Poll - Democrat or Republican?

re: "I still don't understand why voters should be required to publically indicate their affiliations with certain parties through this biz of registering."

That really is the nut of the question to which I've never received a satisfactory answer. You'll have to generate a response from someone less naive than I am to get the 'real' answer'.

Personally, I suspect it relates to back-room deals about which issues are going to be side-stepped by which party while blaming it on the other party first....biggest one gets to go first.

Some behaviors are so deeply set in tradition, it's difficult to generate an answer. Several years ago I was working with a legislative action group, and was treated to a special tour of our state capitol and legislative warren. The guide was very informative and responded well to numerous questions from our small group.

Since the then-recent election had produced a change in majority party, the old entrenched parking-assignments, choice offices with the better view, and other perks were being phased in. This even extended to the carpeting in the offices, and the galleries above the committee work station, as well as the gallery above the chamber.

One of the big issues of the election was, if you can imagine, "out of control state spending'....I asked the guide what the budget was for the carpets and repainting the various names, etc......he couldn't come up with a figure, and his eyes glazed over when I asked how he could reconcile whatever those costs were, with the avowed goal of the new majority.....he about shorted out to a simple question....the best he could respond, finally, was 'it's tradition to make these changes'.....

and thus, to the victor go the spoils....

green, I believe the registration question you raise, is little other than an early estimation of how big a party to throw...for WHICH party...

Too bad we can't depend upon our elected officials to always do the honest and right thing. If we could, we wouldn't have to worry about gerrymandering and hundreds of other potentially corrupt political activities.

I personally don't think there is a politician out there,on either side,who gives a rat's ass about anything other than their own re-election and personal power.

IMHO there are people who get into politics with noble intentions, but when they get involved in any kind of race to win an election, too many palms have to be crossed and too many promises are made that don't have the best interests of the masses in mind.

Some politicians are worse than others though, there's no doubt about that. People can win a race without compromising every facet of their moral character but others never had any moral character from the start.

I have to completely agree with you, I think that some start out with good intentions and then they get cut up in the race and the whole winning thing and they get dirty and nasty....I personally have lost some faith in politicians, yes of course I vote and I have my favorites and all, but sometimes is sickening...
I work for the mayor of a town in Illinois, I've worked for him before he became mayor and he was always so passionate , I always thought he had good honest intentions and I think he still does, but after almost 6 years, I've seen and heard things that have shocked me, I've witnessed his first election and now he is getting ready for re-election and the whole process gets brutal, I've seen him behave in ways that are out of character for him, or at least I thought so... his campaign manager comes across like a very cold mean person , they do whatever it takes to win...and this is just for a little mayor position.... I can only imagine for President of the US....

Elenation - You must have an interesting job! The office of Mayor is really, really political in most towns.

I was a Deputy Court Clerk once and my boss was elected. Every four years we were expected to campaign and canvass and put up signs. You really needed to believe in your boss in order to be loyal and give him your full support. There are always skeleton's in people's closets. It's lots easier if you stay a little in the dark about any character issues your boss may have.

When I worked as a legislative aide, I learned what politics was really about. The stakes were much higher and my boss's influence and power was enormous. He had been in his seat for 20 years. Most of the important stuff (not relating to election time) was done behind the scenes. Some of the conversations were shocking and it was when I really learned how the system works. I was very disillusioned for a while and after I moved onto another job, it took me a while to get over it and even want to vote again.

What I finally realized is that if we don't vote and if we don't use the power that we have as voters, the system will REALLY be corrupt. We actually have more power than most of us realize. If only we would use it and use it wisely, things would be much more fair in this country and the democracy that we all aspire to for this country would have a greater possibility of working.

The only time my bosses ever jumped was when their constituents made noise.

I could've written this post myself, only you have had a lot more experience than I have, but it's true, it's better to be in a dark about some of the character issues that my boss has... but sometimes it was hard, you couldn't help listening... like when I heard two conversations in a row he was having with two different people on the phone, where he was assuring one person that he was backing him up as the republican candidate for a position, and right after that, on the next conversation with someone else, I heard when he re-assured the opposite democrat candidate for the same position that he will be backing him 100%... I just could never imagine him having that character flaw, I know, naive from me... ugh! and yes, the only time he jumped was when his constituents made noise..just like you said, gee.... it does make you not want to vote abain, but you are right, we at least have that power and if we don't at least contribute that way, then things can get REALLY ugly, just completely agree... I don't know much about political games or anything, so I can't bring such great insight on this topic, but what I've seen and heard while I've worked here is sometimes dissapointing and makes you wonder what's going on on the BIG presidential elections...scary... but nope, I'm not giving up....

I was lucky to absolutely love the representative I worked for. I agreed with his politics 100% and it was an exciting office to work in. However at the Court Clerk level, I knew that my boss was an alcoholic and that the office was actually run by a couple of his key employees, who were not the most ethical people I'd ever met.

I've heard people say that it doesn't matter that much who is president. But I couldn't disagree more. You can track our economy and the country's progress as it relates to education, environment, banking and other very specific things like international affairs by just looking at who was president and which party dominated Congress.

