Are you Liberal or Conservative or somewhere in between?

[Crazedclerkthe2nd]

I spent most of my life in a very liberal area of Canada but now live in a very conservative southern state. The political differences are vast and striking.

Where I lived in Canada, gay marriage is legal.
Where I am now it is not only illegal but considered borderline demonic.

Where I lived in Canada, it was legal for a woman to be topless in public.
Where I live now it is illegal and any woman who did so would probably be thought of on the same level as a prostitute.

Where I lived in Canada, abortion was legal and not a major issue.
Where I live now abortion is legal, though virtually inaccessible due to restrictive laws and there are groups actively fighting to make it illegal again.

So what has all this done to my political views? I would say in general I am socially liberal (believe in equal rights for gays and everyone else, believe in freedom of religion, believe in gender equality, etc) but fiscally conservative.

[AdminAssistant]

I'm very liberal (shocking!), both socially and fiscally. I currently live in Kansas, which has only cemented my views because I can see first-hand how awful neo-conservatism is. (Our Governor is good buddies with Rick Perry and funded by the same corporate entity as Gov. Walker if that tells you anything.) Abortion is all but inaccessible now, gay marriage is a major threat to America, a number of social services offices have been closed, and the state Arts Commission has been de-funded and employees fired. (The Gov. did not have the authority to completely eliminate it.)

My home state, a Southern state, is doing considerably better with low unemployment, smart use of federal funds, and has a balanced budget, thanks to Gov. Beebe. He even met with a gay rights group to discuss some issues. It's unlikely that gay marriage will be legalized there soon, and he said as much, but at least he was willing to have a discussion and see where other legal needs can be met. Education also seems to finally be back on track after the mess Huckabee left. It's amazing what a governor can do when they're not too busy trying to run for Senate or President.

[Rageaholic]

Definately Liberal now.

I used to consider myself conservative, but the war in Iraq, economic situation, and change in religious views caused me to rethink things. Basically, I like the liberal philosophy of helping the little guy out. The conservatives on the other hand, want to take everything away. Maybe not all of them are like that, but I think they are ignorant of how difficult it is for the every day man to get by. All while being caught up in other issues like abortion and gay marriage, which is only a very small piece of the pie.

[Mytical]

I consider myself middle of the road, because some things I am conservative about, and some liberal. Though I am probably more liberal then conservative.

[Andara Bledin]

I'm socially liberal and fiscally centrist. Every "what are you" quiz I've ever taken leaves me almost smack dab in the middle on the fiscal questions.

^-.-^

[Teysa]

I used to consider myself pretty conservative, but my views have shifted towards liberal as of late. It seems that the liberal views are more in line with my Christian views than the conservative ones. We should feed the hungry, clothe the poor, etc. The only thing that hasn't put me all the way over into the liberal camp is my view on abortion. (only in extreme circumstances-i.e. life of the mother.)

[Crazedclerkthe2nd]

Wanted to drop by this thread again since I didn't finish saying everything I wanted to say this morning.

By "Fiscal conservative" I meant I am someone who believes that everyone should be responsible with money from individuals to the government. Continual debt based spending never does anyone any good and is an unsustainable model.

Of course there's no realistic way to balance the Federal Budget right now without massive cuts that would send the country over a cliff, BUT we at least need to think about finding ways to trim the deficit in order to eliminate and that should be much less painful than a one time massive cut.

Bottom line: I think it's important to spend within your means.

For the record I do believe in rape/incest/life of mother exemptions as far as abortion laws go.

Second point I wanted to add was that even though I might self identify as liberal on some issues and conservative on others, I do not necessarily think of myself as a Democrat or Republican.

There are differences between true Liberal ideology and current democratic ideology just like there are differences between true Conservative ideology and current Republican ideology.

I heard the differences in parties (in the U.S. anyway) described thusly:

- Democrats want to regulate your business but not your personal life
- Republicans want to regulate your personal life but not your business

Of course these are simple blanket statements but they do sort of give a general overview of the way things are in America today.

Both parties want control in one form or another, so it comes down to a question of not whether or not you want government control in your life, just what level and in what areas.

I also feel politicians tend be hopelessly shortsighted and absolutely suck when it comes to enacting legislation that will help support future generations. Note I am not really talking about monetary support, but actions to ensure the environment will be preserved and whatnot.

Definately Liberal now.

I used to consider myself conservative, but the war in Iraq, economic situation, and change in religious views caused me to rethink things. Basically, I like the liberal philosophy of helping the little guy out. The conservatives on the other hand, want to take everything away. Maybe not all of them are like that, but I think they are ignorant of how difficult it is for the every day man to get by. All while being caught up in other issues like abortion and gay marriage, which is only a very small piece of the pie.

