I was asked this question recently by a friend. I had to stop and think for a minute. When I finally replied, I gave my friend a list of issues a hundred miles long. Separation of church and state, environmental issues, pro-union, helping the lower and middle class, against the war in Iraq. The list went on and on.
And then I got to wondering, why are others on Daily Kos Democrats, progressives, liberals, moderates, libertarian or whatever you may call yourself? Give your answer in the poll or in the comments. I've seen diaries like this in the past but having a poll will make the results a lot easier to go through than to read a ton of comments. It would also be interesting to see which issue is number one.
My story below the fold...
So why am I a Democrat?
Well, I guess part of the influence comes from my family. They are all Democrats as well (both my dad's and mom's sides of my family). But they never really talked politics growing up. I remember them supporting Gore in 2000 but other than that, they never discussed stuff like that.
In late 2002 or early 2003 (I can't remember the exact date) my dad, and thousands of others lost their jobs when their bastard boss took the money and ran off to Canada. It's a good thing he left when he did because those guys were pissed, with good reason. Our Congressman, Mike Michaud, had just been elected and got the chance to meet with President Bush. He asked him to help our community. There must be something he could do? Our entire town was based on that factory. A majority of people in the town were now out of work. No can do, said the President. But the union took over and made sure that we all got food from the food bank and that we had enough heating oil for the winter. My family pretty much lived off the state until my dad started taking classes again, at the age of 55. I guess I'm pro-union because I've seen what a union can accomplish.
As for the environmental issues and separation of church and state, not much has to be said. President Bush is the worst offender.
Those are some of my reasons. What are yours?