Every now and then, someone among my social media friends network will ask: Are you a Democrat … or what?
I am going to answer that one. I am an “or what.” That is to say I consider myself an independent who leans more toward the Democrats than to the Republicans.
However, I vehemently oppose straight-ticket voting. I applauded the Texas Legislature for eliminating that option for voters.
We don’t “register” in Texas with either party. Our primaries are considered open voting events. We go to the polling place and decide when we get there which primary will get our vote: Democrat or Republican.
I have entered the GOP primary many times over the years, particularly when we lived in Randall County, Texas. The Panhandle county is as exclusively Republican as any in the state, which means that Democrats rarely field candidates for countywide or legislative offices. That leaves voters such as me to decide to vote in the Republican Party primary to have our voices heard in government.
We have since moved from Randall County to Collin County, which is a more diverse region. We have seen our share of “Vote Republican” lawn signs, but we also see a smattering of “Vote Democrat” signs as well as we travel around the county. Such Democratic-leaning signs are not to be seen in good ol’ Randall County.
My point is to tell you that my voting record does lean heavily in the Democrats’ direction, but it is far from exclusively so. I am reluctant to attach a party label to my political principles.
My hope always has been that both Republicans and Democrats can believe in and work toward “good government.” Sadly, at this moment only the Democrats appear inclined to achieve that noble end.