former dem who never could stomach the dem's fiscal irresponsibility (Rep. aren't much better, though they talk a better game). Took me 25 years to figure out that my "live and let live" philosophy and dedication to personal responsibility made me a "classical liberal" - i.e one that believes our freedoms are ours because we are human, not because the government "guarantees" them. I'll agree with "tea party" republicans that the government which governs least, governs best, but I remain a civil libertarian in that I do not believe regulation of morality, particularly on a federal level, has any place in a country which prides itself on individual liberty and freedom. Homogenous solutions simply can't work in a 300million + society, we are too different to all live by the same laws, which makes the confederation of states our founders designed all the more attractive in today's world.
/rant!