Independents valuable to election process

Joyce Broadsword has the honor of being the last Republican I supported and is probably responsible for the fact that I am not likely to contribute to any project where there is a prominent Republican involved with it. In fairness to Joyce, I was new to politics and did not understand that politicians serve their party and not the public. Any promise made during a campaign has no meaning after the election. Joyce is loyal to her party.

I do not claim to be a fan of Mr. Rasor, but I found him to be an honest person and knew what to expect from him. I was disappointed he lost the primary. The Republican Party no longer allows independents like me to vote in the primary. Their goal is to have candidates more dedicated to the party, and in this case, the system worked.

Most of us have been brainwashed to believe that a vote for an independent is throwing away the vote. Not in this case. There is no Democrat in the race. We have a clear choice between someone who represents the party versus someone who is responsible to the voters.

An advantage to having an independent politician is that more of us feel part of the system, which makes us feel more responsible to contribute to the community, One should be careful of what they wish for. Today, all of the Republican politicians know they cannot represent me because I do not support their party. They are embarrassed to ask me to contribute anything.

HARVEY PINE

Sandpoint