Party Politics

I’m about to do something I have never done before, cast a straight democratic ballot. In 1964 I was a Goldwater republican. It was my first vote. Down through the years I have consistently voted republican, usually on a straight ticket, sometimes while holding my nose. My theory has been that on balance the party offered the best choice on issues important to me. This year I’m going to change my vote, for the same reason, and still holding my nose.

First of all, party matters. Not so much on the local level maybe but at gubernatorial and presidential levels it is very important and at legislative levels it is crucial. Easily the most significant vote an elected representative casts in either house of congress or state legislature is in the party caucus. It determines not just party leadership but control. A vote for a democrat or republican is a vote for or against every committee chairman, speaker, and majority leader. These are the people who set the agenda, determine what issues are brought up and go forward, even in large degree whose voice is heard and for how long. An individual may agree or not on particular items but it is often the give and take of parliamentary procedure that matters most. The personal views of Governors and Presidents carry more weight but they too have their constituencies to consider.

It is in the nature of politics that both parties carry a lot of baggage. They often give outsized influence to the most extreme elements from either side. That is often distasteful but in our system one must make choices, even if the choice is to not vote. I try to take a reasoned look at what I think is most important. The specifics change but the same things come up year after year. This time I am particularly concerned about regional issues, especially electrical power generation, clean air, adequate water supplies, and transportation. All of these have been around long enough for incumbents to bear some responsibility, and for challengers to offer alternative approaches. My five year old grandson has autism and so I have a personal interest in government sponsored research into its cause and potential remedies. That a republican congressional committee head has been blocking some of that research doesn’t help the party’s cause in retaining my good graces. Our air is so brown I can often see it but the Governor is “fast tracking” dirty coal power plants without adequately considering alternatives. My city came dangerously close to serious water rationing last summer and there isn’t a politician in sight to address it. Traffic congestion in North Texas has been an approaching train wreck for at least thirty years. Local authorities are left to immobilize themselves in provincial squabbles over toll road and mass transit priorities. It doesn’t get any better at the state or national level. The politicians who I expect to represent my interests have been too often silent, or on the wrong side altogether.

I live in a safe republican congressional district and for some years now every office that counts from city all the way up through the state to the national government has been controlled by the same party. I don’t think that’s a healthy thing, so add “throw the rascals out” to my list of arguments. I grant that particularly at the national level neither party’s leadership is inspiring. In the past I have rejected the “it’s time for a change” argument as too simplistic. This year I’ve changed my mind. Just call me an old curmudgeon.