Politically Homeless

Tonight (Sunday, February 28) I attended my first Lincoln Day Dinner, as the guest of a candidate that I was introduced to by a neighbor and turned out to be someone I could strongly support for their office. The event was well organized, well attended, and full of a lot of qualified, and maybe a few not so qualified, candidates. You will find that in any political party.

What struck me as I was driving home was that I felt out of place, not because of the people, I was welcomed with open arms, or the message, retiring Representative Steve Buyer and die-hard Republican radio host Greg Garrison told us what we all expected, and wanted, to hear. America is on the wrong course. Only by returning to “our Republican ideals” and upholding the constitution will we get America back on track. It is a message that sells well to a Republican crowd and according to a recent CNN poll, quoted by Mr. Garrison, to the 56% of Americans that now believe the federal government threatens our individual rights. However, in politics we often hear what we want while politicians go on doing as they please.

I grew up a Republican, supporting Richard Nixon while not old enough to vote for him. When I could vote I chose Independent John Anderson over Ronald Reagan. Only later to find out that Reagan was a man I should have supported, a politician who did what he said, at least as far as cutting taxes to grow the economy. When it came to cutting spending I do not recall that him vetoing all increases in spending or working over-time to keep his promise to shutdown the department of education. Still in my time Reagan is about as good as it gets in politicians. He would hold to core values and still work with Tip O’Neill to move things forward without calling each other names.

I started this by mentioning the Republican Lincoln Day dinner. The Democrats have a similar event called the Jefferson Jackson Dinner, in honor of Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson. Jefferson helped launch the party as one that supported a strict construction of the Constitution and a weaker federal government. Not exactly today’s Democrat party. Yet there are still Democrats that support those Jeffersonian positions. Really, look around, you will find them. Steve Buyer said he knows some.

For a number of years I considered myself a Libertarian, even serving as the chair of the Johnson County Libertarian party. The Indiana Libertarian Party is one of the best run, most mainstream Libertarian parties in the country. They support a strict construction of the Constitution and a weaker federal government (sound familiar?) They receive a lot of lip service from voters but come election time they do not get the votes. “Wasted vote syndrome” takes over. For some reason people think that voting for a good person who is not going to win is a “waste of their vote”. We all knew John McCain was not going to win but millions of people voted for him anyway. Did they waste their vote?

When you have Democrats invoking the name of a man who stood in firm opposition to their current positions, Republicans who sound more like government expanding Democrats and Libertarians who sound like the founder of the Democrat party it is easy find yourself politically homeless. Where does that leave us? With “A republic” as Benjamin Franklin stated “if we you can keep it.”

A republic comes with responsibility. A responsibility to elect people who will do what is best for America, not me, not you, but our country. People who know what it is like to live in the “real America” those who have had a non-government job, run a business, created jobs, and paid taxes. Democratic Senator George McGovern, after leaving the Senate and buying a business, said that if he had know then how the bills he supported effected business and workers he would have voted differently.

We need to vote for the person; however, it requires a special obligation to learn about “the person”. There are good members of all parties who should be serving our communities, state and nation. Maybe it is time for more of us to become “politically homeless” not offer blind allegiance to any party but to truly vote for the person who upholds the ideals of our founders, limited government and personal responsibility. Voting that way is the heart of a republic. Let’s hope we can keep it.

No related posts.