After my last diary, I've been pondering whether this site is appropriate for independent voters to partake in, or if it is better to leave this site to partisan Democrats who are deeply devoted to their party and would rather strategize with their fellow Democrats than fraternize with independent voters like me.
Basically, my last diary touched upon the fact that, as an independent voter, I would probably not vote Democratic for a long time if the Democrats in Congress start granting concessions to George Bush when it comes to funding the Iraq war. I stated that I felt many independent voters like myself are in a trial period with the Democrats where we feel the Democratic party is the best answer to the problems George Bush and the Republicans have caused, and is the best answer to getting us out of the lost war in Iraq. A lot of the overwhelming support the Democrats enjoy from the middle these days is anti-Bush sentiment rather than pro-Democrat sentiment. That can easily be shifted from just anti-Bush to thoroughly pro-Democrat if the Democratic politicians play their cards right and stop Bush's failed war of choice in Iraq.
For the most part, my diary was responded to in a very tolerant way. People understood where I was coming from, and I learned that much of the Democratic base felt the same way, that, even as registered Democrats, they'd possibly take their votes elsewhere if they were let down by needless concessions to the failed wartime president George W Bush. Giving Bush carte blanche on the war is exactly what lost it, and I am glad to see that there is a genuine, fundamental bond between the Democratic voters and the independent voters right now as we unite to set our country back on the right path. The Iraq war and other mistakes of the Bush administration MUST be put to rest by the Democrats so that we can all move on to bigger and better things for this nation.
However, I am writing this diary in response to the less tolerant reactions I received. Now, I realize this site is home to many a person proud of their political views and party affiliations. And many of us, including me, are very passionate about their politics, be they Democrats or independents. But I have a problem with being told by some of the Kossers here that my vote didn't matter, that I could take my vote elsewhere and they wouldn't care.
As somebody who deeply cares about sustaining the current alliance between the Democrats and the independents (an alliance that helped your party win Congress last election), I was taken back by the fact that any Democrat would ever tell anybody that the Democratic party didn't need their vote. That's exactly the type of hubris that can wear down the very alliance I want sustained. A political party that values and takes any vote it can legitimately get is a political party that wins elections. A Democratic party with strong support from the independent voters has much more power and sway than a Democratic party with lukewarm support from the independent voters. I simply do not see what being dismissive of the independent vote accomplishes besides the ego gratification of one partisan to the detriment of their own party. I respect partisans who are passionate about their party affiliation, and I understand full well that some here regard independents with slight disdain, but you should never get so caught up in the moment that you actually tell somebody else to effectively NOT vote Democratic. Are you or are you not for sustaining the overwhelming support the Democrats are currently getting from the independents right now? Together, the Democratic base and the independent base can undo the damage of George Bush and the Republicans, can get us out of Iraq properly, can get our country back on the right track to a bright, progressive future. What can be more important than that? United we stand, divided we fall... and you can be damn sure the Grand Ol' Party will be doing all they can to weaken the Democratic-independent coalition before it trashes their corrupt, inept, Republican asses in 2008 just like it did in 2006.
My independent vote does matter, and right now it's solidly behind you and your party. Your base plus my base has what it takes to right what's gone wrong if we just stick together and play nice with one each other.