Poll - Democrat or Republican?

[L8BloomR 1]

TOM, my previous response was to the previous post, not to the last "star trek" one. I would be the last person to want someone to leave a thread so please don't do that. My only point was that if a thread starts by asking people to respond to a question then it would be nice if the ones that do try to remember that this was a poll question, and not make fun of other's answers or beliefs. It is intimidating to feel that if you respond to a question, you will be ridiculed. Many people don't feel up to the battle, and therefore they will not respond. I do enjoy the discussion threads, but this was was already asking a potentially fiery question, and I just thought a bit more care should be taken. I am sorry if I upset anyone by my comments. I will be done with this thread as of now....

[KariK 0]

Hmm I think anyone can say anything. I know I would never ridicule anyone for their beliefs. I would say I am a moderate. I can vote either way, but as I stated earlier my father who is my hero is very much a democrat.

I don't know why more Republicans aren't stating their veiwpoint. Tom is very educated in his beliefs, and its good that he wants to educate others. I haven't seen him be rude or disrespectful to anyone. In fact noone has been disrespectful that I know of.

L8Bloomr, if you have a political point of veiw, you can feel free to express it. You are assuming that you will be attacked for doing so.. but if you never try you'll never find out. I promise to help you out if anyone tries to belittle you for expressing yourself.

There is no right or wrong. But there is a Right and a Left, and neither is wrong. This country needs open dialog about politics in my humble oppinion. Thats the only way this country will stay great, is by education and information. I challenge everyone to open their minds to differant points of veiw and try to understand where they are coming from.

So far noone has fought or been nasty, Yayyyy!!! Keep up the good work all. Its noones job to reprimand anyone, as we are all adults. Instead of talking for other people talk for yourself. L8Bloomer Im wondering if perhaps you were feeling intimidated, and your post was really more about your own feelings than worrying about others' feelings. Please give everyone on this thread a chance to show you that its ok to express yourself. I bet Tom would be the first to stand up for you if someone was being mean to you. He is an American, and I think he holds the freedom of speech in high regard, as do you.

Everyone remember that its hard to communicate via typing, as we can't see facial expressions and body manerisms. Sometimes we get the wrong idea about what someone is trying to say. So be patient, and talk out misunderstandings without jumping to conclusions about people and their motives if possible. Thanks all. I hope I don't seem like a big bossy lol, I just really like reading this thread, and I'd hate to see it go down in flames.

[L8BloomR 1]

KariK, your message was very nice so I am going to break my own promise and will respond one more time on this thread. I appreciate all that you said and I agree that a dialog is good and helpful. But I just went back and re-read the previous posts on this thread and there are so many that ridicule the intelligence of Republicans, what tv shows they must watch, what their world views must be, etc....all negative. It made me uncomfortable, and I know for a fact that it made others uncomfortable as well. I was very careful to not criticize the posters, but I felt I also had the right to express my feelings that when a poll is being taken, care should also be taken to keep it as neutral as possible so that the results will not be skewed. I'm sorry that I gave the impression that I was trying to stifle people's comments. I was just giving my opinion as well. Please continue to enjoy this thread and I will keep my opinions to myself, at least on this thread. No promises for any other threads, though!! :-)

[Tired_Old_Man 1]

KariK, your message was very nice so I am going to break my own promise and will respond one more time on this thread. I appreciate all that you said and I agree that a dialog is good and helpful. But I just went back and re-read the previous posts on this thread and there are so many that ridicule the intelligence of Republicans, what tv shows they must watch, what their world views must be, etc....all negative. It made me uncomfortable, and I know for a fact that it made others uncomfortable as well. I was very careful to not criticize the posters, but I felt I also had the right to express my feelings that when a poll is being taken, care should also be taken to keep it as neutral as possible so that the results will not be skewed. I'm sorry that I gave the impression that I was trying to stifle people's comments. I was just giving my opinion as well. Please continue to enjoy this thread and I will keep my opinions to myself, at least on this thread. No promises for any other threads, though!! :-)

I am going to break my pledge also.

