Why I re-registered as a Democrat after spending my entire adult life as a Green. [View all]

[GreenPartyVoter]

Yes, it was to support Senator Bernie Sanders, because his vision for our nation most closely aligns with my own, but I want to explain why it's not just the specifics of his plans, but his approach to crafting legislation that drew me in.

I understand the folks who are concerned about not getting ambitious proposals past the Republicans, I do, but as I (and many others on DU) have explained in the past it is as much about the approach to negotiating as it is about the bills themselves. One camp of people is firmly entrenched in the notion that we should scale down our ideas to make them more palatable to the Right and then present them to Congress. I am in the camp where I believe that one should start out with the ultimate dream package, present it to Congress, then carve out the middle ground. In other words, start negotiations from where you would wind up in a perfect world, not where you think you would end up anyway. In truth, no matter how moderate, level-headed, or bipartisan the package might look before we bring the Repubs in, it will always be shredded by them. ALWAYS!

I switched parties because Bernie not only represents my ideals, but also my approach. He has given me the feeling of finally having my thoughts count, my voice be heard in a system where I always felt ignored and locked out. (Except during election season, where my vote was wanted, but not me.)