The only reason I am still a registered democrat

[zipman]

The only reason I am still a registered democrat is to vote in primary elections.

Lately I have really been contemplating switching myself to be an independent but held off for the primaries.

It paid off. I voted against two longstanding democrats that I absolutely despise and one of them actually lost the primary (for state senate).

Unfortunately, the other one (state assemby) won the race so now I have to vote republican to try and get him out of office like I did last time.

But I'll take a 50% win on this one.

How involved are you in local elections?

 

[unregistered]

 

[zipman]

Up to my neck.

I find the number of people who only vote in "major" elections to be a bit foolish as the quickest way to enact change is at the local level.

In the local NY election I was referencing in my post, the democratic assembly leader (Sheldon Silver) has been in office over 30 years and wasn't even challenged for the last 22 years. The 3 main NY newspapers all endorsed his opponent and he still won with 68% of the vote.

He is one of the slimiest, unethical politicians in office.

 

[KRCummings]

I'm a registered Dem but Indiana has open primaries so it doesn't matter much for voting. If the Dems knew I voted Republican in some cases they'd probably have a fit but there are a few state and federal guys that I like and I think they've done a good job.
Local politics aren't much. It's a town of 3000 so there is only so much that goes on. I'll probably run for mayor in a couple years and I'll probably win but it's not a big deal. Anyone can do it if they wanted to. Kind of a "everybody gets a turn" sort of thing.
Mostly I want to find out what's up with the public utilities in this town. I'm 99% sure they are crooked as all fuck and I'd love nothing more than to bust them but I'm also reasonably sure that the whole town is crooked, as most small towns are. Not real bad but enough to get noticed by the citizens but then again not so much that people really care.
I love my town for all it's Republicaness (not sure that's a word but hey).

 

[zipman]

I'm a registered Dem but Indiana has open primaries so it doesn't matter much for voting. If the Dems knew I voted Republican in some cases they'd probably have a fit but there are a few state and federal guys that I like and I think they've done a good job.
Local politics aren't much. It's a town of 3000 so there is only so much that goes on. I'll probably run for mayor in a couple years and I'll probably win but it's not a big deal. Anyone can do it if they wanted to. Kind of a "everybody gets a turn" sort of thing.
Mostly I want to find out what's up with the public utilities in this town. I'm 99% sure they are crooked as all fuck and I'd love nothing more than to bust them but I'm also reasonably sure that the whole town is crooked, as most small towns are. Not real bad but enough to get noticed by the citizens but then again not so much that people really care.
I love my town for all it's Republicaness (not sure that's a word but hey).

The thing that bothers me the most is that we basically have a system of legal bribery and the majority of politicians trade votes/program and project support for campaign cash/campaign support.

But I am encouraged that a few incumbents were voted out.

 

[KRCummings]

The thing that bothers me the most is that we basically have a system of legal bribery and the majority of politicians trade votes/program and project support for campaign cash/campaign support.

But I am encouraged that a few incumbents were voted out.

Almost everyone has the same kind of system. Politics and money go hand in hand and that will probably never change. Most people don't go into politics for the salary but quite a few do for the money.

 

[unregistered]

 

[zipman]

In my town there's slime on the local school board and it spreads out from there.

One of the biggest problems in NY is that the teacher's union is incredibly powerful and has the majority of Albany in their pocket. To illustrate the point (and the arrogance of it) Silver announced 24 hours before the election that he was holding his victory celebration at the United Federation of Teachers offices.

Kind of let's you know where he stands.

 

[crazybbwgirl]

Open primaries? Does that mean that no matter what you're registered as you can vote for either/any party? I wish Ohio had that.

I rarely vote party lines in the local elections. And yes - we SHOULD pay attention to them. They affect our lives on a daily basis much more than the presidential elections. I often vote for people I know personally. It can't hurt to have a friend or two in office can it?

 

[chillywilly2]

A friend of mine is running for federal office here now, so I'm helping to stick signs in the ground.

I sure hope we have a party when he wins.

 

[Recidiva]

I might be registered as "fuck off" for all I know.

