Where do i stand politicaly.

[frau kaleun]

Originally Posted by Platapus

At one time you may have been a Republican. But perhaps the party changed and not you?

I was a Republican all my life coming from a family of Republicans. In the past 20 years or so, the GOP has changed and changed in a way that no longer agrees with my opinions.

Hence, I am now an Independent.

I never defined myself as a Republican, in fact I registered as a Democrat as soon as I was old enough. Of course I was forced to stay inside and watch the Watergate hearings as a child, and my first memory of the Republican party is of Richard Nixon, so let's just say that the GOP and I did not get off to a good start.

On the other hand I never identified myself as a "liberal" either socially or otherwise until those who called themselves "conservatives" started bringing up a lot of stuff that I'd never really had much occasion to think about before. Basically they made issues out of things that were never "issues" to me before they started squawking about them, and the more they squawked the more obvious it became that I was on the other side of whatever line they were drawing if only because the way in which they drew it was so distasteful to me personally.

Now I think it's safe to say that unless there is a major purge of certain elements within the GOP, they've lost whatever shot they had with me. When I cast a vote it's more likely to be against their candidates than for whoever is running on the other side. I don't like it, but I refuse to just *not* vote because I'm keenly aware that however pointless it seems it's still more than a lot of people around the world will ever have the opportunity to do.

[Gerald]

Originally Posted by frau kaleun

I never defined myself as a Republican, in fact I registered as a Democrat as soon as I was old enough. Of course I was forced to stay inside and watch the Watergate hearings as a child, and my first memory of the Republican party is of Richard Nixon, so let's just say that the GOP and I did not get off to a good start.

On the other hand I never identified myself as a "liberal" either socially or otherwise until those who called themselves "conservatives" started bringing up a lot of stuff that I'd never really had much occasion to think about before. Basically they made issues out of things that were never "issues" to me before they started squawking about them, and the more they squawked the more obvious it became that I was on the other side of whatever line they were drawing if only because the way in which they drew it was so distasteful to me personally.

Now I think it's safe to say that unless there is a major purge of certain elements within the GOP, they've lost whatever shot they had with me. When I cast a vote it's more likely to be against their candidates than for whoever is running on the other side. I don't like it, but I refuse to just *not* vote because I'm keenly aware that however pointless it seems it's still more than a lot of people around the world will ever have the opportunity to do.

"I was old enough" Now we talking,

[August]

My earliest political memories were of the Democratic party were of LBJ and and their war in Vietnam (guess I'm a little older than you). But i've never registered for any party. None of them fully represent my beliefs and interests.

[vienna]

...why do you have to register yourself for voting in the US? And what's even stranger to me; why do you have to register with either the democrats or the republicans? (well you dont have to, but as you said, if you don't you get excluded from voting which is -again even more- weird in my eyes) I never understood that.

The purpose of registering is mainly to help ensure a person does not vote more than once in a given election; names, addresses, etc. are compared to detect duplicate registrations. Registering as a member of a party is really mostly governed by localities (states, counties). In order to select a candidate to represent a particular party for a particular office, primary elections are held where the voters in each party vote from a selction of candidates within the party and the candidate garnering the most votes goes on to represent the party in the main General Election. Therefore, only the voters officially registered in the party can vote from the party's list of candidates. Not all localities have primaries in this manner; some localities have "open" primaries where a voter can vote for a candidate across party lines. Here in California we do not have open primaries.

[UnderseaLcpl]

Originally Posted by vienna

The purpose of registering is mainly to help ensure a person does not vote more than once in a given election; names, addresses, etc. are compared to detect duplicate registrations.

Close, but not quite correct. The main purpose of registering is to help ensure that people who actually vote do so along party lines. The only reason we have our voter and party guidelines we have is to shut out competition from third parties. Don't take my word for it, try to start a party yourself. I'll hold my breath while you gather the requisite 40,000 signatories, and that's in Texas where the guidelines are comparatively lax.

When it comes to persons themselves, the parties could care less about who votes or how many times. The Democratic party has no compunction about getting dead people to vote or bribing illiterates to vote, and the Republican party has no compunction about redistricting votes in their favor. Actually, neither party has a stance against that, but the Reps are better at it.

Registering as a member of a party is really mostly governed by localities (states, counties). In order to select a candidate to represent a particular party for a particular office, primary elections are held where the voters in each party vote from a selction of candidates within the party and the candidate garnering the most votes goes on to represent the party in the main General Election. Therefore, only the voters officially registered in the party can vote from the party's list of candidates. Not all localities have primaries in this manner; some localities have "open" primaries where a voter can vote for a candidate across party lines.

That's what they'd like you to think. The truth is... well, what you just said. It's just a mechanism for polarizing the vote along party lines. Nothing more, nothing less. You won't find open primaries in any district that matters, nor will you find third-party candidates on their ballots. It's an extortion racket, albeit a cleverly concealed one.

Here in California we do not have open primaries.

Most states don't. The idea is supposedly to prevent subversives from voting against a viable candidate, but the real reason is to separate voters and side-line third parties and independent candidates. Don't take my word for it, just fill out a false voter registration form. Nobody is going to do a background check. You can vote two or three times if you like, maybe more, as long as you register in different counties.

Both parties are quite fond of the two-party system, and they are keen to keep it as such, hence the system we have now.


That's my interpretation, anyways. Maybe I'm right and maybe I'm wrong, but it can't hurt to be mindful of the nature of the system and the results it has given us.

[Platapus]

Originally Posted by UnderseaLcpl

Don't take my word for it, just fill out a false voter registration form. Nobody is going to do a background check. You can vote two or three times if you like, maybe more, as long as you register in different counties.

I doubt that. In Virginia all voter registrations are verified and you can only vote in the county where you are a residence. I am sure that the other states have similar protections.

[UnderseaLcpl]

Originally Posted by Platapus

I doubt that. In Virginia all voter registrations are verified and you can only vote in the county where you are a residence. I am sure that the other states have similar protections.

A minor obstacle. Had I the care to do so I could register and vote in Virginia and then vote again under a different name, provided I had the requisite SS number, which isn't really difficult to obtain.

I've served as a registrar in county and state elections. Nobody checks your identity or cross-references it, nobody cares, nor do they have the means to do so if they did care. You have entirely too much faith in the system, my friend.