Am I Republican or Democrat?

If I were to vote in this upcoming election I would chose to vote for the democratic party. I
agree with much of what it is supporting and feel they treat everyone equally. The democratic party is a
more liberal and social party than the republicans. They have a much more wide variety of people then
republicans. Democrats are for equality and freedom. They support social programs to help society.
They want to give money to schools to receive higher education, which many people would appreciate
and would make our country more educated. The democrats support welfare and woman's rights. They
want an equal and involved country. They republicans want to give the wealthy less taxes, where as the
democrats believe that the less wealthy and middle class should receive the lower tax. Religion plays an
important role in the republican issues. Not everyone in the country is Christian or follows the bible.
Republicans base many issues from religion, such as abortion. I myself do not support abortion or think
that it is right, but I do think that if abortion were made illegal it would only cause more problems. It
will make illegal abortions take place which are unsafe and life threatening to women. I don't think it
would solve any thing. Plus not everyone in the country is a catholic or even agrees to the catholic
beliefs. Republicans don't support homosexuality and marriage of homosexuals or founding for aids. I
think that it is a choice not a law to be homosexual. I think that the country should try and help and
support it's problems instead of just avoiding them. Democrats support welfare and helping the less
fortunate. The taxes paid by the upper class are put aside and used to help the lower and middle
classes. Republicans believe that this money could be given back to the people. Which in some ways
would please many people but would still make our society weak as a team. The Republicans believe in a
more conservative and controlled government and are not involved with the people. On all of these
issues I feel I am a member of the democratic party. If everyone is treated equally and we have a
government for the people, then it would result in a strong unified government.

In With the Donkeys.

Americans have been consumed by politics since the beginning. It is even easier now, especially in a
presidential election year. It seems you can't watch television without seeing an advertisement for the
Republican Party and the Democratic Party. While our political system does allow more then two
parties, these two parties are the only two widely voted for year in year out. This leaves most
Americans with the tough choice of deciding which party to vote for. The choice seems to be getting
harder every year. Both parties try to represent more voters, this is why each lean more towards the
middle between each party every year. Now the voter must decide which issues are the most important
to them, and then chose a side. I myself have had a tough time choosing a party. But, by weighing out
the issues, at this time in my life I am leaning towards the Democratic Party. I agree with a number of
their key issues. First, I strongly agree with their view on minimum wage, their stance on school choice,
their choice of crime prevention, their plan for welfare reform, and lastly their pledge to protect the
environment.

The number of families living off of minimum wage is increasing every year. These families would be
living in poverty if not for minimum wage. Many Republicans are opposed to minimum wage because of
fears that it would slow down the economy and increase the unemployment rate. They thought this
would happen because businesses would have to cut jobs in order to pay for the higher wages. The
problem of having no minimum wage is that while one person can survive on a low wage, it is impossible
in today's world to support a family by making under $5.00 an hour. The current minimum wage is set
at $5.15 an hour, Democrats have been trying to increase it to $6.15 by implementing two $.50
increases over a two year period. This has been unsuccessful because of the Republican majority in
Congress. I believe along with the Democratic Party that the minimum wage is essential to lifting
Americans out of poverty.

One of the biggest issues during the 2000 Presidential campaign was the issue of education. While both
parties agreed that more money needed to be appropriated for education, they disagreed on how it
should be spent. The issue of school choice was also high on the list of differences. The Democratic
Party would like to give all Americans the choice of which public school they want their child to attend.
The Democratic Party believes that this would make schools increase their standards and discipline. The
Republican Party would like to give all Americans voucher for what their child would receive from the
state and federal government. With this money voucher the parents could send the student to any
school they would like, private or public, and they would only have to pay the difference. While the may
seem like a good idea, private school vouchers would take money away from public schools, which are
open to all students, and give them to private schools, which can exclude students based on their ability
to pay. School choice is needed, but should not extend to the transfer of state and federal funding to
private schools.

Unfortunately, crime is rising. Subsequently crime prevention has become a very important. Each party
has their own view on how to decrease crime. Democrats believe in stopping crime before it happens
through education, teen programs, curfews and more community based police officers. With new after
school programs, democrats hope to keep young people busy and out of trouble. Under the Clinton
Administration the government created 100,000 additional community police officers and countless
after school programs for urban areas. Democrats as do I believe that with more time and more funds
this type of crime prevention could reduce crime dramatically.

Both parties agree on only about one thing when it comes to welfare. That is the fact that it needs to be
reformed. Each although have their own methods for reforming it. The democrats would like to reform
it by limiting the amount of time someone can be on welfare, creating more jobs for people on welfare,
and increases federal funding for child care. Democrats believe that by giving more jobs to welfare
recipients that it will increase the chances of these people of getting off welfare and staying off. With
increased funding for childcare it gives the children of welfare recipients of being able to succeed later in
life. By implementing these actions, I believe the welfare system could greatly be improved.
The Democratic Party has always been pledged to the protection of the environment. With the increase
of pollution and fewer natural resources this is more important then ever. Democrats believe that
stricter restrictions on clean air and clean water must be done to protect the health of Americans. They
also believe in the preservation of certain areas in order to protect an ecosystem. This is debated very
heavily right now with the Republican Administration wanting to drill for oil in Alaska. While do not
completely agree with all the views Democrats have on environment, especially those found on the
protection of endangered animals and plants. But I do agree with them a lot more then I do the
Republican view on the environment.