Not to talk about politics, but to make a point about this thread scaring off Republicans.

Prior to this post, there was 273 posts.

There were 22 members who made multiple posts.

Those 22 members made 256 posts between them.

That left 17 members who made one post each.

Those 17 plus the 22 who made multiple posts adds up to 39 members who have posted.

There have been 164 votes in the poll.

Of those, 83 votes were Democrat.

If all 39 members who had posted had been Democrats, that would mean that 42 of the 83 Democrats had not written a post although they had voted.

That would be over 50% of the Democrats that had not spoken.

I guess one could say that we scared them away also or that we said everything that they might have wanted to say.

Or it might be that many people just voted and did not want to bother saying anything.

By the way. For all 39 posters to have been Democrats that would mean that you would have to be one. Since I doubt that and since I did see some people saying they were Republicans, it probably means that less than 25% of the Democrats who voted also posted. Or over 75% of the Democrats didn't post.

Since I stopped posting, this thread has come to an end.

In forum polls of this type, I sometimes vote and do not post, and on one poll that is active on this forum, I have posted at least 3 or 4 times, but did not vote. The correlation between voting and posting is slim.

I intend for this to be my last post here, whether about the issues of the poll or the statistics of the poll.

I believe that this thread has been one sided. But what the reasons are could be anything from intimidation to Republicans doubting their own positions at this time of crisis in this country.

Yes, I am a debater by nature and sometimes sarcastic, but I will not insult anyone purposely and I will defend a person's right to disagree with me or my position. I attack arguments, but I try never to attack the person who makes that argument. I say “try” because I can sometimes be too sarcastic which might be seen as an attack, but my intent is never to abuse someone on the other side. Just because I consider a point made in a debate weak or invalid, it doesn't make me feel that the person who espoused that point is weak or a bad person.

If we can not discuss these issues, the nation's leaders get to go on about their merry way. We may look back one day at this time and ask ourselves “what were we thinking?” or “what were we doing?” in 2006.

Discussion, civil discussion, is the only disinfectant we have for cleaning up our government. Sorry for the preaching.

[TruBlueSue 0]

Omigod, let's all just take a deep breath, shall we? It's getting to the point where folks are going to take their toys and go play in their own yards...reminds me of my three year old...LOL!

besides, I LIKE reading everyone's differing points of view - I may not always agree (esp. the Iraq sttuff; I'm a vet) but I enjoy the mental stimulation...

[Boo Boo Kitty 3]

WOW! I am gone ONE day and this is what you all do???? ROTFL....

As for this thread, I saw absolutely nothing wrong with it until a point. We were all speaking our mind, and NOT attacking anyone. It is sad that we just can't speak our mind without anyone attacking them....

TOM, I love you, but that could be because I may be your mini me!!

ROTFL.....now deep breaths everyone! C'mon....

[KariK 0]

*laughing* Big Breath in, Big Breath out... LOL

[faybie 0]

I am going to break my pledge also.

Not to talk about politics, but to make a point about this thread scaring off Republicans.

Prior to this post, there was 273 posts.

There were 22 members who made multiple posts.

Those 22 members made 256 posts between them.

That left 17 members who made one post each.

Those 17 plus the 22 who made multiple posts adds up to 39 members who have posted.

There have been 164 votes in the poll.

Of those, 83 votes were Democrat.

If all 39 members who had posted had been Democrats, that would mean that 42 of the 83 Democrats had not written a post although they had voted.

That would be over 50% of the Democrats that had not spoken.

LMAO. TOM, you crack me up and made my head spin! This is something that I would pull at work...... however I am at home and on pause..... LOL. I needed this laugh today. Good job btw...

Oh........and I went on a week long vacation with my best friend of 20 years a week ago. She is a liberal Republican, where I call myself a middle of the road Republican, with parts of Democrat mixed in, as I sometimes vote issues not parties.

Her skill of debate and outlook on certain issues is refreshing to me as the wind has been knocked out of my sails as of late. (Not by this thread, but by the general feeling of being tired of the war). I will post some refreshing points she made tomorrow, when I am not so tired. See you then...

