or ISIS' flags.
• Should there be a term limit for congress - Yes, considering the low approval rating.
• Should it be illegal to burn the U.S flag - No
• Do you support The Patriot Act - No
• Do you support Affirmative Action - No
• Should employers be required to pay men and woman the same salary - Yes, and we have the Equal Pay Act of 1963. Should only be applicable to the same job position and criteria.
• Should the U.S raise taxes to the rich - No, but depends on the economic climate.
• Should the U.S continue the trade war with China - No
• Should government add regulations to combat climate change - Yes
• Do you support mandatory vaccine for children - No
• Should convicted criminals have a right to vote - Yes, only for non-violent criminals that don't want to cause mayhem.
• Should the U.S increase foreign aid - Yes, if it give us the products we need. That's the purpose of foreign aid.
• Should the U.S continue to support Israel - No, Israel has caused much harm to US foreign policy and they aren't to be trusted. They attacked the USS Liberty.

• Are you in favor of legalizing marijuana - Yes
• Are you in favor of abortion - Yes
• Are you in favor of euthanasia - Yes
• Are you in favor of universal health care - Yes
• Are you in favor of legalizing prostitution - I'm in favor of policy solutions arrived at by compassionate experts and sex workers together
• Are you in favor of banning all guns - No
• Are you in favor of gay marriage - Yes
• Are you in favor of a muslin ban - No
• Are you in favor of "building a wall" - No
• Are you in favor of the death penalty - No
• Should states be allowed to display the confederate flag - No
• Should there be a term limit for congress - No term limits for elected officials, term limits for appointed officials
• Should it be illegal to burn the U.S flag - No
• Do you support The Patriot Act - No
• Do you support Affirmative Action - Yes
• Should employers be required to pay men and woman the same salary - I'm not sure I support a mandate in order to achieve this. I believe in equal pay, but I think it might be better achieved through several narrower legislative solutions that target the underlying reasons rather than a broad, unenforceable mandate
• Should the U.S raise taxes to the rich - Hell yes
• Should the U.S continue the trade war with China - No
• Should government add regulations to combat climate change - Yes
• Do you support mandatory vaccine for children - Yes
• Should convicted criminals have a right to vote - Yes
• Should the U.S increase foreign aid - Yes
• Should the U.S continue to support Israel - No

It most certainly is not.

Not a US citizen so I'm not in on the details of Patriot Act or Affirmative Action

• Are you in favor of legalizing marijuana - Yes
• Are you in favor of abortion - Yes
• Are you in favor of euthanasia - Yes
• Are you in favor of universal health care - Yes
• Are you in favor of legalizing prostitution - Yes
• Are you in favor of banning all guns - No
• Are you in favor of gay marriage - Yes
• Are you in favor of a muslin ban - No
• Are you in favor of "building a wall" - No
• Are you in favor of the death penalty - Undecided
• Should states be allowed to display the confederate flag - Don't care
• Should there be a term limit for congress - No
• Should it be illegal to burn the U.S flag - No
• Do you support The Patriot Act - Don't know what that is
• Do you support Affirmative Action - Don't know what that is
• Should employers be required to pay men and woman the same salary - Yes
• Should the U.S raise taxes to the rich - Yes
• Should the U.S continue the trade war with China - No
• Should government add regulations to combat climate change - Yes
• Do you support mandatory vaccine for children - Yes
• Should convicted criminals have a right to vote - Yes
• Should the U.S increase foreign aid - No
• Should the U.S continue to support Israel - No

So, interesting there are only a couple we all agree with:

• Are you in favor of euthanasia - This was surprising considering how controversial the issue is.
• Are you in favor of gay marriage - I guess this issue is becoming less of a thing, considering 70%+ of Americans support it
• Should there be a term limit for congress - This is obvious, most would agree.
• Should employers be required to pay men and woman the same salary - I'll wait for more responses this could change.

Edit: Posted this before seeing the last 2 posts. Things have changed.

When I have time I'll do a post with all the points collected per answer.

Surprised anybody supports affirmative action. I thought we were trying to get rid of racism.

