Moderate Democrats

[jpwhite]

I am currently in the military and I am a moderate democrat. That means that I am pro-military, but I am also for gay marriage. I am for tax increases for the top 5% of income earners, and I am for raising the FICA tax limit from 90,000 dollars to one million dollars. I am against privatizing social security, and I am for increased spending on education. I am also for increasing the minimum requirements on the gas mileage of cars, and for federal spending to help build the infrastructure for hydrogen cars. But, I am also for temporarily drilling in Alaska and buying oil that is made of coal that is mined from Canada so that we aren't buying oil from Arab countries who want to sponsor terrorists. I am also for raising the minumum wage.

My e-mail is [e-mail] and I have a myspace at www.myspace.com/jamespwhite. A friend of mine challenged me to come on this web page because he said that the democratic party as a whole was too liberal and that I don't really fit in with the dems. Is this true? Would you disagree with me so much that you would actually tell me to switch to being a republican? I believe that the Democratic party is more tolerant and that there is room for me, but I wanted to see the response to this post and see what happens.

Be fair and be honest on how you really feel. It won't hurt my feelings. I just want to see if I am right or if my conservative friend is right.

James
[e-mail]

[ulysses]

1. sure, there's room for you.

Expect some *spirited* argument on ANWR, some of it from me :), but welcome.

[clu]

2. hmm

i consider myself pretty far left and the only thing i really disagree with is drilling in alaska. pro-military is a bit ambiguous with respect to recent foreign policy. what do you think about nationalizing the oil or healthcare industries? hydrogen cars might not be a bad idea depending on implementation. cheers.

[jpwhite]

6. thanks clu for some great questions

Clu,

Those were some great questions. When I say that I am "pro-military" what I am saying is that I don't want to close any more bases. I think that sometimes we spend too much money on certain projects, but in general the money towards defense is money well spent.

Now as far as nationalizing the oil industry, no I wouldn't do that. I would say that those who pollute should be penalized more. I do think that these companies should be given tax breaks if they are willing to transition into other forms of energy (wind, solar, or tidal energy). Health care I think should be done at the state level. I think we can provide basic health care at clinics that are run by the state. However, I do think that emergency rooms should be allowed to turn people away when the situation is not an emergency (not life threatening). The clinics should be able to take care of those who can't afford insurance.

I don't want the state run clinics to be as nice as the clinic I go to though. They should provide the basics and that's it. If they do everything there is no incentive to get insurance. That's the only way I can think of in order to modify the system without totally reinventing the wheel.

The thing with hydrogen cars is that the gas stations now need to be able to sell both (hydrogen and gas) for a while. For those who implement this right away, they should get a tax break. I don't want the convience stores to close. I still want my large diet coke with ice and snickers bar. Okay, my wife and I usually split a large diet pepsi or dr. pepper and she gets a small bag of chips and I get a snickers bar.

I hope this answered your questions. Oh one more thing....I forgot to talk about abortion.
I am pro-choice, but I am for parental consent for minors. I am also for the ABC method of sex education (abstenience, behavior, and condoms). I feel that if we teach our kids how to have fun without taking your clothes off (sports and other activities) then we will have fewer abortions. I am also for the morning after pill. That way if a woman gets raped she can take the pill and not have to get an abortion. I don't want to get rid of abortion by writing a law or putting new judges in the supreme court. I want to minimize it so that it is truly a last resort.

I welcome any and everyone's comments.

James
[e-mail]

[salin]

11. Comment about the clinics/health care

My conservative brother, the doctor (and husband of another doctor) has always been against any kind of national insurance system. Well let me modify that he 'had' always been against it. However his community has been hit with big industrial layoffs and no replacement jobs which include health insurance. Now almost 50% of his practice has no insurance (this was not the case say five or six years ago.) He believes we are in a crisis - and that really the only entity with enough power (that is both to do the coverage - and to really constrain the costs - which is not happening in the private insurance systems) is... the federal government. His thinking has pushed mine as well.

