- Voters In Line in Troy, MI – Photo by Nick Morgowicz
I’m increasingly disheartened watching our political environment becoming more and more dominated by party extremism. It seems when politicians act or vote toward the middle, their party’s base gets angry, leaders of the other party(s) still throw rhetoric against the moderate moves so only the moderates of one party are pleased, but not all of them. Basically, it takes a very skilled politician to successfully negotiate the dance of moderation, so many gravitate toward their bases.
People taking their time to vote in this country actually want the best leadership. I believe the best leadership strives to do the most good for the most people without hurting other groups. With most politicians uncomfortable voting toward the middle, how do we get more of them to act on the behalf of the broader citizenship?
I propose all states allow citizens to vote in multiple party primaries. If this happens, politicians won’t simply pander toward their base, they’ll have to learn what the broader citizenship wants and act on that perspective.
In the current political environment, the republicans will never nominate a candidate I’d support, and it’s possible democrats could nominate future candidates I also wouldn’t support. It’s happened before, and I don’t want that to happen again. Open primaries are more likely to provide candidates I can support, and fewer candidates feared by large portions of our society.
Detractors to this idea have said members of one party will vote for the worst candidate in other parties to sabotage a party, but I challenge anyone to support that idea. A public campaign demonstrating such behavior could end in the election to office of the candidate such voters fear the most would convince enough voters against the idea who otherwise might consider it.
As an independent, I don’t have the right to vote in any primary. This is wrong. The idea of being an independent is that I’m looking for the best candidate in all parties to choose from in the November elections, not simply candidates representing a party’s extreme.
Independents deserve a say in multiple party primaries so they can vote for the best candidate with broad support and not be forced to vote for the least of all evils.
Cloud to Ground 