• Are you in favor of legalizing marijuana - Yes
• Are you in favor of a woman's right to an abortion - Yes (changed the wording here because its more in-line with the law)
• Are you in favor of euthanasia - Yes
• Are you in favor of universal health care - Yes
• Are you in favor of legalizing prostitution - Yes
• Are you in favor of banning all guns - Yes
• Are you in favor of gay marriage - Yes
• Are you in favor of a muslin ban - No
• Are you in favor of "building a wall" - No
• Are you in favor of the death penalty - No (But sometimes I waver in extreme circumstance...)
• Should states be allowed to display the confederate flag - Yes, but that doesn't mean you should display it. lol. It's not a good symbol
• Should there be a term limit for congress - Yes
• Should it be illegal to burn the U.S flag - No. I always found it odd how people were offended by flag burning.
• Do you support The Patriot Act - Tentative Yes... although now everyone is paranoid that everything they do is monitored.
• Do you support Affirmative Action - Yes
• Should employers be required to pay men and woman the same salary - Yes
• Should the U.S raise taxes to the rich - Yes
• Should the U.S continue the trade war with China - No
• Should government add regulations to combat climate change - Yes
• Do you support mandatory vaccine for children - Yes
• Should convicted criminals have a right to vote - Mostly yes.
• Should the U.S increase foreign aid - Mostly yes. But most of us want more money spent at home first to give everyone health care and stuff first.
• Should the U.S continue to support Israel - Ehhhh I dont know.

• Are you in favour of legalizing marijuana - No
• Are you in favour of abortion - Woman's Choice
• Are you in favour of euthanasia - No
• Are you in favour of universal health care - Yes
• Are you in favour of legalizing prostitution - Woman's choice.
• Are you in favour of banning all guns - Yes
• Are you in favour of gay marriage - Yes
• Are you in favour of a muslin ban - "you mean a travel ban" then yes.
• Are you in favour of "building a wall" - Yes
• Are you in favour of the death penalty - Yes
• Should states be allowed to display the Confederate flag - States rights
• Should there be a term limit for Congress - Yes
• Should it be illegal to burn the U.S flag - No
• Do you support The Patriot Act - Yes
• Do you support Affirmative Action - No
• Should employers be required to pay men and woman the same salary - I am for Equal pay for Equal work, But it´s a complex question since there are jobs where personal salary negotiations happen, and then it´s individual pay,
• Should the U.S raise taxes to the rich - No
• Should the U.S continue the trade war with China - Yes
• Should government add regulations to combat climate change - No
• Do you support mandatory vaccine for children - No
• Should convicted criminals have a right to vote - No
• Should the U.S increase foreign aid - No
• Should the U.S continue to support Israel - Yes

Mine are pretty close to yours with the exception of affirmative action (unintended side effects like hurting Asians and Indians in college entrance), and forcing companies to pay the same to both men and women since nobody has the exact same qualifications or work experience so how do you judge that your policy is being fairly applied.

I’m glad that some people are beginning to see how absurd it is that we don’t allow ex-felons to vote. Prison is called “paying your debt to society” for a reason.

Answers above.

May as well take a crack at it.

• Are you in favor of legalizing marijuana - Yes
• Are you in favor of abortion - Yes
• Are you in favor of euthanasia - Yes
• Are you in favor of universal health care - Yes
• Are you in favor of legalizing prostitution - Yes
• Are you in favor of banning all guns - No
• Are you in favor of gay marriage - Yes
• Are you in favor of a muslin ban - No
• Are you in favor of "building a wall" - No
• Are you in favor of the death penalty - No
• Should states be allowed to display the confederate flag - Yes
• Should there be a term limit for congress - Yes
• Should it be illegal to burn the U.S flag - No
• Do you support The Patriot Act - No
• Do you support Affirmative Action - Yes
• Should employers be required to pay men and woman the same salary - Yes
• Should the U.S raise taxes to the rich - Yes
• Should the U.S continue the trade war with China - No
• Should government add regulations to combat climate change - Yes
• Do you support mandatory vaccine for children - Yes
• Should convicted criminals have a right to vote - Yes
• Should the U.S increase foreign aid - Yes
• Should the U.S continue to support Israel - No

