Hello, NotEmily, and welcome. I would suggest first taking an inventory of what you believe, and then ask yourself, ‘Why do I believe this? What is my belief based on?’ And then.......research and investigate. In today’s atmosphere, finding THE truth, not YOUR truth, can be very daunting. Question everything that you see, hear, or read, and then look for arguments to the contrary. But, start with your own beliefs (not your feelings). By the way, I’m pretty conservative, but my eyes are open to Republican corruption as much as to Democrat corruption.

Welcome to IDW/Slug. I'm relatively new here myself. I would say that for shaping national policy the Republican Party is probably focused on things that will benefit the most people in the long run. The Democratic Party since the Great Society of Lyndon B. Johnson has been more focused on immediate benefits to people in need while obviously ignoring the long term detrimental results which we see every day now in the news. No the republican Party is not any less of a trap than any other political party, Both parties snuggle with the banks. Both parties are guilty of destroying American industry (on American soil paying American workers) through the greed of Globalism's cheap foreign labor. Party politics benefits the party first. Benefits to the people come second because the power is what allows the party to do anything, either for or to the detriment of the people. Our political system has devolved to the point that any election on the national level is a slug-fest between Democrats and Republicans. So what can you do working within such a miserable situation? I tell people that I vote but only in self-defense. President Trump was not my "great white hope" for the presidency but I could not bring myself to vote for Hillary Clinton. President Trump's tax reforms saved me thousands of dollars the first year. I was directly benefited and in self defense I will vote for him again. Ideologically I have seen nothing that the Democrats have embraced or endorsed that I think is in keeping with the founding principles of the country. Therefore there is nothing there to entice me to sacrifice anything in their service. I think Joe Biden is simply a pawn with name recognition. The whole opposition to Donald Trump is at ground level fueled by a sense of panic that there is a sizable populace who will oppose Globalism/Socialism and having a touchstone figure like President Trump emboldens and empowers it. Until President Trump first ran for the office it had been seven election cycles since this segment of the voting populace had had a candidate that said the things that resonated with what they felt was the truth. Not just political mealy mouthed mish-mash. And during that time the numbers quietly grew who were frustrated by the Orwellian nature of the American political discourse. Yes, Mr. Trump once a realty TV star, which for me did nothing to recommend him, but when it all boiled down to the real contest, he wasn't a career politician, and that sent him to the head of the class as far I was concerned.

How’s this choosing evil working for you ?
It’s time to rid ourselves of the division, hate and expense of our two party system.
Find a better way and better people.
Politicians are professional liars that never solve problems, they just exploit them and the people.

Please learn from this

I keep wondering why the republicans are so passive
Why Hillary and Barry Soetoro haven’t been hung for treason.
Why George Soros is allowed to use his money to reek havoc on our nation.
Why the liberal media isn’t held culpable for lives lost and damage done during the riots the incite.
Buy most of all I wonder why people of color, don’t see how democrats are exploiting them ?

A man does what he can,
Until his destiny is revealed to him.

Happy Fada’s day to all you Fada’s

The first thing you have to do is understand the concept of duality. Once you understand it you can dismiss it. Then a world full of different directions and opinions opens up to you. This goes beyond politics.

Government has one job, domestically: to protect individual rights.
Everything good about a free society is realized in direct proportion to how effectively that is accomplished.
Republicans at least try to focus on that occasionally. They can possibly be fixed.
Democrats have abandoned the notion entirely. They've adopted the absolute antithesis: that the "needs of the many" override the rights of the individual. They can't be fixed.

Read the Constitution to find out what the President’s powers actually are, instead of believing the CNN outrage about what he isn’t doing that isn’t actually Constitutional. Not that difficult. The Constitution is written in direct language, so it is accessible to you.

After you’ve done that (15 minutes, tops) read what Congress is responsible to do, and what it can’t do. Then ask yourself who is doing the greatest disservice to the country.

THEN ask yourself why you would ever trust anyone else’s opinion on the subject, including some of the posts below

An excellent reason to reject the Democratic Party as it exists today:
[facebook.com]

Listen to Mark Levin, Dan Bongino, Dinesh D'Souza. A few I haven't seen mentioned. The first (2) have daily podcasts and D'Souza lays out all the sordid details from the forefathers to current day in books and movies.

Also check out Ben Shapiro. He's a never-Trumper, but a patriot. He calls Trump out on his BS but also gives credit where it is due.