Long point to tie back to your statement about the clinics not being as nice as yours - to encourage people to pursue jobs with health benefits... because insurance premiums are continuing to skyrocket - more and more people are being pushed off insurance, rather than the other direction (people striving for better jobs in order to obtain insurance). While I like your idea of free clinics to move unessential/nonemergency care of the uninsured out of emergency rooms... I don't know that clinics - unless we prepare the clinics to provide the bulk of health care to the public - will solve the problem, unless something serious is done to constrain the cost of insurance to businesses - as more and more people will be leaving the 'insured' ranks to be pushed into the free clinic ranks.

Do I have an answer? No. But I appreciate conversations like these and wish that our politicians would return to being policy makers and have more and more of these conversations so that they could start finding the wholes in potential policies and craft policy solutions that could finally become new public health policy to address these problems.

[jpwhite]

48. more discussion on health care

maybe we need to regulate how much profit an insurance company is allowed to make. Or how about this one....all insurance companies should be turned into non-profit companies. Give them non-profit status, that way they can bring in people who can't afford insurance and write it off of their taxes. How about that idea?

James
[e-mail]

[clu]

16. thanks for elaborating

what are moderate positions on legalizing marijuana or drugs? i know a few people who simply won't quit hard drugs until they're ready. i may have a bit of an authoritarian streak but perhaps society could benefit from manual labor and construction from these people - just have them work for drugs, food, and a stipend. the government would be then be able to track usage and provide counseling and support for those who want it.

it sounds impractical and exploitative but a few of my family members wouldn't work if their life depended on it. they're already motivated by something, we might as well find a way to use that. what are the alternatives? continued enforcement? legalizing marijuana only?

for the record, the only drug i would not legalize would be PCP. if people had legal access to other stuff i doubt we'd need to worry about inhalants etc.

[Greyhound]

3. Not at all.

You haven't stated positions on a plethora of issues, and except for being the victim of the oil industry's campaign of lies, I think you would fit in fine here.:rofl:

And I am comfortable in saying that no one is going to encourage you to go re:puke: ;D

[jpwhite]

14. read my response to clu

Please read my response to what clu asked me. There were a few things that I forgot to mention that he asked me about. If I left off anything, please post and I will be happy to answer any question that you have. Or better yet, please give me some insight into what you think. Remember, one of the core values of a moderate is that I know that I don't know everything.

If there is a question that you would like to ask privately, you can send me an e-mail at [e-mail]. Thanks for adding to the thread.

James
[e-mail]

[salin]

4. I consider myself to be middle left in the dem party

that is halfway between the center (overall) and the real left. I would agree with just about everything that you write. I would put a caveat on the drilling in alaska - even temporary - that anysuch program would have to be coupled with big investments in the development of alternative fuel sources.

I have always been supportive of the military - but since the overspending of military contractors in the mid-eighties have also wanted oversight over spending - and review such that huge expenditures were really necessary, and were not inflated to the tax payers due to fraud. For years that issue disappeared... but it is now roaring back at us and hopefully there will be some investigations particularly in large Iraq contracts and HLS contracts.

I think that this war has made me more aware of issues related to the military that have probably made me more supportive. Especially in the areas of adequate supplying, and adequate resources for vets - esp in the area of healthcare. It has seemed ridiculous (and shameful) that the current administration would attempt to cut back or freeze VA budgets, or make forcasts on future budgets without including calculations for those vets injured in the current war.

In short - we seem to agree on things, not sure why your conservative friend would suggest otherwise. Unless of course your conservative friend listens to rw radio/tv where they spend hours making caricatures of democrats and liberals and when they know someone who doesn't fit the caricature it must be explained by assuming that the one person is the exception (and that the cariacture still holds true for all other democrats/liberals). Perhaps?

