A recent Gallup poll indicates a 4% increase in Americans who identify as Democrat. Right now 49% of Americans “age 18 and older reported Democratic Party affiliation or said they are independent with Democratic leanings throughout the first quarter of 2021”.
Americans who identify as Republican now make up around 40% of the U.S. population, making the 9% gap the largest in recent history.
Personally, political parties befuddle me. While I understand the naturalness of having political groups who coalesce around shared political beliefs, our political parties are far from that.
Back in the 1780s, our founders coalesced into two different political beliefs based on a shared understanding of government’s job and the Constitution. There were the Hamiltonians and the Jeffersonians, and before that, the federalists and the anti-federalists.
The Hamiltonians argued for a looser interpretation of the Constitution while the Jeffersonians argued for a tighter interpretation of the Constitution. Yet both camps valued and treasured the Constitution and its preeminence within the government structure. Both camps wanted a stable government, capable of preventing anarchy, and both camps wanted a limited government to prevent tyranny.
The ultimate goal? The preservation of liberty. Their disagreement? The best way to preserve liberty. Those who sided with Hamilton tended to fear anarchy more while those who sided with Jefferson and Madison tended to fear tyranny more.
However, both camps had a clear and defined platform from which to operate.
Now, consider today’s political parties. NEITHER party seems to have the Constitution on their radar and NEITHER party seems to have a clear, defined, coherent political agenda.
Really. Try something for me. Ask any Democrat or any Republican what their party’s goal and unifying platform is. You’ll get a different answer every time.
There’s no clarity around what our parties stand for and yet people are coalescing around these undefined and fluid party labels as if there’s something specific that has motivated us to choose one party over the other.
I challenge you to think about this. If you’re Republican, why are you Republican? What specifically about the Republican Party has led you to choose to be a Republican? Be specific. How are your Republican representatives specifically acting in a way that you want? Are they? How do the Republicans better represent your understanding of government?
And finally, how does the Constitution fit into the analysis and equation? Does it?
If you’re Democrat, why are you Democrat? What specifically about the Democrat Party has led you to choose to be a Democrat? Be specific. How are your Democratic representatives specifically acting in a way that you want? Are they? How do the Democrats better represent your understanding of government?
And finally, how does the Constitution fit into the analysis and equation? Does it?
If it doesn’t… what on earth is the point of the political party?
Really, what is the point of political parties? What do the parties stand far? What do you stand for and why do you stand for it? If our political beliefs are not tied to the basis of government action, the Constitution, then what are they promoting and supporting?
If our parties are not intrinsically tied to the Constitution’s confines, if our parties are not simply different ways to go about implementing law within the confines of government’s job description, then what are the parties?
Truly. What’s your foundation and does the party you choose to align yourself with stand on the foundation you have? Because, if not, then why do you align yourself with this party?
Because if the parties’ beliefs aren’t political beliefs tied to the Constitution, then they’re merely varying opinions about government’s use of arbitrary power.
The Liberty Belle
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Reprinted from my post to Liberty Belle 26 October 2020
Here we are faced again with the binary choice of two bad decisions but the miasma we are experiencing is the result of having to vote for these same two evils over a number of years. The problem isn’t that the American political system is broke, the problem is the system is FIXED. The problem as I see it is the two party system which IS NOT MENTIONED anywhere in the Constitution and which the founding fathers warned us against is ruining American democracy. It is no longer a government of the people, by the people and for the people nor do they need the consent of the governed. Instead it is two semi private entities who work behind the scenes having total control of the two parties, creating rules and regulations governing these parties and authorized to restrict entry barriers to keep out all competition. The only control government has over them is campaign finance laws and the mass of passive members have little to say about it except to shut up and vote what is offered. When you add in the administrative state which isn’t elected and answers only to these same two parties you understand why the system doesn’t work for a growing segment of our society. The two parties deal in aggrievement not achievements and no longer feel it is necessary to even offer a political platform. This is why we get populist demagogues whose empty rhetoric attracts disgruntled and desperate constituents.
We need to summon our better angels. America has always been great. The challenge is to live up to what makes her so and the choices we are given profoundly lacks that ability.
“There is nothing which I dread so much as a division of the republic into two great parties, each arranged under it’s leader, and concerting measures in opposition to each other. This, in my humble apprehension, is to be dreaded as the greatest political evil under our Constitution.”…………………………………John Adams
Outside of pure POWER and perpetuating re-election asking what does the Republican party stand for is an question you probably will never get an answer to. Not long ago I wrote of how the Republicans are getting eaten for breakfast by the left passing bills which create jobs and put money in the pockets of the average American while they attempt to use the cultural wars. There seems to be no end to their ineptness and self destructive ways. Over the past two months alone we have had numerous instances where the party needlessly shot itself in the foot.
Minority Leader Mitch McConnell recently came out with the statement that corporations should “Stay out of politics”. Seeing that the GOP has been known as the Chamber of Commerce party I have little doubt this decree will probably last no longer than the next Republican fund raiser.
For as long as I can remember the GOP has been saying that it needs to attract some of the African-American / Hispanic vote away from the Democratic party. Just when they seemed to have made some headway on this what do they go and do? They attempt to pass somewhere between 250 and 400 pieces of legislation nation wide that suppresses the minority vote. After losing the House, the Senate and the White House its so obvious that this is purely a power move they aren’t even attempting to hide it under the guise of correcting election fraud anymore.
Maybe the party should worry less about Joe Biden’s senility and worry about their constituents gullibility?