Agreed. There is no perfect party or candidate. You really have to dig into the background and find the candidate you can live with because they do the best they can to do right by not just the people who elect them but for everyone in their district and country... not just for the wealthy or just for those who voted for them... but everyone.

@AmyLF Some of these people are beyond me. They say the two parties have in recent years melded together and are now the Corporate Party. No difference between the two. That is so untrue and unfair it just stuns me anybody could say that. Not to get too into the weeds because it sounds like we're in complete agreement, but it makes me wonder about their sanity, veracity, motives, and goals. Are they deluded, trolls, stealth Republicans, or just SO far out in the boondocks of the political spectrum they've lost all perspective.
The problem is, not ENOUGH leftists, socialists, progressives, and even moderates VOTE and so are themselves in large part to blame for the gross distortions we see.
Blame 'Citizens United' all you want for the obscene amount of money in campaigns. Certainly warranted.
But that's no excuse to unilaterally disarm and give up!
I think of years from now when the 'Baby Boomers' (hate that label) die off along with many of the values they, WE, espouse, and fear the U.S. will be left with generations to come of propagandized, indoctrinated, brainwashed upcomers who might be prey to the nascient theocratic oligarchy looming it's ugly head.
Our time may be rapidly fading.
I hope I'm wrong.

@Storm1752 No, I agree with you on how wrong the merge thing is. I think what's closer to the truth is that the parties shift slightly sometimes and drastically at other times. I also think people forget to refresh their knowledge on those parties and check what each stand for on the formal pages, not the rumor mills and propaganda rags.

There will always be bad eggs in any group or party. That cannot be escaped. The problem is in weeding them out when they crop up and how. In the last 40 years, give or take, Dems have been a lot cleaner than the Repubs, by leaps and bounds. They have made their mistakes and sometimes not been painfully and obviously clear in their stances but overall have been for the people, the workers, for health and education advances... Republicans have been more capitalistic and supportive of big business. The current administration and Repub heavy senate has very clearly and graphically defined that they also pretty much don't care about those who can't make millions each year and direct some of it their way. That only takes tracking their actions a bit.

Compare statistics. Don't just grab one as there is always room for error but do compare many. Also consider the sources and if they are known for being accurate or bias. Those considered the most accurate and least bias seem to overwhelmingly support that.