[Ken Burch]

There's plenty of room for you...

Out of curiousity, what exactly do you mean by "temporary drilling"?

[jpwhite]

8. definition of temporary drilling

Once again a great question. I think that the only reason to justify drilling in Alaska is to eliminate purchasing oil from arab countries who sponsor terrorism. I would say that this should be done for only 5 years. If we spend enough money in other areas we won't need as much oil. The idea should be to stop giving our money to Arab countries, use that money to invest in alternative energy (solar, wind, and tidal), and then once we don't need the oil in alaska to stop drilling.

It's just a thought. I just want to come up with a way so that we stop buying oil from Arab countries who sponsor terrorism (that includes Saudi Arabia). If someone else has a better idea then that's fine with me.

James
[e-mail]

[nam78_two]

5. Strongly against drilling in Alaska-agree with the rest pretty much

There is very little oil in Alaska that would make it worthwhile to drill there. The amount you could get from drilling in Alaska, is as much as we could have saved merely by conserving a little more. Anyway we should moving towarsd alternate energy instead of trying to eke out bits of oil from here and there.

For the Republicans pushing for drilling in Alaska is a purely political act-it has nothing to do with energy independance. Tom DeLay once said that once they open up Alaska, all the other protected State parks are potentially "up for grabs".

[LittleClarkie]

7. Dude, your myspace page link isn't working

I'll add you if I can ever find you.

[jpwhite]

10. myspace link

not sure what the problem is but try this one:

www.myspace.com/jamespwhite

I tried it and it still works. If you have any problem send me an e-mail at [e-mail]. Thanks for letting me know about the problem.

James
[e-mail]

[tpsbmam]

31. Question.....

I just checked out your myspace page. What's your take on separation of church and state?

[jpwhite]

49. church and state

I don't believe that seperation of church and state means to take religion out of school. I believe that every religious book should be in the library to include the bible, koran, bhagavad gita, the uphanishads, etc. I would almost go as far as to say that every high school student should be taught a world religions class so that people will learn to be more tolerant of other religions. I don't think teachers should lead prayer but I don't have a problem if a student prays over his or her food. I wouldn't allow students to do bible studies in the school, but I don't mind if they do it in their own homes and invite other students to it.

I consider myself to be very open minded when it comes to religion. Of course, I believe that there are many paths to God and I am a unitarian universalist. I believe that if people around the world were more accepting of other people's religion there wouldn't be as much fighting.

James
[e-mail]

[rogerashton]

9. Like others I agree with most of that.

There are (at least) two reasons why many of us have doubts about drilling in Alaska, IN ADDITION to the environmental problems.

1) It won't make much difference. I'm old enough to remember when the North Slope was opened to drilling west of ANWR. It was in full flow in the 1970's -- didn't prevent the oil crises of the 1970's, which were worse than the recent ones.

2) It's a reserve. We might find ourselves in a war that threatens our survival, and in those circumstances, those reserves could make a big difference.

But I gather your main reason is that you want the country to move away from dependence on Arab oil, and I certainly agree with that. There are a number of things we could do to move in that direction. One is really conservative -- well, free-market, anyway. Get rid of protective tariffs on Brazilian ethanol. Brazilian ethanol, made from sugar cane, is cheaper and less polluting than the stuff we make in Kansas from corn and government subsidies. Of course, we don't want to be dependent on Brazilian imported fuel, either, but more sources mean less dependence. On that topic we ought to at least study a shift toward diesel, which is more versatile in fuel use. As for Canada, we might be able to import more from them with less regulation, but that kind of gas is pretty costly and Canada's capacity to supply us is (I think) fairly limited, at least near term.

Anyway, welcome to DU, James. Sounds to me like you fit in fine.

[Shakespeare]

12. Agree with you mostly, but there's no such thing as "temporary drilling."

It's like trying to un-ring a bell. Once that habitat is spoiled, it won't ever return to its former state. Considering how little ANWR will yield in the long run, I just don't believe it's a worthwhile option. The cost is far too great.

