Voting is very active, very physical — not a mental activity! People have to go out amidst all the cynicism, workday fatigue, daily life issues, and cast their vote in the rain at 6am or 9pm on a weekday, etc. When they arrive at the poll, they try to avoid fist-fights with the partisans (in the case of NYC, that would be Dem partisans) if they plan to vote independent.

The question is whether independents are going to develop enough non-machine-like organization to be able to take on the party machines — local, state and national. Open primaries, which allow independents to vote in the first round of voting, can help bring more voters out. Nonpartisan primaries should be a no-brainer for municipal elections. Why do well-greased political machines object? They lose control. They benefit from the current (two) party-controlled system.

Independence is not a frame of mind, it’s a daily, moment-to-moment decision to buck the system. The folks to are in control don’t think kindly on that. Just think of 1776…
NH

But only 13 percent of registered voters bothered to show up for the off-year election of 2003, and many had ties to the unions, interest groups and political clubs that benefit from the status quo and know how to pull the levers of the current system to their advantage.

IMO this is a major hurdle for all sorts of reform. Government workers vote. Policemen, firemen, teachers, municipal workers. State workers. Federal workers. As is their right, of course. If anything it’s an ugly reflection of apathy and cynicism among the rest of us.

Consider the garden variety town that spends the vast majority of its budget on schools and public safety. Most of the voters that show up for a local election are town employees, and parents voting on instructions from their kids schools. There’s almost no chance that anyone who wants to make substantial changes can get elected.

However I do not think those moderate numbers are enough to make that big of an impact in the polls in 2010 Today.

But let them pass cap and tax and Health care reform. Let them see the destruction this does to the country and the democrats will be in a minority for quite some number of years to come.

Incidently the Democrats know this as well. Thats why Health Care reform is not scheduled to take effect until 2013. One year after hopefully Obama’s second term starts.