If you have mixed % political opinons-loyalties, why should you feel any pressure to declare party loyalty?

I make it a point to tell people to at least LOOK at third party options. Many people are surprised to find that they are very Libertarian (as I am) or Green Part or U.S. Taxpayer etc. They just vote for one of the big two out of "habit" or more than anything...they vote AGAINST the other big party with their big party. It's insane to think this is a good plan. Vote on conscience...it's that simple. It is only a "wasted" vote if you only vote against someone using one of the two major party's. Check out the links. Many people are surprised by their results. Hope it helps. Good question btw.

I'm with you, but I registered Green during a registration drive they had. The local Green Party needed a certain number of registered voters to get on the ballot, so I signed up. Before that I was an independent (which, here in California, is put down as 'declines to state').

Partisanship was going out of style in the US in the 1970s. More and more people were registering as independent, voting for 'the man, not the party'. This trend was reversed by the Republicans for the 1980 election of Ronald Reagan. Republican leaders in Congress began closely policing votes so Repub congressmen and senators all voted together.

Republicans realized that their interests were more served by partisan rancor than by bipartisan cooperation, and it's been that way ever since. This is because the Republicans are now and have always been the minority party in terms of voter registrations. They know their hope lies in angering and exciting their base and getting them to the polls. After a few losing cycles, the Democrats responded in kind.

Republicans like to call Obama the most liberal senator in the US, just as they called Clinton the most liberal president in US history, but both charges are no more than rhetorical flourishes. 'Liberal' to a Republican, means anyone they disagree with or don't like. Clinton and Obama are not liberal at all in any real sense.

Money has become not the most important thing in US politics but the ONLY important thing. And since both parties get their funding from the same sources, there's no real reason to expect their agendas to be all that different. Beneath the surface, they are two wings of the same party. At the very least, Obama was a professor of constitutional law at Harvard, so at least he knows what's in the Constitution and perhaps will give it more respect than Bush did.

But like you I sometimes think we'd be better off if 70 or 80% of Americans simply refused to vote either Democratic or Republican, and instead went for a third party that really expressed their feelings, like Green or Libertarian.

This is the problem of getting nothing accomplished. The party you belong to matters on in the Primaries. Once this is done, you should vote for the person that can list the issues and how they will address them. No vague answers or promises. It doesn't matter what color they are, sex, economic background, and religion; vote for the one who can answer how they are going to make change.

If you have not done it, make a list now. Start with the top ten issues you are interested in. Do research, find the answers, then make an opinion on each issue. See where all the candidates fall on your list.

The biggest problem I had with this election is most people interviewed on why they voted for Obama could not state even one issue. He just seem like the right guy. Well, I hope so since he is president.

I know of very few people who agree 100% with any one particular party. I mostly agree with Republicans on the issues but there are some minor issues where I agree with the Libertarians. After all, the Republicans and the Libertarians agree on some issues so that's normal. I'm sure it's the same way between the Green and the Libertarians.

I don't claim to be a Republican out of any pressure though. There's no one here who pressures me in any way about that. I am a Republican because I believe in the vast majority of the Republican platform and I want to be with my party.

I refuse to declare party affiliation. And no one has ever tried to force me to. I am not a Republican Democrat or even an Independent. I vote for the best qualified candidate in any election regardless of their party affiliation. Why would you ever be forced to declare a party? It is completely irrelevant to the voting process.

Hey, I don't think you should feel pressure to be loyal to any party.

I voted for Obama and I'm loyal to Obama and the democrats at this time.

However, in four years if I don't see any progress, I could change my loyalties.

I don't expect miracles because Bush has really messed this country up, but I expect Obama to try and make some changes.

I don't vote in closed primaries because of this kind of thing. I vote for the person not the party so I refuse to register to any particular political party.

Register as an Independent and vote across all party lines if you like the candidate.

I think it's ridiculous that you should have to choose between two parties for any election. There are literally thousands of parties in America, why not put some of them on the ballot? It's impossible for two parties to be representative of even a small percentage of the constituancy.

If your not sympatico with the dem party, leave it. I am 45, and registered as an independant about 20 years ago after being a dem. No one party represents my perspective. I also don't want a big party claiming me in their roster.