Independents need to get in the game
Published in the Boulder Daily Camera, 12/1/13
Our politicians are driving me nuts. At every level of government, nobody agrees on anything. It's not that I expect our leaders to live the life of Kumbaya but, geez, they need to open their minds, listen to what the other guy says, try to understand each other's perspectives and even -- gasp! -- consider their opponents' pearls of wisdom. Maybe then they could work together and find a way to do what needs to be done. Politicians used to be able to do this, but now it's so bad that Congress hasn't even been able to do the one Big Thing the Constitution requires, pass a budget, for five years. How lame.
Stop any person on the street today and you'll get some version of the above rant. And, while a good rant is always fun, it doesn't usually solve the problem. So, instead of just ranting, let's kick around some ideas about how we got here and what us citizens -- you and me, not politicians -- might do to return to a more effective government and socially coherent society.
The root of the polarization plague in government is that our political system is run by the political parties. Our Founding Fathers warned us about the dangers of parties, and then when right on to start them. They did that because people like to congregate with others who share their beliefs and work towards common goals. That's what political parties do and, when you say it like that, it sounds pretty good. For much of American history, our multi-party system has worked well since cross-party cooperation, while rare today, has been the general rule. Furthermore, without political parties, who would find candidates and hold elections? Maybe in Nirvana, the good people would just emerge, but this is the real world, and it takes work.
It's easy to lay the blame for political polarization squarely at the foot of the political parties. If you're a Democrat, it's the crazy Republicans' fault and, amazingly, if you're a Republican, it's equally clear that it's the Democrats' fault. Big surprise. While it's true that the political positions of both parties have moved towards the fringes, the Republican and Democratic parties didn't move anywhere, just the people in the parties. So, don't blame the parties, blame the people in them.
Okay, that's pretty obvious, but give me a moment to make my point.
In recent decades, active participation in a political party has increasingly become seen as evidence of being a power-hungry blood-sucking egomaniac -- not the sort of aura most reasonable Americans want to project. As a result, many Americans have abandoned the political party system and proudly hoisted the flag of a Political Independent -- no place more than Colorado where, since 2008, the fastest growing political affiliation is "Independent."
And where do you think all these freshly minted Independents are coming from? Many of them are the ones who, had they chosen to join a political party, would have become the moderate Republicans and Democrats. Instead, they chose to sit on the sidelines and skip the caucuses, primaries, and other battles that take place within each political party as they define their platform and select their candidates. By staying out of the nuts and bolts of the political process, Independents left the political parties in the hands of the political extremists we all now love to hate.
Thanks a lot, guys.
Of course, no one is duty bound to join a political party and do the work -- even if only to vote in a primary -- to bring our political system closer to the political center. But, without the independent thinkers pushing politicians of their own party towards reasonable compromise, our political system will continue to look like an asylum run by the patients.
So, all you folks out there who are so proud of your independence, the next time you have a gripe with a political party that you feel even a little bit comfortable with, don't just squawk. Join the party and change things.
One of my favorite Janis Joplin lines has always been Bobby McGee's "Freedom's just another word for nothin' left to lose." Being an Independent may set you free, but it's at the cost of becoming next to nothin' in America's political system. If you care enough about American government to want to help it, drop the cachet of independence and get in the game.
Our politicians are driving me nuts. At every level of government, nobody agrees on anything. It's not that I expect our leaders to live the life of Kumbaya but, geez, they need to open their minds, listen to what the other guy says, try to understand each other's perspectives and even -- gasp! -- consider their opponents' pearls of wisdom. Maybe then they could work together and find a way to do what needs to be done. Politicians used to be able to do this, but now it's so bad that Congress hasn't even been able to do the one Big Thing the Constitution requires, pass a budget, for five years. How lame.
Stop any person on the street today and you'll get some version of the above rant. And, while a good rant is always fun, it doesn't usually solve the problem. So, instead of just ranting, let's kick around some ideas about how we got here and what us citizens -- you and me, not politicians -- might do to return to a more effective government and socially coherent society.
The root of the polarization plague in government is that our political system is run by the political parties. Our Founding Fathers warned us about the dangers of parties, and then when right on to start them. They did that because people like to congregate with others who share their beliefs and work towards common goals. That's what political parties do and, when you say it like that, it sounds pretty good. For much of American history, our multi-party system has worked well since cross-party cooperation, while rare today, has been the general rule. Furthermore, without political parties, who would find candidates and hold elections? Maybe in Nirvana, the good people would just emerge, but this is the real world, and it takes work.
It's easy to lay the blame for political polarization squarely at the foot of the political parties. If you're a Democrat, it's the crazy Republicans' fault and, amazingly, if you're a Republican, it's equally clear that it's the Democrats' fault. Big surprise. While it's true that the political positions of both parties have moved towards the fringes, the Republican and Democratic parties didn't move anywhere, just the people in the parties. So, don't blame the parties, blame the people in them.
Okay, that's pretty obvious, but give me a moment to make my point.
In recent decades, active participation in a political party has increasingly become seen as evidence of being a power-hungry blood-sucking egomaniac -- not the sort of aura most reasonable Americans want to project. As a result, many Americans have abandoned the political party system and proudly hoisted the flag of a Political Independent -- no place more than Colorado where, since 2008, the fastest growing political affiliation is "Independent."
And where do you think all these freshly minted Independents are coming from? Many of them are the ones who, had they chosen to join a political party, would have become the moderate Republicans and Democrats. Instead, they chose to sit on the sidelines and skip the caucuses, primaries, and other battles that take place within each political party as they define their platform and select their candidates. By staying out of the nuts and bolts of the political process, Independents left the political parties in the hands of the political extremists we all now love to hate.
Thanks a lot, guys.
Of course, no one is duty bound to join a political party and do the work -- even if only to vote in a primary -- to bring our political system closer to the political center. But, without the independent thinkers pushing politicians of their own party towards reasonable compromise, our political system will continue to look like an asylum run by the patients.
So, all you folks out there who are so proud of your independence, the next time you have a gripe with a political party that you feel even a little bit comfortable with, don't just squawk. Join the party and change things.
One of my favorite Janis Joplin lines has always been Bobby McGee's "Freedom's just another word for nothin' left to lose." Being an Independent may set you free, but it's at the cost of becoming next to nothin' in America's political system. If you care enough about American government to want to help it, drop the cachet of independence and get in the game.
