General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: 40% of voters identify themselves as Independent. [View all]Proud Liberal Dem
(24,438 posts)but there are all kinds of Democrats represented in the party and if they don't like how it is, being a party member would probably make it easier to advocate for change within the party than continuing to be an Independent outsider IMHO. I'm not saying that choosing to be an Independent is not a legitimate choice (it is), but I'm just not sure I understand what it means to "open the party" to them? Democratic politicians usually tailor their messages and policies to try to attract Independents during their campaigns (though they usually then get criticized for not being "progressive" enough because of their more broad-based appeal). As for voting within primaries, I guess I just don't understand the concept of "open primaries". I just feel like, if somebody cares enough about wanting to vote within one party's primary or the other to help select the GE candidate, that they should register to vote as a member of said party to ensure the integrity of the party (we don't want right-wing Independents helping to nominate somebody) and that the candidate that is ultimately chosen best reflects the will of the members of party. If we just open the party to whomever whenever, then what would the point be of continuing to have parties? Independents want to be independent and not belong to a party, that's fine but if that's the case, then they should not complain about possibly not being able to participate in party politics IMHO. AFAIK the doors of the DNC (and RNC) are always wide open for anybody to join.