I am not a Republican, Democrat or Independent. I'm a conservative; there's a difference.
Essentially, America has traditionally been a two party system. For well over a century, those two parties have been the Democrats and Republicans. That's not to say that there aren't more political parties out there, but rarely does any of them play much of a role in the national scheme. Sometimes, a third party will win a local contest, but they are generally not real players.
For the sake of argument then, the two main players on the American political stage are the Democrats and the Republicans. None of the other minor parties can match them in money or manpower, or the ability to get out the vote. Given that, when most people talk about politics,they tend to divide up between the two major parties.
I was a Republican several years back. I joined the Party and contributed money toward their efforts. That lasted two years. I never renewed my membership. The reason I'm not a Republican is all too often, the party wants to be a light version of the Democratic Party. This recent election was a good example. The party supported Dede Scozzafava in the NY 23rd race. Scozzafava is a left-wing radical. As a Republican, she endorsed the entire Democrat platform. In that particular election, she was further left than her Democratic opponent.
The Republican leadership seems to have this idea that as long as we elect someone with an R after their name, it will be OK. It doesn't work that way. That is why I am a conservative. I am not a Republican and never will be until the party comes back to its conservative roots.
The liberal lie is that the Republican Party must become more moderate. What they really mean is that we need to be more like them. They want to blur the line. No, we don't need to become Democrat light. Why bother if you are going to do that?
A recent poll suggests that Americans are more conservative than liberal. It's time the Republicans learned that lesson and until they do, they get none of my money. I will support individual candidates as I see fit, but I will not support a political party hellbent on becoming more like their opponents.
VW
