Nearly 20,000 MA Dems leave Party
 

From the Boston Herald:

Nearly 20,000 Bay State Democrats have fled the party this winter, with thousands doing so to join the Republican ranks, according to the state’s top elections official.

Secretary of State William Galvin said more than 16,300 Democrats have shed their party affiliation and become independent voters since Jan. 1, while nearly 3,500 more shifted to the MassGOP ahead of tomorrow’s “Super Tuesday” presidential primary.

Galvin said the state could see as many as 700,000 voting in tomorrow’s Republican primary, a significant number given just 468,000 people are actually registered Republicans. In Massachusetts. unenrolled — otherwise known as independent — voters can cast a ballot in the primary of any party.

My reason for posting this isn't to insinuate that there's trouble strictly in Donkey-ville. The "party elites" in both the Repub and Dem parties have totally misread the electorate.

The exceptions seem to be Sanders and Trump. Sanders won't win the nomination - his party has already stacked the deck against him - but Trump certainly could. If he does, it will voters - Repubs, Dems and Independents - all of whom believe their historical party of choice no longer represents their interests.

From the article:

"The 19,800 who left the Mass Dems represent about 1.3 percent of the 1.49 million enrolled in the party. And though the MassGOP gained several thousand voters, it actually lost more in the same time frame, when 5,911 quit the party to be unenrolled."

So, it essentially means that most of a very small percentage of GOP/Dem voters who decided to bolt their respective parties chose to become Independents. I did the same thing myself 15 years ago (bailed from the GOP to become an Independent) and have never looked back. I find it liberating to not be attached at the hip to either party. Blind allegiance to party just encourages the bastards.;)

I think this spells far more trouble for the GOP than it does for the Dems. If a significant percentage of those who bailed from their party vote for Trump in the primary, it increases the likelihood of the GOP experiencing a nasty break-up.

But aren't you left out as an independent?

I went from GOP to Democrat in 99, the day after Bush got the nomination just so I'd have a say in what the DEm's do.

No you become a member of the 'swing voters,' coveted by both parties as the votes they need, but can't count on. 'Swing voters decide elections.' Sometimes.

A lot of this has to do with whether or not the state is an open or closed primary state.

For example, Florida is a closed primary state. You have to register as a Republican or a Democrat, or you are excluded from the primary process. Only registered Republicans can vote in the Republican Primary, and only registered Democrats can vote in the Democratic Primary. If you register Independent, or anything else, you are disenfranchised.

If Florida were to change to an open primary state like New Hampshire is, I think you would see a lot of people exit both parties.

As a raging moderate and a pragmatist, that's the primary reason I'm an Independent. Generally, I'll support a center-left or center-right before I'll support anybody on either fringe.

Maryland is so deep blue and its primary so late (April 26) that its primary doesn't make much difference. Accordingly, I've never bothered voting in a primary election as I have better things to do.

I'm gonna vote for Trump in the Primary but Democrat when it matters the most!



Barney

This is what happens when "parties" run the country instead of the people/

This is what happens when "parties" run the country instead of the people.

The people aren't capable of running the country.