Are we too dependent on our political parties?

[grumpyduck]

Whether you're a Democrat, a Republican, an Independent, or anything else, do you really have to just go along with whatever your party wants?

Yeah, I know it's easier than reading about the topics and making up your own mind, but it seems that more and more discussions and arguments -- not just here, but also on the MSM -- are based on Democrat/Republican rather than on the issues themselves.

Over the years, I've known people who admit to being diehard D or R, and proudly say they vote a straight ticket, and I've never understood it.

I remember many years ago, during college, I had a job in a movie theatre. One night a lady asked me if I'd read the reviews for the movie playing, and I innocently said that I didn't read reviews because I wanted to make up my own mind. Turned out her husband, who was with her, was a local critic. He didn't say anything, but he was pissed.

[demmiblue]

1. Oh, you. n/t

[grumpyduck]

3. :-)

[demmiblue]

5. Lol...

[JustAnotherGen]

2. I'm a local Democratic Committee Member so for me?

Yes - My party, my party, my party.

What I would challenge you with is this - Perhaps people DO look at the issues (as I do) and find time and again they align perfectly with a specific ideology and platform?

Example- I'm completely out of alignment with SOME in the Democratic Party who want at the top of the agenda:
Catering to Heroin (Opioid) Addicts
Free College
Single Payer


My top three are:

National Security
Personal Security
Voting Integrity/Access


The reality is, you have to find those items that really speak to you and THEN make a decision.

Most Important - we should have this discussion in Mid November.

See my top three items.


Without those - we've got nothing. We've got no discussion. The health and continuity of our Federal Republic or bust.

[Frances]

4. If you are saying vote for the person instead of the party

Remember a Republican senator will vote for McConnell and a Republican congress person will vote for Paul Ryan's replacement, so even though you are voting for the person, you are also giving great power to the party that the person represents.

If you are voting for an Independent, then the person can caucus with (give power to) either party. But I would want to know which party before I voted.


Because I believe that the country is in the greatest danger it's been in since the Civil War, I will vote Democtatic unless the person is truly unworthy.

[flamin lib]

6. I'm one of those straight party voters.

At the top of the ticket it's easy to find information about policy positions. Down ticket to the local races it's very difficult to find statements, policy positions and history.

So how does one make a decision 'on the person, not the party'. Frankly you can't. The information simply isn't available. So okay, you call the candidate. They can tell you anything if there's no history so that's not a measure.

I count on a candidate to adhere to most of not all of the party platform. If a candidate puts a D after their name I believe that they represent my values so I am comfortable with a straight party vote.

[The Polack MSgt]

7. 40 years ago this was the line of thinking that folks used to elect Reagan

and in Pennsylvania there was a corrupt state government led by Democrats which made it seem somewhat reasonable...

And it turns out that Reagan was a front man in a party that was only interested in dismantling the post war America -The America built on union rights, progressive tax rates and the Great Society laws of the mid 60s.

After him we got an "Evolution in Reverse" poster of Republican Presidents where the 1st guy is standing upright and they slouch into lower forms one after the other until finally a lungfish with an outrageous comb over is wriggling in the mud.

I'm sorry but you are two generations too late for this line of reasoning to BE AT ALL REASONABLE.

Let's stop the side who is only marginally opposed to Nazism - Let's do that first.

Until the GOP is stopped and soundly defeated they will continue to reach lower and lower into the filth they so enjoy.

Why is Merrick Garland not on the SCOTUS? Why is a perjurer and failed rapist so close to confirmation?

Why is the Congress' agenda a nonstop parade of ideas designed to make things shitty for women, young people and POC?

BECAUSE NOT ENOUGH FUCKING PEOPLE VOTE FOR DEMOCRATS.

(gets off soapbox, swigs a flask of liquor)

[grumpyduck]

8. "I'm sorry but you are two generations too late for this line of reasoning to BE AT ALL REASONABLE."

Okay, point taken.

Pass the flask.

