RE: your views and the world
I have. I"™ve always been an independent, but I used to vote about 60% to 70% Republican. I even worked for the Republican Party of Texas for a while, not because I was so keen on the party, but because the work paid OK and was three blocks from where I lived. I was glad that the Republicans took Congress in 1994. I like having Congress in one party"™s hands and the Presidency in another...forces people to get along and compromise to get anything done. Depending on the issue, I"™m either liberal, conservative or moderate (usually moderate), so I don"™t see eye to eye with either party all of the time. I voted for John McCain in the 2000 primary (VA has open primaries) because I thought he was the best in the field that was on offer. I still like him and would vote for him over anyone I can think of who seems to be in the race for 2008 at this point. He"™s pretty conservative, but I think he actually listens to people who disagree with him, then makes up his own mind. I also think he"™s much more of a real cowboy and hero than anyone we"™ve had in the top seat for a LONG time.
But the Republican monopoly on power in all three branches of government and their refusal to provide oversight and enforce the checks and balances that keep our democracy safe has really begun to scare me. I live just across the river from DC and I see and hear a lot that most people don"™t. And I"™ve heard true dismay by many republican insiders about the way the Bush administration operates and the lack of oversight that Congress has exercised. It really seems to have become more about power for power"™s sake than at any time in living memory. It"™s always been somewhat about that, but before the current administration, there were certain lines people didn"™t cross, a certain respect for the rule of law, rather than the rule of men, that is completely lacking in the Bush administration. The upshot of this is that I will vote closer to the Democratic Party line than I ever have before in the 22 years I"™ve been voting.
I honestly don"™t think my views have changed much at all, but I think the Republicans have gone so far right with regard to civil liberties, feeling that they are above the law, lack of respect for the institutions that put and keep them in power, that the party I tend to vote for has changed dramatically.
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It is wise to remember that you are one of those who can be fooled some of the time.
Laurence J. Peter (author of the "Peter Priciple")
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