Help choosing a political party?

The way i read your question, i assume you don’t belong to (support for) a political party (yet)?
Is there not the possibility that you write a paper on that?

None of the above.

Nobody can tell you how to choose a party.

You need to determine what you believe in.

You could start by writing out what you would change if you were in charge of the country. Then compare what you have written to the political parties and see which is closest to your ideals.

If you don’t belong to a party then you cannot write about it. Write about why you are not a memeber of a political party.

I have to write a paper on which party I believe in, but I don’t know which one yet because I don’t understand what each side brings to the table. I’m not asking anybody to choose a party for me, just to simply show me each side in an unbiased way.

Why don’t you tell us what you believe in and we can help you find information that is affiliated with a party that supports your beliefs?

There are tests out there that help you determine what party best represents your ideas. Google it.

Why not take a quiz like this one to see which way you lean and what party is closest to your beliefs?

In the US, both major political parties have groups which agree with one another, can compromise with one another, agree in one area but not another, have contingents generally agreed to be moderate, have contingents generally agreed to be fringe.

You may agree with one party’s main views on social issues, and another party’s main views on economic issues.

First establish what you believe, and then you may be able to write a paper showing how you fit some or all of the parameters of some or all of the above.

Join the Rhinoceros Party.

@potrick – Now that party has some useful ideas, but really, America is not interested in any stinkin’ Thousand Islands, except in the form of salad dressing.

However, I do think voodoo economics is less effective than bubble gum economics, which apparently involves “Changing Canada’s currency to bubble gum, so it could be inflated or deflated at will.”

Are you talking about politcal parties in america?
If you like peace and democracy you would not support either of the major political parties in America.

Here is a very simple version of how I understand the difference between the two major political parties in America. please don’t slaughter me flutherites for oversimplifying

Democrats are part of a belief system that is more community oriented. They believe that the government is responsible for helping the citizens thrive. They are oriented towards social services.

Republicans are part of a belief system that is more individually oriented. They believe that one should be able to ‘pull themselves up from their bootstraps’ and because we are in America they have that opportunity. They believe that the government should not have as much force in citizens life. Often they are less supportive of social services because then the government is interfering and taxing the people and the people aren’t helping themselves as they should be. (this section is only longer because I have less of an understanding of republican beliefs and therefor have to use more words to describe them)

Also democrats tend to be more liberal and have belief systems that sway more towards gay rights, pro-choice, etc… Whereas republicans tend to be more conservative and swing the opposite way. This is certainly not necessary because you could be a conservative democrat or a liberal republican but more typical republicans have conservative beliefs and democrats have liberal beliefs.

Then there are the ‘non-major’ parties such as the Green party which lends itself to environmental restoration and the Independents which consist of quite a bit of college students.

Okay everyone feel free to correct me. I do not profess to be educated in the field of Political Science, this is just some rudimentary information that popped into my brain.

@RedPowerLady, Dems and Repubs also have different views on foreign policy. Republicans generally support a strong and expensive military and ignoring international law and acting unilaterally. Democrats are more prone to paring back our military, obeying international law, and working with other countries.

Here’s a basic list of the top few.

Here’s a slightly longer list.

Here’s the most thorough overview I have seen.

Depends on how much detail you want, which of the above to choose.

@Qingu Great addition!

I can’t imagine being in your position right now… I couldn’t pick a party if my life depended on it. If you’re not already a member of a party, it’s very difficult to chose one for the following reasons:

1. No one party’s beliefs are set in stone.
2. No one party’s beliefs are the same as they were originally established to be. They’re ever changing.
3. There are hundreds of political parties.
4. You can invent your own political party.
5. No one party’s beliefs are practiced by every member in that party.
6. To label yourself with a party is to subject yourself to hypocrisy in the eyes of the public. (Ex: When the public says “Of course it’s the Republican conservative man who was caught in a gay/under aged/ scandalous affair!” Or “You support such’n’such an issue? But I thought you were a democrat…?” etc. )
7. There’s always some douche bag in the party you choose who embarrasses you and makes the party look bad.
8. There exists not a party that embodies the perfect set of morals, thoughts, ideas of an individual… at least most people feel this way. There are some people who will follow their party and its members off a cliff, though.
9. If you decide on anything other than one of the two major parties, you can be prepared for a lifetime of being an outcast, and being ridiculed by the majority of the country. This includes not settling on anything at all.
10. Choosing one party can lead to hatred on many levels

I wish you luck in your quest and on your assignment. Just remember that you are free to change your mind at any time, so don’t bind yourself to your decision. Don’t watch any major news network on TV to help you decide. Keep your mind open. Don’t slip into the mindset that you’re right and the other side is wrong. If it gets too bad, come to Mama and she’ll make you some soup. I’ll be keeping you in my thoughts in this time of impending doom maturation.

To answer your question, all Republicans are crazed Christian, blood-thirsty, war mongerers who have memberships to “whites only” clubs, and all Democrats are amoral, sodomizing, hippie communists who eat unborn fetuses for breakfast.

One thing you need to know is what passes itself off as politics in America is a sharade, you can’t vote for health care and you can’t vote for a cessation of hostilities in the middle east…now that’s democracy.

@mammal And if you don’t want to give bailouts to corporations, what are you going to do, vote for Ron Paul or Nader? That won’t accomplish much.

I could tear to shreds every organized party in America. The most honest ones are the Greens and Libertarians. Greens tend to have collectivist-libertarian values, and Libertarians tend to have conservative-libertarian values. But even those parties have tons of faults.

But never assume the Democrats are compassionate.
Never assume the Republicans want “less government” (<—- biggest lie of all)
Never assume the Constitution party cares about the Constitution,
and Never assume the American Independent Party is anything even close to independent

If you are mostly liberal, your honest-go-to party would be the Green Party, and if you are mostly conservative, your honest go-to party would be the Libertarian Party.

But… but… America isn’t a Democracy! It’s a Representative Republic! ;)

And we CAN vote for health care or whatnot if the vote comes up, although most votes have relatively small turnout. We may not WIN the vote, but we can vote And we voted for the people who do the voting, hence “Representational Republic”. Only the uninformed claim that we are a Democracy.

@laureth “Only the uninformed claim that we are a Democracy.”

like Bush?

@benjaminlevi – Bush said many things, not all of them correct.