Is the growth of the 'independent' voter good?

HOW are we going to have a primary if this continues? In most states you need to be an affiliate vote to vote in the primary.

in a democracy where the democrats and the republicans are beholdin' to corporate interests and possibly both collaborating with rigging elections... it's critical the independent movement grow.

the real problem is the system punishes 3rd parties with exorbitant costs and petition signer needs that are overwhelming to a candidate just trying to run.

i think we need to overhaul the system where all candidate types can run as easily as the next, put a cap on finances and make commercial airtime fixed and free to the candidates (a public service instead of for pay thing)... of all the money I gave to Dean, it still burns me that Trippi ran off by skimming the top of the ad buys and his firm after making bad commercials, made a killing. if all that money could have gone to canvassing instead of commercials, he would have had a much better chance (there were other huge problems in NH which I can't go into here, such as machine rigging and trippi's pissing off DNC chair McAuliffe days before primaries)...

Publically funded national elections. It would cost each voting citizen a mandatory $3/yearly, proportionate respresentation and IVR..NOW! that's democracy!
Now how do we begin to get that done?

Welcome to DU!

wonderful idea.. but let me point out how IRV actually hurts potentially winning candidates..

it disproportionately gives advantage to the guys who make deals...

let's take kerry / edwards and gephart.

all 3 weak candidates totally out of money before NH but they did a deal and bought each other's voters if the other failed and VOILA, 3 candidates voters was MORE than dean's voters.. only by a hair.. but enough to win the caucuses...

so the spirit of IRV is in the right place it just needs to be reworked to not make politicians dealmakers with their evil other candidates....

if I'm a true independent I don't want to spend half my money helping out another candidate I don't particularly like...

but the $3 idea was perfect... spot on!!

no one would be out of money! I forget what it's called but I love the idea of voting for my 1st, 2nd & 3rd choice. IF everyone had the same right then everyone would have a say in the outcome. The way it is now IF you are a liberal living in a RED state you might as well stay home. By have a 1st,2nd and 3rd choice it eliminates all this bushit of ONE issue voters. NO ONE wuld SELL their votes because they would have no idea HOW well they would do.

more money for government

that on Monday..this would stop!

It might increase voter participation in the primaries. As of right now only the core voters of both major parties get involved and vote in the primaries and caucases. In Iowa those going to the gop caucas are overwhelmingly conservative fundies. The Democratic caucases are somewhat more open but still not a representation of the general electorate.

Nothing else matters. Independants, schmindependants. Just remove the Cabal from the White House. NOTHING could be worse than what we have now.

At some point the Democrats will tire of losing and offer the real change required.

Whenever I say this I get flamed.

n/t

I honestly believe that people should vote thier conscious.

That being said if I were voting for and supporting someone I would do my best to convince others to support my candidate. However I would not badger or harass someone just because they have a difference of opinion and choose to vote differently than I do.

Here are my two cartoons about the Independent voters.

Without parties, candidates would have to start from scratch with zero votes. It would take huge sums of money just to gain name recognition. Parties offer the only chance for a person of average means to work his way up in the system.

The 2 party system will work overtime with your money to ensure no other party gets into the process.

And then dumb ass political parties like the Libertarians who actually believe the principles they espouse will do stupid things like decline government matching funds.

Or the government will just decline to give matching funds as they did to poor Ross Perot in '96.