Have you ever changed parties?

[mizzou]

I'm talking about a change from 100% republican to 100% democrat, vice versa.

I was 100% republican by 18 yoa. I would have voted for G.W. first term hands down. Was happy he won. In all elections afterwords I voted party line republican. Much of this was inherited beliefs, my dad was hard core repub.

By the time his second term came around, I ended up switching completely to democrat. I totally changed my views on what republicans had to offer, and found I had much more in commons with democratic nominees.

 

[Atomic Playboy]

I've been tempted to, because I'm completely disillusioned with the Democratic Party. But I can't bring myself to vote Republican if they continue to espouse social conservatism. If they were actually a party of fiscal conservatism and small government, I'd be tempted. The Libertarians are flat-out insane on economic policy, so they're out... So, yeah, there are really no good options out there. Bummer.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

I was Democrat until 21 or so then, Republican til my forties and, back to Democrat since. Although I have voted for candidates in the opposite party while one or the other.

 

[Jaskalas]

You think I must go from Republican to Democrat. That is not the case.

 

[SandEagle]

independent here. (until i win the lottery, of course)

 

[monovillage]

I went from Independent to Libertarian to Republican. With the change in California's primary voting laws I'll probably change to Democrat when I get around to it.

 

[DaveSimmons]

I don't belong to any of the parties and never have. No straight ticket for me.

Vote for Lesser Evil in '12!

 

[Emos]

Used to vote mostly Republican when I was younger, not so much anymore. Haven't bothered to change my affiliation yet just in case there's a moderate candidate in the primaries (ie, a John Huntsman type or McCain when he ran against Bush).

 

[Geosurface]

I was registered as a democrat from 2000 (at least, I'm not remembering if I was registered before that... I turned 18 in 1998, but I think I probably only registered in time for Bush/Gore) until about um, a week ago. I moved from Nebraska to Connecticut and when I was registering here I registered as "no party" or what most of us would call independent.

Believe it or not, I'm literally not sure what I'm going to do on the ballot for president next month.

Honest to goodness, I must be a rarity but due to some recent changes in my views which are still sort of re-solidifying... I literally could end up voting Obama, Romney, or neither. No joke.

 

[finglobes]

I was a Dem in grad school. Then a guy pulled a gun on me while working the front desk of a motel at night. The guy was a homeless, black guy I felt sorry for, and so I let him sleep in the lobby bathroom at night. I saw the nation as a whole after that. Libs help many of the wrong people in the wrong way, and make them worse because they have a "there there its not your fault" attitude that robs people of incentive to self examine and change. Lots of welfare peopel secretly hate their lib saviors because they KNOW they make them worse.

I'll add I was also might high about myself for helping a homeless person. That's the secret about what a lot of liberalism is. Its not about helping people up - its about secretly enjoying the fact people are down so that there is someone to save and afford the helper a better self image (and secretly libs loathe themselves - a reason they cant resist enemies and end up supporting them).

Two weeks after I left the motel job the homeless guy shot the guy who took my place (shot him in arm - he lived). Part of that shoting was my fault because my "help" had spoiled a guy who was really just a dirtbag who deserved no sympathy at all

 

[Smoblikat]

I've been tempted to, because I'm completely disillusioned with the Democratic Party. But I can't bring myself to vote Republican if they continue to espouse social conservatism. If they were actually a party of fiscal conservatism and small government, I'd be tempted. The Libertarians are flat-out insane on economic policy, so they're out... So, yeah, there are really no good options out there. Bummer.

Its insane for everyone to pay a fair tax? It seems to me that the democrats are the most insane, they dont make anyone but the rich pay taxes. How exactly is that "everryones fair share?"

 

[IGBT]

no..democrat all my life.

 

[MovingTarget]

Officially? No. I'm one of those that started off capital "R" Republican as I was raised in the "reddest" parts of a really red state. I am now at a point where I find myself consistently supporting the Democrats as they are the only effective opposition against the crazy that has taken over the GOP. I like to say that I am independent as I disagree with the Democrats quite a bit and would jump ship if there were another sane major political party out there right now.

 

[Leymenaide]

Not enough choices in the poll. There are other options.

