Why is there such a divide between Republican and Democrats?

[Krome]

From an outsiders point of view their are alot of things the Democrats do that are cool and alot the Republicans do that are cool.

The main reason I think non Americans prefer Democrats is that they listen and want to walk with the world where as Republicans want things done their way or not at all.

Personally I side with more of the Democrats views than Republicans but I still greatly respect people like Bob Dole http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Dole and wouldnt have minded him in power. Although saying that I am not really that up on him more just what we saw in the UK which was always highly positive.

I have always believed alot of government in run incorrectly with this 'us' v 'them' set up. The government really should realise that they are their to serve the peope the best they can without any hidden adgendas of their own.

[red states rule]

From an outsiders point of view their are alot of things the Democrats do that are cool and alot the Republicans do that are cool.

The main reason I think non Americans prefer Democrats is that they listen and want to walk with the world where as Republicans want things done their way or not at all.

Personally I side with more of the Democrats views than Republicans but I still greatly respect people like Bob Dole http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Dole and wouldnt have minded him in power. Although saying that I am not really that up on him more just what we saw in the UK which was always highly positive.

I have always believed alot of government in run incorrectly with this 'us' v 'them' set up. The government really should realise that they are their to serve the peope the best they can without any hidden adgendas of their own.

The reason Republicans lost in 06 was because they walked away from Ronald Reagan conservatism

Dems want to be the "Mommy and Daddy" party. They fell people cannot succeed without some government program

Conservatives believe people can make it on their own - just keep government out of their way

[Mr. Blue]

Krome, the thing is most Americans are in the center on most issues...if you gave a list of issues and polled Americans you would find that the majority are moderate.

So why is it that the political parties are so polarized to the far end, either right or left, when the majority of Americans want moderate politicians? The problem rests in our political system. Republicans and Democrats have a very fervent active base of supporters and the party, at least on the national level, want to please that active base of supporters.

In '00 and '04, you basically saw the Democrats put up, what I thought to be, weak candidates that walked the left side of the party line. However, someone like Bill Clinton appealed to a much broader group because he did have moderate policies.

Democrats picked up seats in congress, but what they neglect to focus on is that many of those candidates were extremely moderate and palatable to most Americans.

The primaries, unfortunately, weed out those moderate candidates because the party base wants candidates that are to the extreme right or left.

I happen to be an Independent, I don't really agree with either party on all the issues, but I would like to see more moderation, more compromises, and less bickering, but I doubt that will ever happen.

[red states rule]

Krome, the thing is most Americans are in the center on most issues...if you gave a list of issues and polled Americans you would find that the majority are moderate.

So why is it that the political parties are so polarized to the far end, either right or left, when the majority of Americans want moderate politicians? The problem rests in our political system. Republicans and Democrats have a very fervent active base of supporters and the party, at least on the national level, want to please that active base of supporters.

In '00 and '04, you basically saw the Democrats put up, what I thought to be, weak candidates that walked the left side of the party line. However, someone like Bill Clinton appealed to a much broader group because he did have moderate policies.

Democrats picked up seats in congress, but what they neglect to focus on is that many of those candidates were extremely moderate and palatable to most Americans.

The primaries, unfortunately, weed out those moderate candidates because the party base wants candidates that are to the extreme right or left.

I happen to be an Independent, I don't really agree with either party on all the issues, but I would like to see more moderation, more compromises, and less bickering, but I doubt that will ever happen.

Clinton was a liberal. His policies drove the Congress to Republicans in 94

Moderates are people who wait to see which side of the issue will win - then they chime in

[Mr. Blue]

Clinton was a liberal. His policies drove the Congress to Republicans in 94

Moderates are people who wait to see which side of the issue will win - then they chime in

Bill Clinton was fiscally conservative and socially liberal...he appealed to a wider base because he embraced certain principles that Independents could get behind and even moderate Republicans would agree with and compared to Kerry and Gore he absolutely looks moderate.

As for Moderates, our political system doesn't favor them, and it won't favor them as long as the Reps and Dems have a stranglehold on the American political landscape.

[red states rule]

Fiscally conservative? He had the biggest tax increase in US history as soon as he took office

[Mr. Blue]

Fiscally conservative? He had the biggest tax increase in US history as soon as he took office

Yes, he was fiscally conservative. Do you need me to define fiscally conservative for you? Clinton, for whatever he was, kept the size of government down, kept non-military spending lower than any other President in recent history and he also balanced the budget.

If you just look at the numbers you'd think Clinton was a Republican and Bush was a liberal with the way he's grown the government.

[red states rule]

OMG what are you smoking?

Tax increases and moe government was Clinton

The Bush tax cuts pulled the US out of the Clinton recession - and the insane spending by Republicnas is one reason why they lost in 06

Now, Dems pushed a $400 billion tax INCREASE and want to spend MORE the Republicans

[Mr. Blue]

Actually, you're wrong

Bill Clinton's non-military spending growth was only 1.6%
Bush's non-military spending growth was 3.5%

So, looking at the numbers...who grew the government more? Now I'm not saying Clinton was the perfect moderate, but he was moderate enough when you compare him to Kerry and Gore.

Now you're making this into a Rep / Dem issue because you're unfortunately blinding by party politics to realize what I'm talking about. Dem's are too far left, that's why they lost in the last two Presidential elections...they need to find a moderate to win.

Republicans, if they're wise and don't push Romney, will most likely have Rudy as their candidate. He's about as moderate as you can get for a Republican and probably would win in '08...if...he gets the nomination which might not happen.

[red states rule]

Clinton and his record tax increase (even people on SS) and his increases in social spending was why he lost the first midterm

Republicans took over the purse in 92 and vrought spending under control to a point