'Why Party Trumps Person' (a good review for the cut'n'run conservatives planning to sit out)

Mike Rosen archive page at KOA ^ | October 2004 | Mike Rosen

[ajolympian2004]

Based on this most recent poll here at FR a pathetic 4.7% of FReepers are planning to stay home during this election. You cut'n'run conservatives (intentionally undermining the outstanding men and women of the USA military with your no-show) are in desperate need of this review, a column written by Mike Rosen every few years during the election season:

"Why Party Trumps Person". (from 2004)

With just 80 days to go before the election, it's time for my quadrennial column on party vs. person. I've been offering and updating this polemic for more than 20 years. For veteran voters, this may be review; for rookies, perhaps, a new concept.

A time-honored cliche heard every election year goes something like this: "I'm an independent thinker; I vote the person, not the party." This pronouncement is supposed to demonstrate open-mindedness and political sophistication on the part of the pronouncer. It's your vote, cast it any way you like - or not at all. But idealism and naivete about the way our electoral process and system of government works shouldn't be mistaken for wisdom or savvy.

For better or worse, we have a two-party system. And party trumps person. Either a Republican, George W. Bush, or a Democrat, John Kerry, is going to be elected president in November. No one else has a chance.

Not Ralph Nader, not the Libertarian candidate, nor the Communist, nor the Green. Minor party candidates are sometimes spoilers - like Nader costing Gore the presidency in 2000 - but they don't win presidential elections. Ross Perot got 20 million popular votes in 1992, and exactly zero Electoral College votes.

In Europe's multiparty, parliamentary democracies, governing coalitions are formed after an election. In our constitutional republic, the coalitions are formed first.

The Republican coalition includes, for the most part, middle- and upper-income taxpayers (but not leftist Hollywood millionaires and George Soros), individualists who prefer limited government, pro-market and pro-business forces, believers in American exceptionalism and a strong national defense, social-issues conservatives and supporters of traditional American values.

The Democratic coalition is an alliance of collectivists, labor unions (especially the teachers' unions), government workers, academics, plaintiffs-lawyers, lower- and middle-income net tax-receivers, most minorities, feminists, gays, enviros, and activists for various anti-capitalist, anti-business, anti-military, anti-gun, one-world causes.

I say party trumps person because regardless of the individual occupying the White House, the coalition will be served.

A Democratic president, whether a liberal or a moderate (conservative Democrats, if any still exist, can't survive the nominating process), can operate only within the political boundaries of his party and its coalition. The party that wins the presidency gets to staff all the discretionary positions in the executive and judicial branches of government. Members of its coalition are awarded vital policy-making government jobs, judgeships, ambassadorships and appointments to boards and commissions, as well as a host of plum jobs handed out to thosewho have political IOUs to cash in.

A vote for Bush is a vote for the Republican agenda and conservative players in key posts. A vote for Kerry is a vote for the influence of the National Education Association, the National Organization for Women, the American Civil Liberties Union and the likes of Al Sharpton and Michael Moore.

The legislative branch is no different. After the individual members of a new Congress have been seated, a figurative nose count is taken and the party with the most noses wins. That victory carries with it control of all committee and subcommittee chairmanships, the locus of legislative power.

Now, let's say you're a registered Republican voter who clearly prefers the Republican philosophy of governance. And you're a good-natured, well-intentioned person who happens to like an individual Democrat, a Senate candidate, who's somewhat conservative. You decide to cross party lines and vote for him.

As it turns out, he wins, beating a Republican and giving the Democrats a one-vote majority, 51-49, in the U.S. Senate.

Congratulations! You just got Ted Kennedy, Patrick Leahy, Dianne Feinstein and Hillary Clinton as key committee chairs, and a guarantee that your Republican legislative agenda will be stymied.

That's the way the process works. Does this mean that in a two-party system like ours it comes down to choosing between the lesser of two evils? You bet it does. That's not to say that either party is really "evil," that's just an expression.

If we had 280 million custom-tailored minor parties, everyone could find his perfect match.

But that's not practical.

