Should I Stay or Should I Go? Some Thoughts on Party Line Voting.

With this I agree:

Party line voting flies in the face of Democracy.

Some of our founding fathers discouraged political parties.

But we have political parties - two major parties - at the national level and the local level, and that is the way we pick our leaders. The system has powerful cultural ties that are hundreds of years old. Some of us associate our moral and ethical beings to our political parties. Political parties flow though families for generations. It's hardly weak. Nor is it a weak system. Nay, it is a strong system, even with all of its imperfections. Non-partisan or multi-partisan branding has no persuasive power or pull against the age old two party system.

Here are some hypothetical scenarios that I've been thinking about:

A mayor's race:

Let's say I'm a Democrat, but I like the Republican candidate better. I think her policies will be better, and her demeanor, and just about everything. She's been successful in the private sector. I've decided to be bold and vote for the Republican.

The Republican wins. Good for me, I voted for the winner! I'm happy and the Republican Party is happy.

A couple of months into her term there is a massive economic downturn, and its time for some budget cuts. The unions and city workers are screaming and threatening all kinds of nasty things, but because she's a Republican and more fiscally conservative than the average person, she says everybody is affected, everyone must sacrifice.

Her proposals are across the board and drastic. Her Party is oh so happy she was elected. Most Republicans feel like going right along with everything she says, and not surprisingly they do.

This makes the Democrats furious and all of a sudden I'm furious too. The policies that I wanted implemented are on the back burner, and its politics as usual. The Republicans on the City Council find themselves agreeing with their fellow Republican, well, because they share fundamental core beliefs. Core beliefs that I don't share. There aren't enough Democrats on the council to make a difference, or it's split. I'm sorry I voted for this battle axe Repuglican.

This hypothetical breaks the same way across both parties.


Here's another hypothetical:

I'm a Republican, and I don't like either Party's candidate, but the independent candidate is a likeable guy and has some good ideas. He doesn't look like he's going to be a spoiler, so its going to be a three way race. I vote for him and he wins. I voted for another winner!

This independent has promised to shake things up. He's promised to make things different for coming generations, and to finally get things done, and he is just the guy that can do it. Those guys in the Decision Making Belt are finally going to be made sorry for all the trouble they've caused.

The first few weeks are great, with all the talk of change and the exhilaration of the unknown. But he has trouble getting coalitions and appointments together because he doesn't have a party base to choose from. The City Council are not known for their rubber stamping (which is why we elected them), and so it is not long before some of his great ideas hit a snag - mostly along party lines of the Council. Further, while he's got some great ideas, he hasn't the slightest clue how to get these guys together, because there are no inside party people willing to stick their necks out and make a few phone calls to help him out. He quickly moderated, and things were ok, but you're upset because he didn't do anything he promised to do. Maybe your're thinking you've been betrayed by the Good Ol Boy network. Again.

These are just a couple of hypotheticals. To do some in support of voting for policies instead of party, would require (me, anyway) to conjure up some Utopian kumbaya for which I frankly don't have the imaginational capacity. You may be able to think of some ways.

It's not always smart or advantageous to vote for the party you belong to. If the candidate in your party is a pure schmuck, and nobody likes him except for a handful of people in the "base," then you should probably cross the line and go for the candidate you like the best. There may be a few other exceptions, but when it gets down to policy and decision making and ethics and morals - you better stick with your party. I'm sorry, that's the system we're in.