• Are you in favor of legalizing marijuana - Yes
• Are you in favor of abortion - Yes
• Are you in favor of euthanasia - Yes
• Are you in favor of universal health care - Yes
• Are you in favor of legalizing prostitution - Yes
• Are you in favor of banning all guns - No
• Are you in favor of gay marriage - Yes
• Are you in favor of a muslin ban - No
• Are you in favor of "building a wall" - No
• Are you in favor of the death penalty - Yes
• Should states be allowed to display the confederate flag - No
• Should there be a term limit for congress - Yes
• Should it be illegal to burn the U.S flag - No
• Do you support The Patriot Act - Yes
• Do you support Affirmative Action - Yes
• Should employers be required to pay men and woman the same salary - Yes
• Should the U.S raise taxes to the rich - Yes
• Should the U.S continue the trade war with China - No
• Should government add regulations to combat climate change - Yes
• Do you support mandatory vaccine for children - Yes
• Should convicted criminals have a right to vote - Yes
• Should the U.S increase foreign aid - Yes
• Should the U.S continue to support Israel - No

My answer

You know when you just list them out plain like that, without any explanation, it's easy to see why so many people think in black and white.

If someone took a glance at this, they might see me as a baby-killing flag-burning asshole, but the truth is that everyone one of my answers is more of a "maybe", "with conditions", or a "sort of".

For example, given yes or no, I would "favor" abortion. But I don't favor it; it's terrible. What I do support is a person's right to choose whats' best for their bodies and life. Likewise, I don't support unconditional euthanasia but I know not having it all would be a lot worse. I could have a condition for every single thing up there.

Right, there are shades of grey in everything, and political stances are certainly no exception. Nothing wrong with that.

I have a love/hate relationship with lists of issues like these. On the one, they oversimplify things greatly as you mention. On the other hand, writing the issues you care about out can help you identify where you would like to go on them in terms of policy (and then comparing that to party platforms/actions can help you decide who you want to vote for).

But they're just tools, and tools are only as good as the materials they're made from. The closer your list is to bumper sticker slogans, the less helpful it will be. The more you articulate "in the weeds" positions and proposals, the more useful it will be.

• Are you in favor of legalizing marijuana - No, medicine usage would be Yes.
• Are you in favor of abortion - Yes, but not from tax payer's money. Tax payers shouldn't fund somebody's bedroom fun. I would accept co-payment model i.e. there must be a cost with multiple mistakes.
• Are you in favor of euthanasia - Yes
• Are you in favor of universal health care - Yes, Australian dual system model with patent reform which promotes real competition, promote generics and medicine subsidy. Well paid employees push to the private insurance system.
• Are you in favor of legalizing prostitution - Yes. Could be a problem on extra medicare cost.
• Are you in favor of banning all guns - No
• Are you in favor of gay marriage - Yes, but not forcing existing religion to support it (Federal protected class).
• Are you in favor of a muslin ban - Yes, until reciprocal treatment in Muslim states. Temporary visas are OK.
• Are you in favor of "building a wall" - Yes, but larger population has pros and cons.
• Are you in favor of the death penalty - Yes, only murders with clear evidence.
• Should states be allowed to display the confederate flag - No, This is not US flag but a rebellion flag
• Should there be a term limit for congress - Yes
• Should it be illegal to burn the U.S flag - Yes
• Do you support The Patriot Act - Yes
• Do you support Affirmative Action - No, must pass race neutrality test. Welfare must be simple income means test, should not be a life style and available for all citizens regardless of race.
• Should employers be required to pay men and woman the same salary - Yes
• Should the U.S raise taxes to the rich - No, must competitive against OECD average corporate tax rate. Play to win, not play to lose.
• Should the U.S continue the trade war with China - Yes. Chinese state owned rare earth logistics chain are problematic i.e. reciprocal treatment. PS; I'm 1/4 Chinese.
• Should government add regulations to combat climate change - No, but support technologies like Telsa EV, Tesla Home batteries, liquefied coal to LNG, carbon air mining and nuclear power.
• Do you support mandatory vaccine for children - Yes, good quality vaccines must be used.
• Should convicted criminals have a right to vote - No
• Should the U.S increase foreign aid - No
• Should the U.S continue to support Israel - Yes

No one forbids you from giving a more in-depth answer :)

