Maggie. Bravo I agree in personal responsibility and accountability. You said it beautifully and with respect. Jean D

Take a hike ,good luck hopefully the walls up and you can't get back in .This country needs to control the govt not govt control the people .People should live in socialist countries just a little while to see how bad we really have it here .If you can't afford it don't buy it .If you want it work for it

The writer forgat to mention, that the democrats do NOT respect the constitution. They violate it when ever they want, and no republican tri to stop them. Both party sucks.

Well I think that I'm a republican because I agree with the real values and I believe in God. Except that I'm not for the guns, these are only for hunting animals.

I believe in thinking for myself and making my own choices. I believe in being responsible for my actions and that includes fathering a child. I am not in favor of the government being a piggy bank for those not pulling their weight in paying taxes and working a legitimate job. I will not be a part of a heard of sheep that bows to the democratic process. If this is called "survival of the fittest" then so be it. I believe in God and the Constitution and will not manipulate either in any way.

Check out Democrats for Life of America. 1 in 3 democrats are pro life. How ironic Republican Party thinks it has claim to being THE pro life party, however, supports Capital punishment. Yes there are many gray lines, and people prioritize what is important to them, and vote. We are blessed we can vote and that we have freedom, albiet we have a long way to go on many issues.

As a parent, I insisted on our children earning and reaping their own benefits. Nothing is free in this world and it was left up to them to carve out their future. Respect for all people was a given; they have to live with themselves and actions speak louder than words. While I agree we must help the misfortunate, I struggle with the success that government entitlement has brought. We are indeed in the age of Entitlement with the overreach of government " looking out for our interest." For example, I love and support Habitat for Humanity and believe in this way of helping our neighbors-skin in the game and sweat equity-ownership, love in action!! Private and religious groups can do so much with little to no administrative costs. Volunteerism should be embraced or mandatory;faith and morals, not more branches of government. Empower the individual! Like free advice, "free" anything rarely amounts to anything. I do not: carry a gun, believe in capitol punishment, support tax dollars for abortions, persecute GLTQ(?) nor impose my faith. Every action must be taken before entering war. I believe that capitalism, while not being perfect, is better that socialism and communism by view of how these forms don't work elsewhere in the world. The individual and state and not a large bureaucratic government is the answer. Voltaire also said the same in Candide " We must cultivate our own garden." To those who think our society doesn't work , I suggest you leave and find residency elsewhere. Try the Middle East. Find out what the rest of the world has always said about our country-we are unique and a promise and haven to many. I am proud, not ashamed of our country. I espouse and support our constitution. I pledge my allegiance to the USA, do you? ( Look at what happened in France and England with their new immigrants! They think they own the country and will, by virtue of number, own the country in the near future. ) If you don't, don't come here. Find another country. We need to improve many areas but not " throw out the baby with the bathwater." I wish Maggie identified her present party. I think she might be siding with Republicans.

I am for the Republican party. I support the right to have guns and God should be in their platform. After all "I'm God we trust" is out motto. But I feel like the drilling of oil, if it harms the environment, could be bad. I help with many conservation organizations and care about the well being of the natural habitats. But, I agree it needs to be done. It doesn't HAVE to harm anything, in fact it would benefit the lives of American citizens. There are always ways to help the environment, plant trees, have clean water, and less pollution. Yes, I do think that republicans have the right idea. They stand with freedom. The freedom this country was founded on. Common core is awful, take it from me, I'm 15 and we had to try to take those tests. And here's a insider: none of the awnsers to the questions were WRONG. It didn't let us think at all. In fact they didn't make sense 80% of the time. Most of us skipped the whole test or their parents WROTE PASSES for their kids to GET OUT OF TAKING THE TEST for fear that common core would set their kids back. No, this is not benefiting any of us. After that my school cut common core from the program and we are learning again. We dont even need to mess with education leave it to us, the students who want to do good and have a future, to handle this. Republicans follow the bible too. Anti gay marriage and anti abortion. How can we be for killing innocent lives when they haven't a chance to fight back? There are other options too like adoption. And with gay marrage, what will God do to a nation who doesn't listen to him. I love all those people, but I don't get it. Republicans are for less government control on the people. We can do whatever we want within the limits of the law. And we have the right, as Americans, to live by the constitution. To where our freedoms abide. I Can't wait till I'm 18 and can vote:) I know what to look for in a good President. Our founding fathers set a good example we need to all look up to. Nichole

ive recently leaned to the idea of being republican after this article i can stand and say i am 100% republican no doubts in my mind

As a Christian man, I do believe in God. However, separation of church and state is absolutely necessary in order to protect the ideologies and principles of the FREE world known as America. It would not make sense to advocate for a religion that not everyone believes in especially if you are wanting to lead a country of people who share different beliefs. Am I saying the president shouldn't be religious? Absolutely not. I am merely saying, people don't like it when you throw your religion at them, just like you wouldn't like it if they threw their religion at you. To speak for the people, and represent a free nation, one must be open to representing people of ALL races and ALL religions. For we are a FREE country. This is why church and state must be separate because when you deal with politics, you deal with a vast array of people of different backgrounds and different religions. Again as a christian and a man of God, it is necessary to be tolerant of these things and nonjudgmental to others who may practice other things. In conclusion, separation of church and state is necessary to lead and represent a nation of people that form a wide variety of different ideologies. Doing so will ensure everyone lives together happily, free to practice whichever religion they chose.