Should Dems Who Support Paul Change Party For Primaries?
This is from a post I did at Informed Voters this weekend.
An interesting topic came up today, and I would really love to know what other people think. If you are a Democrat or Independent who likes Ron Paul, does it make sense to change your party affiliation and vote for him in the primaries?
Let me give you a hypothetical…
Lets say that I am a registered democrat, if I vote in the primaries I am basically voting against one democrat and for another. For the most part, regardless of who wins the democratic nomination (whether they were my pick or not) I will be voting for that person in the 2008 election. I say that not because I am some kind of “drone” to the democratic party, but because I am 90% sure that whoever the democrats put up, I will like better than the Republican.
Now, what if I change my party affiliation to Republican before the primaries and vote for the one Republican candidate that I wouldn’t want to tear my hair out if elected president (in this case Ron Paul)? Then, if Ron Paul does get the Republican nomination, I can actually pay attention to the issues and debates, and vote for the “person” not the “party”, that I think is best for the country.
Pros and cons…
- Pro – If Ron Paul gets nominated and wins the presidential election…It still wouldn’t be a “GOP as usual” administration.
- Con – You don’t get a say in the nomination of the democratic candidate.
- Pro – You will actually feel like you are voting for a person and not a party when it comes to the presidential election.
- Con – You could be wasting you vote on someone unelectable (or at least that’s what some people say).
- Pro – You can feel like you are making a statement “against” certain Republican candidates, even if Ron Paul doesn’t win the nomination.
- Con – The Democratic National Committee would surely frown upon this idea. [I guess that could be a “Pro” disguised as a “Con”.]
Okay. So what do you think? If you are a Democrat or an Independent (who likes the fact that Ron Paul isn’t GOP as usual)…Is changing your party affiliation for the primaries a good idea?
*Personally…I don’t know enough about Ron Paul to recommend or not recommend him, and that’s not really what I’m trying to figure out here. I want to know…If a person is already sure they like Ron Paul better than the other Republican presidential candidates, is it smart to change your party affiliation for the primaries? And I guess the same question could be posed of a Republican that thinks one Democratic candidate would be better than another?
READ MORE HERE (many interesting comments)
Comments
Comment from rhys
Time: December 10, 2007, 8:12 pm
I am a Republican Paul supporter, and I think you should vote for Paul, unless you are 100% committed to defeating Clinton in the Primary. This is how I explained it to my Democrat friends: Ideally, as Americans, we would have two candidates running in the general election that we didn’t hate. The Primaries are an opportunity to create the best general election. You should vote for the candidate that would create the best general election for you.
I happen to be a Republican and support Paul, but if Gravel had picked up speed in 2004, I would have supported him over Bush. I didn’t vote in the Primary in 2004, because I dislike Kerry as much as I dislike Bush – in case your curious, I hate monopoly, and I despise the current Federal government which has effectively skirted the checks and balances that form the foundation of our system of government. I want true Federalism, a sharing of power between the Federal government and the States. Right now there is no limit to Federal power as Bush has so effectively displayed (and all of the current frontrunners would like to expand Federal and Executive power in their ideologies favor).
Comment from Deeptoad
Time: December 10, 2007, 9:41 pm
I am a liberal Ron Paul supporter. I think you need to follow your head and your heart on this one. I switched from Green to Republican so I could vote for him in the primaries. Honestly? I’m not worried about party anymore. Part of me thinks it’s destructive to vote party line only.
I want Paul in the WH because he wants us out of Iraq, out of the nation building business, out of the business of collecting direct and unapportioned taxes and — essentially — prefers you make your own life decisions.
Give it a think.
Comment from Alex Hammer
Time: December 10, 2007, 12:25 pm
See also:
Facebook – Leading Ron Paul Widgets, Resources and Tools
http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=6424597449
Ron Paul – The $20 Million Man
http://ronpaulnewsblg.blogspot.com/2007/12/ron-paul-20-million-man-by-alex-hammer.html