question on switching parties mid-term

[ProdigalJunkMail]

Once elected to office, should said elected official be able to switch party allegiance with abandon?

I pose the question for the following reason : Since many people on both sides of the aisle vote a straight ticket based on party preference, is it not 'thwarting the will of the people' when someone switches sides after the election. Should there be a 'special election' when someone, in mid-term, decides to switch?

I see people like Zell Miller and his fence-straddling ways and find myself thinking, "If he were more true to his ideological stance he would be a republican." But if he were to switch his party affiliation, wouldn't he be slapping the face of those democrats in GA who elected him???

TheProdigal

[Mairead]

1. You mean should Jeffords have automatically had to stand for re-election

before being able to carry on, after he declared as independent?

[ProdigalJunkMail]

3. Not just Jeffords, but anyone

The point is that people vote a party allegiance in many situations and when someone in office based on said party affiliation switches mid-term, is it not, in effect, denying the people what they voted for???

TheProdigal

[Wickerman]

8. Should the truth about Bush and his band of thugs ever emerge

the resulting uproar will be so great that the Democrats will have to pick and chose which departing Republicans they want to accept into the party midstream. Not all Republicans are truly evil, and I am certain that when the full breadth of what their party's leadership has done to them, we will see folks scrambling for cover.

So, should special elections be held for the honorable men and women who want to escape the stench of their party?

[QC]

2. Zell Miller pisses me off

like he does most people here, but there is one thing to be said in his favor: he votes for the Democratic leadership.

Compare this to those oh-so-nice "Republican moderates" that people are always gushing over, whose continued support of their party's leadership makes it possible for the likes of Bill Frist to dictate committee appointments, promote fascist judges, and in all other ways rubberstamp BushCorp's agenda.

I'm sure that Chaffee, Snowe, and Collins are lovely people, but for all the talk of their being moderates, they are as much a part of the problem as Bush himself.

[baldguy]

4. Legally, party affiliation means nothing.

When you vote, you're selecting a person - not a party.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

5. I understand the legalities of the situation...

but the effect could be horrendous. Whether we like it or not, in many situations, the voter IS choosing the party and not the person. I understand that is not how voting SHOULD be but in a practical examination it is, in many cases, a vote for the party...not JUST the person.

It seems to be en vogue these days to talk of those who might switch parties...and due to the fact that party affiliation (in some places) makes or breaks a campaign, I think there might need to be something in place to protect the electorate from these sorts of shenanigans (sp?).

TheProdigal

[Brucey]

6. parties

Is someone switches to the GOP, they should be party to a psychiatric exam or have their savings account examined for recent large deposits. If they switch to the Dems, they should be given a party.

[Speed8098]

7. It's like this

If I'm stupid enough to believe someone like Zell Miller is anything but a DINO, then I deserve to have him change to a re:puke: in midswing.

In this election, I will vote for the Democrat that get's the nod, however, I KNOW the people that are running on my side. If I were voting without learning about the candidates, and my choice changed parties, who am I to say anything?

It's my responsibility to make an EDUCATED VOTE

One of the biggest problems with our election system is the fact that people vote for the stump speech and not the real person. We know * stole the election, but he DID get alot of votes. That fact alone tells us that people don't bother to learn about the candidates. If they did, * wouldn't have had a snowballs chance in hell of even getting close in 2000.


on edit: HTML for bold font didn't work, it deleted the words targeted.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

9. punt

anyone else care to chime in???

TheProdigal