http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2006/

Halfway down the page where it says COMMUNITY CAUCUS, you can take the quiz.

:hello: That's interesting. You know what stinks though is that our country is so divided among the democratic/republican line. I know that was just a simple quiz, but I think that a lot of those questions don't have simple answers, and there is much more involved in it. Unfotunately I think the media contributes to this division among American citizens, and it seems like more often than not people are content to just choose a side with which to identify, when in fact I bet most Americans fall somewhere inbetween.

I definitely agree, France. I think most people fall close to the middle politically; the perceived polarization is definitely largely driven by the media. I couldn't even get through that quiz since often neither answer accurately reflected my views. Here's another quiz that allow some shades of grey, and is still really short and sweet:

world's smallest political quiz

As it turns out, I am really a libertarian leaning slightly to the liberal side--that feels about right for me.

I, too, walk that line!! But I'd fall over to Barack Obama's side if he were PRESIDENT!!

I took the Political Quiz and it said simply: Liberal lol.

In so far as the Republican/Democrat division, I think it's because we like to categorize everything and everyone into groups based on different factors. We shouldn't really do that, but we do. Therefore, politics follows suit with those to the left, right, and some in the middle. For many of us, it's just a matter of knowing where we stand on social and economic issues that tend to be either more conservative or liberal. Politics/History has always been fascinating to me, and I try to follow/research what is going on at the federal, state, and local level of politics as much as I can. That allows you to be prepared for voting like on this Tuesday because you know who the candidates truly are and stand for as opposed to those ridiculous campaign videos you see on television from both parties.

Although polarization is problematic, it is even more of a problem when people declare a party without having considered all of the ideologies and issues that go with it. As many previous posters have stated, you might be conservative on some issues while liberal on others, and that is great because it shows you go through and think about the issues. However, there are also people who simply find that nearly every idea and issue they find to hold true to a particular political affiliation. For example, I'm Pro-Choice, for Gay Marriage, for gun control, against the death penalty, for better environmental policy, for more government spending on domestic issues, and tend to favor an economic policy that promotes help for those who are disadvantaged. Once you go through all of these issues and really process what they mean to you, your family, and so on, then you can say you are a Democrat for Republican. So for me, it's pretty definite that I take a liberal stance on the majority of issues and consider myself a Democrat.

Yes, we should not be so concerned with labels, and yet we are as a nation. The real issue is leadership that can be effective in making changes the benefit ALL of society as opposed to only a segment of society. This may account for political polarization because people are tired of policy that is stagnant or ineffective. Everyone no matter what your beliefs would like an honest, intelligent, diligent, and quality leader who makes a positive difference. Sadly, people sharply disagree in how we should reach that point, and that is where labels and stereotypes of the labels become prevalent. I have hope that someone by the name of Barack Obama will change these things in 2008 :) He may be the person who bridges the bridge between those to the left and those to the right.

I hate the way the two side are pitted against each other, there is never a simple answer to complicated questions. What may be simple to one person is not easy for another, we need to step in each other's shoes once in awhile to get a different perspective. I am a democrat but am conserative about many things. It's hardly ever black and white, but shades of gray with a little bit of color mixed in too!

:amen: Honestly I am tend to more Socialistic. I think we are entitled to education and health care.

Though, I am pro choice, I am against late term abortions EXCEPT for when a mother's life is at risk. I don't like the ideal of late term abortions should be allowed just because the parents want a boy rather than girl, vice versa, or a baby is diagnosed with down syndrome. That is just wrong.
I am for the death penalty for child molestors, too. But not the death penalty for women who kill in self defense. I think those women deserve medals.

I am against the free for all immigration from Mexico. But I think amnesty should be granted on the spot to victims of genocide from Africa.

I think I have the right to own a gun to defend mysefl and my family. But cops should have the right to confisicate weapons from Neo-Nazis, Klansmen, or anyone else belonging to a racist/terrorist group.

