hmmm this is one of those rare trollish thread turned interesting discussions that draws more than my cursory involvement. Bravo folks, they are becoming quite rare on this forum.
I register as Independent. I am a capitalist / "classical" social liberal/democrat. I have a group of basic beliefs that have ousted me from both parties for my entire life. I find I must constantly choose between one or many of my "core beliefs" when I vote - which is rather frustrating.
My core beliefs are as follows:
1. I believe that capitalism is the /only/ sustainable way to successfully combat poverty and indeed the misery of human existence. While I do believe in a safety net, for both individuals/families and businesses, I do not believe that such a net should be a cradle to grave system that continues to "assist" for eternity. For to live in welfare, dependent upon others until you die, is not life at all, it is merely "existence" and a shitty one at that. I believe that all are both capable, and worthy, of a better life than the misery of that. I believe 100% that the Democratic party has been "forced" to buy votes via handouts rather by necessity; after all life in America is so many worlds above life in other nations, one must necessarily "invent" problems to be solved and the tripe of "inequality" and so forth was a rather wise, though in my opinion detrimental to actual American's, choice. Thus I find myself somewhere between understanding and despising the tack of the D's political decisions. I cannot hate them even while they prey on the emotions of the downtrodden because it is little different "morally" than the right-wing's "predatory" activities. I suppose I "accept" that, just as I "accept" the flaws of the R's, as simply the harnessing of the "nature of man" to ones benefit. Survival of the fittest in an ironic way.
2. As I touched on in belief one, I am a strong believer in individualism. I believe that every man has the ability within them to be "more" than they are and to be "successful" in their life, but I also believe that different people have different "levels" and "goals" that they consider "successful." This is a general theorem that I call "Wolves and Men" - a psychological reality of leaders and followers and the benefits of both mentalities. It is because of this that I do not believe in "equality" per say, I believe that all men are capable of "better" than they have, but I know that they do not all have the fortitude necessary to lead. There is nothing wrong with following, the world will always have proportionally more followers after all, but I come down harshly upon those leaders to mistreat their flocks. Which leads me to despise quite a few "establishment" groups and indeed established religious groups as a whole.
3. Which traverses into my third core belief in the psychological "good" that arrives from the peoples belief in "things" - be that religious or "group" ideals like political parties and social movement groups of progressives, SJWs, and modern liberals. Such things are needed by social humans, they are needed by society at large, they are needed by a strong nation and they should be supported through freedom of religion, belief, speech, and thought. The caveat is that the fundamental underpins (the religious beliefs, the teachings, the desired outcomes) must be inherently "good" for all. I cannot, will not, support freedom of ideals that are fundamentally flawed at their core; such as forcing ones religion upon others or forcing ones mere "beliefs" on others in the scope of LGBT issues and abortion.
4. The caveat of 3 leads me into my fourth belief; nationalism. It is not so much that I dislike other nations, but rather that I see America as the beacon and leader of the world. It is my opinion that we American's have a duty and a responsibility to show the rest of the nations how to overcome the ills that inflict their people. To bring their bad leaders to heel upon the world stage, and hold them accountable for their mistakes and errors in judgement as an example of what not to do. While I do believe that America is the best nation, it is not arrogance as many might presume. I know we have made many mistakes, we have allowed bad "wolves" to bend to social pressures and lead us into poor decisions that have done massive injustices, but we have always done the right thing in the end. We must show these nations that it's okay to make mistakes, it is okay to be wrong, and that they can recover and be better nations. I look to the “lesser” nations with hope for a better future for them; rather than dwelling on their mistakes of their past - nations should treat each other with compassion, forgiving mistakes so long as the lessons are learned [Germany, Japan, etc,] and letting go of hateful or vengeful grudges when appropriate [Russia, the ME, etc.]
5. Which leads to my fifth belief; so too individuals should be given the chance to amend themselves to more "noble" purposes. We all make mistakes, we all miscalculations of judgement, we all occasionally “do the wrong thing,” but the true worth of an individual is their ability to admit their mistakes, learn from them, and become better people. After all, without such a belief then one might as well forgo leading, be that individually, nationally, or globally, because to not believe so means that others are not worth your time and effort.
6. Finally, while I am a believer in individual freedom, “free will,” and letting others live as they see fit, all of it must be within the scope of the “law.” Law is rather subjective, of course, but in general my belief is that laws are designed to protect the weak without abridging the freedom of others. I may object to laws that are flawed and want them changed, but I do expect that laws are followed, and if not, punished appropriately. I’m not exactly a “law and order” type, but I’m not “anarchist” either.
I used to vote D fairly regularly and my simple answer to the OP would have been, because they support X which is fundamentally more important than Y this time around. Honestly though, with the direction the D's have taken recently, I find myself less and less "patient" with their antics and bullshit "poor" leadership; I have zero reason to vote D at this time, in fact, I strongly oppose everything the D's seem to support these days. I do not consider myself right-wing, but I can easily understand why many might. ~shrug~