The bottom line for me is that I want to know to what party a candidate belongs so that I have an idea of the CORE ideas the candidate is likely to represent. I love that Ryan Demro was a great supporter of the skate park. However, I know he's a Republican. Therefore I know he's likely to vote against providing equal rights to lesbians and gays. I can conclude that he's likely to be anti-choice. I therefore would NEVER vote for him, regardless of my appreciation of his efforts for certain issues which I support. (Sorry, Ryan, but when you vote for hate and bigotry, I can't vote for you, although I like you as a person.)
Party affiliation is a quick label that serves two purposes:
1.) It gives the lazy voting public a means to draw some sort of generalized conclusions about a candidate's views.
2.) It provides a warning label for those of us who care deeply about specific issues that are generally associated with particular parties.
Is it fair to make generalizations? Of course not. Is it an efficient starting point? Definitely. Just as an encyclopedia entry provides a quick overview of a topic but should not be one's sole source of information, identifying candidate affiliation is an important starting point in a voter's research procedure.
Shelly
P.S. Happy anniversary, Stosh! It's been a wonderful five years!
"Be like the waterfowl. It goes into the water and comes out dry." - Shri Ram Chandra of Fatehgarh
