I.m a Democrat because I don't believe that people are basically good and we need a government that will ensure that fairness is legislated.  I'm older than you and I saw first-hand the effect on poor blacks from Jim Crow, and worse.  I hate intolerance, and I believe that that is the major tenet of the Republican party.  I believe in Social Security retirement moneys, Medicare, Medicaid, unemployment insurance (and extensions, if needed, in hard times), freedom of choice, civil rights, hate crime legislation, and on, and on, and on.  There was a time when sone Republicans would vote for the above because of individual decency, there being little or no collective decency.  But as religion gained ascendancy in their party, so did intolerance.  Now, I would never vote for a Republican.  They now, more than they did in the past, stand in opposition to the above social programs, but also for increased hatred, bigotry, and anti-rationalism, and listen almost solely to their right-wing propagandist spellbinders.  That's why I'm a Dem, will continue to be one, and hope ALL of my Party's politicians will some day forego pandering and become REAL Democrats.

Soccerdem

Charles Mathias (R-MD) shepherded the clean up of the Chesapeake Bay until Reagan stopped him.  Connie Morella (R-MD)was a good politician who got "hammered" by Newt Gingrich to sign the Contract On American.  Tom DeLay and Tom Davis teamed up at the RNCC to make those Republicans give up their moderate stances or get out of Congress.  Mathias retired and Morella was voted out.

I am a moderate Independent at heart; however, I am a democrat by default because my because of the two parties the democrats beliefs are more in tune with my own. IMO people who like me will never have a true representative voice in government until a viable moderate third party emerges. Until then the Democratic Party is my home partly because I am disabled (quadriplegic) and a person with a disability voting republican is like a chicken voting for Carnal Sanders.

  I was 3 when my father went to Mississippi and Alabama with the Civil Rights movement.  My first religious memories were of our church praying for my Dad to come back safely.
  I remember some of those Civil Rights demonstrations as a child.  I will never forget the counter-protestors, with ugly racists signs, screaming epithets.  Many people, particularly blacks, suffered for the change that eventually occurred after years of struggle.
  The media likes to pretend that never happened, that hatred and bigotry just disappeared one day.  Well, hatred and bigotry are far less prevalent today, but to some extent they just went underground, taking different, more polite forms of expression.
  The people with the ugly racist signs, the people who caused all that suffering, never apologized.  They didn't just all disappear, or die, or change their minds.  Many of them live on.  They do not think they were wrong.  In fact, many of them feel aggrieved by the results of that struggle.  They teach their children, and their grandchildren, that same sense of entitlement, grievance, and intolerance.  Many, but not all, of those people are now Republicans.
  The Republican party became successful by pandering to that intolerance, fanning those fears, exploiting that sense of unearned entitlement and grievance.  Ironically, to some extent, they did it by twisting and warping religion.
  I try to emulate my parents by teaching my children to stand up for what is right, no matter what.  I will never, ever be a Republican, and I hope that they will not, either.

There is a famous photo, that I can never seem to find when I want it, of a town meeting taking place before school desegregation.  The hatred on the men's faces is so bald and frightening.  The flag hangs over the side wall.

Most people don't know the Confederate flag we see today as a sign of "heritage" never flew over any capital city. It began to be incorporated into some flags in the south after Brown v. Board of Ed in 1954.  The actual Confederates never formally accepted this flag. It was used during school desegregation to rally the segregationists, usually accompanied by stories of how young black men would be brushing past their daughters in the hallways at school, in dance and gym classes, perhaps unavoidably and innocently, but in ways that would escalate into families like Strom Thurmond's (who by the way, got the girl's mother pregnant when he was a 21 or 22 year old rich college boy and she was a 15-year-old household employee of his dad's). That's the heritage represented by the confederate flag.

because I believe that the world can be cruel and I want to take steps with the government's help to mitigate the effects. There's a reason I chose the moniker "Tom Joad" for my online persona. "The Grapes of Wrath", to me, encompasses the depravity of humans toward each other and the gentleness of the human spirit all in one book. The injustices that are done in the name of money and capitalism (don't get me wrong...money is a good thing) scream out for a better way. We just haven't figured it out yet. Until then, I will continue to fight for Democrats because they will always be progressive while Republicans will be fighting for the status quo or regression.

I like this exchange, too.  Who knew war hero George Baily (and war hero Jimmy Stewart) were such communist sissies?

[Mr Potter, you  said the people in town], they had to wait and save their money before they even thought of a decent home.

Wait! Wait for what? Until their children grow up and leave them?  Until they're so old and broken-down that they --

Do you know how long it takes a working man to save five thousand dollars?  Just remember this, Mr. Potter, that this rabble you're talking about -- they do most of the working and paying and living and dying in this community.
Well, it is too much to have them work and pay and live and die in a couple of decent rooms and a bath?

