I've taken the World's Smallest Political quiz here at the Nolan Chart and other places. I'm consistently closer to the anarchist/libertarian quadrant than the statist/totalitarian corner. Depending on the questions, I oscillate between liberal and conservative. It's all in how the questions are written. Given a choice, I'd rather be rich than poor, free than enslaved, at peace than at war, at home than away, and alive than dead. After writing for the Nolan Chart for over a year, and retaking its quiz, I found that my score didn't change at all. Like Popeye says, "I ams what I ams." Today I'm a Republican.
The Republican Party has gone through a series of changes in just my lifetime of less than 50 years. It's still populated by those who wear the label of Conservative proudly, although how they behave doesn't jibe with my concept of what a Conservative should be. Small governments Conservatives have been absent since about 2001, when security trumped fiscal responsibility. At one time they were for limiting the size of government, looking out for human right abuses, reining in spending, staying out of the personal choices of individual and businesses, and the internal affairs of other countries. Instead, the attitude of winning-at-any-cost domestically and internationally has cost them dearly in national elections. It's also lost them credibility when it comes to opposing to these new spending proposals, such as TARP, the Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and God knows what else is coming.
Recently in a local Meetup group board where I write often, one of its members stated his intention to run for Congress in 2010 as a Libertarian Party candidate. After looking at his platform, I made an impassioned plea for him to consider running as a Republican against the incumbent Democrat. He replied that he got the cold shoulder treatment at his state's Republican convention last summer. He would rather roll the dice with another party, and probably lose, than associate himself with those who practice intolerance. I won't fault him on his principle.
After living through infighting during Pat Buchanan's Presidential run with the Reform Party, I've taken a much more pragmatic view of political parties. Parties exist not because our Constitution prescribes them, but precisely because it doesn't prohibit them. Our form of democracy requires one person to represent a fixed number of people in the House, and two people to represent a state in the Senate. The executive is chosen by the party that has roughly the most support of the states and/or the people, through the Electoral College process. Each of the states has roughly the same structure (excepting Nebraska). In practice, you need to be a member of either of the two most popular parties before you even consider running. In each of these cases there is just one winner. Third place finishers tend not to run again.
Unlike other constitutional democracies, we have no process here for party coalitions. Short of violence, the only way we can remove someone from office is through recall, impeachment or waiting until the next election. The second and third place finishers can't get together and form a new government. States have encouraged party politics by having registered parties and straight party voting. Worse yet, the signature requirements are much higher if you're not a Republican or Democrat in some states.
So, in reality, we have an institutionalized two-party system, consisting of the Incumbent and the Challenger.
Before becoming a Republican precinct delegate and a state delegate to last year's convention, I got an invitation to join my county's Democratic Party. They opposed the war in Iraq, deficit spending, human rights abuses, had tolerance for the other people's way of life, enforcing the law and so on. Looking back, I could have been just as effective, or ineffective, there or here. If you want to run for an office locally, it helps to have some friends in one of the Big Two. With the lack of participation that I've seen so far, it takes a lot less energy to make use of the existing parties to get elected, than to form a new party.
I have nothing against the minor parties. Knock yourself out, if that's what you want to do with your time. I think the Green Party has brought environment issues to the forefront at times. The U.S Taxpayer Party has a few points I agree with, but has gotten sucked into the culture war that is killing the Republican Party. However, after looking at the math of the Electoral College, unless you are in the majority or near-majority, you don't win the White House.
My support of the Republican Party comes down to a simple idea: I might be able to find like-minded people, in the existing framework of government, who want to move the country in the right direction. I like a lot of what Robert Taft had to say years ago. I'd like to find candidates for the 2010 election cycle, within the Republican Party, who would become challengers against the dangerous expansion of government, even within their own party. As the war in Iraq winds down, we need to look for ways to pay it off, and not do it again. Thomas Jefferson's idea that no public debt should linger longer than one year is a goal that everyone, members of any party, should strive. I commend any allies in this effort, who labels themselves as Democratic, Libertarian, Green, or other, and even those who consider themselves "none of the above."
