O.K. so I am new to politics, just what do Republican stand for? Is this 8 years

[somerset]

of Bush typical conservative? I sort of like Mr McCain, but I can't see 8 more years of the same as what we have just gone through, even without the war!
The reason I am asking is because the Dem's and all that nasty smearing does not help me to like Hillary nor Obama!
I feel doubly bad now that Edwards is gone, it looks like he was the only one with integrity!
It is almost embarrassing to watch all that fighting and name calling, and it is getting so very boring!.......
And how does one vote independent, where does that vote go?
Appreciate your answer!

[DAR]

No, Ron Paul is a Republican.

Bush is a neocon.

Unfortunately, so is McCain.

Vote for Ron Paul and send a signal to the GOP that McCain is not what we want for a candidate!

Go to youtube and put 'Ron Paul New Hope' into the browser. I can't post links from there right now.

http://www[dot]youtube[dot]com/watch?v=FG2PUZoukfA

Or go to his issue statement at www[dot]ronpaul2008[dot]com

[bush-deathgrip]

reagan left a huge debt......bush sr left a huge debt......w leaving the largest debt in US history.........yep, typical gop "leadership"

[Eulalia]

Ok, to put it in a nutshell---Bush is the prime example of conservative republican---nothing for the people, everything for big business.
The race between Hillary and Obama is nasty all right, but that is basically part of political races. Even when we vote locally(governor), there will be negative ads about the opponents. I have made it a rule of mine to check the candidates on their plans and on their ability to represent me(meaning I look at my priorities and what their priorities are). I also have to say that there has to be a certain amount of responsibility a candidate had to fullfill in another job--such as Hillary having been First Lady before. I watch the debates the candidates have(I watched both, repubs and dems), and that usually helps me make up my mind.
If I cannot find either candidate appealing to me then I vote for the one who seems to be the lesser of two evils to me.....

[It's That Guy]

Conservatism used to be about resisting change, or at least slowing down change, 'conserving' the status quo. It used to be about fiscal responsibility, running the country like a business, balancing the budget. And it was pro-business, with the idea that if businesses did well, everyone would benefit.

Liberalism was more about people, protecting their rights, increasing opportunity, and using the government to provide the greatest good for the biggest number of people--i.e. education, helping people own their own homes, helping with access to health care, legislating against discrimination, etc.

The Republicans and Democrats used to represent conservatism and liberalism respectively, but in the last few decades they have really both gone off course. Ronald Reagan issued in a new age of conservative thought, the idea that government is evil, that it -can't- work, so the less government we have the better. And that tax cuts are more important than a balanced budget. The Democrats have sold out to the same corporate special interests that used to drive the Republicans, and in fact GW Bush's presidency is seen as such a failure that the Democrats are raising more funds than the Republicans, which is a very unusual situation.

The real problem is that money has gotten so important in politics. In the 70s a presidential campaign cost 20-25 million dollars. Today a candidate spends that in a couple of weeks. The primary season is way too long--especially this year--and candidates have to travel and buy TV time in every market. So fundraising becomes the most important thing, and candidates have to sell out to get their name out. The candidate who raises the most funds is acclaimed by the media as the presumptive winner, and all the other candidates get short shrift.

The media are not doing their job. They are biased towards candidates who are already leading. This is partly because they like to show the election as a horse-race rather than a battle of competing ideology, and also partly because they like the candidate with the most money because where does he spend that money? On TV ads!

The upshot of this is that by the time you even hear of a candidate, he has already sold out for money.

I am independent because neither of the major parties really represents me. I'm trying to make this message not about my own political ideas. But as I see it, this election represents a choice between 'the same' and 'change'.

None of the Republican candidates this time around were allowed to criticize Bush, to admit that he made mistakes, or to say how they might do things differently. This means that none of them can really offer us anything more than four more years of the same. If you like how things are going, it doesn't matter WHICH Republican gets the nomination--the agenda is the same. (Ron Paul was the exception, but you could see how both the GOP and the media hated him.)

Obama and Hillary, neither of them are my ideal candidate. They are both sellouts, more corrupt than I think a president should be (though not NEARLY as corrupt as the other party).

But as I see it, the question is: Which party is closest to your own ideas? Which party can do a better job? And to me that's no contest. I am really unhappy with Bush and though I think McCain is more respectable, I don't think I'd be any happier with him. I don't think he will be allowed to implement his own ideas or agenda, I think he will push the same old party agenda, as he has in his campaign.

[5th Watcher]

If you don't like Bush, don't vote McCain. They are pratically buddies.

The key thing to remember is that Democats are generally progressive, and Republicans are generally (neo)conservative.

Republicans like to lower taxes so you can keep more money, but this has ended up benefiting the rich more than anyone in recent years. In the neo-conservative context, which is what the republicans are, they like to pass a lot of security laws in the name of anti-terrorism. Critics say these laws invade privacy, impede free speech, and haven't done much to help.

Democrats prefer that money is spent on social programs and various things that help out the little guy. Most recently the push for universal/very affordable health care has been on the agenda. Welfare is another one of these programs. These things cost money, so Democrats tend to raise taxes, but recently they've been trying hard to make sure those taxes hit the poor and middle class the least. Critics say that this stuff costs a lot of money and that tax payers shouldn't have their taxes go to people who are hard up.

Don't vote a 3rd party for president, they never win. When it comes to more local elections or state elections, then go nuts.

One third party, the Green party is very environmentally conscious and comparable to the democrats but more liberal.

another third party, the Libertarians, are comparable to the republicans but more classically conservative and very capitalist.