A Real Life Civics Lesson

One of the most popular sayings about politics that voters like to say is that" it isn't the party, but the person that they vote for". This is more noble in theory than in reality. While this may well have been the intent of our founders, and if politics were not involved, it would truly be a wonderful way to choose our representatives. There are elected positions that this may actually still work at local levels, but seeing the disgraceful way the Indianapolis City Council operated for the last several years we now know it doesn't work there. If we will be honest with ourselves we also know it doesn't work in either the House or Senate at either the State or Federal level either.

Look at the shameful way that both Pat Bauer in the Indiana State House, and Nancy Pelosi have abused their power over the last few years, shutting out any possible discussion, or possibility of anything bipartisan. Their idea of bipartisan is for the GOP to give up all of their own values and capitulate to the democrats. The speaker of the House, in both instances, holds all the cards. No bill can see the light of day without their say. So the key to political success is to control the majority.

This also flies in the face of those who decide that they can't support either party's candidate due to not agreeing with either one on some personal key issue. We see this by many who vote for a third party candidate while feeling so morally superior because they refused to compromise on whatever value was their sticking point. Rather than voting on someone who most closely represented their views, with many it is am all or nothing proposition. I am sure that such moral purity and clarity is a wonderful feeling, but not very politically astute. Wouldn't it be better to have someone representing you who most closely represents your views, than splitting your vote with a third party and in essence forfeiting the election to the candidate who least represents your views?

Of course my Libertarian friends are going to get upset with me here and will want to regale me with all the successful elections that they have had, and are going to have. I am sorry if I am not as sanguine about their chances. After 40 years as a party they have only won a handful of local and county offices anywhere throughout the country. I am sure to hear "Lincoln won as a Republican as a third party candidate!" That makes a great third party battle cry, only it isn't remotely true. Lincoln was elected as the Republican candidate, a very new party that took in the displaced Whigs, the anti-slavery Democrats, and the defunct Freedom Party. In the Republicans 4th year as a party they won a Governorship, in the 6th the White House. The 1860 presidential race consisted of four candidates, Lincoln as the Republican, Stephen Douglas as the Northern Democrat, John Breckenridge as the Southern Democrat, and John Bell as the Constitutional Unionist, the third party candidate. The Democrats split their vote, the Constitutional Unions were a typical third party with a handful of the votes giving Lincoln, the other main party, the victory.

How the system works depends on the two parties. It was maybe not what the founders intended, both George Washington and John Adams deplored the "factions" and considered them to be the potential coming ruin of America. However under George Washington's first term the two parties formed with Thomas Jefferson starting, and leading, the Republican party, and Alexander Hamilton the Federalists. Both Washington and Adams were considered Federalists because they, unlike Jefferson, believed in a vibrant central government predominantly to protect our nation from foreign enemies. However, both men steered clear of party politics, maybe the only two presidents in history to do so.

For those who may not have been paying attention in Civics class in High School, and now many don't ever have this class, let me give an overview of how our political system actually works. The nuts and bolts if you will. At the beginning of each newly elected session of the House and Senate the majority party elects the new Speaker of the House and Senate Majority Leader. Of course the minority party elect their Minority leadership as well. However, the majority will now dictate all discourse and nothing gets done in that House or Senate without their approval. The new Speaker and Leader will establish the Committee Chairs from their own party, people very loyal to themselves. The committees will be stacked with more of the majority party in each assuring the ability of always getting their own way. That means that from 1948 until 1994 when the GOP won the House for the first time in 46 years, after Hilary Clinton scared Americans to death with her Socialized Health Care bill, there had not been one single GOP sponsored bill to get out to the floor, at best they could get was a co-sponsored one, where they had to sell out on some part to get it through.

So if the Speaker comes from the majority, and the majority is the only party who is going to be able to do much of anything, and the minority can't do anything but to try to put up roadblocks to slow down, or hopefully stop, the majority with popular support from the people. Wouldn't it make sense that you would want your views in the majority? Politics is a full contact team sport.

Let's go back to those who are so passionate about wanting to elect their third party candidate, let's say that they do, what will happen? Congratulations Congressman Libertarian, or Green, or whatever, welcome to your new office. Now go and change the world! What does he or she do? They are now 1 out of 435 votes, and that is all. They are not affiliated with a major party so they are in a minority of 1, their bills will never see the light of day. They will not be appointed to any committees, unless they decide to caucus with one of the major parties. If they do, then that means to remain with that caucus they will have to tow that party's line, if they don't they will lose those committee memberships. So now you have either a bastard stepchild of the democrat or republican party who will never have the clout that he or she would as a member. The only time this person would be treated with value is if one party or the other needed just one more vote to pass or kill a bill, then they would be the bell of the ball for that 15 minutes of fame.

If you want to "throw the rascals out" and one of those rascals is in your party. It must be done during the primary and then come back together in the fall. This would be the perfect time to de-RINO the party. Tomorrow I will touch on this in a different fashion as to when it is smart and not to make the primary changes as well.

What Conservatives need to consider coming into this next election cycle in 2010 is how to take advantage of this opportunity to cast many of the democrats into retirement and take back the House, and maybe even the Senate. Obama, Pelosi and Reid have been the best advertising agency in history to open the doors to a conservative take over. We who love the Constitution of the United States, and our Declaration of Independence, our Freedoms and Liberties, and our Free Market Capitalist system that in total have made America the greatest nation in the history of man, must join forces under a single umbrella to vote as a block putting in those who most agree with us, those who will fight to protect our liberties and freedoms. We must as Steven Covey says, "put in the big rocks first," then we can argue among ourselves of the little details. Lets save our home from burning down around us, then we can discuss what color to paint the dining room.