[BlooInBloo]

13. Curious: Please be very specifc about *which* Democrats are *anti*-military?

Since you went out of your way to point out that "moderate" means, among other things, being pro-military. That carries with it an implication of contrast with *other* types of Democrats, which must be *anti*-military. Please tell me EXACTLY which Democrats those are.

Thanks!

[jpwhite]

19. that is an awesome question

Man, that is an awesome question. I think that maybe I have listened to the rhetoric too much. After all in the early 90's Bush 41 did as much if not more cutting into the Army than Pres. Clinton did. To be honest I don't know the answer to this question. But I promise that I will look into it some more.

I do know that I cringe whenever I hear about the armed services committee recommending base closures. I know what that can do to a community and I don't want to see any more bases close. Originally I am from upstate NY and there was an AF base in Rome that got closed. There were a lot of jobs that were lost because of that. That sucked. Now when I got out of the army the first time I chose to stay in Oklahoma (I don't like snow.) I went to school at Oklahoma State but I went back into the Army because I want the retirement package. There are 3 active Air Force bases and a few AF guard bases, plus Ft. Sill (active Army) in Oklahoma that I care a lot about. I don't want to see any of them get closed.

I promise to look into this more. Thank you for bringing this issue up.

James
[e-mail]

[clu]

21. base closures

we did close a few bases in the 90s IIRC... perhaps it was done out of necessity - i do speak from ignorance here. hell, i'd have NO problem with military spending if it was mostly public works projects like new orleans levees or something similar - in any part of the world.

we could save the ammo and the fighting for real troublemakers. the problem is that we're friends with a few troublemakers as some of those governments hold their people down in support of our interests. the only people we seem to pick a fight with are those who lead populist movements.

[BlooInBloo]

23. The idea that closing a base is *per se* anti-military is asinine.

Not even gonna let that false premise get started.

[jpwhite]

30. you have a point....but....

You do have a valid point. Closing a base isn't "anti-military" by itself. There is a chance that maybe you can do something in another location and it would be cheaper. However, the idea of base closures scares the crap out of me. I have seen what happens to a town when a base closes. Look at the cities in Oklahoma that have an Army post or Air Force base:

Enid - Vance AFB
Lawton - Ft. Sill (Army)
Altus - Altus AFB
Oklahoma City - Tinker AFB

Oklahoma City would be okay if Tinker wasn't there. The other three would have serious problems if those military bases (or posts) were to close. I don't want that to happen. Since I claim Oklahoma as my home I hope you can see why I wouldn't want these facilities to close.

Does this make my position clearer?

James
[e-mail]

[BlooInBloo]

33. That's fine. It just has nothing, in and of itself, to do with the concept of....

... "anti-military".

What you talked about is something worthy of concern, it just is not relevant to, and should not, in isolation, be used as a measuring stick of "anti-military".

EDIT: The point being, in case is was lost in the grammar, that I initially asked you to elaborate implied alleged existence of "anti-military Democrats". You responded by talking about something that has nothing to do with being anti-military (the closing of a base, i.e. more optimal deployment of resources, which HELPS the military). So I'm still waiting to hear the *bonafide* anti-military part.

[jpwhite]

43. what an anti-military democrat is

unfortunately on this issue is being defined by the conservatives. We should be taking the lead on this one, but we are not. From what people on the right are saying anyone who does not go along with every little pet project they want in the military is "anti-military". If you don't approve every spending increase that means you are "anti-military". I don't agree with that. I believe in oversight so that the taxpayers money is spent wisely.

I hope the new congress can provide some oversight. I believe in checks and balances. I am not trying to avoid what you are talking about. I am just saying that since I am from Oklahoma I don't want any of those military facilities to be closed. If a base has to be closed to save money that is a legitimate reason to do it. However, people will use the term "anti-military" if you try to close a base in their state. Is it right? No, but people use propaganda all of the time to smear people who don't agree with them.

