Election Day

In honor of one of the greatest American freedoms: voting
I voted for the first time today. That's one of the good parts about being 18! And I got one of those stickers to show that I participated in my country! But, today's post is related to the elections.... Political Parties....

There are many, many, many independent parties in the United States.... Some of these include:
* The American Reform Party - breakaway from the Reform party known for by Ross Perot
* The American Nazi Party
* Communist Party USA
* The Constitution Party - (a personal favorite for the 2000 presidential election) formerly known as the US Taxpayers Party... and basically a very serious Religious Right platform
* The Green Party - highly liberal
* The Labor Party - liberal group created by labor unions
* The Libertarian Party - Libertarians are neither left nor right... they believe in total individual liberty and total econmic freedom (this is a party I tend to lean toward more now than before)
* Reform Party - Ross Perot
* Socialist Party USA - advocate left-wing electoral change versus militant revolutionary change.
* and many more.....

However many independent parties exist, however, America is highly a bipartisan system.... balanced between the Democratic Party and the Republican Party.
* Democratic Party (DNC): right now have a 50-49-1 majority over the Senate because one Repubican was suayed into converted to independent and thus throwing the majority (by one) to the democrats... That's why this years election is so crucial, because the majority could go back to the Republicans and our President can actually get something done without getting shot down.
* Republican Party (RNC): currently control a slim majority in the House of Representatives, several key Governorships, and the White House.

To read more on these parties, I've found a really good resource: http://www.politics1.com/parties.htm.

I've said before that I'm VERY conservative. But I never said what party I am... That's because I don't believe in choosing one party. Especially, Democratic or Republican because there are liberals and conservatives in both. I prefer to choose who I vote for based on their political views and platform, comparing them with my own personal ideology. I hope that other people feel the same way too.

Finally, voting is a very important freedom for Americans to take advantage of. If you don't vote, then you have absolutely no right to complain about the government.... NONE! If you're able to go out and vote, do it! Don't assume that other people will vote the way you want them too... Take matters into your own hands and make a say in your country!