That same basic principle is why I have never voted Republican or Democrat for a presidential election, or for any contest where there is a Libertarian on the ticket.

Fiscally speaking, my beliefs are more closely aligned with the Republicans. I don't agree 100%, but they are close. I agree with the basic philosophy of the Republicans when they say they favor limited government; But then I scream and start pulling out my hair when they declare that the bedroom will still heavily regulated, or other social issues like abortion.

Then come the Democrats. I agree with their hands-off approach to my bedroom and abortion, but then they want to regulate everything else.

Why do the Dems want to heavily regulate everything EXCEPT the bedroom, while the Republicans want to regulate ONLY the bedroom?

As long as everyone keeps voting for them anyway, they will always keep that line.

But what's more important to me than the national elections is the local. In all honesty, it doesn't matter who wins then Presidency next year. Sure, the fearmongering commercials on both side will come out like every 4 years, and like every other time, the doomsday scenarios fail to materialize. In almost all respects, yours and my day-to-day lives aren't all that changed from the Clinton Administration. But at least here in California, the difference between the party platforms, and the impact of those policies is markedly different than the national level. I am vehemently opposed to the policies of the state Democratic Party, and many California Republicans are more socially progressive than the Dixiecrats. For those contests, I am unapologetically Republican, as the Libertarian and all other third parties were forced off the ballots.