I will try not to be like that in the future. I don't believe that there are very many "anti-military" democrats out there. But I am protective of the facilities that are in Oklahoma, which is something that you can understand. I do know that there are many democrats that think that the troops should not be in Iraq anymore. However, the people on the right are misrepresenting those dems by calling them "anti-military".

James
[e-mail]

[MichiganVote]

15. Welcome...er...when your "friend" shows up, he/she is welcome too

If you or or your friend are expecting to join a political party like you would a church, you won't really fit in anywhere. It's a free country, for the most part.

[onenote]

17. plenty of room for you in the Democratic party

heck, there's room for you here at DU, and a lot of DUers (but not all by any means) admit that they're further to the left than the national party.

[Cleita]

18. Oh come on! You're a flaming liberal. LOL!

I used to be a moderate. I believed in balanced budgets and keeping the national debt down, but since I believe in a few social programs like Social Security and Medicare to be extended to everyone, I have been labeled a bleeding heart liberal.

Our positions used to be considered left of center, nowdays we are freaking commies and socialists. So I have become that. Screw them. I haven't changed, the party has.

[jpwhite]

24. I am for social security too.

I have to agree with you on the social security thing. In reality it is a "legacy tax". I learned that by listening to Al Franken (yes, a soldier in Iraq is listening to Al). I feel that we as a society have an obligation to take care of our elderly. They are our parents and they raised us. Any society that refuses to take care of it's elderly is inhumane.

That's why we need to raise the FICA limit from 90,000 dollars to one million dollars. If you think about it, it just makes sense. Let's say for discussion the FICA tax is 5%. So if you make 200,000 dollars and I make 100,000 dollars, under the current system we pay the exact same amount because only the first 90,000 dollars is taxed. If you raise the limit then the SS system will never go broke.

I think we owe it to our seasoned citizens. Think about it, someday that will be us.

James
[e-mail]

ps. I did not have any gray hair before I came here. I am 33 years old. Now I have gray hair and it's all Pres. Bush's fault.....ha ha ha

[Warpy]

20. Consider where the center is, and I'm not talking about

solely within the Democratic Party.

87% in a poll last fall said the minimum wage needed to be raised immediately and by a substantial amount.

Over 2/3 now think we're overdue for health care reform resulting in universal insurance coverage.

A majority want us out of the unwinnable and financially ruinous Iraq war.

A majority are against any privatization of Social Security.

A slim majority are in favor of a woman's right to choose her own reproductive destiny.

A majority are disquieted by the government's intrusion into their private lives, while single issues like the drug war and warrantless wiretapping are still minority issues.

A majority are in favor of preserving the environment from runaway development and overharvesting of resources.

A majority want offshoring of jobs and whole industries to stop.

That's where the center is, and it's far left of where conservatives who call themselves moderate are in their views.

We disagree with each other frequently on this board. Most of us manage to keep it civil. Democrats are supposed to disagree with each other. It's what keeps us from becoming Repuglicans.

[jpwhite]

25. that was awesome baby!!

in my bad Dick Vitale voice...."THAT WAS AWESOME BABY!!"

wow, that was a great post. It really was encouraging. Where did you get these numbers from? Please post your source or send me an e-mail. Thanks.

James
[e-mail]

[Warpy]

27. The sources have all been posted here over the last eight

months or so. http://www.pollingreport.com is a good source for poll information, as is http://www.zogby.com, although you do have to wait for crumbs to fall from the premium membership table.

[jpwhite]

32. thank you

Thanks for listing the web sites. By the way, how much does a premium membership cost?

James
[e-mail]

[William769]

22. There is always room in the Democratic party for moderates.

Despite popular belief!

