And I hope that you have open primaries where you're at then, otherwise I would consider you as a independent, which clearly you're not and neither are most "independents" when you're acting in a obviously partisan fashion as part of the problem. And if you are in a open primary state and voting in the primary, then hey, cool, keep on keeping on with the Independent label then but let's not pretend that you're not acting in a partisan fashion.

When you live in a state where there's no open primary then identifying as a independent then registering to a party and participating in the primary is not treating politics as a sport or buying the jersey as you say. Registering and voting in the primary to get better candidates that deserve to win is that attempt at harm reduction and a much better form of harm reduction than just being a "independent" and hoping that you get a better candidate.

My two cents on the whole Independent sitaution.