Primary Concerns - Last week I received my sample ballot for California's March 2nd primary election. Officially, I am a "Decline to State" voter, meaning that I'm registered, but I am not affiliated with any particular party. And because of my status, I would normally be eligible to vote only on the Propositions and in the race for Mayor of Sacramento. I realized I would need to declare a party affiliation to vote in the primaries.

The fact is that by March 2nd, the Democratic nomination for President will already be locked up. Thinking that voting in the Democratic primary would be a waste, I opted to cross-over and receive a Republican ballot. (The GOP will be selecting a nominee to face unchallenged incumbent Barbara Boxer in November's race for California's junior Senate seat.) I have mentioned this fact to several people, and I've encountered passionately negative responses that surprise me because of their vitriol. I've been called traitorous and I've been asked why am I supporting a party that hates gays.

I don't believe that I am supporting the Republican party by voting in their primary. My rationale is actually to help the Democrats. Rather than waste my vote in the Democratic column, why not use it to help select a weak opponent, so that Boxer will have an easier race come November? What people fail to appreciate is that actually makes me more hardcore than most Democrats. I'm deep undercover in the GOP balloting as an agent provocateur! I don't agree that my Republican primary vote could do harm to the Democrats. Nor do I think that my vote would cause Boxer to lose momentum in her reelection bid. Yet still I feel defensive. Apparently, registering as "Decline to State" and then choosing to vote in the GOP primary - even if I vote for Democrats across the board in the general election - makes me a Bad Gay.

But voting for a Democrat in the primary election wouldn't do much much good anyway. You see, in the Presidential primary election, my ideology is probably the closest to Kucinich or Moseley-Braun. But neither of them could beat George W. Bush, so I wouldn't vote for them anyway. If I was to vote in the Democratic primary, I would likely select the most electable candidate - not the candidate who most closely shares my beliefs - because I want to defeat the President. Therefore, I'd only vote for the frontrunner anyway - so it's still a wasted vote.

I believe that intelligent people can have fundamentally different points of view. I was raised in a house were party lines were not drawn; we were taught to consider each issue on its own merits. That's why I don't believe that all gays have to be Democrats. Even if I am a bleeding heart, I don't have to agree that all Republicans are evil - or that all Democrats are righteous. I should recognize that this statement is hard to believe in an era of Fox News and Michael Moore, but nevertheless the stinging rebukes from my liberal compatriates surprised me.

The intention of this post is to encourage thoughtful discussion. I'd like for Beaverhausen readers to help me understand some of reactions I've encountered. But Ann Coulter-esque "you are a doo-doo head" comments aren’t very constructive. So what do you think?