You feel that? That's apartisanship. Being on one side of an imaginary line, surprisingly, does not invalidate everything a person says.
Especially since the line seems to be very... mutable. I mean, here, when the Conservatives are making alliances with the Liberals (and being fairly successful) you know stuff's changed a bit.
I'm only 20! It's far too soon to be reasonable and open-minded!
Where have my potential rebellious youth and insular thinking gone *sob sob*
I try my best to ignore the party, and vote for people based on whether I find myself agreeing with what they say or not. I think that the ideals that American political parties are forced to work within are unfortunate, and in those terms I fall left of center... but I find myself voting for Republican candidates from time to time. In my last local election, I voted for a Republican whose campaign slogan was
"One Tough Nerd".
He's not without the usual political Cheese... but after digging around in the League of Women Voters interviews and such, I find I trust his expertise, and found his opinions to match up with mine on a number of points. I'm a fan of the tax reform he proposes, rather than just clinging rabidly to tax cuts like a good cookie-cutter Conservative, and I also like his stance on education in the state... and god knows home state needs some serious TLC.
Detroit burned halfway to the ground in riots almost 50 years ago, and those buildings still haven't been rebuilt, or even torn down. It's treated with caution, and people tend to avoid going through it like it's some urban wilderness... and with good reason too. The crime, violence, and poverty is so extreme and localized, It's nearly like stepping into a little distopia, on par with many 3rd-world countries. With things such as they are in the country, and the auto industry- the backbone of the state since the automobile first came about- collapsing, the rest of the state is teetering in that direction too.