How many times (if any) have you changed your political affiliation?

TheDemSocialist said:

Yes. 4 times.
Liberal. Trotskyist. Libertarian Socialist. Democratic Socialist.

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So you really haven't changed much at all

jk jk I'm just yankin' your chain

I used to consider myself a Republican until I realized most of the party isn't any better than the Democrats. Examples: (John McCain, Mitt Romney, George Bush, Paul Ryan, Jeb Bush, Lindsey Graham, Frank Wolf, Bob McDonnell and many more)

I registered Republican at age 18 and I've never changed it. In my state, there's not much point in registering Democrat unless you live on the coast or one of a handful of other blue counties.


However, I've been disgruntled with the GOP for quite a long time, and I am far from being a party-line person. I'm as likely to vote Libertarian or Constitution Party as GOP in a given election, unless I approve of the specific candidate in question. I occasionally vote for a Dem when the Dem is clearly the better candidate.

Along the way I've viewed myself as very conservative, slightly conservative, libertarian, quasi-libertarian, and independent centrist at various times.

Once for sure, and the rest is just details. Sometimes I vote Democrat locally and in the state, many times I vote Republican. Our Democrats are not the base of the Democratic Party, however. So, really, when I vote Democrat, it is so I can escape the Tea Partiers, which for some reason, exist here.

I got a bit caught up in Obama's 08 campaign, then soon after his inauguration concluded that he's not a secular messiah and nothing can save this country from congress/dumb voters. I've despised both parties since.

I've never had two feet into a political party, I've voted for Democratic, Republican, Green, and Libertarian candidates. Ideologically I used to be much, much more conservative, then pretty damn straight liberal, and now if I could pigeon hole myself it would be more of a center-left person with a dash of libertarian...

...or something.

cpwill said:

As the man said. "If you're not a liberal when you're young, you have no heart. If you're not a conservative when you're older, you have no head."



I myself have shifted position on a few things - for example, Abortion.

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Stereotyping fail. I shifted in exactly the opposite manner.

I started a democrat, became a republican and am now registered independent.

I registered at 18 as Republican but now I consider myself a Tea Party member instead being part of the establish GOP.

I never felt obligated to any particular party but I voted mostly republican for most of my life.

But currently, I cannot in good conscience align with them at all. Neither can I support the democrat ideals all the way.

I'm seriously considering starting my own, "fishing party." Politics seem to be misaligned with me overall, now days.

Captain America said:

I never felt obligated to any particular party but I voted mostly republican for most of my life.

But currently, I cannot in good conscience align with them at all. Neither can I support the democrat ideals all the way.

I'm seriously considering starting my own, "fishing party." Politics seem to be misaligned with me overall, now days.

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This is how I feel generally. It's why I'm registered Independent.

I used to vote Republican, till I had a Republican tell me that he didn't care if poor people had to eat dog food, so long as he didn't have to pay for it. After that, I just decided that I didn't want to align myself with that type of thinking, because I didn't feel that way. I've always been the kind of person that, if I have 2 hamburgers and somebody is hungry, they're gonna get one of them. I don't need millions of dollars, cuz you can't take it with you.

I don't vote strict party line, anyway. I vote for the candidate. That's why, for the last 10 years, I've labeled myself as an independent.

TheGirlNextDoor said:

During your lifetime, have you changed your political affiliation?

If you have, how many times.

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I cast my first presidential vote back in 64 for Goldwater and tended to vote Republican at the national level and Democratic at the local level. That is until 92 and since then I have voted for whom I considered the best candidate and for the most part, they tended to be third party candidates.

Superfly said:

I used to vote Republican, till I had a Republican tell me that he didn't care if poor people had to eat dog food, so long as he didn't have to pay for it. After that, I just decided that I didn't want to align myself with that type of thinking, because I didn't feel that way. I've always been the kind of person that, if I have 2 hamburgers and somebody is hungry, they're gonna get one of them. I don't need millions of dollars, cuz you can't take it with you.

I don't vote strict party line, anyway. I vote for the candidate. That's why, for the last 10 years, I've labeled myself as an independent.

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I could identify at least half a dozen people on this board that I believe have that attitude, they're just not willing to state it so bluntly.

Once, this last election cycle I switched from Republican to Libertarian. I mulled over that decision for years, not so happy about the all over the place message as it stands but they are more solid on the constitution than either major party which is something I agree with. My positions haven't changed, but neither major party is worth a damn in my opinion minus a few bright lights here and there.

radcen said:

I could identify at least half a dozen people on this board that I believe have that attitude, they're just not willing to state it so bluntly.

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He was a moderator at Hannity's website. He could say what he wanted, and if you didn't like it, he could ban you for "Contempt of Mod." Seriously.

