Political Climate Poll

Which best describes your political leanings?

  • MAGA

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Non-MAGA Republican

    Votes: 6 7.7%

  • Right leaning libertarian

    Votes: 3 3.8%

  • Left leaning libertarian

    Votes: 4 5.1%

  • Mainsream Democrat

    Votes: 49 62.8%

  • Far left Democrat

    Votes: 11 14.1%

  • Socialist

    Votes: 5 6.4%

  • Communist

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    78
In my posting experience Trumpers and members of MAGA Nation often will not openly admit to being a Trumper or MAGA on a message board. Instead they will usually claim they are "an independent thinker" who somehow still votes Republican about 99% of the time, or they will claim that they don't really support Trump while nonetheless supporting nearly all of his positions and defending him from all attacks.
 
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I consider myself somewhere between a mainstream Democrat and a far left. I went with far left for funsies, and while I don’t think I’m rabid about it, some of my top issues are the environment, healthcare for all, and LGBTQ rights.
 
So far I am the lone vote for non-MAGA Republican. I waffled between that and Mainstream Democrat as these days I feel like there is little separation between moderate conservatives and centrist Democrats. But since I’ve voted Republican in three of the four presidential elections for which I have been age eligible to vote, I figured I’d choose non-MAGA Republican. There are very few issues where I have moved substantially left, but the GOP has moved so unimaginably far to the extreme right and it has left me totally in the dust.
 
Left leaning Liberterian but I really don’t know what I would be.

Abortion- I pretty much loathe abortion and wish we didn’t have it, but also recognize Republican leaders don’t give a shit about it, they just made a deal with Christians that they will ban abortions they go along with everything else. So since they are too stupid to even make nuanced legislation that would protect the health of the mother i say if you don’t like. Abortion don’t have one.
2nd Ammendment- I’m right wing. Hate to take away th freedoms of so many when a small part are the ones causing issues.
Drugs- legalize decriminalize whatever. We lost the war on Drugs.
Prostitution/gambling- I don’t like it but like drugs and abortion I just won’t participate
Pro Union and labor-Fully believe the rich would wnslave us all if they could get away with it. Get corporate money out of politics.
 
HandsonFire said:
Left leaning Liberterian but I really don’t know what I would be.

Abortion- I pretty much loathe abortion and wish we didn’t have it, but also recognize Republican leaders don’t give a shit about it, they just made a deal with Christians that they will ban abortions they go along with everything else. So since they are too stupid to even make nuanced legislation that would protect the health of the mother i say if you don’t like. Abortion don’t have one.
2nd Ammendment- I’m right wing. Hate to take away th freedoms of so many when a small part are the ones causing issues.
Drugs- legalize decriminalize whatever. We lost the war on Drugs.
Prostitution/gambling- I don’t like it but like drugs and abortion I just won’t participate
Pro Union and labor-Fully believe the rich would wnslave us all if they could get away with it. Get corporate money out of politics.
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My Mother (RIP) grew up and died a devout Catholic. Since she was like 40 she was adamant about getting the Church and the State out of the business of controlling choice. She was also interestingly adamant about how nice clean legal prostitution would save a lot of marriages
 
Mainstream Democrat is my selection, however if that is comparable to moderate then I am a bit more left. My first presidential election was Jimmy Carter in 1976 and I have never been able to agree with any version of Republican ideology. Since 2016, that ideology appears tame by comparison to where Trump has taken the party.
 
I find even a poll with a bunch of options like this is hard to answer. Everyone defines things like 'Mainstream Democrat' or 'Right Leaning' differently. I've been pretty involved as a canvasser and organizer the past few cycles, and chatting with people about their political views has been pretty eye opening about how truly non-monolithic voters are. I met someone at an event recently who is pro choice, supports strong unions, wants much stricter gun laws, and favors Medicare for all...but doesn't believe in climate change and voted for Trump in 2016 because of some weird economic theory they heard about from their sister. People get their news from super weird sources (or individuals) and form opinions based on their own experiences, which just leads to some weird combinations of beliefs.

Me personally:
  • Grew up in a conservative family who was/is conservative for no reason other than selfishness. I love my parents to death, but they are willing to turn a blind eye to social issues because ultimately paying less in taxes is what matters most to them. They would classify themselves as 'socially liberal and fiscally conservative', which in my view has become a classic cop out answer when what you really mean is 'I voted for Trump and I feel some guilt around that decision, but I'll get to keep more of my cash that I think I deserve." We hosted fundraisers for all sorts of Republican NC politicians growing up, and I voted for McCain and Romney in 2008/2012 because I wasn't old enough to question my parents and was too lazy to actually look into real differences between the two parties, which obviously have become much more stark since. Going to Duke (x2) and ultimately living on my own allowed me to actually develop some critical thinking abilities and form my own views on the world, and the 2016 cycle was particularly activating for me as it was for many. Needless to say, I've voted for Dems ever since.
  • I'm generally going to advocate for equity in every issue- things like racism, sexism, homophobia are still huge issues in society that will take a lot of work to continue rooting out both from a policy perspective and a societal perspective.
  • America has an enormous gun problem that is, again, driven by both cultural issues and policy issues. I'm ok putting limitations on 'freedom' if it means a safer society, which I view as a foundational element of freedom.
  • I'm strongly pro-choice and believe that women and their doctors should make their own health care decisions.
  • I believe government has an important role to play in creating a just society.
  • Related to the above, I believe everyone should have access to things like healthcare and education.
  • Immigration is absolutely core to the identity of America and immigrants are core to our economy functioning in an age where most Americans don't want to work the types of jobs that immigrants end up working. We need to have strong and secure borders that keep us safe from things like drugs and crime, but we also need to be a welcoming nation that understands the value of diversity, demonstrates compassion for those not fortunate to live here, and generally welcomes immigrants with open arms where we can. That's a tough needle to thread, which is why immigration will eternally be on the list of political issues.
  • I believe pretty strongly that many of the issues we face as a society could be solved with a more effective tax system that collects a much, much greater share from the wealthiest individuals and corporations.
So whatever bucket that throws me in...put me there.
 
