I have always been an Independent for myriad reasons. As a voter and an activist, I could afford to be, and even as a candidate it offered a great deal of freedom to reach out to people across the political spectrum. During the campaign I had success--admittedly to varying degree--with Republicans, Libertarians, Progressives, Democrats and Independents, and I was very happy with how well we performed without any party support.
That said, of course I would have enjoyed greater success at the ballot box if I'd had a different label next to my name. There's an inherent premium just having a party affiliation which is completely understandable. As humans we are wired to make quick decisions based on categories as part of our survival skills--not rational, but completely natural.
So I have to consider the overall political climate as I shift gears in how I'm trying to effect change.
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