The choices are simple actually and are a matter of political philosophy. One party is devoted to the propostion of government devising policies to enhance, encourage, and protect big corporate business interests. The finest articulation of the message was Charley Wilsons classic line about "what's good for General Motors is good for the country." Republicans actually believe this. The belief structure is founded in their adoption of homilies; a rising tide lifts all ships, etc. The idea of having the wealth of the nation "trickle down" to the common man is held as a religious certainty. Policies to protect wealth by eliminating inheritance taxes have been renamed as a death penalty and are seen creating a desireable situation in which wealth can be perpetuated. This is as much as legislating an ascribed status as having inherited royalty was in mideval times.

The intransigent base of the Republican party is the fundamentalist Christians and the very moral majority of the Ralph Reeds which is the old fashioned precept of religious conformity.

To be a conservative is to want to revert to an earlier age when things were better, because today things are going to hell in a handbasket. If you truly believe our fathers and grandfathers were better than we are today you have the basic credential to be a conservative---and you have the same willingness to ignore days in which the KKK was acceptable and mainstream, Hitler doing a good job at unifying the German people and Musolini making the railroad run on time were exhalted by Time Mag. as well as the noted conservatives of the day like the Henry Fords.

On the other hand the Democratic party stands for government being the servant of the people and operating to enhance and make livable the lives of the typical citizen. Social services form the hallmark of modern Democratic liberalism not only in the United States but also, in all of Europe. Democrats see the need for government to put restraints on the now international mega corporations that have learned how to controll and direct governments under their Republican rule. Money, and now control of the democratic process itself by a possible corruption of voting machines that can easilly be manipulated are some of the fears the Democratic membership fear.

You don't have to take the position of " a pox on both their houses." You can take a position of distrusting both groups as mere institutions of men. But vote and participate according to the philosophical, ethical and moral code you espouse.

As for me, I never vote for the man. I vote for the party as the organizational structure that sees government as a tool to make the lives and fortunes of the citizens better. I vote Democratic party all the way.

Publius