Oh yay, election time must be coming up. I swear at least once a day I get a message on my answering machine in regards to how awful the democratic candidate is and what s/he's doing wrong, etc. For once, you know what I'd like to hear? What the other candidate plans to do right. Truth be told, I have no idea how I ended up on the republican phone list. Seriously...it kinda makes me giggle that they're trying so hard.

Now, I'm not saying I'm a democrat. I'm actually registered as an independant. I want to leave my options open ;) However, at the moment, the thought of me voting republican is laughable. I actually voted for Bush in 2000. 2004...now that's a different story. You know how it goes..."Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me."

A little known fact about me: I LOVE politics. I love discussing politics. I have very strong opinions on many things and do my best to keep abreast of the latest political going ons. That being said, I rarely discuss my views with others because I've found that most people are pretty much set in their ways and political discussions seem to lead to nothing more than hurt feelings, party bashing and absolutely no progress. I'm not one to argue when nothing is going to come of it.

So, where do I fall along party lines? I feel it should come as no shock to most that I fall to the left...very far to the left. lol Many people seem to complain that the democratic party keeps choosing candidates that are so far left that it keeps them from getting elected because there are so many moderate liberals. As for me, I don't want a wishy washy liberal. I want someone strong in their convictions, pushing the "liberal agenda." ;) However, there are issues that I fall so far right on, that I cannot, in good conscience, register as a democrat. So, I'm one of the swing votes...the independant voter. You'll very rarely find me voting republican though. Sometimes, if I'm in a good mood, I'll throw my vote away and vote one of the other parties. lol (usually libertarian)

Growing up, I considered myself a republican. I couldn't, for the life of me, figure out why my dad always voted democratic. There were certain issues that were just so cut and dry to me that I felt I HAD to be a republican. (Yes, I considered myself a member of a certain party, even at the ages of 4 and 5. I've always been fond of politics. lol) In my highschool government class, I argued the conservative side until I was blue in the face. However, the more I thought about it and the more I learned, the more I realized that politics weren't so cut and dry. That sometimes you have to give a little to get a lot. Acceptable losses, perhaps? Falling to either side is going to make me compromise things I feel strongly about. I think what it basically came down to was, "Which side, do I feel, is better for life as a whole?" Yep, that swung me pretty far left.

I think Bill Clinton was an awesome president. (He's not exactly going to win husband of the year, but his personal life, as long as it doesn't affect the way he runs the country, doesn't concern me) I think Bush sucks. I will vote for Hillary if she runs in 2008. Hell, I'll probably vote almost any democrat for president because I'm just so upset with the current state of the republican party. If you can find me a fairly moderate republican who doesn't think that God speaks to him and tells him how to run the country, I may actually vote for him. I like to keep my church and state seperate, thank you very much. Like I said...I keep my options open though.

So, there you have it...me in a political nutshell, without actually going into any issues. lol Now, if you want to talk specific issues...do you have a few hours? ;)