Would progressive candidates do well to run as independents

[Poiuyt]

instead of Democrats? I ask because it seems there are a lot of people who don't like the far right, neocon agenda, but they've voted Republican all their life and find it hard to swallow voting Democratic. Bernie Sanders is quite liberal, but he runs as an Independent. Do you think that, for a Republican, voting for a liberal Independent is more palatable than voting for a moderate Democrat?

[applegrove]

1. Only if we want to see 2 more years of GOP House & Senate

[zulchzulu]

2. The Repugs would love us to split the Democratic vote

Granted, the right candidate would split BOTH the Repug and Democratic vote, but that all depends on the candidate and the race wih the other candidates...

[longship]

3. No, Democrats would do well to run as progressives.

n/t

[1932]

4. Over one hundred Democrats voted for NAFTA. 15 voted for CAFTA.

The DLC no longer controlls the party.

I think the Democrats are moving in the right direction.

[AntiCoup2K4]

6. Uh, you mean the correct direction....

Moving in the "right" direction was how we got in this mess to begin with ;)

[sandnsea]

5. As Independent As Oregon

That's how my very liberal Democrat wins in a rather purply district. With Hackett, the DCCC memo said they "worked under the radar". Local candidates in difficult districts win by distancing themselves from the national party. Not just the DLC national party, but whatever thing the locals object to. Anything from immigration to guns, to universal health care to environment, to abortion, whatever. I would think most local candidates know this. But I'm not seeing anybody nationally seeming to get it because I keep seeing people think a campaign here or there is suddenly a magical road map. It's not that simple.

[ten]

7. Too many voters only look at major parties

For every disgruntled R you got running as an independent, you'd probably lose 5 Ds. For better or worse (mostly worse), most voters just vote based on familiarity. Those who don't know either candidate, just vote for their preferred letter. So, the Republican would get all the knee-jerk Republican votes and the progressive wouldn't start out with any default votes.

The key, I've found, is to downplay party when the party doesn't work in your favor. A registered Republican who votes for all Democrats is not that much different than a registered Democrat who votes for all Democrats.