(02-27-2020 11:51 PM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  

(02-27-2020 05:14 PM)mrbig Wrote:  I don't want to speak for all democrats, but I will tell you a few of the things that I believe and that I believe more align with the democratic party:

• I believe that all children, regardless of who their parents are, have the right to a good education and access to healthcare. I believe the government has a role in ensuring this and I believe this is because it is necessary to provide everyone with the opportunity to achieve the american dream.
• I believe that in the current economy, the government should provide at least some temporary safety net to help citizens in a moment of need.
• I believe the government should be efficient, effective, and not wasteful.
• I believe the government needs to step in with regulation when capitalism externalizes costs.
• I believe anyone who works for 40 hours per week should be able to provide for all the basic necessities for themselves and their family. An unexpected illness, injury, or something else out of their control should not bankrupt them (hence the safety net).
• I believe that the rest of the world often looks to the USA for leadership and we need a foreign policy that builds coalitions around our basic values of opportunity, freedom, and prosperity.
• I like that people want to come here, both legally and illegally. It is because we are awesome. It is not a good thing if people from other countries stop wanting to come here or want to stop being like us.
• To the extent the government is involved in research, development, and subsidies, I believe the government should encourage the technologies and science of the future, not cling to the technologies of the past.
  

Like OO, I don't see those things as leading one to the democrats, at least not to the current bunch. I don't really see anything there that differentiates democrats from republicans.

Why am I not a democrat? Because democrats seem obsessed with massive redistribution of income and wealth through confiscatory taxes on successful people, and I don't support that. I mac more support the European social democrat (NOT democratic socialism) idea of everybody benefits and everybody pays.

Why am I not a republican? Because I don't want the government in my bedroom, or any of my friends' bedrooms.