I am not a Democrat or a Republican but I am definitely not a Republican

I do not officially belong to a political party but my views are classified by most as left of center.

One of the planks of the Republican platform is entitled "reining in the EPA". The EPA is the Environment Protection Agency. As stated on their website, their "mission is to protect human health and the environment." The republican platform claims that regulations and restrictions put in place by the EPA are a burden on the economy. They put forth accusations backed by extremely vague numbers that their new regulations with cost American businesses and consumers money. To put it mildly, I disagree with this. This says that keeping the environment clean and livable is too much to ask of American businesses because it may cost them some revenue. Reform very well may be needed within the EPA but not for the reasons given by the platform. "Because it might cost us money" is not a good enough reason to strip a government agency designed to promote health of humans and the environment of the power to function.

I could not agree more with the democratic view on marriage. They "support the right of all families to have equal respect, responsibilities, and protections under the law." This particular plank calls for the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act and a stop to the Respect for Marriage Act. Both try to deny same-sex couples the right to marry. Gay marriage is not an issue that affects me personally, I am not gay, but I feel very strongly about it. Whether of not two men or two women want to get married doesn't affect anyone but them and the people that attend the wedding. A straight couple doesn't lose any rights if a gay couple is allowed to marry. Some argue that argue that it desecrates the sanctity of marriage. Two gay men that are in a loving, committed, life-long relationship is more detrimental to marriage than something like Larry King being married 8 times? The amount of time, energy and money some people put into fighting someone else's right to get married is truly astonishing to me. They have to work so hard to get the same rights, the rights that they deserve.

I also agree with the Democratic view on the right to bear arms. It is a constitutional right to bear arms and that cannot be taken away. Some republicans feel that is what Democrats want to do but it's simply not true. They believe in reasonable regulations to help reduce gun violence in America. Democrats see the need to enforce the gun laws that we already have in effect and improve the current background check system. They want to reinstate the assault weapons ban and take other steps "so that guns do not fall into the hands of those irresponsible, law-breaking few."


I completely disagree with the Republicans desire to extend the Bush tax cuts. Those are the very same tax cuts that contributed to getting us into the current crushing debt crisis that we are in. The ideas behind some the tax cuts are agreeable, like the tax cuts for lower and middle-income taxpayers, but the overall package is not what America needs. Huge tax breaks for the elite few, or 1%, hiding behind the idea that those are the "job-creators". Republicans refuse to acknowledge that Bush, a republican, inherited a balanced budget and left it a huge national deficit by the time he was done. Bill Clinton said "the Republican argument against the President's re-election was pretty simple: we left him a total mess, he hasn't cleaned if up fast enough, so fire him and put us back in."

I agree with the Democratic policy on women's rights. The first bill that Obama signed was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. It helps ensure that women will get equal pay and help them fight when they are paid less than men for equal work. Democrats fully support enforcing Title IX that further protects women's equal rights. Democrats want to protect women's rights and especially their right to make decisions concerning their own health and reproductive choices that in many cases Republicans are trying to strip them of. The Democrats continually fight the fight for equal rights protected under law which I respect and appreciate despite than the Republican's extensive knowledge of the female body. "If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down" - Republican Todd Akin.

All in all, the country is a disaster. If politicians spent half the energy on trying to actually accomplish something that they spent on attacking the other party we might actually get somewhere. If the opposite of pro is con, is the opposite of progress congress? For right now, the answer to that question is absolutely YES! 

Okay maybe my views are slightly more than left of center but I don't think that the country should be. I think that the country should be governed from the middle, with politicians reaching across party lines to do what is best for the country and for its people. But I know that is crazy talk. The Republicans certainly aren't right about everything but neither are the Democrats and people seem to forget that the country isn't divided strictly into blue and red with one side perfectly right and the other dead wrong. What the country really needs is a little purple.