I finally did it.

[needledriver]

I turned 18 in 1972.

For the past thirty seven years I have been a registered "decline to state" voter. A small "i" independent.

I didn't want to commit to any one political viewpoint. I wanted to claim the freedom to choose the best candidate according to his position, not his party. Yes I voted for Nixon in 1972. He said he'd get us out of Vietnam. He did. I voted for John Anderson in 1980. I didn't trust Jimmy Carter. I have since met him. I was wrong.

The thing is, ever since then I have voted Democratic.

I still declined to register to a political party. I thought it was amusing to show my wife the, um, interesting choices I had on my independent primary ballots (I live in California.)

Well, today I finally did it.

As of this morning I have, for the first time in my thirty seven years as an active, participating voter, registered as a Democrat

There is no more time to be "amused" with politics..

The America I love, the land of justice and equality, has been raped by a ravening band of corrupt, so called "conservatives" who are obscenely interested in no more than their greedy, narrow minded self interest.

I can no longer stand by the sidelines and wait for it to get better. It's what William Pitt said. It's going to take FIFTEEN election cycles to turn this around and make the last thirty years an aberration of the American Dream.

I've got fifteen good election cycles left in me, and I going to vote them as a Democrat.

[grasswire]

1. hooray! (eom)

[aquart]

2. Congratulations.

You now have primary election bitching privileges. Feel free to start a fight or join one.

[rodeodance]

3. welcome------hope you bring others along with you.

[Orangepeel]

4. Welcome to the party!

:hi:

and welcome to DU!

[liberal N proud]

5. Welcome to the partY

[Rhythm and Blue]

6. Congratulations, and welcome to the party! nt

[MADem]

7. Bravo!!! We need more like you!

And fewer of the Goodbye Cruel World/Take Ball, Go Home types!!

Congratulations!! May you vote in good health for many, many, many years to come!

[Freedomofspeech]

8. Yea for you!!

Congratulations, I hope our party will grow stronger!!

[adadem]

9. Congratulations to you!

:toast:

[cuke]

10. Thank you

I hope you will be happy with your decision

[MGKrebs]

11. Congrats and welcome!

I was the same way. The Democratic philosophy was always OK, but individual candidates, not so much. But once Howard Dean's campaign failed, he apparently came to realize that we weren't going to make things better by trying to break things from the outside. We need to fix them from the inside. He inspired quite a few to join the party I believe.

I'm still a big fan of making ballot access easier so more parties can realistically participate, but that's a different battle. The Dem Party can be much better if we make it so. We are the Dem Party.

[fenriswolf]

12. im going the opposite

sick of the dems counting on my vote, if they want it they have to come up with representatives that will represent me, no longer playing poker with the cards facing outwards as far as I am concerned. My poker face is on and the fate of america is in the pot.

[needledriver]

13. Try this.

Go to the California Democratic Party web site.

http://www.cadem.org/

Go to the California Republican Party web site.

http://www.cagop.org/

Which one do you want representing you?

This is what motivates me. I no longer have the luxury of thinking like "they have to come up with representatives that will represent me."

There is no "they" in the solution. There is only US. WE HAVE TO FIX IT!!!

[fenriswolf]

14. right but the dems are starting

to take their base for granted, i'm more then likely still going to vote democratically but i want them to work for my vote, work for my issues, I have realized that by stating i am a dem they can take me for granted.

[roguevalley]

15. Congratulations for joining the oldest political party in the world.

Est. 1796. :)