I know you may be a Republican and this may sound offensive to you, but one of the reasons that I believe that more people than usual seem to be interested in the elections this time is because for at least 4 years we had a very conservative Republican President and a Republican dominated Congress and the decisions that they made have sent our country in a direction that has been very good for the wealthy folks and large corporations, while the problems for many Americans have become much worse.

We need checks and balances and that makes it vitally important for us at the state level to know exactly who our representatives in Congress are. The president can't do much without congressional support, but if he has the majority support, we can be steered in a direction that is not in the best interests of the country as a whole.

So the bottom line is that not only do we need to get out and vote, but we need to make darned sure we know who the candidates are. A few sound bytes heard on the evening news or in biased political ads just don't tell the full story.

I am sure you find it conflicting to work for someone who you have overheard playing politics in a less than honest way. It may be disgusting but I do think that it is pretty common for our elected officials to talk out of both sides of their mouths.

No, it's not offensive to me at all, even if we don't see eye to eye on it, that's besides the point, one important thing is to know and be able to trust the candidate, regardless of what party is, but that's the thing, it's so hard after you start finding out about their skeletons in their closet, I know you can't believe everything and I don't , from the ads or just in general but there are some things that you just can't ignore and will make you doubt inevitable... but that won't prevent me from voting though..
I thought I agreed with my boss's position and I even believe that there is still honesty to him, but sure it's confilcting when I hear them talking out of both sides of their mouths.
I agree that it does matter who the president is for the same reasons that you mentioned, but sure what party dominates congress extremely important, so it's not all just the President. I would never consider not voting, you are right about that too.
It must have been kind of a sweet and sour experience to work for your boss who you agreed with politically, but his personal life was affected by alcoholism, he probably could've done a much better job if he was handling it all by himself and sober, so to see that must be conflicting too...ugh!

He was a parapalegic due to injuries he sustained while admirably serving our country in war. For a few years, he did a very good job. And the system he set up is still in use today - quite a number of years later. But his disabilities and the social situation that he and his wife were thrown into due to his disabilities, were very painful for him.

He took medications that were prescribed for him and he drank to medicate himself even more. His secretary and staff ran interference for him at the office when by 3 in the afternoon, he was pretty much in his cups. To his credit, he never allowed himself to be photographed for political ads in his wheelchair.

The poor guy (actually from a wealthy family) had a fabulous very powerful and plush Lincoln that was built just for him that had hand controls, lifts, etc., and one day while he was out on the campaign trail with a couple of his employees, he came to the top of a hill and a little girl ran out in front of his car and he hit and killed her. It was one of the saddest things you can imagine.

Everyone who knew him and that he drank wondered if he had been drinking and driving that day. Only the guys in the car with him knew for sure and they weren't talking.

The little girl's family was aware of his financial status and his job, so they sued of course. It became quite the media event. But the speed limit was 45 MPH on a well-traveled road, and the girl ran out in front of him. I don't know if anyone would have been able to avoid hitting her. My father was one of the men in the car and had to testify at the trial.

My boss died about a year later and we knew that not only did he have a broken body, he had a broken heart.

A bit off course here but thinking about politics on the local level made me think of all this today.

OMG! I felt like crying, what a sad story... I mean, just unbelievable... I do feel bad for him because obviously he drank to medicate himself, plus I strongly believe that alcoholism is an illness, and then the incident with the little girl...who I feel horrible for and her family, and then after everything he already went through, he had to endure this also... I believe his heart was broken too... where his body injuries the reason he died? was he very sick? oh how terrible.... Was is ever determined if he was indeed drinking while he was driving that day? Oh Lord, what a story... I can only imagine having to testify....thank you for sharing this..

I know. It made me really sad to recall it and I hadn't thought about it in years.

He wasn't injured in the accident. But all of the emotional stuff surrounding the incident hit him so hard that I believe that he gave up his will to live. It is really hard work sometimes to keep someone healthy when they are a parapalegic. Of course that depends on the extent of their disabilities, but it is easy for complications to happen.

No one ever spoke up about whether he was drinking that day. My dad certainly didn't. However because they were so tight lipped and because they were all so depressed (everyone in the car), I have a feeling that he had been drinking. My dad never drank and he probably insisted that he be the one to drive (which often happened on those campaign trips) but since he wasn't driving, I always figured that the boss insisted on taking the wheel. There was just something in my dad's eyes and voice that made me think that and it was the first time I had ever seen my dad cry.

I never heard another word about the little girl's family. I'm sure they were very bitter, whether there was drinking involved or not. It has to be horrible to lose a beautiful little child whatever the circumstances.

WOW BJean, what a story...sure I can see how the little girl's family was bitter, but you can't help but feel bad for everything that happened to your boss, the whole thing was really sad, actually one good thing is that he is resting in peace now... and again, thanks for sharing this story, it touched my heart.

Boy Elenation we must be on the same wave length right now. I added "May he rest in Peace" after my post but then deleted it because I thought it might sound gratuitous. You added it for me. And you're right - it's good to know that he's no longer in pain. Thanks for sharing my story with me.

Conservative Republican!!