Should Democrats Change Party Affiliation To Republican For Primaries, And Vote For Ron Paul?

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An interesting topic came up today, and I would really love to know what other people think. If you are a Democrat or Independent who likes Ron Paul, does it make sense to change your party affiliation and vote for him in the primaries?

Let me give you a hypothetical…

Lets say that I am a registered democrat, if I vote in the primaries I am basically voting against one democrat and for another. For the most part, regardless of who wins the democratic nomination (whether they were my pick or not) I will be voting for that person in the 2008 election. I say that not because I am some kind of “drone” to the democratic party, but because I am 90% sure that whoever the democrats put up, I will like better than the Republican.

Now, what if I change my party affiliation to Republican before the primaries and vote for the one Republican candidate that I wouldn’t want to tear my hair out if elected president (in this case Ron Paul)? Then, if Ron Paul does get the Republican nomination, I can actually pay attention to the issues and debates, and vote for the “person” not the “party”, that I think is best for the country.

Pros and cons…

• Pro - If Ron Paul gets nominated and wins the presidential election…It still wouldn’t be a “GOP as usual” administration.
• Con - You don’t get a say in the nomination of the democratic candidate.
• Pro - You will actually feel like you are voting for a person and not a party when it comes to the presidential election.
• Con - You could be wasting you vote on someone unelectable (or at least that’s what some people say).
• Pro - You can feel like you are making a statement “against” certain Republican candidates, even if Ron Paul doesn’t win the nomination.
• Con - The Democratic National Committee would surely frown upon this idea. [I guess that could be a "Pro" disguised as a "Con".]

Okay. So what do you think? If you are a Democrat or an Independent (who likes the fact that Ron Paul isn’t GOP as usual)…Is changing your party affiliation for the primaries a good idea?

*Personally…I don’t know enough about Ron Paul to recommend or not recommend him, and that’s not really what I’m trying to figure out here. I want to know…If a person is already sure they like Ron Paul better than the other Republican presidential candidates, is it smart to change your party affiliation for the primaries? And I guess the same question could be posed of a Republican that thinks one Democratic candidate would be better than another?