My kind tends to be a boogeyman on this forum, so AMA and I'll do my best to answer.
Some basics :
My voting history is probably
60% Republican
30% Democrat
10% Libertarian
Obama is the only Democrat I've voted for as President but I have voted for plenty of democrats down ballot.
I am financially conservative and socially liberal. I have actually found that myself and most of my friends are moving farther left as we get older (late 30s now) - not sure if it's just a small sample size, or if my generation is bucking the trend of most people moving right as they age.
I still would say I lean right overall, but I'm probably left of 95% of this board.
Trump
I would never vote for Trump. One of my core beliefs about the Presidency is that they need to try and unite the country…. even if it's a token thought. Trump intentionally drove a wedge between the right and the left and danced on the graves of the democrats when things went his way. Trump may not have started the vitriol between the right and the left, but he did his damn best to drive that wedge as deep as possible because he thought it helped him politically.
If Trump is the Republican nominee, I will vote for whichever Democrat runs against him. If DeSantis or any of the more reasonable Republicans get the nod, I likely vote red.
Abortion :
Should be legal any time the mothers health is at risk, or in cases of rape and incest. I also think elective abortion should be legal for a certain period of time. I'm not smart enough to define the exact moment, but for a certain period of time, it should be legal for a woman to choose, for whatever reason she chooses, to have an abortion.
Gun Rights :
I own many firearms, including "semi-automatic assault rifles". (I worked in the industry for a while, so I'm using that term sarcastically). I am pro second amendment, however I do think that it should be harder to obtain firearms in some cases. I don't care about the slippery slope argument.
Gay Rights :
I 100% support gay rights in regards to marriage/adoption and want them to have every right and opportunity a straight married couple would have.
Transgender Rights :
I personally believe that a large percentage of transgender people are gay men or lesbian women. Some of the rest suffer from some sort of mental issue. I do believe there are two sexes, with a very small exception for intersex persons who are biologically in the gray area. When it comes to gender, if people want to use it to express "socially constructed roles/features" and say that there are more than two, I don't really care. You still are either biologically male or female though.
I still respect Transgender persons as human beings and want the best for them…. but a biological male shouldn't compete in women's sports for example.
Vaccines :
I think hindsight is 20/20 and knowing what we know now, we absolutely could have done things better. I got the vaccine and have no regrets. I also don't have a problem with companies mandating that you get it. They are private companies and can make whatever decisions they want and you can choose not to work or be a customer for them. However I DO have a problem with the government mandating companies to do anything. That's out of their lane.
Student Debt Forgiveness
Against. Students signed for those loans and should have known what they were getting into. I and many others paid our loans and/or tuition like adults. (Or some of our parents did it for us - not hating on those either). That being said, the government created this mess by insuring the loans driving the price way up. That is the big problem that needs to be fixed.
Fire away.
Some basics :
My voting history is probably
60% Republican
30% Democrat
10% Libertarian
Obama is the only Democrat I've voted for as President but I have voted for plenty of democrats down ballot.
I am financially conservative and socially liberal. I have actually found that myself and most of my friends are moving farther left as we get older (late 30s now) - not sure if it's just a small sample size, or if my generation is bucking the trend of most people moving right as they age.
I still would say I lean right overall, but I'm probably left of 95% of this board.
Trump
I would never vote for Trump. One of my core beliefs about the Presidency is that they need to try and unite the country…. even if it's a token thought. Trump intentionally drove a wedge between the right and the left and danced on the graves of the democrats when things went his way. Trump may not have started the vitriol between the right and the left, but he did his damn best to drive that wedge as deep as possible because he thought it helped him politically.
If Trump is the Republican nominee, I will vote for whichever Democrat runs against him. If DeSantis or any of the more reasonable Republicans get the nod, I likely vote red.
Abortion :
Should be legal any time the mothers health is at risk, or in cases of rape and incest. I also think elective abortion should be legal for a certain period of time. I'm not smart enough to define the exact moment, but for a certain period of time, it should be legal for a woman to choose, for whatever reason she chooses, to have an abortion.
Gun Rights :
I own many firearms, including "semi-automatic assault rifles". (I worked in the industry for a while, so I'm using that term sarcastically). I am pro second amendment, however I do think that it should be harder to obtain firearms in some cases. I don't care about the slippery slope argument.
Gay Rights :
I 100% support gay rights in regards to marriage/adoption and want them to have every right and opportunity a straight married couple would have.
Transgender Rights :
I personally believe that a large percentage of transgender people are gay men or lesbian women. Some of the rest suffer from some sort of mental issue. I do believe there are two sexes, with a very small exception for intersex persons who are biologically in the gray area. When it comes to gender, if people want to use it to express "socially constructed roles/features" and say that there are more than two, I don't really care. You still are either biologically male or female though.
I still respect Transgender persons as human beings and want the best for them…. but a biological male shouldn't compete in women's sports for example.
Vaccines :
I think hindsight is 20/20 and knowing what we know now, we absolutely could have done things better. I got the vaccine and have no regrets. I also don't have a problem with companies mandating that you get it. They are private companies and can make whatever decisions they want and you can choose not to work or be a customer for them. However I DO have a problem with the government mandating companies to do anything. That's out of their lane.
Student Debt Forgiveness
Against. Students signed for those loans and should have known what they were getting into. I and many others paid our loans and/or tuition like adults. (Or some of our parents did it for us - not hating on those either). That being said, the government created this mess by insuring the loans driving the price way up. That is the big problem that needs to be fixed.
Fire away.