I resented having to pick, I know that, and I'm not sure I did.

If my card says anything other than "none of your damned business" it's not through any fault of my own for trying.

There needs to be an "anonymous" option.

 

[Ulaven_Demorte]

I'm registered as an independent. I've voted for both Republicans and Democrats locally, and even for state and federal legislature positions. But for President I've always voted for a Democratic candidate.

The one Republican I could have seen my way clear to vote for as President has sidestepped so far to the right so as to be unrecognizable from the last time he ran and so I vote Democratic for President again.

 

[KRCummings]

Open primaries? Does that mean that no matter what you're registered as you can vote for either/any party? I wish Ohio had that.

I rarely vote party lines in the local elections. And yes - we SHOULD pay attention to them. They affect our lives on a daily basis much more than the presidential elections. I often vote for people I know personally. It can't hurt to have a friend or two in office can it?

Yes, open primaries means anyone can vote and that can cause some minor problems. You get both parties trying to fuck each other. It usually doesn't affect outcome but it can skew the numbers a bit.

 

[KRCummings]

I'm registered as an independent. I've voted for both Republicans and Democrats locally, and even for state and federal legislature positions. But for President I've always voted for a Democratic candidate.

The one Republican I could have seen my way clear to vote for as President has sidestepped so far to the right so as to be unrecognizable from the last time he ran and so I vote Democratic for President again.

That's me. I'll vote all over the place in anything other than Prez but I've always voted Dem for Prez. If there was a Republican candidate that I liked I wouldn't have a problem voting for him/her but there hasn't been one yet.

 

[Ulaven_Demorte]

Yes, open primaries means anyone can vote and that can cause some minor problems. You get both parties trying to fuck each other. It usually doesn't affect outcome but it can skew the numbers a bit.

Yup, you end up with a bunch of Rush Limbaugh dittohead idiots engaging in "operation chaos" and voting in the other party's primary to try to screw up the nomination so that someone that they think their candidate can beat runs for the other party.

Florida is a closed primary state, being independent means I had no say in who the nominee was for either party.

 

[zipman]

Lately, my disgust with the democratic leadership in the house and senate has made me want to switch to independent to send a message to them.

Unfortunately, I don't think it's a message that anyone would get.

 

[unregistered]

 

[John Doe]

I vote at every opportunity. I don't care if it's for state senate, state auditor or the new M&Ms color, I vote.

 

[RobDownSouth]

In my town there's slime on the local school board and it spreads out from there.

Our local school board set the national standard for sliminess locally.

There is a slim majority on the board that regularly subsidizes the local good ole boy network, funneling millions of taxpayer dollars their way each year.

 

[zipman]

Last year I was driving through some western states on my way to Montana and was amazed at the number of political ads on the radio paid for by teachers unions. It's amazing how many millions they can spend on ads telling you they need more money. No matter how much we give them in California it's never enough, so little of it actually gets to the classroom.

Believe me, it's far worse in NY. I despise the head of the union with a passion. Every single thing she does comes at the expense of students.

They are so powerful that few dare oppose her. Bloomberg got huge credit from me for standing up to her and implementing mayoral control of the department of education which has shown solid improvement every year.

 

[unregistered]

 

[unregistered]

 

[Lavared]

Here in NC a registered independant can vote in either primary but you have to choose one or the other and can't do both at the same time. I like the freedom that provides me.

I'm not heavily involved in local politics but I am heavily involved in the elections themselves. I'm one of the people who will spend election day from 5:30am until a couple of hours after the polls close at the polling place. It's a long day and we have to be there the night before to set up too.

 

[zipman]

Here, they have millions at their disposal for political TV ads and I have to admit they are very effective. They are effective against opposition candidates but less so with convincing people to hand them more money for education. People can look around and observe the level of education that is imparted to students these days and question whether their money is actually buying education or more ineffectual administration.

Much the same here except there is a pervasive atmosphere of fear for anyone who dares "cross" them.

The unions have a ridiculous amount of power in NY and each year it grows.

 

[unregistered]