The COMMON CAUSE: No need to judge based on politics

A certain amount of me believes we lose creditability when we add the D or R behind our names.

Does being a Democrat or a Republican mean we are like all other Democrats or Republicans? Should we be compared to others in our parties, or are we independents in our own parties?

I was reading another bit about Sarah Palin's constant Facebook posting as of late when this subject hit me. Is Palin anything like Mitt Romney?

Romney is a smart business minded person. Romney is well spoken and civil minded. Palin on the other hand is ignorant, a social extremist, and often shows very poor judgment in her decision making abilities. I don't believe that Romney and Palin are in the same ballpark, let alone in the same "party," but they are.

Then I consider our great Sen. Jay Rockefeller who is a gifted moderate. Rockefeller has been able to reach across the isle, and be an independent voice on a great many issues.

Lets compare him to Secretary Tim Geithner. Geithner is a scoundrel. He speaks of reform throughout the economic sector, while allowing many of the banks to virtually steal from the American Taxpayers.

Geithner claims reform, while supporting a bill that allows the "too big to fail" banks to ignore reform. Rockefeller was an independent voice on the public option in the Senate and stood by his convictions, while Geithner found it easier to do his job the way of the snake.

Are these two part of the same party?

I find myself often called a liberal, or stupid liberal depending on how much the opposition has to support their claims. I am a Democrat, but there are a few things that set me apart from some in my party.

I support coal. All coal production. I believe that the coal industries keep West Virginian families fed. As long as it helps our community more than it hurts then I will support the industry no matter what the position of the national party is.

What does that make me? What about all of you? You see I don't think being part of a party really hurts our creditability. In fact I think the ability to caucus with others inside of our parties is helpful to make our voices louder.

The Republicans and the Democrats are both American citizens. Some of us are progressives, some are moderates, and some are conservatives. We belong to two separate parties.

We aren't the same, but we should try to understand each other better. We label each other too much. This creates what we have in Congress:  elected officials unable to work together due to titles, not ideologies. It would be nice to see the moderates on both sides come together so the two extremes can take a step to the middle.

We are all different, but the sharing of ideas is paramount to the progression of this nation. I'm not saying we are the same or have to agree. What I am saying is that if we could look past the stereotypes we may find a better relationship with each other.