Political Parties: Root, Root, Root for the Home Team

I have an operating thesis about mainstream political parties: Ideology is lacking. Mainstream political parties want you to support their parties/candidates regardless of what their views are. There are no longer real platforms that people support, only home teams. Let me give you an example.

I became a Republican in 1994 (when I turned 18) because I believed in the party of limited government & limited taxes. I believed in firebrand idealogues like Newt Gingrich and Joe Scarborough. I didn't believe in all of their social policies, but I certainly didn't believe in the unlimited governement policies of the Clinton administration.

However, power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. It started rather benignly. Republican congressmen went back on their word about how many terms they would pursue in office. I first noticed it with George Nethercutt (R-Washington). I found it unsettling, but in my "home-team" mentality I speculated that it was better than the alternative.

George W Bush ran and became President on a ticket of limited government and more personal responsibility; fiscal discipline and tax cuts. As his term proceeded and more and more expansive government was created (ostensibly under the rubrick of national security), I began to think about what the conservative party was all about. I started reading writings of "Reagan Republicans" and one of President Reagan's lines stood out markedly to me. I don't have the exact quote, but it went something like, "some people believe that government is the answer to the problem; I believe government is the problem."

I started reading writings from our founders. I read the Declaration of Independence. I purchased a copy of the pocket Constitution. I started understanding the reasons for our declaration of independence from England and I noticed that while many of the reasons we seceded from the English empire were contained within the Democrats platform, they were also being adopted by the Republicans. This is when my radicalization occurred. I decided it was better to be an ideologue than a party to the destruction of our founding principles. I began to listen to the rhetoric of the political parties, such as, "a vote for Nader is a wasted vote."

Now, don't get me wrong. I wouldn't vote for Ralph Nader as I am diametrically opposed to most of what he believes. However, I do respect the man as he is certainly a crusader against the status quo. I also began to ask, "was a vote for Al Gore in 2000 a wasted vote?" After all, he did lose. If you voted for him, was your vote irrelevant? Of course not. Nor is a vote for someone in whom you believe. So I became a Libertarian. Now, there are certainly some interesting characters in the Libertarian party, and I may not be a Libertarian for life, but I did realize that I supported many more of the policies of Michael Badnarik for president than I did for George Bush.

So that was my change. The political parties decry the partisianship, but they love it. They know that the more activist their base, the greater they are to contribute to their causes. Why do you think that politicians make such enormous issues out of things like the tragic life and death of Terri Schiavo. After all, while what happened to her was tragic, it was certainly an issue that families conflict with every day. There is simply no reason that our Federal government should take up the issue and pass legislation upon the outcome of one person. That is expansive government. In the same way, why do you think the Democrats are so loud about the filibuster. These causes rally their bases, create more activists and attract capital. The activites serve to entrench the dividing lines between the parties and establish the permanance of the parties.

Well, enough of my soapbox for now. More later.

B

Great Movie!

Just saw Hotel Rwanda last weekend. This was a great movie. Too many of these scenarios play out each year around the globe. It is time we began to understand them and try to learn from our mistakes.

Despite the violence, this is a film that should be shown in classrooms around the country.

New Book again

After my most recent read, I picked up "The Big Picture" by Edward Jay Epstein. This is about the genesis of the movie industry, including the major developers and how movies are financed.

Here is a hint: it is more complex than ticket sales. I'll give the Cliff Notes version once I finish it.

Kari is feeling better

In a recent post, I had mentioned that Kari was feeling ill. Turns out she developed "walking pneumonia." She finally went to the doctor and is feeling much better now, but she was in bed for more than a week.

New Book

I just finished the book, "Ghost Wars," by Steve Coll. This is the book that just won the Pulitzer for non-fiction. It was fantastic. If you were wondering about the United States relationship with Afghanistan/Pakistan and Saudi Arabia from 1979 to September 10, 2001, this is the book. There wasn't alot that I didn't know the main story of, but it fills in lots of background data.

2005 Dodgers

Since it has been some time since I have been to a Dodger's game (probably 16 years) due to a geographic problem, I was pleased to see the Dodgers on ESPN last night. And what a great game it was. Although I didn't recognize many of the players, it was nice to see some offensive and even defensive production.

The Dodgers started Jeff Weaver, whom I recently discovered played little league around the same time I did in the same area (Simi Valley). He sported his usual scowl and did give up a dinger to the Reds' pitcher Eric Milton, but otherwise pitched a good game. The only comment I would make is that can't he give up grounders instead of all those fly balls? Some of them haven't landed yet.

Portland in May

Well, it is back to normal for our weather here in Portland. At 7:00 p.m. this evening, it is about 48 degrees and it has been raining all day. That certainly doesn't help Kari's flu/cold or whatever it is that she has. Fortunately, I have been thusfar immune to the sickness. She seems to be getting slightly better, although I am sure she doesn't feel like it.