re: Roy Moore vs. Doug Jones

quote:

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Well said. Party politics is killing this country and I despise straight ticket voting. Everything has become a team sport and “our side vs. their side.” People only care about the “R” or “D” next to the candidate’s name.

If I had my way, party affiliation would be taken off the ballot.

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This is going to sound strange coming from someone in a democracy, but one thing that's really hurt (at least at the presidential level, but it is filtering down) is the binding primary system. Up to the 1970s, primaries were not binding, so if someone extreme won they either toned it down or didn't get the nomination.

Now they're binding, and since only really active voters and in some states only actual party members participate in them so the candidates that come out of that system are those that pander to the extremes of both political wings - and we end up with a couple of candidates that mainstream America really doesn't like.

TL;DNR version: We got a lot better choices from the old smoke filled room.