Republicans on MetroJacksonville?

[BridgeTroll]

The thing about MJ is there's actually a pretty even distribution of members of the political spectrum. JOL is way more "left leaning" than MJ.

The key to political debates here is that you have to bring your A-Game. You can't just spout off some talking point and expect for it to slide by and leave you with that feeling of "Yeeeahhh! I won this!"

We're all (on both sides of the spectrum) really well reasoned people. So there's actual real debate when people start opening their mouths. Just don't repeat whatever dumb crap Hannity or Markos Moulitsas told you on the radio.

Another area MJ tries to stay above the fray in these discussions is a sincere attempt by most to keep things civil.  Links are provided to back up claims and we try to ensure folks stay accurate.  This is not to say things do not get heated... they do... most who bother to jump into the fray are genuinely interested in an exchange of ideas rather than a shouting match featured on other sites.

[Lunican]

There are many Republicans and Democrats on this site.

However, the main focus of the site is not politics so we try to keep it contained to the politics sections. The national politics area exists simply because there is interest in it and sometimes it will have a bearing on local issues.

The articles and ideas posted don't have any political affiliation.

[Bativac]

I'm with CS, though I have always been a registered independent. I used to identify with Republicans, at least with some of their points. I'm what they call, I guess, fiscally conservative but socially liberal. More to the point I don't think government has anything to do with who marries who or who aborts what, or religion, etc. I find myself supporting some

I hate that everything nowadays is Republican or Democrat. Us vs Them. I have friends and family of all political stripes and we always seem to get along, even if we disagree on things like taxes, welfare, etc.

I notice MetroJax does try to keep political arguments out of all other parts of the forum, which is nice. I mean, which political affiliation holds any bearing on whether or not the city should condemn or demolish an old building?

[NotNow]

Of course, I see the situation quite differently.  I don't see any debate from Ben Nelson or Nancy Pelosi.  I see back room deals when medical reform was pushed through.  Ole Ben didn't hold any public debate for that.  Ms. Pelosi...well, just google and use your own mind.  I kept my mouth shut for the first year of Obama's administration in order to give him a chance to actually lay down a record.  Sheess...appointing lobbyists, tax cheats, even blatant socialists.  This years deficit will likely reach $2.5 TRILLION dollars.  They still claim that they have not raised taxes on the middle class.  The Democrat Congress is full of deal making and some outright criminal behavior that no one seems to want to do anything about it.  

Of course, the Republicans weren't much better when they held Congress.  My thoughts these days are to shrink the Federal Government down to what the US Constitution authorizes and give these clowns as little leeway as possible, no matter what letter they claim after their name.  All of our politics should be a little closer to home.

[Cricket]

I consider myself neither republican nor democrat, ( i.e. independent) and I vote based on a net summation of ideas put forward by either party. Basically I think the Democratic Party is more sensitive to the social wellbeing of the man on the street while the Republican Party is more aligned with big business and the rich. I can more readily understand a wealthy democrat, since he doesn't need either party, than I can relate to a poor republican whose Party says to him, you are on your own.

Having said that, I favor certain moral ideals put forward by Republican/Conservatives (e.g. optional prayers in schools, etc. etc.) and I favor the more pacifist principles of Democrats when it comes to foreign policy. 

As far as MJ, I like to read posts that are more even-handed and can see some good in either Party rather than those of us who constantly rail on one party or the other. (NotNow is an example of the latter, not ever giving ary ground on Democrats or Liberals.)

We need a congress that will debate honestly for the good of the country. Republicans today do not want to give credit to Democrats for moving the country forward and if the Republicans were the ones in power, Democrats would be doing the same. In other words, our government is *@#$%^-up!

[fieldafm]

I am a registered Republican who thinks Jack Kemp should have been on the ticket in place of Bob Dole, will vote for Deborah Gianoulis over John Thrasher for State Senate, was very fond of Jeb Bush but won't vote for Rick Scott, thought Bill Clinton was a better President than Obama will ever be(and would have voted Hillary over Obama in a heartbeat), was a very proud American the day I got to vote for John McCain for President of the United States(I volunteered with the former 'Noles for McCain' team when McCain was running against Bush in 2000-not supported by the Young Republican Club of Florida btw), once heard a lecture at FSU given by Ralph Nader and thought of him as an extremely intelligent man(and immediately understood why he was not electable when he argued for the legalization of prostitution and marijuana), and who also thinks Meghan McCain is just about the most perfect woman on the planet.

