"One thing I used to respect about the GOP was their emphasis on responsible spending and pay as you go (no deficits) government but that seems to have vanished in recent years."
Absolutely! I don't know how to classify Bush & his administration. Some of the republican party has gone way off course to tradition reasonable conservativism. I like guys like Ron Paul but he was too rough around the edges to be president. You need a person like Obama or Romney...maybe even Hillary (if she was more pleasant) but with a more moderate philosophy in my opinion.
Obama sounds good sometimes but his past & some of his current ideas are wrought with liberalism and quasi-socialism...and honestly some pretty leftwing folks and organizations throughout his career. I'm not comfortable with that. The dems should have nominated someone more moderate & they would have owned this election! Perhaps someone like Bloomberg? I don't know enough about him but was impressed with him on meet the press recently.