You can be a purist and cast your vote symbolically with a boutique party, or be a player and settle for the least imperfect of the Republican or Democrat alternatives.

Your vote, your choice.

[ajolympian2004]

Now keep in mind that Mike is specifically referring to the general election, NOT primaries in this piece. "Party Trumps Person" does not apply in primaries.

---

The primary is where you volunteer and work for the candidate based on their beliefs as they relate most closely to your own. Once the general election comes around and you are a conservative you better be voting (R) in for example a Senate race... otherwise, like us idiots here in Colorado, you will end up sending a (D) Senator to Washington who will be voting with the far left most of the time... see Pete Coors vs. Ken Salazar in the 2004 Senate election here in Colorado two years ago.

You can let Mike know what you think about 'Why Party Trumps Person' here: mikerosen@850koa.com

Mike Rosen's weekly columns:
http://www.insidedenver.com/rosen

Mike Rosen's 850am KOA webpage:
http://www.850koa.com/shows/rosen/index.html

Mike Rosen in the studio furing a show earlier this year -

[longtermmemmory]

VICTORY Bump!

VOTE!
VOTE!
VOTE!

[umgud]

A single politician, no matter how good or how bad, will NOT take your guns away, cause paid abortions for all, raise your taxes, risk the nation's security, etc.

But a dem majority will. Never ever vote for a dem, even if he appears better than the repub opponent.

[tomnbeverly]

Amen Brother... Those conservatives that do not vote in this election will have to live with their decision. If the GOP loses and we are attacked they will be just as much to blame as the liberals.

[DManA]

The party has no responsibility to run palitable candidates? Throw all the insults you want, I'll never be a "Bend Over and Take It" Republican.

[RegulatorCountry]

"The Republican coalition includes, for the most part, middle- and upper-income taxpayers (but not leftist Hollywood millionaires and George Soros), individualists who prefer limited government, pro-market and pro-business forces, believers in American exceptionalism and a strong national defense, social-issues conservatives and supporters of traditional American values."

I'm going to vote almost exclusively for Republicans, and would never vote for a Democrat. That said, how many different blocs of this coalition have been put off or even shunned in the past two years? Rather than trying to browbeat with constant party hackery, maybe a conciliatory gesture or two, towards limited government advocates and illegal immigration foes, among the many potentially disaffected but usually reliable Republican voters, would be in order ... heck, maybe even announce a broad initiative or two, for after the election, a "send us back to Congress, help us keep our majority, and ..." sort of thing. There's still time.

[AmericanMade1776]

Remember 2000! Vote! President Bush defeated Al Gore 271 electoral votes to 266. Imgaine what would of happened if....Al Gore had been elected, we would be all taking Prozac and hiding from al quaeda. REMEMBER ALL POLITICS IS LOCAL, GET OUT THERE AND VOTE!

[Oberon]

The Republican party-liners would have us be frightened into line by the prospect of "Speaker Pelosi! Booga Booga!"

That's entirely appropriate. Myself, I would like to have the Republican party-liners frightened into line by the prospect of "Speaker Pelosi! Booga Booga!"

[Oberon]

Those conservatives that do not vote in this election will have to live with their decision.

And the RINOs who stink too badly for us to be able to hold our nose and vote for them...they get a pass.

[Conservativegreatgrandma]

Never ever vote for a dem, even if he appears better than the repub opponent.

Absolutely. Some on our side just do not "get it".

[Hydroshock]

Party over principle. Isn't that the reason Jefferson (La freezer money congressman) are winning their elections?

[Conservativegreatgrandma]

HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF A PRIMARY? That's why we have them.

[RegulatorCountry]

Who brung who to the dance? Party leadership appears to believe that they did the bringing. We're about to find out.

[Oberon]

HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF A PRIMARY? That's why we have them.

In all the races that matter, primaries are generally won by the candidate anointed by the party.

That's one good reason why one of my senators is Liddy Dole instead of Jim Snyder. The decision to run Dole was made in Washington, not Raleigh.

