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I don't think people should have to belong to a political party.
However, I do think that in order to vote in a primary, you should have to be a member of that party. Why should non-Democrats or non-Republicans get to decide who is going to represent a party they don't even belong to? I can't think of a comparable situation where people who aren't affiliated with an entity get to decide who runs it or who represents it. If you don't want to belong to a party, then you get your say in the general election, not the primary.
However, it should be reasonably easy to register to vote and to register for a party - not so easy that people switch back and forth all the time or to make it easy for those who are looking to make mischief by crossing party lines to vote for who they see as the weaker challenger on the other side but still reasonably easy.
The party registration thing is a state issue.
Checking a box is hardly being a member. Citizenship, not party, generally grants the right to vote.
I have lived in states that require registering by party. Easy enough to change party by deadline.
Both Ivanka and Eric were denied the opportunity to vote for their father in the NY primary because they were not registered Republicans.
In this forum, however, because I cannot stand Trump (this dislike goes back decades), I'm assumed to be a Democrat.
I'll admit I'm liberal on social issues, but I'm moderate otherwise and I do vote for people from either major party and even some independents and 3rd parties, when I can.
Why do you think there are people who want to pigeonhole other people into "choosing a side?"
Boy, do I hear you and can I ever relate, although I have no answer to your question!
As a middle-of-the-road moderate and Unaffiliated/Independent, I get so tired and frustrated when I post on a thread, and someone assumes that because I post a liberal position on an issue, I must be a Democrat and when I post a conservative position on another issue, that means that I must be a Trump supporter!
Honestly, sometimes I feel like I should have a ready-made "paste" as a P.S. stating in bold, "NO, I am NOT a Trump supporter, and NO, I am not a Democrat, either!!"
I've been a Republican from day one. Moderates, libertarians, etc act like cowards and flakes in my opinion. They want to play the fence and not acknowledge that Republican and conservative policies are the sole reason for the success of the United States and what has created the "freedom" they enjoy and the robost economy they live under. They're liberals that were cornered by their own destructive policies and saw no way out but to vote on the opposition.
I could care less what you choose to do. Just don't come crying to Republicans when liberals screw up your local economy, taxes you to hades, takes away your right to self defense, discriminates against you for race and gender, puts you in jail for your personal opinion, allows criminals and drug addicts to roam your streets, and other wonderful objectives they will force on you as typical of their agenda as they have ALL OVER THE WESTERN WORLD.
You are welcome to your opinion of course, although I do question the "fact" that you stated in the sentence I bolded. First, the Republican Party was not formed until 1854, according to the link below. Second, when you say "solely" responsible, I think you are ignoring all the unaffiliated pioneers and workers (including unpaid slaves) who made such a huge contribution in making the U.S. what it is today. Third, I would dispute that we are living in a robust economy when so many people cannot find jobs that pay enough to support themselves and their families in what most people would consider a middle-class lifestyle, so many seniors cannot live adequately on their savings and Social Security payments, and so many college graduates have trouble getting good jobs that will enable them to pay off their college loans. (And, yes, many of these people made poor choices, but certainly not all of them.)
A lot, maybe even most people belong to a political party for one non-negotiable issue.
I'm a centralist; I'm pro everything. I like freedoms. I don't want to be safe. I don't expect to be "safe". I expect to be free. Freedom isn't safe...actually it's quite dangerous and I accept that. If someone shot me tomorrow I wouldn't be any less pro-gun, not one iota.
I have Dem friends that sometimes assume I believe certain things when in fact I believe literally 80% of what they believe. But my heels in the sand are gun rights. Fact is safety and freedom have a lot in common, but in a sense nothing at all. Both require you to be vulnerable, the difference being one gives you the power, the right to fight back.
Far too many societies "safety" their way into a dictatorship.
In all my years as a registered voter (27 of them) I have never been affiliated with a political party. My home state allows unaffiliated voters to choose a primary in which to vote, so I pick the one I want to vote in, if I feel strongly about one or the other primary.
Otherwise, I just vote on election day.
In this forum, however, because I cannot stand Trump (this dislike goes back decades), I'm assumed to be a Democrat.
I'll admit I'm liberal on social issues, but I'm moderate otherwise and I do vote for people from either major party and even some independents and 3rd parties, when I can.
Why do you think there are people who want to pigeonhole other people into "choosing a side?"
Does it threaten their sense of "how it is done" maybe?
ETA: I made this a public poll, in case anyone wants to reference it later.
I am a registered republican but that's mostly to just vote in the primaries. I have never and never will vote communist aka democrat so I try and put the candidates I want in the general via the primary...I am not a run of the mill republican but I deal with what I am given. The farther right usually the better for me.
I haven't figured out how to answer the poll yet. I am trying to figure out the difference between Unaffiliated or Independent.
Yes, I hear you on the frustration of people assuming you must be 100% for one part and 100% against another. I am in independent thinker and I don't fall neatly into either the Republican or Democratic camp. I think I tend to lean conservative on fiscal issues, but more liberal on social issues.
A lot of times I can clearly see the arguments and points on both sides of an issue. Other times, I like an idea (such as a social issue) but can see it doesn't match with my fiscal beliefs and I ponder it for a while. Trying to figure out what would bring the most good.
In my personal life, I find that almost everyone thinks that I am on the same political page as they are. I am fine with that. It is kind of funny. I go to the gun show with one friend who thinks I am a Tea Party Republican and then the next day I go to a fund raiser with my very liberal friend who thinks I am a card carrying Democrat. Mostly I just let them talk and listen. I don't agree or disagree, just consider what they are saying. But they take that as agreement.
Then sit by myself in the evening and think about how I wish we could eliminate parties all together, then kick everyone out of Washington, and vote all new people in with the conditions that they can not belong to any political party... just run on their personal ideas and thoughts and get rid of the bickering mess we call a government today.
People tend to think that I agree with their political positions when I meet them in person, too.
Like you, I tend to be a bit more conservative on fiscal matters and lean left on social issues.
I would like to just ditch parties altogether, the way they behave now.
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