Have you ever voted in a Dem primary, then not voted for the Dem nominee?

[Bill McBlueState]

Exit polls show a lot of Clinton voters threatening not to vote for Obama if he's the nominee, and vice versa.

I was just wondering how often this actually happens. I've voted in two Presidential elections so far. In the 2000 primary, I voted for Bill Bradley and couldn't stand Al Gore. In the 2004 primary, I voted for Dean and couldn't stand Kerry. But in each case, I came around by November and voted for the Democrat.

So I have to wonder if the threats to abandon the party in November are legitimate.

[book_worm]

1. Never.

[redqueen]

2. Straight ticket voter.

Every time.

[BlooInBloo]

3. Once, but only because I was busy and forgot to vote at *all*.

[Aloha Spirit]

8. +1. Plus the fact that my state always votes (D)...I think the National Popular Vote Bill will

have a huge impact on voter participation.

[Wapsie B]

4. I've voted in several gop caucases then voted Dem or 3rd party in the GE.

Since registering as a Democrat I've always supported the Democratic nominee in November.

[Justitia]

5. Are you kidding? I'd have to be eaten by bears to miss a chance to vote against republicans. -eom

[tokenlib]

6. Once, and I regretted it within a few weeks....

I voted for Kennedy in 1980. Was upset with Carter--fell for some of Reagan's rhetoric--and gave him my vote.. But within a few weeks I woke up in shock and horror at what I'd done.

[Eurobabe]

7. Easy, because I never voted in the primary until 2004

So I've voted in the Dem primary 2x, and then for the Dem 2x in GE. Before that I never really was into politics. Just voted for the GE candidate. Life was alot less stressful back then. :shrug: Now I care too much :eyes:

[WeDidIt]

9. I've rumbled and grumbled many times

but I always end up coming home.

[SoCalDem]

10. Yes.. when I voted for Anderson and also Perot

:P

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

11. 1968. Voted for McCarthy in the primary. Voted Peace & Freedom Party in the GE.

The only vote that required no damage to my nose.

[TahitiNut]

16. 1968? That's before most of these kids were born and LONG before they voted.

I get a great deal of amusement from these "have you EVER..." polls and posturings where most of the "LONG TIME" voters haven't even seen a ballot without the name "Clinton" or "Bush" on it.

:rofl:

It's like a 10-year-old saying "in my WHOLE life" ... cute but not to be taken seriously.

[hfojvt]

23. Does this mean you won't be buying or reading Miley Cyrus' autobiography

Hey 1980 was a long, long time ago, but even then a Bush was on the ballot. My memory goes back to the election of 1972 when I rooted for Nixon and to waiting at the airport to see Robert Kennedy in 1968. I don't remember seeing him, but I remember waiting to see him.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

31. Hell, in '68, a lot of us still believed that politics could be a force for good.

"When politics enter government, nothing resulting there from in the way of crimes and infamies is then incredible. It actually enables one to accept and believe the impossible."

"History has tried to teach us that we can't have good government under politicians. Now, to go and stick one at the very head of government couldn’t be wise."

Mark Twain

[Radical Activist]

39. So no young voters should be taken seriously?

I'm not sure I get your point.
Thanks goodness for the young because they are the agents of change in any decade. The Democratic Party would be in better shape if more people realized that it isn't 1968 anymore and the political dynamics have changed.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

41. "Young wolves, show us your teeth." John Steinbeck

He said that to some Russian students in '68 when they were silent in the face of the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia.

A lot of us, in that decade, sought to overthrow the corrupt system in this country, not just tinker with it.

I hope that the youth of this decade will fight for substantial change all over the world and look beyond politics-as-usual for that change.

[Radical Activist]

42. Yes, and it encourages me

that Obama constantly talks about the need for a people's movement instead of promising that he will hand us change on a platter of government programs as Hillary does. The difference in their perspective that comes from his background as a left wing movement activist is one of the biggest reasons I support Obama. It surprises me that more people in the net-roots haven't picked up on that.