[Obie Wan]

In some ways the stakes may be even higher now then when this article was written in 04. Every election cycle the same choice is offered, a Constitutional "free market" Republic or a socialist\marxist state and sadly many of our fellow citizens chose the latter !!!

[LWalk18]

The problem is, if you reward politicans regardless of behavior simply because of the letter (R) next to their name, what incentive is there for the party to put out better candidates? Or will things stay the same, as if nothing happened? Someone mentioned the primary, but then you are told that if you vote for the challenger he/she will be unelectable in the general, so stick with the incumbent.

I think such thinking can only work for so long before voters simply no longer believe the party line, and let the chips fall where they may. I don't think that we at that point yet, but the Republicans have to start listening to the dissatifaction among the base, and make changes accordingly, no matter what the outcome is on November 7.

[Matchett-PI]

"The party has no responsibility to run palitable candidates?"

Palatable to whom? Conservatives only have a voice at the table in "one" particular political party, and it isn't the 'RAT party. The bigger the coalition of conservative voices there are, the more palatable to us will be the Rebublican nominees.

We are the ones who must increase our numbers by persueding people that we have the best ideas for governance and by helping them overcome the fear that DemocRATS have instilled in them about what we would do if elected.

Our numbers are growing - and when our numbers reach critical mass, the Republican party will have no choice but to listen to us more than the rest of those who also have a voice at the table.

Until then, we must be willing to do everything we can to keep the only one of the two viable political parties in power in which we have any voice at all.

Politics is the art of the possible. Those who don't want to hear that are either dictatorial mentalities, or naive. bttt

[Tymesup]

"For better or worse, we have a two-party system. And party trumps person. Either a Republican, George W. Bush, or a Democrat, John Kerry, is going to be elected president in November. No one else has a chance.

Not Ralph Nader, not the Libertarian candidate, nor the Communist, nor the Green. Minor party candidates are sometimes spoilers - like Nader costing Gore the presidency in 2000 - but they don't win presidential elections. Ross Perot got 20 million popular votes in 1992, and exactly zero Electoral College votes."

If Ross Perot can get 20 million votes, why can't John Doe get 200 million votes someday?

"A vote for Bush is a vote for the Republican agenda and conservative players in key posts."

It's also a vote for a prescription drug plan and a continued invasion by illegal aliens. It's a vote for Norm Mineta and Michael Brown.

We wonder why blacks continue to vote Democratic even though we think Dems do not help them. We wonder why Jews vote Dem even though Dems appear to not support Israel. Shouldn't we wonder why conservatives vote Republican even though Reps don't support conservative issues?

While the country has had a two-party system throughout its existence, it has not always been D and R. Either the R's will shape up or they will be shipped out.

While I will not vote for Menendez as New Jersey Senator, I haven't heard anything good about Kean, either. Someone else will probably get my vote. I am not going to vote against my long term interests.

[Old_Mil]

It is truly sad when the Republicans have to base an entire election campaign on the slogan, "You must vote for us or the other side will win!"

Where's Tancredo's wall? Why are 100,000 new legal Muslim immigrants being brought into the United States every year? Why has Planned Parenthood received more money under the Bush administration than under any previous administration in history?

[NordP]

I'm a Republican because...

I believe:

« that our government's most solemn duty is to keep its citizens safe.

« a vibrant entrepreneurial spirit will keep our economy strong and provide more opportunities for workers and families.

« that free enterprise and the encouragement of individual initiative and incentive have given this nation an economic system second to none.

« in building an innovative economy to compete in the world, because America can compete with anyone, anywhere, thanks to our entrepreneurs and risk-takers who keep us on the cutting edge of technology and commerce.

« in strengthening our communities, because our children deserve to grow up in an America in which all their hopes and dreams can come true.

« in protecting our families, and I respect the family's role as a touchstone of stability and strength in an ever changing world.

I choose strength over uncertainty, results over rhetoric, optimism over pessimism, opportunity over dependence, freedom over fear, and moving forward over turning back.

Finally, I believe that the Republican Party is the best suited to preserve, protect, and defend these ideals.

NordP

When Democrats ask for your vote on Nov. 7th...JUST SAY NO!