[pstuart]

Your observation is yours, but it isn't mine and many others.

I grew up in a Dem household but I don't vote dem because my parents did or because I'm a party member (I'm not), it's because the lesser of the two evils is almost always the blue side.

And this was before the GOP literally became a cult. Now it's not even a choice.

[andsoitis]

I concur that ultimately you have to decide which party to vote for (and I happen to vote similarly to you).

What I am asserting is that it would be better if we were able to judge ideas based on the merit of the idea rather than who it comes from. That is, in my experience, not happening and the electorate for both dem and rep are guilty of this behavior.

[pstuart]

I absolutely agree with that. But as a vote for a candidate due to an agreeable policy position is also a vote that's likely to vote as a block for everything else, it's not entirely invalid to vote that way (historically).

But as today's GOP is the Party of Trump™, and they now vote in lockstep, it's a simple "nopes".

I abhor partisan politics -- Washington warned us against them at the beginning and he was right.