Welcome to DU. :hi:

[tpsbmam]

26. Moderate/left here, as well

I don't agree with all of your opinions, but do with most of them. I'm far left on some issues, somewhat conservative on others. If they balance out, they make me fairly moderate. That's true of many of my Dem friends as well.

I think there better damn well be room for all of us in the Democratic Party (and on DU) or we're in trouble.

Folks here will argue with you and they'll argue with me and with each other. You'll see a fair amount of agreement on some issues and a fair amount of dissent on others. Welcome to real life.

One of the joys of being a Democrat IMO is that we don't march in lockstep. We're free to openly agree or disagree. Sometimes it makes me crazy and I want to say "STFU!," but mostly I like knowing that we're not about "my Party, right or wrong."

So this moderate welcomes you!

[oasis]

28. Welcome to DU.

:hi:

[Clark2008]

29. You ARE a moderate Democrat - but don't let anyone tell you

that you're DLC, because you're not.

People too often - and this includes DUers - confuse moderate Democrat for DLC. DLCers aren't necessarily moderate, they're simply pro-corporation, which is bothersome to me. While DLCers, as a whole, are better than Republicans, they're still NOT moderates.

I'm a moderate to liberal Democrat, myself. I'm not a huge fan of the DLC, but I did vote and campaign for Harold Ford Jr. in Tennessee because, despite his DLC affiliation, he was a much better choice than Corker.

However, given the decision between a non-DLCer and a DLCer, I'd go for the non-DLCer who may or may not be a moderate.

Clear as mud? :hi: Welcome to DU.

[jpwhite]

34. what's DLC?

The army is the home of TLA's (three letter acronyms), but even I don't know what DLC is. What are you referring to? Is it Democratic Leadership Committee? Are those Dick Cheney's initials? Yes, this was as clear as mud. But thanks for the nice words.

James
[e-mail]

[Lone_Star_Dem]

36. "Democratic Leadership Committee" = DLC

Or as I like to affectionately refer to them, "The Democratic Lite Committee" brought to you by big Corporations across America.

Welcome to DU! :hi:

It takes all kinds of Democrats to make up the Democratic Party. Don't worry, Dr. Dean just bought us a brand new big tent to help fit everyone. However, if you would have been DLC we would have put you at the little table with all the noisy kids. ;)

[Greyhound]

37. Democratic Leadership Council

otherwise known as the democratic wing of The Corporate Party.

http://www.dlc.org

[jpwhite]

35. I need to go to sleep

It's one in the morning here and I need to go to bed. Thank you for everyone who has responded to this thread. All of your questions were great. I appreciate everyone's insight. For those who will post after I go to bed I will try to look at what you say when I wake up. I can't wait to see how many people respond and what others have to say. I will be coming home from Iraq soon. I can't wait to see my family. Good night to everyone and thanks for writing on this thread.

James
[e-mail]

[melnjones]

38. Welcome to DU

I requested to be added as a friend on myspace. I'm studying now for the ministry. Have you thought of doing chaplaincy stuff in the Army?

[jpwhite]

45. chaplaincy

yes, I am pursuing the chaplaincy. I am a unitarian universalist. I am mainly new age/liberal Christian in my beliefs. I am a big fan of Neale Donald Walsch, Marianne Williamson, Wayne Dyer, and Deepak Chopra. I am also a student of the book "A Course in Miracles."

James
[e-mail]

[cobalt1999]

39. Welcome to DU, here's a cartoon to help you understand the place...

[Jcrowley]

40. Welcome to DU

When you say pro-military I'm not sure what that means. For many of the social programs that it sounds you would prefer the funding isn't available due to the $700 billion/yr going into the Pentagon. I'm sure you are aware that the US spends more than the rest of the world combined on weapons and military programs. That's in reality taking such things from our children as health care.

[LWolf]

41. I don't know about the Democratic Party.

While I'm a registered Democrat, I don't pretend to speak for the party.

