Party Associations?

[mrclose]

I've wondered about this for a long while now.
Why not get rid of the symbolism of party?
You know: R and D.

Why not just vote on which candidate lies the best and promises the most 'free stuff'?

Seriously, why bother with party affiliation when we witness these people jumping from one side to the other all of the time?

I remember when Nick Navarro who was the Sheriff of Broward County ran and won as a republican.

Years later he was running and losing the sheriff's position to another republican so he jumped parties and won as a democrat!

So again: Remind me why we have to have separations into party affiliates? 

[Cyber Liberty]

Beats the shit outta me.

[bigheadfred]

Right. Why should I have to designate a party affiliation to vote in the primaries in Idaho?

This is Idaho law.

Primary Elections in Idaho

So in primary elections, unless the party chooses to allow others outside the party to participate in its primary election, only registered voters of a political party may vote to select their party’s nominees. In other words, at primary elections, registered Republicans may vote only for Republican candidates, and registered Democrats may vote only for Democratic candidates. Persons who are registered as “unaffiliated” (meaning not affiliated with any political party) may not vote for partisan candidates in primary elections unless the party decides to allow them. However, an unaffiliated voter may affiliate with a party up to or on Election Day and vote in that party's election. Independent candidates appear on the ballot only at the general election.

[Bigun]

I'm pretty sure we were given a pretty stern warning about this by George Washington in his farewell address. 

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[bigheadfred]

I'm pretty sure we were given a pretty stern warning about this by George Washington in his farewell address. 

Without looking forward to an extremity of this kind (which nevertheless ought not to be entirely out of sight), the common and continual mischiefs of the spirit of party are sufficient to make it the interest and duty of a wise people to discourage and restrain it.