To join a major party or not to join?

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I have always been registered as an independent. I think this better describes where I stand politically. The Democratic party is not left, but center, and I am more to the left. I don't like the two party system or all the partisanship that we seem to be seeing more and more of. I've always figured that if I ever were to join a party it would be a third party.

But being an independent means I can't vote in the primaries. In reality, it is always just the Democrats and Republicans who are contenders in most any election and, given the choice between the two, I usually vote for the Democrat. (I also vote for the third party wherever this is possible and doesn't seem like a bad idea.) I was recently at a local progressive event where there were some state politicians talking about the primary elections. They REALLY encouraged me to join the Democratic party so I could vote in the primaries, saying the best way to affect change is to work from within the system. The woman who was particularly convincing said she was always too far left to join the Democratic party, but now that she had joined she held some important office and was instrumental in writing the state Democratic party platform - and that in this way she was able to help turn the party into one we could all support. She said the best way to do this is to vote in the primaries. She has a great point. Maybe I'm just being selfish by staying independent in large part just because I don't want to label myself as part of this partisan bullshit.

So what do you all think about the idea of joining a party so you can vote in the primaries? Or, more generally, about the idea of creating change from inside a system?

CJMST3K

catefrances

scb wrote:

...So what do you all think about the idea of joining a party so you can vote in the primaries? Or, more generally, about the idea of creating change from inside a system?

i dont know about these primaries you speak of cause im australian anf out system is different. but as a registered member of the socialist party i vote accordingly.

if there is no socialist candidate i vote for the greens candidate. this doesnt always work out the way i want cause my preference is given to whomever my party deems worthy. it pisses me off a bit as i voted with my heart my conscience is clean.

however with a federal election due sometime later this year, preferential voting is something i shall be addressing with my party in the upcoming months.

Pepe Silvia

catefrances wrote:

scb wrote:

...So what do you all think about the idea of joining a party so you can vote in the primaries? Or, more generally, about the idea of creating change from inside a system?

i dont know about these primaries you speak of cause im australian anf out system is different. but as a registered member of the socialist party i vote accordingly.

if there is no socialist candidate i vote for the greens candidate. this doesnt always work out the way i want cause my preference is given to whomever my party deems worthy. it pisses me off a bit as i voted with my heart my conscience is clean.

however with a federal election due sometime later this year, preferential voting is something i shall be addressing with my party in the upcoming months.

the primary is the race for the 2 parties to pick their presidential candidate, like when Clinton won the primary in Pennsylvania Obama got pissy and said it was because people in that state cling to their guns and religion and are anti-immigrant

it depends on the state you live in, though. some states let anyone vote in a party's primary, others only let registered members of that party vote.

as for the OP....i don't know what to say. I used to be registered as an Independent but the state i moved to doesn't let you register as that, you either have to be democrat, republican or unaffiliated.

i can see what the OP means about influencing platforms and whatnot but i question how far that change would go? on a local level i can see it helping shape policy but on the federal level i doubt it would go anywhere. on a larger scale politics is just too much of a scam and elections are too controlled by people that aren't going to let any real change in, at least not from the 2 corporate parties.

kenny olav

The only thing joining a party will get you is propaganda flyers in your mailbox and robo-calls on your phone around election time.

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Cate, the primaries are for local elections as well as national ones. Pepe, it's local politics over which I was hoping to exert some influence.

WaveCameCrashin

stay inde...

musicismylife78

i am a registered socialist and can vote in all elections. seems to me, if you are against the 2 party system, as any sane person would be, you wouldnt waste time joining a major party, like the dems or repubs or even the independents.

GTFLYGIRL

scb wrote:

So what do you all think about the idea of joining a party so you can vote in the primaries?

That's why i did it. Interestingly, these rules (for voting in primaries) are different from state to state.

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musicismylife78 wrote:

i am a registered socialist and can vote in all elections. seems to me, if you are against the 2 party system, as any sane person would be, you wouldnt waste time joining a major party, like the dems or repubs or even the independents.

I didn't know socialist was an option. :?

KDH12

I would check the laws in your state

in Il I register as independent but when we vote in primaries they let you pick either a Dem ballot or Rep ballot while other states require you to take a ballot based on your registration

I would stay independent if it doesn't restrict your voting

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KDH12 wrote:

I would check the laws in your state

in Il I register as independent but when we vote in primaries they let you pick either a Dem ballot or Rep ballot while other states require you to take a ballot based on your registration

I would stay independent if it doesn't restrict your voting

It definitely does restrict my voting - that's the problem.

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Okay - I just triple-checked that I was right. You have to be registered as either a Democrat or Republican to vote in the primaries. No Socialist or anything else.

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scb wrote:

musicismylife78 wrote:

i am a registered socialist and can vote in all elections. seems to me, if you are against the 2 party system, as any sane person would be, you wouldnt waste time joining a major party, like the dems or repubs or even the independents.

I didn't know socialist was an option. :?

It's not. I just double-checked the Socialist Party's website and there is no chapter in my state. :(

KDH12

see that is the problem with deregulation and given the states more power/responsibility over the federal government you get 50 different rules for 50 different states

I would pick a party (Dems) then, and on the ballot you could just write in your Republican choices

unsung

I was a registered Dem until about 2006 when I switched to the GOP. Now I mostly will vote for the best GOP candidate for me in the primaries and when the general election is on I vote for a liberty minded candidate, which is usually in the Constitution Party or Libertarian.

I've become almost a two issue voter, with what I call sub issues.

musicismylife78

unsung wrote:

I was a registered Dem until about 2006 when I switched to the GOP. Now I mostly will vote for the best GOP candidate for me in the primaries and when the general election is on I vote for a liberty minded candidate, which is usually in the Constitution Party or Libertarian.

I've become almost a two issue voter, with what I call sub issues.

why do you have the picture of bush and obama merged as one, as your avatar. i assumed, by that avatar you were a radical lefty like myself, because the projection is that bush and obama are the same, that all politician are the same, that both parties are the same.

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unsung wrote:

I was a registered Dem until about 2006 when I switched to the GOP. Now I mostly will vote for the best GOP candidate for me in the primaries and when the general election is on I vote for a liberty minded candidate, which is usually in the Constitution Party or Libertarian.

I've become almost a two issue voter, with what I call sub issues.

What two issues are those?

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musicismylife78 wrote:

unsung wrote:

I was a registered Dem until about 2006 when I switched to the GOP. Now I mostly will vote for the best GOP candidate for me in the primaries and when the general election is on I vote for a liberty minded candidate, which is usually in the Constitution Party or Libertarian.

I've become almost a two issue voter, with what I call sub issues.

why do you have the picture of bush and obama merged as one, as your avatar. i assumed, by that avatar you were a radical lefty like myself, because the projection is that bush and obama are the same, that all politician are the same, that both parties are the same.

unsung

I'm certainly not left. However I am not a neo-con either. But the idea that Bush and Obama are the same is true.


That's the reason I voted for Chuck Baldwin for President in 2008.

unsung

scb wrote:

What two issues are those?

I'm very pro-gun and very anti-illegal immigration.