Why you shouldn’t chose a political party

Choosing a political party is one of the hardest decisions you’re going to make. You might feel a pressure to fit into one of the handy Democrat or Republican boxes, but sometimes you’re just a square peg in a round hole.

It was when I was registering that I realized that I didn’t have to pick a political party. My family was primarily right and Republican, but I just wasn’t on the same page. That is why I registered as independent and you should too.

It’s near impossible to find a party that can match your ideals. You may be pro-choice but against welfare handouts and taxing the rich. In a perfect world your beliefs will match up with one of the political  party, but realistically you will be limiting yourself by choosing one.

Being independent allows you to see candidates for their policies rather than their affiliation. Once you judge politicians by their policies and not by the colour of their tie, you’ll see they might not be quite right to help out America. Political parties should focus on ideals and policies. People are losing focus of the true objective: what’s right for America.

We want a candidate that’s going to change America for the better, not just a puppet to tow the party line.

In the 2012 election, I voted for Mitt Romney because I saw that he was going to turn our economy around and create more jobs. I didn’t vote for him because he was a Republican, and I didn’t vote for him because my family told me to. I had given him my vote because I looked at his policies and beliefs instead of the unwieldily party machine surrounding him.

Choosing a party also limits your selection for future elections. In December I took the leap from Independent to Republican based on the quality of candidates I saw at the time in the party.

Once the primaries came around, the candidates I wanted to vote for were no longer running for president because they didn’t have enough support. My only options for the Republican primary were Cruz or Trump, which is like picking between a bear and a lion for a cuddle buddy.

I didn’t feel right supporting either. I now regret changing my status and I cannot wait to re-register as independent.

Picking a party puts you in a pre-prescribed position where you have a handful of candidates to pick from as opposed to voting for whoever you match up with the most.

The strength of their politics and what they’re doing for this country should define our next president, not their party.