Oh, and don't leave TOM, LOL the thread would probably die....

[green 6]

I posted on this thread and I am a Canadian! That screws the stats up, eh. I woulda voted for John Kerry's wife if I could have voted. She looked liked she would have stirred things up. LOL

[BigBootyGirl 0]

I posted on this thread and I am a Canadian! That screws the stats up, eh. I woulda voted for John Kerry's wife if I could have voted. She looked liked she would have stirred things up. LOL

And here's another Canadian screwing up the stats. I answered the poll, and I too picked Democrat. If Hillary ran in 2008, she'd be my choice.

No matter how we vote, we vote for the party or politician that we feel best represents our beliefs, and no one should be ridiculed for that. I live in a very 'Republican' area of Canada, so I'm in a very small minority of 'Democrats'. Republicans should have no shame in what they believe, and neither should Democrats. What we should have shame in is making other people feel horrible about their beliefs. I'll step off my soap box now.

[BJean 16]

Bigbootygirl: Don't worry about being on a soap box. Practically all of us who have posted here have been on a soap box. That's what was fun about this thread.

It seems to me, after re-reading many of the posts, that several of the Republican respondents have been intimidated by the passion that has gone on by the Democrats. So they've decided that those passionate posts are PERSONAL. I don't believe that they are.

The real reason Republicans don't feel comfortable posting here is that they don't have much in their arsenal to stage a counter-attack. Politics is sort of like religion... political choices can be made on faith. Republicans seem to have faith that G.W. is not lying about his motives and the motives of his cabinet.

Democrats just don't have that same faith in Republican motives because there is such overwhelming evidence to the contrary. No wonder most Republicans don't feel comfortable posting here.

[L8BloomR 1]

Bigbootygirl, I think only Republicans should speak for Republicans...so I will tell you, as a Republican, why I think most of us don't bother with these political threads. I have seen and experienced the onslaught of attacks directed at anyone who thinks differently from the Democrats... While Republicans allow Democrats to have their say without badgering them on their beliefs, the same does not hold true for most Dems. If a Republican questions or debates, they are "mean-spirited", but Dems can call names, question the intelligence of Republicans, even openly discuss with smugness and superiority (as if they know for a fact) Republican values and morality, as if we are all one and the same .... and they are called "passionate". Now, I know I am inviting attack AGAIN for even posting here, but honestly, I should have the right to state an opinion without anyone questioning me ad nauseum. I don't have the same amount of time that some others here have for endless debate. I am rational, intelligent, well-read, AND compassionate, and it has been my experience that most of my fellow Republicans are the same. We live in a world of liberal media, liberal thinking and political correctness, yet we manage to sift through it all and hold onto our beliefs and values. I am proud to be a Republican, a conservative, and a Christian.

Karen

[Carlene 12]

While Republicans allow Democrats to have their say without badgering them on their beliefs, the same does not hold true for most Dems. If a Republican questions or debates, they are "mean-spirited", but Dems can call names, question the intelligence of Republicans, even openly discuss with smugness and superiority (as if they know for a fact) Republican values and morality, as if we are all one and the same .... and they are called "passionate".

Karen

Karen...

If you go back and read all the messages in this thread you will see as much badgering and name-calling by Republicans as Democrats. It's true...we ARE passionate, but we are no nastier than our GOP brothers and sisters when it comes to expressing our viewpoint.

[L8BloomR 1]

Karen...

If you go back and read all the messages in this thread you will see as much badgering and name-calling by Republicans as Democrats. It's true...we ARE passionate, but we are no nastier than our GOP brothers and sisters when it comes to expressing our viewpoint.

Carlene, I did go back and searched the entire thread. I could find no badgering or "nasty" posts by any Republicans. Please direct me to the post #.

Can't we all be considered "passionate", instead of "nasty"?

Karen

[Carlene 12]

Karen:

Sorry....I thought this was a different thread. I didn't go back and re-read all the posts in this one but as I recall, it got off politics in general and onto abortion.