Registering as an Independent

[Kiouni]

I have a co-worker that is thinking about switching from a Repug to an Independent. While I think this is a step in the right direction i am still pressing her to switch to the A team. Her contention is simply based that she doesn't want to be affiliated completely with the Dem party. Which in Ne is somewhat understandable because her family is right wing nuts! She doesn't support universal health care, and would like the privatization of social security.

I told her you can be a dem and be against these things. The main reason i suggested not being an independent it in Nebraska if your Independent you can't vote in the primaries. So there is only disadvantages to not choosing a party.

Any advice?

[Name removed]

1. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

3. handing our SS over to brokers??!!

to be played in the stock market? Hell NO.

[Trajan]

5. SSI ....

Is Social Security Insurance .... It should be invested only in SAFE, LONG term vehicles ....

You are talking about SSG - Social Security Gambling ....

No thanks ... We have Social Security INSURANCE for a reason .... Because the nation cannot afford to watch one of it's most vulnerable sectors, seniors, suffer during an inevitable economic downturn, like when the GOP under Coolidge, Harding and Hoover ruled in the 20's ....

[Trajan]

6. Not long for this world ....

If it were up to you and your cadre: we would never have had such insurance; Children would still be working instead of going to school; Smedley Butler would have been assassinated and Mellon, Chase, and DuPont would be ruling over a fascist state .... and you would be sucking their asses ....

The New Deal broke the backs of the robber barons, and we are thankful especially for that ....

Scared the GOP will cut SS checks ? .... They fought them TOOTH AND NAIL ...

They wont just reduce them .. they will eliminate them ...

Much like your account here ....

[Viva_La_Revolution]

9. Happy Turkey day, darlin!

:hug:

[Trajan]

10. Hey Sweet Thang ....

Had a mellow, quiet one ... oh: except for posting here, which has been a Mr. Toad's Wild Ride kinda thing ...

I hope you and yours had a blast .... :nuke:

:party: :toast: :spank: :toast: :party:

[Viva_La_Revolution]

11. spent all day alternately cooking an pigging out. It was wonderful.

I think I may have to roll to bed, I ate so much!

[Trajan]

12. Dont fret ....

Tomorrow is the mandatory Triathalon ... You'll be ready ....

*burp* ..... scuse me .....

[Richard Steele]

17. Pfft. Enjoy your stay.

[progressive_realist]

18. Maybe this post won't last any longer than you do...

But on the off chance that you stay around long enough to read it...

Anyone who supports Social Security privatization is either a complete moron or a complete asshole. First of all, no one benefits from privatization except stock brokers and fund managers. Chile and Great Britain have both experimented with partial privatization of their national retirement funds and in both cases the returns have been significantly lower for those who chose to participate in the privatization scheme than for those who stuck with the thoroughly unglamorous "social security" arrangement. Privatization is an utter failure in practice.

Secondly, what happens to the people whose investments don't work out? What if your parents totally blow it and lose their entire retirement fund? Are you personally willing to support your folks for up to thirty years after they retire?

And finally, why don't you stop and think about that "politicians away from our checkbooks" nonsense. Let's assume for the sake of example that you earn $50K per year and taxes take 30% of that. So your take-home income is $35K/yr. Now let's say the government completely abolishes taxes. 0%. Nada. Nothing. So now you take home $50K/yr., right? Except that your employer already knows you will work that job for $35K/yr. How long do you think it will take before you are earning $35K/yr. again? Even if you are self-employed, you will not be immune from this realignment, as the overall price level adjusts to the new circumstances. Ultimately, the overall level of taxation has little or no effect on your buying power. It only matters to the extent that you are being taxed differently than the people around you.

[lindisfarne]

2. In CA, "Independent" is a political party, not just not being a repub. or dem.

So is she going to join a different party, or is she simply going to become *not a member of any party*.

[Kiouni]

7. not a member of any party

your either nebraskan, dem or rethug I think theirs one other but i cant remember, nobody runs under the independent party though.

[valerief]

4. I've told coworkers that the Repub Party has been so tainted that

a big move to the Independent Party will take place and it will become the old Repub/neocon/PNAC/Corporate party. Eventually the Repub Party will make a comeback, but the Independent Party will provide refuge for the evildoers in the meantime.

[Quequeg]

8. tell her about the "blue dog" democrats

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Dog_Democrats

The Blue-Dog Coalition was formed in 1994 during the 104th Congress as a way for more conservative members from the Democratic party to have a unified voice. It currently has 35 members.

By registering as a Democrat, she can vote in the primaries and thus influence what kind of a Democrat will be on the ballot for the general election. Perhaps, she'd could help to get a "Blue Dog" democrat that would fit with her more conservative viewpoints on budget issues and other matters.

Democrats who identify with the Blue Dogs, on the other hand, tend to be social conservatives, but have differing positions on economic issues ranging from fiscal conservatism to economic populism. For example, most Blue Dogs are strong supporters of gun rights and get high ratings from the National Rifle Association, many have pro-life voting records, and some get high ratings from immigration reduction groups, which cannot be said for most members of the DLC. On economic issues, Blue Dogs span the spectrum from fiscal conservatives to supporters of labor unions, protectionism, and other populist measures, while the DLC tends to favor free trade.

I live in Illinois. You don't have to register for any party to vote in the primary. You just ask the election worker to give you the primary ballot you'd like to vote on this time. I think this is a better system for independent voters.

[Kiouni]

13. thats a much better system

thank you for the information. :)

[Quequeg]

14. You're welcome. Hope it helps you to convert a Rep to a Dem. :) EOM

[aquart]

15. Why would you want her in our primaries?

[Kiouni]

16. why not i don't think you can

sabotage a primary

[jpwhite]

19. good advice for Independent friend

I suggest that you tell your friend to get a subscription to both the Al Franken show and the Rush Limbaugh show. Listen to both of them, and then sign up for both DU and freerepublic.com. Look at both sides and let your friend make up their own mind. Encourage your friend to look up stuff on the internet and sit back and wait. Tell your friend that they should read some of Rush's old books, and then read Al's books. In the end, they will probably do what I did....switch from the GOP to the Democratic party. The Dems are the party of the people. They don't go around very wealthy people and refer to them as their "base".

James
[e-mail]

[DoYouEverWonder]

20. If you are going to vote for Dems and you want be sure your voted is counted

then you need to be a registered DEM.

The people who hack the machines look at the numbers of registered voters and their party affiliation. For example, in the 2004 election in FL, in order for Bush to win meant that every registered REP voted for him plus about 1/2 of the IND voters, in order to come up with the totals that he supposedly got.

[LeftishBrit]

21. I wouldn't recommend social security privatization!

There was partial privatization of pensions here; and it's resulted in a complete mess. Many individuals and employers have invested in accounts which then turned out to yield far less than expected. This has replaced unemployment as probably our number-one economic problem.

Thank goodness we still do have a state pension of sorts, but due to the assumption that privatized accounts would take up more of the slack than they did, it doesn't go as far as it should.

So, in short, NOT a great idea IMO.