Psychology - What makes people vote Republican or Democrat?

In my pursuit to figure out what makes people vote Republican, I came across this article by JONATHAN HAIDT, an Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Virginia. It's kind of long winded, but it does give somewhat of a reason as to people's thinking. I've asked many people why they vote the way they do, but haven't gotten a lot of good reasons. So, my pursuit to the answer has taken me to researching it on the Internet.

On the same site as this essay, I also found a responsive article by various other sources with their opinions on the essay, which I found very interesting.

Here's another opinion of the essay from the blog labeled "Confessions of a Cooperator".

I also found an article titled "The Conservative Case for Voting Democratic" by Doug Bandow from the CATO Institute.

The biggest problem that I have found within the media is it is hard to find a completely neutral source. The idea of Republican or Democrat, based on past definitions, though, has completely changed. Both sides of the spectrum have changed, at least maybe somewhat, from their past ideologies.

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From Answers.com, the definition of a Democrat is:

1. 1. An advocate of democracy.
   2. One who believes in social equality or discounts distinctions in rank.
      

Philosophy Dictionary: democracy (Greek, rule by the people) In Greek thought, rule by the citizens in general (nevertheless excluding women and of course slaves) in contrast to government by the rich and aristocratic. In modern society the sovereignty of the people in general, expressed not directly by a vote on individual questions, but through representatives. Questions arise whether various mechanisms ensure that decision-making authentically answers to the people, or serves their interest (see also general will). The problem of delimiting a democratic constitution encounters these and other difficulties; critics suggest that political democracy is hollow unless accompanied by power in other spheres, and especially the area of economics.

From Answers.com, the definition of a Republican is:

1. a. One who favors a republic as the best form of government.
   

Philosophy Dictionary: republicanism An ideal of government that emphasizes the role of the active, participating citizen in government, often looking back to the role of the citizen in ancient Rome or Athens. Institutionally it aims at checks and balances to prevent the emergence of faction and majority tyranny, but also to the town-hall politics whereby decision-making has a bottom-up rather than a top-down structure.

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With the definitions in mind, the current U.S. government has a lot of corruption and greed and the people's representatives (most politicians) have completely forgotten about the people. The best chance we have is to find the lesser of two evils. Even back in the ancient Roman times, corruption was a very big problem. It is easy to understand how the corruption happens, but why is it allowed? Our government was built upon checks and balances, but most of the checks and balances don't necessarily seem to be worked. I won't say all of them aren't working, otherwise we would have complete anarchy.

I pray, regardless of how I personally vote, that whomever takes office will pleasantly surprise me and do the right thing by remembering about the people they're serving, restoring the checks and balances, pursuing equality and justice for all, fixing our economy and helping to provide jobs for everyone, fighting for health care for all of the citizens, performing peaceful diplomatic relations with other countries, promoting and pursuing alternative and renewable forms of energy and breaking our dependence on foreign oil and fossil fuels in general, and pushing for the people to work as a United States of America!

My email to Jay Nixon

I decided to take a moment and spread the word to the Democratic nominee for Missouri Governor, Jay Nixon. Please do the same and email your government officials. If you have an idea, spread the word. This is the only way we can make a difference. Use your voice and your mind. Make educated decisions through research. Look for "neutral" and unbiased sources of information.

Please follow my lead.
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Hi Jay,

I'm really glad to hear that you're running for Governor. I think that you did a fantastic job as Attorney General and really hope that you take the win for the Governor's seat. With that said, I wanted to take this opportunity to write to you and offer some suggestions, which I have posted on my blog at "http://altenergypolitics.blogspot.com/".

The biggest idea that I REALLY think would clean up Missouri, would be to clean up our landfills and create commodities revenues through recycling materials during the cleanup process. According to a study, as quoted on my blog, there is the potential, in Missouri alone, to gather 1.9 million tons of recyclable materials over a year and have a possible value of $208 million. 45% of waste in our landfills is recyclable materials.

Various resources could be utilized to begin the cleanup process, such as Community Service programs (including welfare-to-work), Prison work programs, Volunteers, etc. I also feel that we need to have more recycling centers throughout the state and offer tax breaks to trash services who offer recycling pickup as part of their route, including providing recycle bins to their customers.

I feel that the money earned from this development could provide many benefits, including alternative/renewable energy research and development/deployment, K-12 & college education grants, and other needed programs.

Also, please consider the Pickens Plan.

Thanks for your time and good luck with the campaign. You will be getting my vote!

--Ken