©2009 Bob Nightingale, all rights reserved. You must have written permission from the author in order to republish this work.
Published: Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Last modified: Wednesday, February 11, 2009
The views expressed in this article are those of Bob Nightingale only and do not represent the views of Nolan Chart, LLC or its affiliates. Bob Nightingale is solely responsible for the contents of this article and is not an employee or otherwise affiliated with Nolan Chart, LLC in his/her role as a columnist.
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Reader Comments:
Posted By: Marcos El Malo
Date: 2009-02-11 23:09:47
Thank you for your fine essay, Bob. I still consider myself a Republican, although at times I think I am fooling myself that the GOP can ever return to its liberty loving roots. It is this love of liberty that is at the heart of small government principles. The GOP seems to be in the hands of those that would subvert liberty to advance their religious agenda. Or rather, it seems to be in the hands of those that seek to accumulate power and wealth by advancing a religious agenda and by fighting a "culture war".
The culture warriors have won the battle within the GOP at the same time as they have lost the war nationally. I hope that a new generation of Republican leaders will take note of this fact, and bring us back to our core principles of liberty.
Posted By: Gary
Date: 2009-02-12 07:32:14
Thank you for shedding light on the root of the challenges with third party efforts. The fact we call them minor indicates the perception created over a century where both our legislative organizations and SCOTUS rulings combined with state ballot access requirements to 'institutionalize' two-party supremacy. If we aren’t careful these same rules and organizational structures will lead us right to one-party rule.
I learned a lot when I was asked to run for the House of Rep. in 1994 by the LP. Sen. John Ensign and I debated in many venues (then Rep. James Bilbray only came to the TV debate) and one thing he was happy about he said was that we had no money. Our money was invested in a legal battle to overturn a NV law that blocked ballot access which we won but it left us broke. The LP in NV at the time was so busy with in-fighting for power within their own minor party it was ineffective in helping me or other candidates run our campaigns. After this in-depth exposure many of us that had moved from the GOP to the LP threw up our hands in disgust and rejoined the GOP and supported candidates who were involved in the Republican Liberty Caucus (the true libertarian minded members of the party.)
In my November article, ‘GOP: Gather Our Principles,’ I attempted to remind people there are good, core principles that leaders such as you’ve pointed out (Taft) held dear. Michael Steele shows a return to that type of philosophy I believe. I’ve really focused on efforts by non-partisan groups (like DownsizeDC.org) rather than third-party efforts these days. People always tell me on the radio or in conversation that what we need is a third party and I remind them we have over 50 in the U.S. so do we really need another? Jesse Ventura said he’d not only run but win the presidency if we could remove ballot access. Until we change the ballot access challenges and overturn the organizational changes in every legislative branch that gives perceived power to aristocratic positions like Majority Leader, Whip, Committee Chairman, etc. a third party won’t work. You’ve shown one way…take over a major party…the GOP can be salvaged, and then what can be done? I would think more than another third party under our current structure could accomplish.
Posted By: trd
Date: 2009-02-12 08:38:34
Marcos no seas Malo: Pórtate bien.
Posted By: LibertarianBlue
Date: 2009-02-12 14:47:55
Great article Bob, I agree with your assement alot that the LP isn't going anywhere fast and working with the GOP is the best bet for Libertarians. I really wish it wasnt true but it is what it is.
Marcos El Malo
While the Religious Right is a primary enemy of personal liberty we also must not forget the Paleoconservatives. From where I stand I see alot of economic protectionism being embraced as a result of the economic meltdown. Majority of economicsts from both the left and the right agree that protectionism will make this economic crisis a hell of alot worse than it already is. So in addition to making sure the GOP purisuits personal liberty we should also make sure that they dont embrace paleoconservative protection in order to get votes.