There are not multiple types of Democrats, really.

[MineralMan]

There aren't Hillary Democrats, Sanders Democrats and Biden Democrats. Democrats are people who vote for Democrats for public offices. They are voters who support Democrats, whether it is in primary or general elections. They vote for Democrats.

How do you tell who is a Democrat? Ask for whom they voted for President last November. If they voted for Hillary Clinton, they are Democrats. If they voted for anyone else, they are something other than Democrats.

It's not complicated. Democrats are part of the Democratic Party, whether they participate in party organizations or not. Democrats vote for Democrats.

People who do not vote for Democrats on their general election ballots are not Democrats. They are something else.

It is that simple.

[njhoneybadger]

1. A democrat who voted for Jill Stein,Gary Johnson,write in,ect. In 2016

wouldn't be Characterized as a Hillary Democrat. It isn't about ownership.

[MineralMan]

2. Such a person is not a Democrat at all.

Not in any way. By definition.

Thanks for your reply.

[njhoneybadger]

11. They might disagree with your assessment . LOL

[MineralMan]

12. OK. Let them disagree.

I don't care, really.

[zipplewrath]

3. So if you've ever voted for anyone other than a democrat

You're not a democrat? Or does that only last one election cycle? We have an election coming up in November. Can people get back in then or does the 2016 election define them until 2020?

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

4. Membership in a political party is not necessarily a permanent condition.

If one voted for someone other than a Democrat in the last GE they weren't a Democrat at that time. They could be persuaded to "re-join" the party for the next time. It's a flexible, fluid thing. In my state you don't register with a party at all when you register to vote, but I've always voted for Democrats. So maybe I'm technically not a Democrat because I don't "belong" to the party. If the Democrats ever came up with a candidate as thoroughly awful as Trump I probably wouldn't vote for him, but would I vote for the Republican instead? Probably not, but it would depend on the candidates' relative awfulness. Would I forfeit my inherent Democrat-ness if I didn't vote for a really terrible Democrat? (Fortunately the party has always produced good candidates - even Michael Dukakis and Walter Mondale, whose only faults were a sorry lack of charisma. I voted for them.)

[emulatorloo]

5. So which Republicans should I vote for in 2018? Asking for a friend...

Like the guy said, I don't think it is that complicated. Not particularly controversial either. AFAIK everyone around here voted for the Dem in the general.

[MineralMan]

7. I didn't say that. What I said referred to 2016.

People are who they are, but Democrats vote for Democrats. It's a pretty simple equation. Anyone can be whatever he or she wants to be, as far as I am concerned, but if you're going to call yourself a Democrat, then voting for Democrats is what you should do. If you vote for anyone else, I'll have to question your self-identification as a Democrat if that comes up.

[Arazi]

6. And the party is shrinking - less than 30% now identify as Dems

Deliberately castigating someone because they're not a "Hillary Democrat" or they're a Sanders supporting Dem is nuts.

Furthermore, alienating potential Indy allies is similarly crazy

[MineralMan]

9. And yet, the Democratic Presidential candidate got the majority

of the popular vote, between the two major parties. I'm not classifying Democrats. We need them all to vote for the Democrats on the ballot. However, if a person doesn't vote for Democrats, I'm going to have a hard time thinking of that person as a Democrat. It's not a complicated equation, really.

Still, everyone's vote is their own. I'm not going to ask about it. If you volunteer the information about how you voted, though, I'll have an opinion about that.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

8. I am very tired of the identification of "Hillary Democrats" or

"Sanders Democrats" or whatever. This does not help anything; it is relitigating the primaries and we do not need that if we want to defeat Trump and the GOP. The party does need to examine its message and methods in order to be more effective but there are no "sides"; there is only a spectrum. People do not perfectly agree on all issues, but that's the way politics always works. I have never yet found the perfect candidate with whom I agreed on all points. I vote for the candidate who most closely agrees with what I believe and who I think will most effectively promote the issues and values I agree with. That person might not win the primaries; if so I will vote for whichever Democrat does win because that person will still be much closer to what I want than the opponent GOPer. I supported Bernie in the primaries but I wasn't a "Bernie Democrat." When Hillary won the primaries I supported and voted for her without batting an eyelash, but I wasn't a "Hillary Democrat" either. I've only ever been a person who voted for Democrats.

[MineralMan]

10. Exactly.

[njhoneybadger]

13. Yes, it's divisive

[emulatorloo]

14. Very well said. If I could Rec your post I would.

[HughBeaumont]

15. Eh. I will forever have zilch in common with LieberDems and Thomas Friedman types.

Take that Repub Darwinist shit to the other party, not ours.