Oh I can go on and on, on how I differ about certain issues.

I hate Diane Feinstein!!!

I'm somewhere in between, and registered always as an independent.

As for immigration, it's at the top of my list as the most important factor this year, which makes it tough to make a decision.

I hope everyone votes today. It is good to participate in the elections, but I'm worried about these electronic votes. I already heard there were some problems for early voters who said they pushed the button for Democrat and it voted Republican :blink: ? This is going to be an interesting day to say the least.

Here's the results I got:

Until 2004 I was a registered Democrat. I have always voted for who I thought would lead the country the best, regardless of their party affiliation. I don't remember seeing a real destinction until 2004. That was the election that I realized I was not inline with my party on the important issues. At the same time, one of the attorneys that I worked for came to the same realization. She and I differed on about every subject so it was quite humorous to discover that we were both identified with the wrong party on our voters registration card! We rushed to have them changed so we could exhale! It was a year of discovery for both of us!

I guess the farther left one is, the further they advanced on the ball field.

No wonder Clinton....oh, never mind. :rotfl:

That seems particularly unusual timing to me. What happened in 2004 that caused you to be turned so abruptly around to embrace the conservative Republican platform to the extent that you have?

Your postings here certainly seem to be as conservative as I've ever seen so I am extraordinarily surprised that you had been a registered Democrat until that occurance in 2004. It certainly wasn't that there was a remarkable deficit recovery. It couldn't have been any moral indescretions by our principled leaders because their moral code is above reproach :blink: :rolleyes: .....

So tell me (if you wish), WHAT opened your eyes in 2004????

I'm still a registered Democrat, but I should change it to independent. I have definitely become much more conservative on some issues during the past few years of my life, and it's all based on my own experiences. My mom always told me that my bleeding heart would eventually run dry, and I too would change my views as I got older and joined the real world.

There are republicans I despise and like. Same with Dems.

But we do need a change for the envoriment, and the healthcare/education for all.

Less money on war, more on education.

You know France, there seems to be a lot of truth to that. Many people I've spoken to about politics who are older say they were so much liberal when they were younger. In fact, in one extreme case, one person was a liberal flower child of the 60's and is now a very Conservative Republican who supports Bush. However, there still are many Democrats who are out of college, with career, and have a family of their own (I assume that's what you mean by being in the real world lol). It just depends on what happens within your life that will change your attitudes toward certain issues. I know I still have a lot of learning and growing up to do, but I don't think I will ever change my attitudes (I'm stubborn anyway :) lol). Also, I never totally understood the term "bleeding heart". Is that more or less how much you care about the issues?

"Bleeding heart" was a term I always took to mean someone who takes a subjective approach to every issue, thereby creating emotional burden. I don't even know if that makes sense or if that's the best way for me to describe it. For example, I feel like I'm a bleeding heart with certain issues, as I tend to be overcome with certain problems in this world and feel that my life should be spent trying to change them. While this isn't necessarilya bad thing, I think it can be unhealthy.

This is a really random example, but for some reason it has always stuck with me. I saw on one of those wife swap shows this woman who was an animal rights activist. She was considered "weird" to the average person, but her everday practices were centered around respecting animals and nature (I don't know why that has become so weird to people). She ended up having to stay with a man who was a hunter who kept his trophy heads around the house. When she saw the trophies, she was brought to tears and apologized to the trophy head for having been murdered by this hunter. Was it odd? Sure, but I felt bad for her because she obviously had a lot of emotion about the issue and truly felt bad for the animal. She spent her whole life fighting for animal rights (in a non-violent manner) and only has misery and sorrow to show for it.

She, in my opinion, is a bleeding heart. And although I respect her endeavors and the vegan lifestyle she has chosen, I think that it is unhealthy for her to keep submersing herself in all of these issues that are making her miserable. That's not to say that she shouldn't pursue trying to change things. I'm the same way with certain issues, and sometimes I think about how much easier it must be to just not care at all.