No Turn Signals

Boston drivers, even cops (boo on them), rarely use turn signals. The attitude seems to be that an early warning to the enemies gives them too much information and reduces your options.

Likewise, Massachusetts voters feign freedom of thought by not registering with either major party. The unenrolled and independents actually blow off crucial democratic steps. They don't help decide the candidates at the primaries, caucuses or conventions.

Like not using turn signals too, this gives them to chance to whine later. "I wouldn't have chosen them to run!"

You can see how pervasive this attitude is in sidebar numbers we grabbed from The Phoenix. They saved us the minutes of snagging these figures from their sources, the Secretary of the Commonwealth and the Democratic Party. Registered voters are as of 1/13/6 and gender breakouts as of 12/31/5.

Basically, half the voters do not affiliate with either party.

In terms of gender, you can speculate as to what gives. You will notice:

• Republicans closely map by gender numbers. Could this mean they have a high concentration of like-minded married couples registered?
• Democrats have a lot more women to men. Does this mean women tend to vote more liberal and progressive?
• Unenrolled/Independents have about 10% more women then men. Does this mean slightly more women engage less in the process?

The figures by gender would be a bit small if they fit on the chart. They are:

	Democrat	Republican	Unenrolled/Indy
Men	607,338	272,970	913,085
Women	831,448	232,869	1,020,790

There are a lot of ways to slice and reassemble these data.

Now, the trick if you waded this far is to swim. Tomorrow, Saturday, February 4th, that means Democrats should go to their local caucuses. Of course, you must be a registered Democrat to do so.

If you live in Waffle World, consider registering for the next primaries, next caucuses and next convention. Bystanders get the blame for what they don't do.

If you are registered, check the state Party site to verify your caucus location and time.

We'll be at the JP/Roslindale one, Ward 19, Painter's union hall, 25 Colgate, Rozzie, 11 a.m.