Choosing a party is still very difficult, even when the issues are singled out one by one. This is because
while I do agree with the Democratic stance on some issues, I do not agree with them on all the issues.
These issues make it hard to decide on a single party. This is probably the reason why I do not believe in
a strong political party system. I usually vote on a candidate based on their stances on the issues, not
what party they are from. This is the view of many Americans and this is why America has one of the
weakest political party systems in the democratic world.

Based on my study of the data concerning trends in party affiliation, I agree with the view that the role
of political parties is in a serious decline. According to The Pew Research Center for the People and the
Press, many independent voters' political attitudes seem to express the public's current uncertainty
toward the two major parties. Another reason that I feel that the role of political parties is declining,
according to Anis Shivani, is that there has been a remarkable lessening of the assortment of differences
between the two parties, with the exception of the environment, women, and minorities.

According to Anis Shivani, "The rise of independent voters is another chimera; in practice, they
tend to be weakly affiliated with either party, not ideologically motivated of informed voters who might
support strong domestic initiatives of any kind."

(http://www.counterpunch.org/shivani01042003.html 09/28/05) Independent voters seem to just fall

behind whatever party's beliefs that they believe in at the time. Most independent voters seemed to be
very uninformed about politics.

Anis Shivani states, "As far back as the late seventies, weakened party organizations as factors in
the nomination process were said to have resulted in a "no-party system."" "The traditional argument
has been that dealignment, i.e., declining partisanship among the electorate, including such reflections
as third party voting and ticket splitting, is a momentary phenomenon to be followed by a new
realignment." (http:///www.counterpunch.org/shivani01042003.html 09/28/05) Anis Shivani explains
here that the reason that the two parties are beginning to decline is due to the lack of separation
between the two. The two parties seem to agree on everything except for women, the environment,
and minorities.

In conclusion, the two parties are beginning to become unified in many of their ideas and
beliefs. Both parties, due to lack of separation, are beginning to decline which is leading more and more
people to vote more as independent parties, rather than accepting the beliefs of either of the two main
parties. As can be seen, the Democratic party and the Republican party are in a serious decline and are
in need of a revival.
Throughout my 14 years of living in the United States I have developed a strong liberal political view
towards the many political issues in today's siciety. I cannot think of a more perfect government than
that of the United States. It is truly a country ruled by the people and for the people with reasonable
representation in both the White House and Congress. The United States has so many citizens that it
has become unrealistic to hear each and every citizen on what they have to say on a public stand. It
would take many years if we were to give all citizens an equal opportunity to speak in pubilc and be
heard by all for at least 5 minutes. Also, not all citizens are as well educated and informed to be making
decisions on several issues, causing them to just follow the majority when it comes to voting. This is why
we have the opportunity to elect the person whom we think can make the best decisions for us. I have
develop my political ideology due to my interest on individuals' freedoms, my family background and
their ways of thinking as well as what I have seen from the upcoming presidential election of 2008.

California has just recently legalized same sex marriages. However, according to Bill O'Reilly,
only 30% of Americans approve such civil acts. I personally do not see this approval of same sex
marriages as demoralizing to the American society; on the contrary, I see this as a great use of the
freedoms that this nation has to offer to its citizens even though not widely approved by all states. I view
myself as a true liberal when it comes to private rights that do not involve national interests. I believe
that if a person either decides to or is inclined to be different from others, this person should not be
punished or isolated just for showing deviant behavior. As long as this person does not interfere or come
into conflict with others around, it is perfectly fine to let the person live his or her life a lone. I believe
that the government should limit the level of survaillance and control of freedoms that the citizens
become subject to. I do understand that there is a centain level of order and dicipline required for
people to cohexist but there should always be room for freedom of choice.

Party affiliation is easily passed down to young generations by parents. And, it is often difficult to
grow up with opposing views to parents' political views. This is also why I leaned to the left and
identified myself with the Democratic Party. Coming from a big family of immigrants, it is obvious that I
have inherited the political views of both my parents and relatives. My family has long seen the
Replublican Party as our enemy when it comes to the spending plan. As a liberal, I consider the War on
Terrorism to be an unjust war that has done more bad than it has done good. The current war on
terrorism has morally defeated some very patriotic people's attitudes that are just not seen the results
that we had hoped for prior to engaging in this war. Lives are still lost everyday with no additional
progress in what seems to be an invasion of a foreign country. President's Bush'es support has
drastically dropped in recent polls taken due to the fact that the Democratic candidates for the
presidency are promising to bring troops back and restore our economic turmoil.

The numerous presidential debates that I have watched on TV have helped me clear my mind on
who I think will be the best president. The present chaotic state of the economy has raised a lot of
questions regarding the importance of home and foreing spending. As usual, the Republican Party has
the strogest base for national defense and foreing policy. But Mr. Obama's strong sense of community
and equal opportunity have made him my presidentioal candidate of choice for 2008. The following
quote by Mr. Obama is truly inspiring; "I'm asking you to believe. Not just in my abilyty to bring about
real change in Washington.....I'm asking you to beleive in yours." I think that Mr. McCain is a very strong
candidate with the reputation necessary to gather all votes required to make him president. However, I
feel that Mr. Obaba has more realistic solutions to the constant struggle that United States is currently
undergoing.

I am againt the ongoing war on terrorism, I am in favor of an improved health plan for needy
families, I am against the US high dependency on foreign oil, I am in favor of an immigration reform.
Therefore I am a liberal affiliated with the Democratic Party, specially when it comes to election time. 8
years of Bush have not been witness to any kind of major improvement. His term as president will end
with a failed war and a inavoidable recession that could possibly lead us to a second depression.

Work Cited Page

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Party_%28United_States%29

http://factcheck.barackobama.com/