For a lot of people the differences you describe boil down to the old "give a man a fish" proverb.

That is to say, the Democrats want to keep handing out the fish and the Republicans want to teach people to fish.

In reality it's more like Democrats want to hand out fish primarily to keep people from starving in the streets, not just to everyone who is hungry I.e. if you make 50K/year you shouldn't really be getting government handouts. Republicans, on the other hand, do want you to learn how to fish, they'll just charge you out the ass for the pole and send you to the cruddiest lake around.

[HYHYBT]

I saw a bumper sticker not long ago which seems appropriate here. It said something like "Liberals think the glass is half full. Conservatives think the glass is theirs." Or maybe it was the other way around; it works pretty well both ways.

[Boozy]

By "Fiscal conservative" I meant I am someone who believes that everyone should be responsible with money from individuals to the government. Continual debt based spending never does anyone any good and is an unsustainable model.

That's not the way fiscal conservatism is defined by political scientists, and it's not what most people think when they hear the term.

Fiscal conservatism in the last twenty years has usually referred to:

- A strong belief in free trade
- A strong belief in the free market
- A strong belief that tax cuts bring prosperity

Deficit spending is better considered a non-partisan practice, used by both sides to fuel their agenda (usually tax cuts for the conservatives, program spending for the liberals).

[Gravekeeper]

According to the ever helpful www.politicalcompass.org I'm just past the center point of the Liberal / Libertarian square and basically almost exactly where Gandhi is on the chart. But just a tiny bit more Libertarian. -.-

[mikoyan29]

I'm not exactly sure where I stand because it depends on the issue:
1. Abortion - I think they should be kept legal up until the point of viability. If that point keeps getting younger, so be it. However, I myself wouldn't advocate one if I were involved with someone.
2. Welfare - I don't like the free ride version of the New Society. I think that if you are going to get a hand out from the government and if you are able to work, you should. There's a ton of infrastructure in this country that needs work....that's where we should be putting the unemployed. Admittedly, Construction takes some skill but still, if it worked in the 30's, it should work now.
3. Education - I think that if you want to go to a public university or college it should be free if you can meet the requirements for admission to said university. I don't think everyone should go to college. I think teachers aren't paid enough in this country and it seems like they are getting more screwed over now. But then again, I don't see education as a right-left issue.
4. Defense - This is kind of a touchy subject for me because I love military aviation but I think we waste too much money on defense. It doesn't seem like we ever hold defense contractors to task when they can't deliver on time or on budget. I mean take the F-22, that thing has been under development for almost 20 years and we are just now getting operational wings and they still have issues. This is from the same industry that developed the Hellcat in under a year. There are several other examples of waste in defesne acquisitions....I think part of it has to do with our requirements but some of it has to do with has to with the contractors pushing the envelope because they can. Another wasteful practice is how different projects end up getting built in all 50 states. I don't mind pandering to Congress but not on our dollar. But anyways, I think Defense should be just that....defense. NOw I realize that we have many obligations all over the world but I think it's time that some of our allies foot their own military bills.
5. Death Penalty - I'm mostly against it but there are a few exceptions I can make.
6. Wall Street - I think Wall Street has moved from its intial role as finacier to business to finacier of itself.
7. Taxes - I think we need a progressive tax system as I think wealthier people benefit more from the things that taxes bring than the poor people. However, I think it should be a relatively flat tax. When the tax code is larger than the Bible, there is a problem.

I'm not sure where all this puts me......

[Andara Bledin]

I'm not sure where all this puts me......

Take the test Gravekeeper linked. It actually has questions for most of your concerns.

I seem to have drifted rather a bit leftward in my fiscal views, so that I'm now notably further over than I used to be, putting me on the same fiscal footing as Ghandi, Nelson Mandela, and Gravekeeper, but with the social views closer to the Dalai Lama.

^-.-^

[blas87]

Mostly conservative, but liberal when it comes to gay rights and abortion. It's a common sense thing. The most basic of rights should not be denied to someone because of sexual orientation.

Note that I am pro-adoption rather than abortion, but I'd rather not judge a random pregnant girl because it's definitely a situation I'd never want to be in, and as gross as it sounds, I'd rather there be more terminated pregnancies than more rampant child abuse/neglect, and also pregnant girls who can't or don't want to take care of themselves.

[ExRetailDrone]

According to that test, I am somewhere around the ideals of the Dalai Lama and Gandhi. A little less than half-way left, and a little more than halfway Libertarian.

[Gravekeeper]

According to that test, I am somewhere around the ideals of the Dalai Lama and Gandhi.

<Distinctly Non-Violent Brofist>