How many here defected from the Republican ranks during the * admin?

I did.

My sense of justice and morality has not been aligned with the right wing for a long time, but it took the Bush admin's excesses to convince me of that. In fact, I was so upset at what I was feeling that during the last election I handed in a completely blank ballot. My mother had told me how I should vote, but I don't agree with her values anymore, but didn't feel the Democrats represented me, either.

So, I don't know how much of this switch is reactionary. Before the 2000 elections I thought that anyone had to be better than Clinton. How wrong could I have been?

My social politics shifted to the left a long time ago, but now I'm thinking that fiscally, there needs to be change to reflect that.

I'm still a pro-lifer. I'm against the death penalty and against abortion, but the hypocrisy of the Republican party concerning the latter sickens me. They care about children only until they are born. I have difficulty believing a zygote is a human being, but I think that life begins before birth. I have moral problems with ending a pregnancy after the fetus can feel pain and fear. I'm sure most of you disagree with me on this one issue, but that's OK. Dissention within the party is allowed, is it not?

are a wecome thought to my mind , i to beleave that a baby is born at the time you make the seed for life , but i also beleave it is up to each mind to do what is right for them in life , i do not like people useing abortions as a form of birth control , that should happen befor conseption . but what can we do about it , i have never voted rep my whole life , i guess what my father tought me was the working man is'nt repersented by the right in no form , the right are about them selfs and there is no room for the little guy in there plans , so jump on board like you have and help us get this country back to where people count for something in life , besides paying taxes and being slaves for the rich

welcome aboard.

RV, a life-long democrat and Oregon liberal, currently in
exile in Alaska. ;0)

The right wing's attempt to overthrow the democratically-elected government during the 90s made me a diehard Democrat.
Glad you finally saw the light!

I have no problems with your views on abortion, I just don't feel the feds should make a law making it illegal. There are many shads of gray in that debate such as when the fetus becomes a human, what do you do in cases of rape or incest, what if the mother's life is endangered by the pregnancy, what if the child is badly deformed. What really gets me (nothing personal) is the term "pro-life." Like we all aren't. Most of those that declare themselves pro-life are also pro-death penalty, pro-guns, pro-war, etc.

All that aside, I am not a reformed rebublican but a reformed independent. I have voted for repugs (not for prez) but mostly went dem of third party. The louder the right yelled with Clinton in office, the more I realized I needed to move to the left. Just something about arrogant, unthinking bullies has always bothered me.

I take umbrage...and a second look. Bush lied to me. He lied to all of us. And the things he lied about make me furious.

I really do consider myself pro-life. I am against the death penalty and against most wars. In fact, after being a right-wing agitator in my pacifistic Christian college, I have come nearly full circle. I am close to being a pacifist. :) I'm sure my former profs would be shocked. Oh well.

Right now I pretty much believe that gun control legislation would be as fruitless as the war on drugs, but I'm no gun nut. I used to be, in an attempt to impress my ultra-rightwing father and brother. Then I realized I had to be me. (Don't anyone launch into song, here.) ;)

it seems you are making wiser choices, of course i may be biased. I have been thinking about the gun thing lately. I used to be extremely anti-gun, or anti-handgun at least but the more i think about it i agree with you that there really is no way we can rid the country of guns, there are just so many out there. i am a pacifist but do see the need for war in some circumstances.

you sure i can't sing??