[QUOTE=Exapno Mapcase]
Party affiliation was once more meaningful. In the days when the party “machines” controlled states and cities, patronage jobs were handed out by the tens of thousands to party members. Whole families were party members and it became generational, because being with the winning party might literally make the difference between eating and not eating. Switching back and forth wasn’t an option, because disloyalty was punished.
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That’s an excellent point. I would only add that today, party affiliation can still be an important political tool especially at a local level. In a rural county, if a particular party is in power, it doesn’t hurt for you to be registered with that party. There was a county in North Carolina that had the famous Sheriff Hege. Shortly after his election, he posted roadblocks on either side of artist Bob Timberlake’s driveway while Timberlake, an artist with some national recognition and a prominent Democrat, was throwing a party. Hege, a Republican, was testing people’s sobriety as they came out.