Ever since I had my political awakening back in 2003—a confluence of fear from the growing fascism of the Bush administration and inspiration from the speeches of Howard Dean—I’ve tried to understand exactly what it means to be a Democrat or a Republican. It’s a very very complex question, and one for which I still feel like I’m fumbling around in the dark.
The only succinct answers seem to be ones defined by today’s hot political issues, and even those are getting blurry. A few years ago you could divide Democrat from Republican depending on your opinions on abortion, environmentalism, fiscal policy (taxation and deficit spending), gun control, or religion. But even today these are blurry. There are a number of strong Democrats who are opposed to abortion (or some Republicans who are pro-choice) and have good relations with the NRA. Also, Democrats have become so tired of being labeled “tax and spend” that these days they proudly campaign on the tax cuts they’ve voted for.
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