Abortion

Abortion is a topic that its frequently debated in the United States and was an issue that complicated the passage of the healthcare bill. In this issue, you are either pro-choice (for abortion) or pro-life (against abortion). You will often find that most democrats will take up the pro-choice side of the argument and that republicans will side on the other.

Recently, house republicans have been urging Florida Governer Charlie Crist to support a bill that prohibits the use of public funds for abortions. Although I am entirely pro-choice, I agree that tax payers should not have to pay for elective abortions. Getting elective abortions should not be a process that comes without any sort of penalty or cost because then there would be no incentive for many try to not get pregnant when they could always get a free abortion. Women should always have the choice to get an elective abortion, but it should not be something that tax dollars are used for.

Republicans

The Republican party often receives a lot of criticism. Some of the many stereotypes of a typical republican include: old, rich, white, red neck, highly religious, racist, pro-life and against gay marriage. It seems that many of the stereotypes out there are more negative for the republicans than for the democrats.
One of the major things that I like about the republican party is their history of being fiscally conservative. Government spending can get a lot of things done, but it can also lead to trouble. When it comes to taxes, I like how the republicans tend to limit taxation, but that is probably based largely on the fact my family doesnt face too many large financial problems, and that I work and have to pay taxes. Since I am young and want all the money that I can get my hands on, and it is no fun to look at the deductions on the slip of paper that I receive with each paycheck that I get. Its even worse when I get to see the totals when I file tax returns and what my parents have to pay to the government. This may seem very selfish, but I realize to an extent that taxes are needed. This probably will not change until I am a little older. The republican party's unity is something that should be respected, as it is truly impressive that a party can operate as a unit and come together on an issue like they can.
I am not a very religious person and believe in evolution, so in just about any issue where religion is brought into play, I almost always end up siding with the democrats. As I said in my previous post, I side very strongly with the democrats on the issues of gay marriage and abortion. I feel that what the republicans use to justify some of their arguments is based upon old thinking that they try to apply in a changing world.

Democrats

Finding out which political party best suits you is not a clear cut decision most of the time because often, people find themselves somewhere in between the two. I often find myself siding with the democratic party on many issues, although on different issues, I feel myself being more convinced by the conservative point of view.

There are things happening in the Democratic party that I agree with, and other things that disapprove of. The stereotypes of democrats often include: hippies, weak in terms of defense, pro-gay marriage, pro-choice...and the list goes on. Democrats are often seen as people that are young and/or poor. I find many of these stereotypes ridiculous and I side with this party's belief on the issues of gay marriage and abortion.

One of the cons of the Democratic party in my opinion is the party's weakness in the area of defense spending since I feel that this is an important aspect of our nation that should be taken seriously. Another thing about the party is that it seems to be full of people who I find annoying or borderline insane, but that isn't to say that there aren't a few people like that in the republican party. Another problem with the democratic party as a whole that is commonly brought up is their lack of togetherness or unity that the republicans seem to possess. A quote from humor columnist Dave Barry describes this problem:

The Democrats seem to be basically nicer
people, but they have demonstrated time
and again that they have the management
skills of celery. They're the kind of people
who'd stop to help you change a flat, but
would somehow manage to set your car on
fire. I would be reluctant to entrust them
with a Cuisinart, let alone the economy.