I don’t know if I truly fit within any of those classifications. I guess mainstream Democrat is the closest, but I would describe myself as a pragmatic Democrat. I probably have some progressive viewpoints that generally may not qualify as far left, but in terms of how left-leaning political ideology should be implemented to govern, I generally think it is best to use some restraint. I think progress is generally best achieved not through an attempt to push through sudden drastic change, but by taking smaller steps that can help lead us to our goals. I think bipartisanship and compromise is also an important part of successful and effective government. And ultimately, while this more moderate approach may not go as far as I would prefer, I think it provides the best opportunity to eventually get where I’d like to be.
 
I believe I have fairly nuanced political view (for example I'm quite hawkish from a "peace through strength" perspective, and adamantly dovish from a "jingoistic wars of choice" perspective), but if for simplicity's sake if I had to boil down my political leanings to a single thought, I'd go with...

At the age of twelve I watched Bush (the elder) debate Reagan for the 1980 Republican Presidential Nomination and could see, with crystalline clarity, that Reagan was blowing smoke up all our collective asses with the supply side economics/trickle down/voodoo economics bullshit that he was pushing. And subsequently, I've spent the next 16 thousand days of my existence on this earth truly gobsmacked that more than half of my fellow Americans somehow bought in (and are still buying in) to that bullshit.

After Reagan won the nomination and Bush kowtowed and started parroting the bullshit (that he knew full well was bullshit) because he wanted the VP slot, that sealed the deal for me. Six years before I was old enough to vote, I knew I would never vote for a single Republican until they walked that bullshit back. They never have.
 
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HandsonFire said:
Left leaning Liberterian but I really don’t know what I would be.

Abortion- I pretty much loathe abortion and wish we didn’t have it, but also recognize Republican leaders don’t give a shit about it, they just made a deal with Christians that they will ban abortions they go along with everything else. So since they are too stupid to even make nuanced legislation that would protect the health of the mother i say if you don’t like. Abortion don’t have one.
2nd Ammendment- I’m right wing. Hate to take away th freedoms of so many when a small part are the ones causing issues.
Drugs- legalize decriminalize whatever. We lost the war on Drugs.
Prostitution/gambling- I don’t like it but like drugs and abortion I just won’t participate
Pro Union and labor-Fully believe the rich would wnslave us all if they could get away with it. Get corporate money out of politics.
Click to expand...
This is the uncommon mishmash of values-driven positions I longed to hear from on zzlp. Did you have another handle on the former site? The board became so inundated by maga trolls, whose values were whatever capricious thing ttump tweeted that day, that good-faith debate on evidence-backed conservative positions got drowned out.

Also, CFord, you're still going with the Republican-sorta label, huh? Thought super had shown you the light?
 
CFordUNC said:
So far I am the lone vote for non-MAGA Republican. I waffled between that and Mainstream Democrat as these days I feel like there is little separation between moderate conservatives and centrist Democrats. But since I’ve voted Republican in three of the four presidential elections for which I have been age eligible to vote, I figured I’d choose non-MAGA Republican. There are very few issues where I have moved substantially left, but the GOP has moved so unimaginably far to the extreme right and it has left me totally in the dust.
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I agree. Center-right Independent should be a category. I picked mainstream Dem which seems center-left, but I’m really center-right
 
HeelingAg said:
This is the uncommon mishmash of values-driven positions I longed to hear from on zzlp. Did you have another handle on the former site? The board became so inundated by maga trolls, whose values were whatever capricious thing ttump tweeted that day, that good-faith debate on evidence-backed conservative positions got drowned out.

Also, CFord, you're still going with the Republican-sorta label, huh? Thought super had shown you the light?
Click to expand...
I didn’t post much over there. I’m more of a lurker. I’m blue collar, not college educated and suck at arguing my positions (probably the lack of college, ) although occasionally I’ll dive in. I’m also religious so some of the things that influence my positions aren’t provable and won’t make sense to those who aren’t .

The zzl definitely worked to change some of my positions, immigration and economy/labor being the big ones. First time around I voted for Trump but Biden second time around. Pat McCrory and NC pubs are what started my path towards where I am now.
 
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