On a Divided Party
I forgot to write a post today. So I thought I would end the day with a political thought that has been in my brain since the 2016 election and just got jiggled to the forefront of my brain when I walked by a TV.
A conservative pundit was raising alarm and declaring that the GOP must unite around Trump for the midterm; Otherwise the evil Democrats will win and all would be lost.
Something strange happened in the 2016. The GOP was extremely divided ... yet both Donald Trump and the GOP won the election.
People who predicted the election on party unity got it wrong. A party does not have to be united to win. It has to get votes.
I am extremely upset with the GOP. Republicans never developed a decent alternative to ObamaCare and they've been stuck in a self-destructive narrative about who is the most conservative candidate for several decades.
The GOP clearly is not plotting a good path forward, but the deep divisions within the GOP have created an atmosphere where good ideas might surface.
I think it is difficult for people to unite around Trump's abrasive style. In stead of unifying around the president, the GOP might be wise to play up the divisions in the party as it is a sign that discourse is taking place.
Oddly the Democrats seem to be facing a worse problem. In the first two years of the Trump Administration, Democrats have acted as a unified block to obstruct legislation.
The number one agenda on the DNC platform is to impeach a president who, despite being abrasive, hasn't been doing unconstitutional things.
The Democratic Party has been united in blocking immigration reform at a time when people around the world are suffering effects of a decade of radicalized migration.
The Democrat Party has shown itself unified around a political machine at a time when people are upset with the corruption that such machines bring into the world.
The opposition party usually wins off year elections. I would not be surprised to see the on going disunity in the GOP attract people to the party as a safer bet, while the Democratic strategy of unify around obstruction might push people away.
The #WalkAway movement might be the determining factor in the election.
I am hoping that it does. If the Democrats lose the midterm, there might be a big shake up in the leadership, and the party might start taking a less destructive path.
Quite frankly, I see this election as a time for the people to challenge the leadership of our corrupt political parties. We should be calling them out for holding corporate interests over the people and not unite around any of them.
Umm. Wow. Thank you. And I mean seriously, you have my gratitude.
I'm not into politics. Never have been, never will be. And if there's one major reason, it's simply this: There's too much unification in every party, too much following whatever that party's ideals may be whether you believe them to be right or wrong.
And every party has something wrong. If there is one person in these United States who honestly believes - and I mean really means it, not just claims to think - in every opinion of either of the main political parties, I would be shocked. And yet everything, everybody, is constantly focused on keeping your party's agenda, stopping the other side, even though they may be attempting something you personally agree with.
We vote for the people, not the parties! And yet in recent years - or really always, but we like to deceive ourselves into thinking it's a recent problem - we have been focusing more on the parties than on the people. At this point, voting for the individual representative is just voting for the face of the party.
And that's why I'm immensely happy with your post. I don't believe I've ever seen anyone else point out anything like that (Maybe the debate about voting strictly on party lines? Hmm, I still don't think so). And honestly, I think that that's exactly what this thought of yours was pointing out. That the division in the GOP, the lack of mindless submission, of blind faith in your... clique is exactly what I personally feel is necessary for some improvements.
Obviously this doesn't mean that parties shouldn't unite to support their chosen representatives, those who most closely agree with their beliefs. Obviously this doesn't mean that politicians shouldn't use their parties to create blocs and thereby achieve common goals. Without these far less would be accomplished. But to allow for more diversity in opinion, to get somewhere through a variety of opinions!
That's just my opinion. I could be wrong, I often am. But I thank you for pointing out something which so closely agrees with this, I thank you for that little feeling of validity I felt when my opinion was validated -we all feel when our opinions are validated.
Thank you for the kind reply. I am not much into politics either.
It appears that politics is the source of many of our problems and most the division in this world. I've been trying to figure out how to get people to stand up against base partisan politics.
I usually vote based on the candidate's character. I often vote third party.
I am really happy if I helped you figure out how to voice your opinions about the political mess ... because it a mess. Politics is a mess that the people have to pay for and clean up after.
Hmm. I did know how to voice those opinions, and have done so on numerous occasions, I've simply never had them validated so clearly by someone who actually knew something about politics/government.
But yeah, I'm surprised to find someone whose opinions so closely coincide with my own.
Maybe we should form a party?