Posted on 02/07/2020 3:36:56 PM PST by MAexile
When I first registered to vote I got some advice from my father which I recently passed onto my son. Register as an independent. That way you’ll have total freedom to vote in any primary. Such was the law in both my home and adopted state. Still is.
Now he did this as a way to vote for the least onerous democrat in the primary as a way to limit the damage. Kinda let’s you know how long ago this was. Nowadays they’re all onerous.
Still, when I moved north I proudly kept my unenrolled status when I registered. Since then I have voted in three New Hampshire primaries.
2008: Open seat, I grabbed a Republican ballot. 2012: Obama in office, grabbed a Republican ballot. 2016: open seat again, grabbed a Republican ballot again.
I now find myself in a new place. Finally, I can cause some mischief.
First off, I appreciate that nothing is certain however President Trump seems to be very popular up here, and up until a week ago the only place you could find Bill Weld was on the side of a milk carton. So I feel comfortable taking a Democrat ballot.
The question I pose now is what is the end goal and keeping that in mind who is the best candidate to vote for that achieves that goal?
If the goal is the re-election of President Trump then an argument can be made for Biden or Warren. Both probably have more days behind them than ahead, and I believe one of the reasons that Trump beat Clinton was his relentless campaigning. Basically he drove her into the ground. Both of them would get exhausted, start making mistakes, taking time off, etc. Biden especially, he’s already a gaff machine, imagine what would come out of his mouth after running around the country following Trump.
Or is the goal to re-elect the President AND fracture the Democratic Party by sending them to a brokered convention? If that’s the case Sanders is the logical choice. They do not want him to be the nominee. I don’t think it’s just a matter of them thinking he can’t win, in my opinion only those willfully ignorant of the facts (or clinically insane) thinks President Trump can be beaten. I think they’re afraid he’ll bring down the party in the process. Getting him close to the nomination and sending it to a second or third ballot may just split the Democrats into multiple pieces that could take a generation or more to put back together.
Freepers, I welcome your opinions. On Tuesday morning I will be inline at my polling place with a giant smile on my face, thinking of all the confusion and consternation I can help cause.
Who would vote for?
Bootygeek will poll as badly or worse than Hillary with African Americans and Hispanics
If I could bring myself to pull a Dem ballot, I’d go with Sanders. With him at the top, turnout among minorities would be depressed overall, and underticket Republicans would benefit.
Your vote means little when the superdelegates overrule the peons.
Your vote would count for the lower offices, though.
Sanders for sure!! Let’s have the election be about capitalism vs communism - with the master of capitalism in office now.
I’m considering doing the same in the VA primary.
Bernie is who we want to run against, in my view.
Registering as an Independent has differing effects in different states. In many, registering as an independent means you can vote in neither the Democrat nor the Republican primary.
My State of Georgia does not require a voter to declare
his/her loyalty to any of the eleventy-or-so political parties (clubs)
in order for a citizen to register to vote in an election.
For hard decisions like this, I consult my Magic 8 ball. I hope this helps.
Considering the backstabbing our own Republican sell out Representatives now do, I am all in for the idea of taking the independent party back from the left in mass. Very few know that it was originally a conservative party with conservative constitutional moral values.
That would shake them up...
Here in New York State we don’t have the right to vote in primaries, unless we’re enrolled as a Democrat or Republican. I changed my registration once to Independent, only to find out that I wouldn’t be able to vote in any of the primaries...and quickly changed it back to Republican.
Quid Pro Joe is the proverbial dead man walking. Hunters records have already been furnished to the senate. If you look at sepentheads comments (carvel) its obvious the establishment is scared to death bernie will permanently brand the dimms the commie party of the usa. Thus the play is to try to keep biden in so the brokered convention doesn’t pick hildabeast, kerry, or albore.
I’ve also been registered as an independent ever since I registered to vote in 1972 at age 18. I never vote for a DemocRAT just on general principle. Not even to be mischievous. I simply can’t bring myself to vote for anyone associated with a party I find absolutely abhorrent. I don’t always vote Republican (Nixon 1972, Bush 1992, Romney 2012), but I never vote DemocRAT.
The down ballot can be quite important. Are there contested primaries at your state rep or state senate level? If so,
your vote is much more needed there than with ‘Rats.
That^^. I live in NY, register Independent because I can't stand either party enough to let them send me spam mail asking for money. Screw 'em. If I donate, I donate to the individual's organization, not the party.
So I don't get to vote in the primaries, big deal. I vote in the general, every time. But especially in NY, primaries are basically a waste of time. I'd rather clean out my sock drawer.
I don't vote for politicians, it only encourages them ~ Mark Twain
What state do you live in?
Never mind
In Maryland, ‘Independent’ and ‘Unaffiliated’ have different meanings.
I was always an ‘Independent’, until the state decided to clarify this. ‘Independent’ is now construed to mean affiliated with the American Independent Party, or any of possibly tens of others, while ‘Unaffiliated’ means no party at all.
Unaffiliated voters like me cannot vote in primaries in Maryland.
Do nothing and just vote in the general. Trying to be clever often backfires. Some did this in 2008 thinking 0 would be easier to beat than HRC. That didn’t work out too well. I don’t think you’d feel too good if you helped Bernie Pete or whoever and they then went on to defeat the President in the general. Don’t inflate dim numbers ever.
In some states, only the people registered in the party can vote in that party’s primary. I do not understand the concept of open primaries. I liken it to allowing your opponent to choose who from your team can suit up for the championship game.
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