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The Annoyed Man wrote:The thing is, Liberty, I'm not a libertarian. I am socially conservative, and certain of my core values on which I cannot compromise would not be well received in the Libertarian party.

There is some room even in the Libertarian party for varying opinions. Many social issues have solutions that would be palatable to Conservatives as well as Libertarians. On gay marriage for instance. Does the Government have any business in the Marriage business? But I think you shouldn't give up on your party, but continue to press influence to shape it towards your beliefs. The only thing accomplished by going "Independent" is to deny your self any input into the nomination process for every office not only the presidential office.

The Annoyed Man wrote:

Liberty wrote:

The Annoyed Man wrote: In Texas Your Party Afiliation is determined by which caucus or primary you participate in. You can only pick one per election cycle. Independents are defined by those who don't participate.

So the link I gave above is incorrect? All those Texas voters that Rush Limbaugh tried to get to vote for Hilary Clinton in the primary were then barred from being able to vote for John McCain in the general? I think we would have heard something about that by now if that were the case.

Or am I misunderstanding your point? It's possible.

I am probably misstating my point.
They were just barred from voting for McCain (or any other Republican) in the Primary. It Being a secret ballot you get to vote for anyone you like on the general ballot. Shucks I've even voted for Micky Mouse for president.

The Annoyed Man wrote:

anygunanywhere wrote:Vote who represents you!

And if that is the case, then why is a party affiliation important? That's why I'm not so upset by the idea of becoming an Independent. Independents can still vote in the Texas primary, so party membership is not necessary for that. Party membership isn't necessary for me to vote in the general election. So if I am disenchanted with my current party, what motivation is there for me to stay in it since I can still vote for the candidates of my choice?

In Texas Your Party Afiliation is determined by which caucus or primary you participate in. You can only pick one per election cycle. Independents are defined by those who don't participate.

The Annoyed Man wrote:My observation are thus:

I see strong parallels between the ending of the Whig party in the early 1850s and the Republican party today. Even back then, the Whig party appealed more to the professional and business classes as opposed to the Democrats, who appealed to the poor by ridiculing Whig pretensions. Just as with the Republican party today, the Whig party suffered from factionalism. And as with the Republican party's internal divisions over abortion rights today in which the party's official platform is pro-life even though there are factions within the party which are pro-choice, the Whigs were fractured over the issue of slavery, and whether or not slavery should be allowed to expand into the territories or contained within the southern states. In short, the Whigs had (for the time) a "big tent," and it killed them.

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Interesting,
The Democrats are even more fractionalized than the Republicans. The Difference is they were able to nominate someone who could not only mobilize their hard core base, but also the disenfranchised and young people who are not normally associated with the party. The Republicans picked an old hack who has been a party fixture forever. Who stood for obstructionism within his own party.

Every one of the Conservatives that ran in the primaries was a better choice than McCain. The Republicans did the same thing they did in 96'. Bill Clinton was Vulnerable and recovering from being the Impeached. So they nominate a tired old liberal Senator. This is a time proven technique for losing an election.

There is room for moderates in the Republican Party. They can make good Senators and Reps Judges and so forth that represent their consistency. We just don't need moderates for presidential candidates, or in conservative districts.

There is no advantage to being independent. Being Independent only means that you withdraw yourself completely from the nomination process. Not only on presidential cycles but the other elections also. You may want to check into the Libertarian Party.