As for you? I agree with you on some issues, disagree on others. Just like I do with everyone else, Democrat or not. I'm generally against moving the party towards the "center," not because I can't work with moderates, but because there is a corporate taint there I don't want to give room to. I want corporate (and religious) influence and interests out of U.S. politics.

I'm glad to meet and chat with anyone about issues; we don't have to agree on everything to find commonalities that we can talk about and work on together.

[jpwhite]

46. there are ways to save money on defense

I agree that 700 billion is probably too much money on defense. I know that there are ways to save money and I hope that we can find that. I do know that in reality that we don't need to be in Germany anymore. I would have to look into this more but I am sure that there are ways to save money and fight the war on terrorism as well.

James
[e-mail]

[twilight_sailing]

42. Are you kidding, bro?

Welcome! You are among friends here.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

44. how are you moderate? the positions you hold are very liberal

i doubt that there is anyone in the democratic party who wants to disband the army..however the ridiculous blank checks we have been giving the army (which is NOT going to the troops but to contractors) is objectionable. I support the troops. I never want to send anyone to die in vain. If the troops need to be sent out they need to have every protection possible.

[jpwhite]

47. yes we need oversight

absolutely we need oversight. No more blank checks. This money that is spent on defense belongs to the american people, and the congress should provide oversight. Someone on tv the other day mentioned the idea of pulling out some of the regular troops in Iraq and using more special forces. I think that is a great idea. I am sure there are other ways to fight this battle that would save money too. We spend 700 billion dollars on defense and that's a lot of money.

However, when people attack Haliburton I think of a small town called Duncan, OK. It's east of Lawton and a lot of people there work for Haliburton. I am not saying that every project that Haliburton does is great. What I am saying is those people have families too and before we cut anything we should be aware of the consequences of our actions. I am all for making the military more efficient.

James
[e-mail]

ps. Do you really think that I am more liberal than moderate?

[La Lioness Priyanka]

51. yes i do think you are more liberal than what i consider a moderate

most people who identify as moderate are really liberal when you ask them specific questions about society/economics

raising minimum wage
being for gay marriage
non privatization of social security
affordable health care

are all liberal stances...

[jpwhite]

50. thank you for everyone's response

Thank you for everyone who responded to this thread. Your comments were very insightful. If anyone has any further comments my e-mail is [e-mail]. Once again, thanks for your posts.

James
[e-mail]

[LynneSin]

52. Welcome to DU! Most of us still believe in the big tent of the Dem party

If I wanted representation that mirrored my beliefs exactly then I should run for office.

BTW - we are NOT anti-military, just pro-war. And I find it disgraceful that republicans not only refuse to find the funds to provide our military better equipment to protect themselves like body armor but they also made cutbacks to the VA benefits. Personally, that to me is anti-military!

[fhqwhgads]

53. there's plenty of room for you here...

...as you've already seen, you'll get some disagreement on ANWR drilling, and on parental consent. we don't all agree with each other about everything (witness all the impeachment discussions). i'm probably as socially liberal as any other DUer, but more to the right on trade issues. i think there are core principles we all hold but there's a little room to roam.

in any event, welcome.

[gollygee]

54. The only thing that I disagree with is the drilling in Alaska

and there is a slight chance my mind could be changed there.

Pro-military is a talking point really. It doesn't mean much. My brother was in the military for a long time, until recently, and he saw some pretty bad changes to his lifestyle (money and benefits) as a result of Republican leadership. I'd say that's anti-military. You'd have to be very specific about what "anti-military" means. If it means supporting every military action no matter what, I'd call that "foolishness", not "anti-military". If it means respecting members of our military and trying to make sure they are able to support their families, I'd call Democrats more pro-military than Republicans.

[michreject]

55. I'm a Moderate Democrat as well

I'm a Veteran myself. Retired from GM as a UAW member. Don't believe in gun control. Pro women's rights. Would like to believe that I don't have any racial bias.