I'm not a Democrat. I listen to what the folks say and listen to the quality of the argument. You can normally tell who has the better idea from that.
Example: In the energy debate windmill folks want tax breaks, so that they can write off the cost of the windmills as an operating expense as opposed to amortizing them over the expected life of the windmill. This basically makes it so that the companies get a huge tax advantage that year, but they're still putting up the money themselves.
The nuke folks want hundreds of millions in unsecured loans from the government. If the company building the reactor goes broke, the government gets nothing back. This is what they did in the 70's. Companies were set up to build the reactors, they borrow the money, and they went broke. They never paid the money back. The companies who sold the reactors made a fortune in budget overruns.
The nuke folks say windmills can't work financially, but the windmill folks are the ones who are willing to do it without government money. That tells you the nukers are full of shit.
This has been the quality of the Republican's arguments for about 15 years. That's why I sound like a Democrat. I criticize the Dems too, but Republicans never seem to remember that.
Lies about Death Panels and the complete and total misrepresentation of the British healthcare system are two more perfect examples. If your only argument is a complete lie, you're full of shit and I'm with the other guy. If you have a legitimate argument, please put it forward.
assume that politicians and political parties=asshat, and you won't be far off. I am not saying be apathetic, I am saying be an informed voter, know not just who stands where on an issue, but who stands to gain from said issue position, and vote accordingly.