[Kittycat]

12. I'm a Democrat. Nuff Said

[saracat]

13. Never but I fear this year will be different for me if Obama is the nominee.

I have never before in my life been revolted by the nominee. Some haven't thrilled me but I have never before even "considered" not voting for the nominee.

[Labors of Hercules]

18. revolted? I don't get it....

Obama has done nothing even remotely "revolting". Nothing whatsoever. My entire career is built on character decisions, and in 10 years I have NEVER been on the wrong side of a hiring call.

I really can't imagine what excuse you could give for finding Obama "revolting", but whatever it is, it cannot be rational.

[saracat]

24. How nice for you. I could post a list of things that bother me and cause me revulsion

but why bother? It would only be used for mockery and no good purpose would be served.

[JVS]

27. Your lack of any offered reasons could be just as easily used for mockery.

[Jamastiene]

26. Same here.

I have always voted for the Democrat in the general election, without exceptions. This time, I'm looking at my options if Obama is the nominee. I don't want that kind of blood on my hands. I just don't trust the guy and I'm completely put off by his two faced ways. He talks out of both sides of his mouth entirely too much for me.

[Labors of Hercules]

34. Why?

What the hell is this irrational hatred people have against Obama?

[HereSince1628]

14. I really dislike the constant barrage of loyalty tests

It seems like these things are presented on DU about 345 days each year. Get over your anxiety. It is the OTHER major party that is authoritarian,and expects lock-step responses.

They mustdo that because they are actually a minority party.

I trust my fellow democrats to act in a manner that is appropriate for the future of the country. I invite them to show up at the polls on election day and excercise their franchise without telling me who or what referenda they vote for.

If my fellow democrats will show up and vote, my party wins. I don't need fellow democrats to write out a contract with me written in their own blood.

[Spangle]

20. Agree!

Such lock step isn't good for anyone. It gives the impression that 'they' can force anyone on us, and we will elect them. Just because he/she is on the ticket. And after they are elect, they are more easily controled.

Watched the other side deal with it to many times to see what the danger is. I LOVE our side, which allows indivduals.

[Xithras]

15. Yes, I voted for Perot in 1992.

My first presidential election. I voted for Jerry Brown in the primary and seriously disliked Clinton because of his pro-business, free trade policies.

Perot was pro choice, pro-environmentalist, and anti-NAFTA/free trade. He believed that the government first responsibility was to protect the welfare of the American citizenry...the profits of corporations should only be a concern when the needs of the people are met. While I disagreed with some of his political stances, I preferred him over Clinton.

[Spangle]

17. Clinton in Primary, Perot in GE.

My state was in Clinton's hands. So I wasn't taking anything away from my party. So I'm not sure that it counts. I was believed 3rd partys should have a better chance at running. And Perot brought up stuff that the Dems (Clinton) and the GOP (Bush) didxn't want to talk about. And that FORCED them to talk about it during the election.

Other then that, I've been lucky.

I know others that have not been so lucky. In local races, sometimes they have to vote for a different ticket. The person running, shouldn't been on the ticket. The other guy was better quilified, etc. This is RARELY an issue on the national ticket. Which is why the 2000 election had to be stolen. No way the monkey was voted in. LOL!

[Jamastiene]

19. I've never voted for anything but Democrats. Period.

In the primaries, I vote for who I feel is best, when I have the opportunity to be part of the decision of who our nominee will be, which is very rare. We vote later here in NC and usually the choice is made for us by the time our primaries roll around.

I have always voted for the Democrat in the general elections, with no exceptions.

[housewolf]

21. 1992 - I was a Jerry Brow supporter

Aways been an independent up until then. I registered Dem so that I could vote for Jerry Brown in the primary. Couldn't bring myself to vote for Bill Clinton (he didn't "need" my vote anyway, since I lived in Calif & everyone knew he'd won the state long before Nov). I re-registered independent and voted for a 3rd party candidate from a minor party that I wanted to support. The GWB admin "forced" me back to the Dem party in 2004.