• Are you in favor of legalizing marijuana - Yes
• Are you in favor of abortion - Yes
• Are you in favor of euthanasia - Yes
• Are you in favor of universal health care - Yes
• Are you in favor of legalizing prostitution - Yes
• Are you in favor of banning all guns - Yes
• Are you in favor of gay marriage - Yes
• Are you in favor of a muslin ban - No with Caveat - I believe religion should not trump "Integration" if a community fails to integrate then they face the full extent of the law, not tip-toed around.
• Are you in favor of "building a wall" - Meh with Caveat - immigration needs to be strict in most countries.
• Are you in favor of the death penalty - Yes - resources are limited, if someone is THAT dangerous, enough is enough.
• Should states be allowed to display the confederate flag - Don't care.... not American.... sounds very facist not to give the option?
• Should there be a term limit for congress - Yes
• Should it be illegal to burn the U.S flag - No
• Do you support The Patriot Act - **** no
• Do you support Affirmative Action - Yes
• Should employers be required to pay men and woman the same salary - Yes - Caveat - providing working time and competency is equal.
• Should the U.S raise taxes to the rich - No
• Should the U.S continue the trade war with China - No
• Should government add regulations to combat climate change - Yes
• Do you support mandatory vaccine for children - Yes
• Should convicted criminals have a right to vote - Yes
• Should the U.S increase foreign aid - Maybe - Some key examples like funding India just seems like piss taking.
• Should the U.S continue to support Israel - Dunno.

• Are you in favor of legalizing marijuana - Yes
• Are you in favor of abortion - Yes, with limits
• Are you in favor of euthanasia - Yes, with limits
• Are you in favor of universal health care - Yes
• Are you in favor of legalizing prostitution - Maybe, not sure
• Are you in favor of banning all guns - No, fundamentally un-american
• Are you in favor of gay marriage - Yes, but churches may opt not to perform them if they choose
• Are you in favor of a muslin ban - No, fundamentally un-american
• Are you in favor of "building a wall" - No
• Are you in favor of the death penalty - No
• Should states be allowed to display the confederate flag - People in state or state itself? what if the cf is part of their state flag?
• Should there be a term limit for congress - Yes
• Should it be illegal to burn the U.S flag - No
• Do you support The Patriot Act - not familiar with all the provisions of it to say
• Do you support Affirmative Action - maybe
• Should employers be required to pay men and woman the same salary - Yes, but how to enforce? often salary is based on more than simply sex
• Should the U.S raise taxes to the rich - taxes need restructuring
• Should the U.S continue the trade war with China - No
• Should government add regulations to combat climate change - Yes
• Do you support mandatory vaccine for children - under most circumstances
• Should convicted criminals have a right to vote - only after sentence is served
• Should the U.S increase foreign aid - too vague a question to answer
• Should the U.S continue to support Israel - in what ways?

• Are you in favor of legalizing marijuana - Yes. It's safer than opiods and can control pain. Plus, why the hell not.
• Are you in favor of abortion - I'm in favor of keeping the choice legal. I'm not a fan of abortion per se.
• Are you in favor of euthanasia - I'm in favor of treating people's medical issues and depression so that they dont want to commit suicide. I'm not in favor of doctors killing their patients.
• Are you in favor of universal health care - Mixed. I think we need a better system. Seems like its the way to go in long term.
• Are you in favor of legalizing prostitution - Yes. Government should not dictate morals.
• Are you in favor of banning all guns - No. Guns are a right, even if its dangerous. Ok with common sense regulation.
• Are you in favor of gay marriage - Absolutely yes. Government has no business in people's personal lives.
• Are you in favor of a muslin ban - No
• Are you in favor of "building a wall" - No.
• Are you in favor of the death penalty - No
• Should states be allowed to display the confederate flag - Should be up to the people of each state. Hopefully they vote no.
• Should there be a term limit for congress - Yes
• Should it be illegal to burn the U.S flag - No. Freedom of expression even if I disagree with it.
• Do you support The Patriot Act - Dont know the exact provisions of it to accurately comment.
• Do you support Affirmative Action - For many aspects, yes. I understand why it is.
• Should employers be required to pay men and woman the same salary - Yes for equal work.
• Should the U.S raise taxes to the rich - Should raise taxes on everyone, moreso rich.
• Should the U.S continue the trade war with China - China is cheating like a mofo. They have been stealing technology and implementing unfair practices. Something has to be done.
• Should government add regulations to combat climate change - Yes
• Do you support mandatory vaccine for children - Yes
• Should convicted criminals have a right to vote - Yes
• Should the U.S increase foreign aid - Yes
• Should the U.S continue to support Israel - I'm ok with Israel right to exist, but we should not support them unconditionally or unilaterally.

Clarification on legal prostitution. There should be measures to protect the workers from being exploited or sex slaves. That would be my only reason for not legalizing it.