 

[AyashiKaibutsu]

When I turned 18, I registered republican since I like the idea of minimalist solutions in theory, but haven't been able to vote for any of the candidates they've put forth. When I did my absentee ballot form this year, I switched to democrat.

 

[RightIsWrong]

I went from a Dem primarily based on childhood indoctrination to an independent at about 21 and haven't looked back since.

I'm socially very liberal (live and let live, stay out of people's personal lives (especially their bedrooms) and very fiscally conservative (not Republican fiscal conservative, real fiscal conservative) in that I want spending at a minimum and savings/surpluses at a maximum.

That's why I can't associate with either party anymore. Both the Dems and Repubs still stick their nose in trying to tell people how they should live and neither the Repubs nor Dems can't keep their hands out of my wallet to give what little I have to their friends who practically have it all.

 

[3chordcharlie]

Its insane for everyone to pay a fair tax? It seems to me that the democrats are the most insane, they dont make anyone but the rich pay taxes. How exactly is that "everryones fair share?"

Just because they call it the "Fair Tax" does not mean it is fair.

 

[Matthiasa]

Only partisan hacks have parties...

 

[lotus503]

I used to be republican, then democrat now independent.

Frankly the duopoly is awful, had huntsman been the GOP nominee I may have voted for him.

At this point anyone who runs on ending Lobby and publicly financed campaigns will get my vote in the future.

 

[Anarchist420]

I don't like the Constitution party anymore, the LP hasn't had a good candidate since Harry Browne in Y2K (he gets props from me for telling Sean Hannity the truth that Hannity really was too dumb to even consider), and the Republicans suck worse than the Democrats which isn't saying much for the Democrats. I guess the Democrats have more libertarians now since the attempted hijacking of the Republican Party by libertarians was a huge failure and since the Dems were more libertarian than the Neo Tea partiers that the former lost a lot to in 2010.

That said, the Republican Party is rotten to its Hamiltonian Lincolnite core. At least the Democratic Party can claim classical liberal (or even outright libertarian) roots and more good Presidents plus the fact that they can't quite claim the absolute worst (Lincoln) either. The Republicans, however, are rooted in the ideas of Alexander Hamilton and all of his bullshit that we've had to put up with... if only more people could imagine how much better States' Rights from the beginning would be. The Republicans can very much claim Hamilton because to this day, they support govt action to force inequality as well as perpetuating failed institutions over the market, high govt revenues for high public spending levels, public works projects, the regulatory state, the warfare state, and centralization of power to encroach on civil liberties. Jefferson supported legislation only if it treated the governed as equally as possible, but that got hijacked into modern liberalism (where the govt was to force equality) by Wilsonians. Due to the Republican Party almost never being any good, they're much worse. Forced inequality is a revolt against nature, just like forced equality is a revolt against nature... in the long term, confederalism/100% voluntaryism will give society closer to the happy medium than anything centralization of arms can do.

 

[SparkyJJO]

No I haven't. Can't say I'm really enthused with most republicans, but that is because they are being more and more like liberal democrats, at least fiscally. That is the exact opposite of my standing.

How anyone can claim that the democrats are more "libertarian" than republicans I have no idea...

 

[gevorg]

 

[JulesMaximus]

Registered republican but voted Democrat in the last Presidential election, will be voting Democrat again next month.

<--Completely disillusioned with the republican party for years now. I don't feel that they represent me in any way at all. And I'm not very socialist in my beliefs either.

Haven't bothered to change party affiliation. Not really sure it matters at all quite frankly. I don't vote along party lines.

 

[irishScott]

No, never joined either party.

For instance, this fall I'll likely be voting for a Republican President and a Democrat Senator.

 

[Emos]

Registered republican but voted Democrat in the last Presidential election, will be voting Democrat again next month.

<--Completely disillusioned with the republican party for years now. I don't feel that they represent me in any way at all. And I'm not very socialist in my beliefs either.

Haven't bothered to change party affiliation. Not really sure it matters at all quite frankly. I don't vote along party lines.

"I didn't leave the Republican Party, the Republican Party left me"...pretty much sums up my feelings of disillusion.