[Xithras]

25. You too huh? I was so hoping for President Moonbeam.

How different would our country be today if a man like Brown had been president? Brown/Gore would have been an AWESOME ticket!

And before anyone jumps on me, Moonbeam isn't an insult. Brown himself has said that he gets a kick out of the nickname.

[housewolf]

30. What a transformative presidency his would have been!

He'd been so inside the Dem party, grew sick of the corruption and "the way things were" and ran against it all. Spoke out forecefully about the need to get money out of politics. Only took $100 contributions from individuals, no corporate or pac money whatsoever. He was the first candidate to use 1-800 numbers for campaign donations and made early use of the (primitive) internet mailing lists and databases. Lived a communal lifestyle of frugality in spite of his family's money. Felt an obligation to personally care for others, spent time with Mother Theresa, close friend of Cesar Chaves. Early environmentalist. Honored and valued labor & unions and everyones rights and freedoms. He is a man who saw the "evils" in the political world, was awakened and transformed by it and wanted to transform the American political world.

Working with his campaign was a political awakening for me. He continues to inspire me. What a different world it would be now if he had been elected!


:hi:

[suston96]

22. As an unenrolled (independent) registered voter for 40 years....

....I often alternated between Republican and Democratic primaries. In the generals, I voted for Nixon in 1972 and Ford in 1976. Never voted Republican in the general again.

But I was never a Republican. I guess I had a thing about supporting the incumbent.

[TexasObserver]

28. Nope.

I vote the party because I understand that this is a battle on many fronts, and helping any Republican is seldom a good idea.

[EFerrari]

29. I haven't voted in a primary in a long time but always for the national Dem. n/t

[progdog]

32. 1980 California

They announced Reagan the winner against Carter before the polls closed.
They aren't allowed to do that anymore. I don't think. :shrug:

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[Irishonly]

35. John Anderson

And look what happened:cry:

[4_Legs_Good]

36. In 2000 I voted Gore in the Primary and Nader in the General

I live in California, so I knew it didn't matter, and, at the time, I was very much into the creation of a third - preferably Green - party.

Didn't work out so well.

David

[Radical Activist]

37. Voted for Gore in the 2000 primary but voted for Nader in the General.

I was in a safe blue state so I knew a vote for Nader wouldn't turn the election but would still send a message to the Democratic Party. Gore sounds great now but in 2000 he completely ignored or was on the wrong side of the issues I cared about most like trade, the environment, and college financial aid. People can blame Nader all day long but Nader wouldn't have gotten so many votes if Clinton and then Gore had not betrayed and ignored progressive voters for 8 years after the false promises of the '92 election were broken. Actions have consequences.

[emilyg]

38. Yes. Plan on doing it this year, too.

[Zavulon]

40. Nope.

In 2000 I voted for Bradley too, in 2004 I voted for Edwards. Still, both Gore and Kerry got my votes when November came around.

[Az_lefty]

43. yes, but it was a local race. The Dem was batshit crazy...

[Radical Activist]

44. I've not voted for anyone in some local races.

Sometimes you got a crook or a crazy. There are a couple of those in my area this year.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

45. In a local county election, yes. Not in a presidential election, though.

Our (Democratic) county commissioner is a corrupt, self-agrandizing a-hole. However, he--for whatever reason--is extremely popular as well. In the primary election, he had a Democratic challenger. However, I had not done my homework, and going off of name recognition alone, I voted for him. Biggest mistake of my voting career.

In between the primary and general election, I read up on the commissioner and found him truly to be a loathsome person. He did have a Republican challenger, and given that all the issues were local issues and that the challenger was not really that objectionable, I voted for the Republican as a protest vote. The challenger lost, big.

It remains the only time I have ever voted for a Republican.

Had Rod Smith won the Democratic nomination in the Florida gubernatorial race, I would have been tempted not to vote for him because I was not that pleased with him at all. Thankfully, Jim Davis won instead (and promptly served as the sacraficial lamb to Charlie Crist, but I still had no problem voting for Davis.)