You can give an explanation of yours on the reply. I doubt the OP is forcing you not to.

Yeah I was going to, but it sort of defeats the purpose. I thought it might be interesting to reduce myself to simple yes/no answers for once.

Omg, I think we answered everything the same.

Which is hilarious, because I'm fairly certain that if each of you were asked to place yourself on a left/right scale, you'd place yourselves significantly far apart. Not opposite ends, but definitely not right next to each others'.

To be fair, I've never been hugely enamored with the Democratic party, I just grew up at a time when GOP culture was becoming increasingly and violently hostile to my worldview. I've been ridiculed for being an atheist, for being a secularist, for questioning the decision to go into Iraq, for having problems with the way Netanyahu conducts his government, for going to college, for choosing a liberal arts major, for growing up in a city, for being a millennial, for listening to rap, for not listening to rap, I could probably go on. And it's not like "hmmmm...I disagree with your opinions but I respect you, let's have a constructive discussion," it's like "Oh my god, you hate America! You're an evil atheist-communist-anti-Semite! Your generation is ruining the entire world!" I've got not time for people like that.

Anyway, not to ramble, but if the GOP would ever put forward candidates who had even a basic level of respect for people like me and who held policy positions I agreed with I would vote for them. I would have rather voted for a sewer rat than for J.B. Pritzker, but there's no way in hell I'm voting for a jerkoff who tanked my state's government and basically raised my tuition just so that he could pick a fight with public sector unions. Anyway, that's pretty much been my experience whenever I've waded into conservative social circles. It's like "okay, they're not so bad, we're pretty similar in a lot of ways," and then all of the sudden they're like "Chicago is committing economic genocide against the rest of the state, Obama is a secret Muslim, liberals are part of a devious plan to destroy morality, climate change is a plot to destroy independent farmers, using the n-word isn't bad because white people can be n-words too," and I'm all like, "**** it, I'm out."

@theone86: Well yeah, no one actually likes the Democratic party :-P

@need_healing

I am in disagreement with only the following

Are you in favor of banning all guns - Not 'all' but many

Are you in favor of gay marriage - no...the State should get out of ALL marriages

Should states be allowed to display the confederate flag - yes but I understand the concern but it is a bit of (hiding the flag does not hide the believe and power) thing

Do you support The Patriot Act - no

Should the U.S continue to support Israel - no

Should the U.S increase foreign aid - no

Do you support mandatory vaccine for children - no

Now with that said, where is your question regarding Universal Health Care? where is your question about holding companies more responsible and more transparent? where is your question about the enviroment? Where is your question about military spending? where is your question about taxes?

I mean for **** sake...'global warming' or 'what flag can we fly'. we need to get our priorities on issues seriously un-fucked

I like my representative and my senator, I'm a huge fan of Obama, and I'm not so down on most of the public figures from other states (I don't hate Nancy Pelosi or Hillary Clinton with a fiery passion). I really get pissed off at the local politicians who engage in corruption or ignore minority concerns to the point where I'd easily vote for someone else. But then the Republicans come along and they're all like "we want to privatize everything and completely get rid of unions, and if you fight us on this we'll shut down the government and get your state's credit rating downgraded," and I'm like "Nope. Where do I go to vote for the corrupt assholes?" National Democrats "yeah!", local Democrats "boo!"

I have really do not have a problem with Democrats.

My only issue is that they dont fight dirty enough and I think agreeing to making having private insurance a requirement by law is likely a very bad idea in the long run.

The Democrats around me can be a special breed of stupid. Our nominee for governor used dirty tricks to get out of paying property taxes, and he's had at least a couple of embarrassing race-related missteps. We had a Democratic assessor that was blatantly using government for his own gain. Our mayor blatantly tried to cover up evidence in a police shooting case where the officer was just recently convicted of murder. One of our state representatives uses his law firm to appeal property taxes for wealthy businesses and homeowners in exchange for political favor, and our state speaker rewards political allies with government jobs. I disagree with all of this, but when we got a Republican governor he immediately demanded a tax freeze, social service cuts, and disbanding public service unions to the point where he refused to sign a budget for two years, and we only passed a budget because Republicans joined with Democrats to override his veto. Among other problems that this caused (such as our credit getting downgraded), it caused state schools to raise tuition to make up for the expected funding that wasn't coming from the state (not to mention the closure of some smaller schools). I don't like all my local Democrats, but if the Republican solution is a scorched earth strategy then I'm voting for the lesser of two evils. People want good governance, and ****ing the state in order to score an ideological victory is not good governance.

