I hate our political parties

     So I love political philosophy. But I have to say that I hate the American political parties. As I study policy issues more and more, I find myself truly somewhere in the middle. If I was at a forum filled with Democrats, I could come across easily as the most hardcore, right-wing conservative Republican to them. On the other hand, if at a forum filled with Republicans, I could come across as the most hardcore left-wing liberal Democrat to them.

     I do not like that the Republican party has such a preponderance of hardcore social conservatives who hate homosexuals (and other LGBTQ people) and want to force religion onto the public. On the other hand, I also don't like that the Democratic party has such a preponderance of people who want government to micromanage every little aspect of people's lives, create such a massive social welfare state, an anti-military component, and a complete disrespect for the right to keep and bear arms. One might wonder what I think of the Libertarian party. Well I don't like them either. To me, they are way too far-right-wing on economics and government, and way too far dovish (or maybe delusional is the proper word) on foreign policy.

     In terms of my own beliefs, I would describe them as center-right. I am most definitely not center-left, not on issues of economics and foreign policy anyway. But I am most definitely not solidly right-wing overall either. I feel sad that the choices have to be between say a Ted Cruz or an Elizabeth Warren, a Hillary Clinton versus a Jeb Bush, and so forth. Among the Republican party, it seems we either have the OGREs (Old Guard Republican Establishment) who can't defend conservative principles worth a damn, or we have the really far-right Republicans who are excellent on issues like defending gun rights, but way too conservative on issues like same-sex marriage, abortion, religion, etc...I wish we could have a more moderate conservative who can defend things like gun rights, limited government, etc...but in a way where they do not come across as being far-right-wing at all or being Democratic party-lite. I have made this point in previous posts about how the GOP too often in trying to be moderate just comes off as a more light-hearted variant of a Democrat, which is a recipe for failure in the elections. Many in the GOP see this as meaning that we need a solid conservative to run, but I think that will be a losing proposition as well. What we need is someone who will run as a conservative and defend conservative principles, but who is more moderate. Someone who CLEARLY is a CONSERVATIVE, but perceived as a center-right conservative, as opposed to just being some wishy-washy Republican who can't defend or explain conservatism and instead comes across as a light Democrat.

     I do wonder whether the GOP will ever win another Presidential election because of its social conservatism. Mitt Romney shot up in the polls after that first debate, so his form of center-right conservatism appealed to many people. The social conservatism of his stances dealt him a hard blow however and helped him lose the election.