Explain in lay-terms please: Politics.?

Question

I never paid too much attention in Government class i guess? When it comes time to i'm not going to have any idea who to vote for .. therefore i wont do it and i won't have any right to complain about the terrible job our to-be president will do. So..

What are some definitions of the follow: Socialist, republican, democrat, what are all the other "third parties" .. i've been told i'm an independent voter and i don't fit well with either republican or democrat

here's how i stand:

abortion should be illegal

we should start bringing our soldiers back from iraq

people should be allowed to get married no matter their gender

cloning is unethical (human/animal cloning)

taxes should be higher for people who make ridiculous amounts of money

the public should NOT have the right to unrestricted gun ownership

and i don't care if any of you disagree with me.

Answer 1

It was supposed to be the People's ability to control the destiny of the nation, but Neoconservative Republicans have used politics so that selected few could benefit financially against the will of the People.  This must end if the nation is to survive.

Answer 2

You should prioritize your issues, decide which of those are most important to you, then examine the different candidates to see who you feel would best deal with those issues the way you think they should be handled. It isn't likely you'll find a candidate who matches your views on every single issue.

Answer 3

Politically, You would average out as a centrist.  Someone who isn't all "liberal" or "conservative".  I use the quotes because these labels are misused and often inaccurate.  You are neither a Democrat or a Republican.

I think you might consider voting for Ron Paul though.  Or maybe be an independent, because there isn't a party between the Dems and Reps--honestly, lately they both act the same but talk different.

Except for Ron Paul, all candidates intend to:

1.  Keep us in Iraq,

2.  Increase Gun Control laws.

3.  Spend many trillions deficit till the Dollar breaks.

4.  Other than maybe Romney, Raise taxes for everybody who is in the 80 grand above range, which doesn't effect people who have inherited their wealth, or spend billions on charity programs.

5.  Cloning will continue, but Human Cloning itself will not likely take shape.  

6.  Abortion will continue to be legal for the foreseeable future.  

7.  And it will most likely come to a Supreme Court Decision to choose that all states must recognize same-s*x marriage, and all Churches and Faiths that will not allow them in their respective ceremonies will be labeled homo-phobic, thus  making main-stream religions illegal.

1.  Ron Paul would bring the Troops back immediately upon being sworn in, and let the Middle East sort itself out.  

2. He will leave abortion, and same-s*x marriage to the states.  

3. He is against gun control, but I think even he would raise his eyebrows at someone trying to buy a bazooka to protect their home.  

4. He plans to cut many areas of the Federal government to balance the budget, by getting rid most of the agencies in existence, and in phasing out the U.S. Government welfare system.

5. He intends to lower taxes for everybody, and if possible repeal the 16th Amendment to the constitution, thus eliminated the Income Tax system altogether, replacing it with a sales-tax or tariff system based on usage of Government services.

I don't know if he has a position on cloning, but I doubt that any legal certainty on it will happen in the near future.

So take your pick, the slightly left and right-leaning Bush clones (a bad thing), or maybe Ron Paul is more of your style.    I'm supporting him because he seems to be the only candidate not controlled by the powers that be, and as someone that wants what is best for the country, rather than what's best to win votes.