As for fighting dirty, that's not the problem around me. The problem around me is that the people representing the party are far too removed from the people they're representing. They don't live in the communities that need help, they don't travel in social circles that are broad enough to give them access to all their constituencies, and they generally don't know what it's like to grow up in communities of color. If my local Democratic party would really embrace minorities and attempt to elevate minority politicians they would be absolutely unstoppable. It's not like that everywhere in the U.S., but I think that would solve a lot more problems for Democrats than trying to fight dirty.

I think maybe you are not following what I am saying. To borrow a now popular phrase

'they tend to bring nail clippers to a gun fight'

that is what I mean.

• Are you in favor of legalizing marijuana - Of course
• Are you in favor of abortion - This varies with the wind. Sometimes, but often not. I don't completely buy that a woman's bodily sovereignty is predominantly to end all consideration, the unborn fetus also has a large say
• Are you in favor of euthanasia - (Ali G) No doubt
• Are you in favor of universal health care - Yes
• Are you in favor of legalizing prostitution - Yes
• Are you in favor of banning all guns - Not at all
• Are you in favor of gay marriage - Yes, if nothing but simply to piss off the religious in their whining over semantics and tradition
• Are you in favor of a Muslim ban - I don't live my life in fear, so no
• Are you in favor of "building a wall" - I again don't exist in fear, so no
• Are you in favor of the death penalty - 100% (in principle, not in....excuse the pun....execution)
• Should states be allowed to display the confederate flag - Sure, if one is proud to admire and display a flag promoting a cause that cost many lives to defeat based on bigotry and hate. Let them expose themselves as the idiots they are for the world to see
• Should there be a term limit for congress - Yes
• Should it be illegal to burn the U.S flag - No way in hell
• Do you support The Patriot Act - Yes
• Do you support Affirmative Action - Never
• Should employers be required to pay men and woman the same salary - Pay them what they deserve predicated on qualification of merit, not solely on the principle of gender
• Should the U.S raise taxes to the rich - Poorly phrased. Do you mean should the rich be taxed more, or should tax policy be implemented to benefit the rich?
• Should the U.S continue the trade war with China - No
• Should government add regulations to combat climate change - Of course
• Do you support mandatory vaccine for children - Yes
• Should convicted criminals have a right to vote - Yes
• Should the U.S increase foreign aid - Yes
• Should the U.S continue to support Israel - Eh. While I feel Israel's plight, I feel deeply for the Palestinians

I've always considered myself Independent that leans to the Left.

• Are you in favor of legalizing marijuana - Yes
• Are you in favor of abortion - In terms of having the legal right to have one, yes. I don't agree with it being used as a form of birth control, but I know that everybody has different situations.
• Are you in favor of euthanasia - Yes
• Are you in favor of universal health care - No
• Are you in favor of legalizing prostitution - Yes
• Are you in favor of banning all guns - No
• Are you in favor of gay marriage - Yes
• Are you in favor of a muslim ban - No, but I am in favor of a travel ban on people that cannot be properly vetted due to a lack of proper documents. Not in favor of blacklisting an entire country.
• Are you in favor of "building a wall" - No
• Are you in favor of the death penalty - Yes
• Should states be allowed to display the confederate flag - Yes
• Should there be a term limit for congress - Yes
• Should it be illegal to burn the U.S flag - No
• Do you support The Patriot Act - Yes
• Do you support Affirmative Action - Only in certain situations involving a clear disadvantage. I'm not in favor of it being used just to meet a quota.
• Should employers be required to pay men and woman the same salary - Yes for equal work.
• Should the U.S raise taxes to the rich - No
• Should the U.S continue the trade war with China - No
• Should government add regulations to combat climate change - Yes
• Do you support mandatory vaccine for children - Yes, as long as we aren't pumping kids with something they are allergic to. People with valid religious objections should be required to be homeschooled.
• Should convicted criminals have a right to vote - Depends on the crime
• Should the U.S increase foreign aid - No
• Should the U.S continue to support Israel - Yes

Does it really matter? I have opinions, you have opinions but what's important is what is going to help our country progress forward in the most beneficial way for society?

Seems like we should change "Are you in favor of abortion?" to "Are you in favor of a woman's right to choose?"