I debated this diary for a while last night and decided a sleeping pill and some sleep was a better idea first. But there are lots of arguments around as to why we should stay registered Democrats…and lots of emotions as to why not.
First: I grew up in an independent thinking family, in Utah, and registered as a Republican. My first vote was the elections of 1974. I marched for the E.R.A. and pro-choice in high school in Utah. I was pro-military and anti-war.
Second: I registered as a Democrat in 1980 when Ronald Reagan and the Republican party refused to put the Equal Rights Amendment in their party platform. Thousands of women changed party affiliation and mailed copies of their change to the RNC in 1980.
Third: I change voter registration as needed…to vote in California’s closed primaries. Regularly and often.
Reason for this rambling
There are those here that would never vote for a Republican, and there are the “no one but a Democrat”, and just as many of us that vote for individuals be they R, D, Green, or other. I have always been a moderate.
By cultural upbringing I’m a fiscal conservative and social liberal. My list is probably representative of those that are posting here…and the people I work with at the grass roots level.
– I’m in favor of social programs but understand that there is a cost that has to be paid.
– My attitude about government is pure Libertarian – stay out of my life, but provide a safety net to those that truly need it.
– My attitude about war is solid 1970’s Democrat values – protect this country but don’t go to unjust wars.
– My fiscal attitudes are pre-Reagan Republican. Yeah – the Republican party pre-1980 were moderates and fiscal conservatives.
So – when so many of us are fed up with the ‘party’ of Democrats – we are probably fed up with the party system. We want candidates that think and feel and believe in the Constitution and values that we do. Registering Independent and sending a copy of it off to the DSCC and DLC is a form of protest. By the next primary in June I’ll be registered as whatever it takes to vote for or against the candidates on my local ballot.
We’ll keep fighting for candidates and causes – we’ve never stopped. Don’t diss us….just try to understand where we are coming from. The party loyalty in us died yesterday.
