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Love it or hate it, social media provides an outlet for political opinions some incendiary, some provocative and some sensible, sound and rational. The beauty of soliciting comments on Facebook is that the replies are quick, heartfelt and varied. Some folks who might not feel comfortable offering political opinions in a social gathering seem at ease discussing politics openly in a Facebook chat.

My current 5,130 Facebook political page likes range from the most conservative or libertarian to the most liberal. The range of views on most posts offers a great diversity of thought. Most of the time the conversation is civil, but at times I have chastised those who cross the line.

Many of them, but not all, dont really want an impartial or unbiased discussion but would rather defend their party and attack the other, much like sports fans cheering for their team and trash-talking the rival team.

Interestingly, there is great variation within the parties, particularly in the Republican Party. Loyalty is expected among party members without agreement on issues, philosophy, preferred candidates or party direction.

So recently, I posted the following question, hoping to glean how each political party is perceived by voters of differing affiliations:

I would like some good, productive, honest feedback. Please refrain from insults and snark. Please indicate your party affiliation followed by what you think the Republican Party stands for, what you think the Democratic Party stands for and, if you like, what you think Libertarian, Independent, or any other minor party or movement stands for. This might go in a future column (without names). Thanks.

Within hours, there were more than 100 responses and they were illuminating. Loyalty to party was not evident in these responses. While certainly not scientific, some interesting trends emerged.

First, some believe there isnt a lot of difference between the parties, as evidenced by one of my favorite responses.

GOP=Party of growing the government, big spending, and liberty killing. Ok to subvert the Constitution if it is for a GOP idea. DEM=Party of growing the government, and big spending. Ok to subvert the Constitution if it is for a DEM idea.

Dont think either party adheres to any great principles it wouldnt compromise, if it meant winning...

Original post:
Facebook stimulates political punditry