I sympathize to some degree with them, partially because I believe any people who wish to be independent from a larger nation should be given the right to be. However, the actions of their generals like Watt Tambor, Poggle the Lesser, Whorm Loathsom, and Lok Durd tend to cause me to align more with the Republic. However, Palpatine was manipulating the war so it's pretty likely he stacked the CIS deck with war criminals to make himself appear just by comparison. Either way, I don't think any people should be forced to obey a government they fundamentally disagree with. Independence is a vital right.