I Keep Saying

So, I'm home a little early from work, stretched out on the bed, with my headphones on, listening to sometimes talk radio. (The kid is asleep at the head of the bed, I'm at the foot of the bed).

I wake up from a catnap to hear Black people talking about the Republican vs. Democratic party thing.

One person gets his facts twisted and states "Republicans" when it should be "Democrats". The Republicans in the discussion jump on him.

Should I mention this was an all Black panel?

Anyway...

What got me is one person said that parties don't matter, it's the policies that matter.

That's where I'm at in this stage of my life.

To hell with the party labels, I'm going to support the PERSON who is saying things that most align with my views.

Alan Keyes and Michael Steele and Olympia Snowe are all in the same party. (Shouldn't Keyes be pissed about the GOP pushing Steele as a star?)

Mfume, Ford, Teddy Kennedy and Zell Miller are all in the same party.

Screw the labels, I'm staying independent and will support the person not the party.

Footnote: I find it a damn shame that some people can't handle a person being critical of a party but that not meaning that a person supports the opposition party. How many people realize that the U.S. political system is not a 2 party system, but a multi-party system with the 2 primary parties rigging the game against all other parties?

Comments

[memer]

That's the way it ought to be, voting according to each candidate's declared stance(s). However, there is the slippery implication tho that a candidate isn't unduly influenced by party policy. But hardly any candidate launches a campaign in a vacuum. Normally they have (declared) party allegiances. So if it IS the case that a person can be influenced by party decree(s), then some portion of your voting consideration should focus on what's behind that party label, too.

The candidate can be thought of as merely some specific manifestation of party platform(s). Party matters.

Really, it comes down to a matter of trust. Which person-party do you think/hope/trust will best protect/promote your interests?

[MIB]

Unfortunately, the electorate has deteriorated into a variation of the classic personality cult. Individual personas overwhelm party themes and/or ideologies, which in turn lend the appearance of a token diversity for a given group. AAMOF, it more closely resembles collective dissonance than even pragmatism.

I suspect this pathology will continue until more voters resign their party affiliations and force additional voting reforms, i.e.; open primaries, runoffs, etc., on the state level.