It's hard to identify with a group for me because I have views all over the board. I began as a Republican and that is when I realized what a crappy party it was, I realized I was identifying myself with rich white males that can only think about themselves. After that I switched to the Democratic party which was the logical option seeing as I no longer wanted to be affiliated with a stuck up party. As a Democrat I got fed up with out of control spending (especially under the Obama administration) and civil liberty infringements. I finally before the 2012 election began identifying with the Libertarian party and Gary Johnson. I'll be the first to admit not all of my views line up with the Libertarian party but I certainly feel better about aligning with them than the Dems of Republicans.

iacardsfan said:

It's hard to identify with a group for me because I have views all over the board. I began as a Republican and that is when I realized what a crappy party it was, I realized I was identifying myself with rich white males that can only think about themselves. After that I switched to the Democratic party which was the logical option seeing as I no longer wanted to be affiliated with a stuck up party. As a Democrat I got fed up with out of control spending (especially under the Obama administration) and civil liberty infringements. I finally before the 2012 election began identifying with the Libertarian party and Gary Johnson. I'll be the first to admit not all of my views line up with the Libertarian party but I certainly feel better about aligning with them than the Dems of Republicans.

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I was interested, at one time, in the Contitution party, until I found out that Judge Roy Moore was affiliated with them, and I didn't want my name put anywhere near his.

Superfly said:

I was interested, at one time, in the Contitution party, until I found out that Judge Roy Moore was affiliated with them, and I didn't want my name put anywhere near his.

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They are tricky. There is the Constitution, Constitutionalist, and other variations and some of them have some wacky views about the document. The Louisiana Constitution party only cared about provisions that concerned abortion for instance, whereas I want a party that respects the document in full representing me, no thanks to our local C.P.

never changed when it matter IMO

as a kid in HS i assumed i was democrat based of the stereotypical definition. ANd influenced by family/friends.

My mom was a republican my dad was a dem
At that time I had 3 brothers had 3 sisters. 2 brothers were were republicans one was independent. 3 sisters all democrats.
I hade 2 cousins and a uncle i was close too all in the military 2 Republicans, 1 independent.

decades later
mom is independent and dad was democrat
all borthers and sisters are independents accept for one sister who actually works in the pentagon and she is democrat still
the military men turned 2 dems and the independent stayed independent


once out of HS and i got my degrees and in the real world, i quickly learned that party identification(description) was a shame and pretty meaningless IMO. The two major parties have a list of things they typically follow but within those parties you have many extremists and sub groups. With the things i support stereotypical i didnt fit either party. For a while i was gonna be a republican based on fiscal conservatism and some other issues But this party is even worse then the DEMs with their sub groups and you must fit in this box mentality. This sub group believes in these 12 things and if you only believe in 11 YOUR OUT! or your not actually one of us LMAO. Well that was just stupid to me. Having a "check list" is totally nonsensical and too sheepish for me.

So here I am an independent and that will never change because I truly am a mix and I cant imagine any part lining up with me.

so im not sure if switching as kid counts, more like i evolved and actually got educated in life and reality.

As far as major issues its the same thing, I have learned and researched and studied a lot of them but theres never been a complete switch except on one and again that took place from child to adult. There has been some revamps but no switches. When young i used to be pro-life but once older and learning reality i switched because i learned the propaganda of "baby killers" was no longer true and nothing but lies lol. THe abortion issue is so partisan and black and white I have no real choice but to be pro-choice really. But Im really like limited pro-choice. I want a solution the tries its hardest to respect BOTH lives, grants legal rights to both and respects human rights. I want a solution to try and treat them as equal as possible even though its not.

Phys251 said:

Stereotyping fail. I shifted in exactly the opposite manner.

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:shrug: stereotypes speak to generalities, you being an exception doesn't make it a fail in the face of the statistically available evidence that demonstrates that the mans' point was correct.

cpwill said:

:shrug: stereotypes speak to generalities, you being an exception doesn't make it a fail in the face of the statistically available evidence that demonstrates that the mans' point was correct.

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Nowadays you'd be a fool to support conservatives if you're older - unless you're rich. You'd be foolish to vote away half or more of your pension.

Growing up...when I was young and immature...I was a College Republican. I soon gained life experience and education. I am now a very liberal Democrat.

Early teens, I was a Libertarian style Republican.
Late teens, just a Republican.
Early Twenties, Democrat with deep Socialist tendencies.
Late Twenties on, extreme social Libertarian and solid liberal Democrat on the economic front.

MoSurveyor said:

Nowadays you'd be a fool to support conservatives if you're older - unless you're rich. You'd be foolish to vote away half or more of your pension.

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:roll: yes. It's far better for the elderly if the system collapses and they are simply tossed off of it wholesale.