Democrat or Republican?

So many times I have seen people vote because of the party they were born into. Why should this even mater? Why do we do this? Is it a sin to vote opposite way? Below are a few things I have pulled off the net. Now I haven't spent to much time looking, just picked up a few key points.  Why do we have to be Democrat or Rebublican?

This comes from wikianswers.com:

Advertisement

Democrats are a party. Within the party there are always extremes and a great deal of leeway on issues as well variances in ideology.

Democrats generally believe in a womans right to make choices about her body. This is obviously my attempt at a neutral statement saying pro choice in abortion.

Democrats generally believe in expanding government in humanitarian sectors. Humanitarian sector as used here is a very broad term referring to all the various agencies the federal government oversees. This is where Democrats receive the traditional "they will increase your taxes" comment from; by increasing these programs size more taxes are usually required to pay for them. To go into detail about the specifics of this would take days.

Democrats generally believe in and a more evenly distributing of money throughout the general populous. Most notably in their pushes for more aggressive progressive taxing on the wealthy and increase minimum wage.

Democrats typically don't put the same level of emphasis on national defense as their republican counterparts.

Democrats typically are vague on their plans with education. Like all politicians (republican, green, and democrats alike) there is constant call of education reform. What that reform is specifically and how it will be paid for, we usually don't ever get an answer from any of them. Traditionally democrats have favored strengthening the arbitrary U.S. Department of Education more than their republican counterparts.

To know specifically what any individual democrat would do about any given subject, look into them. They have probably made some claims. Look into their voting record, they have probably crossed the issue. There are a great many classifications of democrat, just as there are a great many classifications of theist.

The above was an attempted neutral answer written by an independent authoritarian.

If you would like to find a less biased answer to this question, wikipedia has some very useful information on the history and stereotypical belief systems associated with each party. I would STRONGLY recommend looking into a party history and beliefs before identifying yourself with one.

In other words, democrats are more liberal and republicans are more conservative.

 

 

Republicans are a political party in the US who believe in the following key ideas:

 

smaller government/less government involvement

(which includes reduced government spending and government taxes)

National security

(strict foreign policy/ large role of military/patriotism/support of military on the offense)

 

free trade and capitalism

 

pro-life and conservative religious values

vouchers for the education system

politically fair over politically correct

proponents of the NRA and all Constitutional rights

Now as I see it, both these parties don't seem that bad. But as I know it, just because you are in a certain party doesn't mean they represent it. You guys know the routine. The politician promises you the moon, and then gives you a block of cheese. Another question I have is, can I vote the person instead of a party? If so, what does that make me? I am very confused when it comes to politics and any info would help. Politics is like religion, it's a never ending discussion. But at least in religion, we all believe in something!