[The Polack MSgt]

11. Always glad to share

Yorokonde

[JHan]

9. righteous post :)

[brer cat]

10. +++

[ehrnst]

13. Hear, hear! (nt)

[betsuni]

21. Fabulous!

[ehrnst]

12. If you are on DU, and wish to remain on DU, then you support Democrats and the Democratic party.

If you don't understand the difference between constructive criticism and bashing of the Democratic party, then perhaps this isn't the place for you.

Please refer to the name of this discussion board, if you had any doubt.

I vote straight ticket, because I like the Democratic platform, and know what I'm getting.

I can't say that about Independents.

[grumpyduck]

15. Are you saying I bashed the party?

As I said in my first sentence, "Whether you're a Democrat, a Republican, an Independent, or anything else, do you really have to just go along with whatever your party wants?" That was a legitimate question and not referencing one specific party.

On the other hand, several posters have pretty much answered my question in the affirmative. I'm okay with that.

[ehrnst]

16. Clearly, I didn't say that.

Are you confusing me with another poster?

I did talk about people who feel that bashing the party is = to constructive criticism, and they are usually the ones who complain that Democrats must "walk lockstep" when they are called out when they bash Dems here on DU. Which is not accurate at all. Some feel that "refraining from bashing" = "being told to go along with the party, no matter what."

Your response sounds very much like a "shoe fitting" assumption, but I'm sure that it's not.

[grumpyduck]

17. I was going by what you said

"If you don't understand the difference between constructive criticism and bashing of the Democratic party..."

If I misread you, my apologies.

[ehrnst]

18. Apology accepted.(nt)

[sheshe2]

25. +1000

[honest.abe]

14. In this case.. where the other party is lead by a wannabe dictator..

yes, we do need to go along with whatever our party wants. The Democratic Party is our only hope to stop this madman.

Remarkable you dont see that.

[Garrett78]

19. I vehemently disagree with the GOP position on every issue.

[icaria]

20. We're too dependent on just two parties

I always vote straight Democratic because in practical terms there are only two parties. Often that requires a vote for someone I consider to be too far too far to the right, but better than the alternative.

I would prefer a multiparty system where coalitions are formed after the election. In the US system the coalitions are informal and are created before the election. So for example, there seems to be a coalition between democratic socialists and centrist Democrats. We need to have that to prevent the extreme or hard right from staying in power.

[Eliot Rosewater]

22. I would prefer to have a billion dollars , a yacht and own the Seattle Mariners.

But I dont, darnit.

I vote straight Democratic ticket because I am a DEMOCRAT and proud to be and I am also VERY VERY VERY liberal.

[ismnotwasm]

23. .

[betsuni]

24. But the Republican Party isn't even a regular political party anymore.

It's an organized crime/Supply Side Jesus cult. At the national level there are only the two major parties, so there's no choice right now. Your question is a luxury for the future (how far in the future depends on whether the criminals and fake evangelicals succeed in injuring the U.S. so badly that it's not even a regular industrialized country anymore).

[Kilgore]

26. Bravo!!!

I'm with you. I refuse to check my brain at the door and follow blindly. I see no problem thinking about the issue at hand and making up ones own mind.

Most of the time I do go with Team D, but not always. No person, or group has a lock on good ideas. Just cant fathom why anybody would vote straight D or R without actually thinking about the issue and the arguments first.

Feel free to flame away.

[John Fante]

27. There isn't a single

issue I can think of where the popular GOP position is superior to the popular Democratic position. Taxes, immigration, healthcare, gun control, foreign policy, abortion rights, etc. You name it, the GOP position is AWFUL. Borderline evil.

Republicans are literally the only major political party on earth that denies anthropogenic climate change. They're not just a menace to the USA, they're a danger to the world. Bet your ass I'm voting straight Democrat in every election.

[Hoyt]

28. In 2016, too many Democrats went against the Party, unfortunately.

[Tarheel_Dem]

29. Proud straight D party voter here, and fuck anybody who has a problem with it.

[GulfCoast66]

30. Since voting straight ticket Democratic Party is required on DU

I find your OP confusing at best. Suspect at worse.

[grumpyduck]

31. I asked a simple, legitimate question.

If you found it confusing, please read it again. You don't have to answer it.

You may also want to re-read the terms of service. I did not violate them.