Trump is only better because he serves the purpose of slowing the momentum of a movement that is anti-free speech, anti-personal liberty, and showing increasing signs of being dangerous. I'm a former progressive Democrat, so join the club.

I don't like Trump. I thought he was a fucktard for saying what he said about Rosie O'Donnel. I don't find him remotely appealing because his plans for America are very 1990.

BUT the 4 year tantrum, no platforming, fake news (yes, fake news) from the left has worn me down and I'd vote for him only because Biden is a sweet man but senile and will end up seeing the country run by someone who is very very far left, Susan Rice.

Now, I do have personal interaction with Ms Rice and like most politicians I don't feel she is very honest. In fact, I think what is true of most politicians is doubly true of her. However, she's feisty and funny on Twitter.

That's still not a legitimate reason to make her president. It wasn't a good reason to vote Trump, either, but there it is.

My biggest fear is the speech policing, no platforming, and big tech collusions will become even more Orwellian if Democrats win. I never never NEVER thought I would watch the Democratic party turn into modern witch hunters and use their power in media and DC to condemn and silence so many people. I am a former Obama voter. I couldn't bring myself to vote for Romney even when I saw things I didn't like.

Then came the second term. Obama used drones more than Bush to target civilians. A 16 year old American citizen was killed in Yemen purposefully with a drone after having chased his father who abandoned him there. Not a terrorist. Just a mixed up teen.

Then there was the arrest of Reddit's co-founder and life sentence for giving people free textbooks and educational materials. A political stunt got him the life sentence that forced him to hang himself.

Then there was Ross Ulbricht. The administration told everyone he was arrested for planning a murder. None of that was in the trial because it wasn't true. The FBI tried to get him to plan a murder. In the end he got a life sentence for building a website.

I could go on and on but at the end of the day its not the individual flaws but the movement of identity politics mixed with power and authority that will destroy the nation. I can't vote Democrat. these people are willing to look the other way when a governor's old black face photos catch up with him but will have a judge off Ink Master fired.

They don't care about blacks, not really. They're voters to them only. If they did Virginia would have a new governor.

This might interest you:

If you would like to know about some of the good things that Trump has done, watching some Larry Elder or even Candace Owens is really useful. They tend to point out the immense amount of good that Trump has brought to black Americans and small business owners especially.

I'm not saying he's perfect, I'm just saying that, inter canum et lupum, I will choose the dog who has at least contributed instead of the wolf who has only preyed.

It depends on your values. Both parties cater to powerful interests like private equity. The Republicans generally cater more to individual billionaires, energy companies, and defense companies, and the Democrats more to the professional class (e.g. executives, managers, doctors), Wall Street, and big tech. Republicans are pretty much an entirely white, older, and rural party now, thus they tend to be racist, sexist, etc. The Democrats have a diverse urban and suburban coalition and a progressive faction that pushes, often unsuccessfully, for more bottom-up prosperity. Republicans don't fundamentally care about freedoms other than protecting property rights, capital, and inheritances. Democrats do and give lip service to collective justice. Biden is a centrist--not a socialist--and was part of many bipartisan policies that have led to today's social problems. The progressives are pushing him hard to care more about the American people. There will likely be opportunities to influence him in office or if he doesn't serve a full term. I am interested in who he chooses as VP and in his administration. Ultimately, he is not the best or the worst, but he is a lot better than Trump, who only cares about enriching himself.

Research Democracy Alliance (using Metacrawler, or another non-Google websearch engine) Metacrawler, DogPile, DuckDuckGo. And read about the billionaires behind the Democratic Party. Their agendas for abolishing Capitalism and then, if you agree that you are for Marxism, Socialism, or Communism, vote Democrat. Do the same research on Free Trade (using a non-Google search engine), Patriots, and how Capitalism works. If you agree with that stance, vote Republican. I truly believe that Biden (is just another lifetime politician), and Trump is a businessman. The USA is a major business, and I'd much rather have a businessman running it than a politician.

I’m not an American. The whole political system is rife with corruption, the same as my country, Canada. But what you’re going to have to do is read as many posts and articles as you can stomach. Look for the golden thread of truth, there are a lot of outside political influencers corrupting our politics and politicians. Find out whats best for you where you live as well as what's best for your community and state. There are no really good choices, it’s most likely a matter of least evils these days. If I were a citizen, I might lean republican but I most certainly don’t walk in your shoes or live in tour community.Good luck finding truth.