I can't stand talking points, hollow rhetoric, nor the bunker mentalities prevelant in politics.

I view issues and challenges facing our society/country/state/city as either being right or wrong... not left or right.

I vote based on a net summation of ideas put forward by either party

I 100% agree with this quote.

And if anyone knows if Meghan McCain will be in Georgia, Florida, or Alabama for a book signing.... please let me know 

[NotNow]

Hmm...pretty little rich girl.  I like the way you think!

[RiversideLoki]

FINALLY! Something we can agree on!

[hillary supporter]

Basically I think the Democratic Party is more sensitive to the social wellbeing of the man on the street while the Republican Party is more aligned with big business and the rich.

Says it all.  Peyton, Maloney, Crewnshaw et al will never stand up to the services of Godbold, Tanzler, Austin,
Charles Bennett, Corrine Brown. Same with our current mayoral candidates. or any member of the democratic party.

[fieldafm]

-I also dont like consensus building.  I like a clear vision(no ambiguity) where input is received as to the best way to achieve that vision, taking in consideration the needs/challenges that arise from that vision, and then to just get it done.  Consensus builders typically create a muddled product that tries too hard to please everyone and ultimately pleases no one, IMO.  The art of compromise is vastly different than consensus. 
-Its the result that counts.  Moral victories don't count.
-Also, I may not agree with you... but I'll always listen what you have to say.  There is no other way to learn than by listening to those around you.  Without having compassion for someone else's viewpoint, you can never know what the hell you are really talking about.
That pretty much sums up the basics of my political ideals.  Strong leaders, clear vision, right versus wrong, and compassion.

I think one reason that politics aren't discussed much on this board is that local issues transcend a lot of party rhetoric.  Education, infrastructure, public safety, employment, and quality of life issues in this city are all very locally unique things.  The President and Congress have very little to do about the how and why we run our city, IMO. 

[simms3]

I think there's a hint of politics in more than half of the threads that I see posted on here.  Hate to sound whiny, but it's usually the little comments (made consistently by about 5 posters) about a subject like rail or planning and voila "evil republicans" are tied in somehow.  Just saying, I do think politics is pretty prevalent on MJ, even in seemingly neutral topics where we on this board generally agree.  I have seen rail topics turn to how textbooks in schools have gotten too conservative (when I personally believe the opposite to be true, but I never reply to those posts even though it's hard not to).  Also, perhaps the most active forum board is the politics board.  I feel like I am reading the entire Huffington Post sometimes just from the most recent commented posts on the front page.  Not necessarily bad, but it's hard to deny that politics is a huge thing on MJ and that for every "noone" there are probably 3-4 equally vocal left wing posters ready to share an article or liberal opinion on just about everything.

[JeffreyS]

Your right of course even though I am one of the ones who throws jabs at the republicans. I know personally I do not want to make the atmosphere unfriendly. Politics is relevant when you are talking about policy decisions regarding infrastructure like rail and the money it takes to get things done. The debates do often get twisted and perhaps should be spun into new threads.

[fieldafm]

Maybe I'm just more concerned about how our city can be better and don't pay attention to such conversations.  I just think locally, there's what works and what doesn't work.  What's equitable and what is unfair.  I don't think you have to be Republican, Democrat, Libretarian, etc to get things right.

You may have a point.  I may just tune out postings that I don't find relevant to the conversation, which is fine by me.  There are too many complainers, and not enough people offering solutions.  Complaining and mud throwing isn't conversation.  Maybe we should all tune out the irrelevance 

[fieldafm]

Also although I would never admit it to my grandmother(who could very well fall over dead if she knew), but I would have considered voting for Hillary against a couple of the Republican candidates that were available early on in the primaries... assuming they were matched up head to head in the general election.

And full disclosure, I have never voted for a Democratic presidential candidate, nor came close to doing so.

[hillary supporter]

And full disclosure, I have never voted for a Democratic presidential candidate, nor came close to doing so.

To follow your disclosure, ive never voted for any Republican, presidential candidate or otherwise.
My reason is i feel the democratic party speaks for the working class, middle class constituants best. Also, i have drawn conclusions of republican candidates choosing business, wealth, over the middle to lower income citizens of our country.  Accordingly, almost all the candidates ive supported were, are liberal, especially in social issues ( although Charles Bennett  was quite conservative in his tenure.
Would you care to say why you strongly support the republican party or have such a dislike of the democratic party?