[oberlee]

Obviously, I'm not republican. I'm technically independent because...well, I don't like being confined to a box. I also don't like confining others to boxes, but the more and more I look, the republican outlook and agenda just seems...so horribly wrong. I want, however, to understand more of the benefits of the party, even if I don't agree with them.

So much of republicanism--and conservatism especially--is fear-based. It's about keeping things the way they are, keeping values the same (hence no gay marriage/union), and that stems from, in my opinion, a very unenlightened stance. And I understand that the concept of being a republican is technically financial and not social, but at this point, it's all lumped together.

I try watching Fox news to understand, and I just can't. I can't take the station seriously, or most of the people. The conservatives are trying to spin things as much as possible and the "liberals" are just a bunch of...wusses.

Please understand--I'm not out here trying to bag on republicans; I apologize if it seems that way. I'm just saying, my view of it must be skewed, that is, the republican regime is not evil, it's just...different. Right? And I know lots of good, nice, fun people who are republicans and this party must make sense to them like the democratic party (or other) does to me. My parents are republicans, as a matter of fact (all 4 kids are not).

And even if I were financially conservative, I just couldn't vote for someone who has the stances on topics that most republicans do--gay marriage=bad, abortion=going to the devil. Also, I live in the Bay Area and work in the arts, so my whole environment is very anti-republican.

Anyone out there who's intelligent and open-minded and can shed some positive light on the republican party?