Anyway, my father didn't think so. People were human beings to him, but to you, a warped, frustrated old man, they're cattle.

because I want to work for tolerance, democracy, and social justice. This desire comes from listening to the readings of the Gospels in Mass, especially those parts that ask for tolerance and direct action to help those in need.

because I know from my own life how important our representative government is to spreading opportunity and diffusing power. From receiving food stamps as a child to attending college for free, the story of my life has been success empowered by an active and compassionate government.

...I believe our government and our nation and our ideals TRULY are OF the people, BY the people, and FOR the people.

Unfortunately, the government we have today does not exist to serve the people.  It's the people, stupid....

Justice, freedom, and human dignity can only be provided to all people if the people source and demand it.  We have a great history as a nation in that regard, and today, that movement and struggle persists in the Democratic Party.

A great example is Social Security. Congress has testimony of our elderly, somethimes after decades of hard physical labor, eating dog food.  For a mere 2 or 3% administrative cost, we have almost wiped out elderly poverty. Try to get an insurance company to operate under those limits.

Now, the most people in poverty are children under 5. Do we have the will to feed them, and educate them?

I read that the more educated you are, the more likely you are to vote Democratic. I guess you don't fall for those Grover Norquist policies, and thoat "trickle down" economics.  Could it be Republicans in power don;t want to educate them, because they are afraid of an educated electorate?

At the PhD level of college professors, there are almost no Republicans.  So how do they respond? By digging for "discrimination" against Republicans for the professor jobs; when the truth is the profs are just too smart for the Party!  To alleviate the "discrimination," they want "affirmative action" for the conservative profs.  This is the same party that says slavery and lynchings and poll taxes don't qualify groups for "special treatment."  The problem is, these conservatives are unqualified for a professorship, by having flunked out or by going to a Tier 4 University like Reagent.

Thanks, everyone!

because I grew up in a working community is Eastern Pennslvania. I do not know of a working class family who was not a Democrat We knew what the party stood for. As a Depression baby, I knew what FDR had done for the working people of this country.

Having known all the things the Democratic Party did for me and people like me, I never really apprectiated those things till I retired. I just took them for granted and could never understand why any one would want to be a Republican. In my opinion there basic core values are simbols of the Anti-Christ. All the basic things I learned in Sunday School was the first thing we do is take care of family and then the under privileged. Finding Republicans who say "I did for myself, so my brother can do for himself". Never mind the brother is handicapped.

Thanks for the explanation of the Conferate Flag and how it really became popular. Being from the North I felt it was a cool symbol, but never knew the 1950 versions of its use.

Today, if you are for the humanity of life and the betterment of the world, you are not a Democrat. If your not a Democrat in time you will be. All we Democrats need to do is get our message out and practise what we preach.

for the mistake in the last paragraph. It should say "you are a Democrat".
The "NOT" got in there because I did not proof read.

First, I was a Democrat because I was raised that way.  I,m still convinced that my grandfather would roll over in his grave if I ever voted Republican.

That having been said.  As a reasonably intelligent and educated person, I am a Democrat because I believe that the most important job of government is to provide everyone with the help that they need to meet their potentional.  This means providing an education to all children whether they come from a family of poor sharecroppers or a doctor or lawyer's family.  If a child can succeed the government should provide the road to get them there. So my number one priority is Education.  If we don't educate the kids of today, we won't be able to build enough prisons to keep us safe.

Second, I believe that the government plays a vital role in providing for economic development, particularly in providing the infrastucture necessary to establish and sustain business.  Republicans may claim to believe in this as a value, but you can't do this without revenue (taxes) to provide the services. The modern day 'no tax' Republicans want a free ride and, unfortunately, they have convince too many voters that they can have their cake and eat it too.

That brings me to the third reason that I am a Democrat.  I believe that (as Luke said in the Bible) "From him to whom much is given, much will be required".  Those who have made the money have a duty to contribute a greater percentage to the needs of society. In other words a progressive tax code.  In the last 20 years, under the
republicans, our tax code has become more and more Regressive.

Finally, I am a Democrat because I believe in fundamental fairness.  Laws should be enacted and enforced evenly across the board.  You shouldn't get house arrest after serving three days of a 45 day sentence for s probation violation just because you're a good looking female blond celebrity.  (Couldn't resist the reference to Paris Hilton.)

I am a Democrat because I see the Democratic Party as the Party of fairness, equality, education, and opportunity.  Now let's hit the city streets, suburban neighborhoods, small towns, country roads, and mountain hollows and turn Virginia Blue.