2008 Woodie Awards
Failure to Communicate: What it means to be Republican
Luke McIntyre
Issue date: 10/10/06 Section: Opinions
Our two-party system comes with a seemingly endless list of disappointments. I have yet to see a single electoral race, at any level of government, where I completely agreed with any candidate. The solutions don't seem possible. More third party candidates would be great, and an electoral system that actually let them compete would be even better, but, in America, them's the breaks.
Voting in this environment isn't easy. It's generally hard to participate in politics without feeling like you need a shower afterward; in a choice between the lesser of two evils, you still pick evil. We are voting for politicians, after all.
But there is an important difference between voting for a candidate and supporting a political party. In an election you are generally forced into one of three options: Democrat, Republican, or not voting. While voting for either a Dem or a Rep can be a painful process, it's better than not voting. Usually.
However, there's no reason to support a party that you don't agree with on every issue. I'm staunchly libertarian, but I don't associate myself with the Libertarian Party. As much as I love those guys, their official stances on some topics - gun control, for instance - border on hypocritical in my opinion. One issue I don't agree with is enough for them to lose my support; I won't oppose my own beliefs.
It's something I find more often with Republicans nowadays, but few of the red voters I know actually agree with the GOP's official stance on a lot of things. Maybe it's that we're on a more liberal (and, let's say it out loud, gay) campus, so even the conservatives are a little left. Or maybe more people jump on the ruling party's bandwagon, associating themselves with a group they wouldn't were it in the minority. Whatever it is, the number of left-leaning Republicans has grown faster than right Democrats, it seems.
And perhaps you could apply the same logic with two-party elections as you do with two-party politics, but the difference here is that outside of an election your sacrifice isn't forced. You have to choose to ignore your own beliefs.
Make no mistake about it, supporting a political party is supporting every one of that party's stances. The College Republicans here at UNCG can say they are not officially against gay marriage, but they still support the Republican Party, so they are.
This goes both ways and applies to all parties, of course. Don't tell me you support your party because it is the one you most closely agree with. There are a thousand charities or independent political groups you could give your money to or volunteer for that focus on the issues you specifically agree with. You're just sacrificing your values for the sake of the party, and that makes you a hypocrite. Every dollar you give to the Republican Party is a dollar against same sex marriage. Every dollar you give to the Libertarian Party is a dollar that keeps assault weapons on the streets and trigger locks out of homes with children. Every dollar you give to the Democrats is a dollar that… okay, the Democrats don't really do anything. That's just a wasted dollar.
None of this is to say you should be less active politically. Be active, be informed, and be involved. Just don't lose sight of who you're following, and, most of all, don't whore yourself out in the process.
For more of Luke's writing, check out his blog at lukemcintyre.blogspot.com.
Voting in this environment isn't easy. It's generally hard to participate in politics without feeling like you need a shower afterward; in a choice between the lesser of two evils, you still pick evil. We are voting for politicians, after all.
But there is an important difference between voting for a candidate and supporting a political party. In an election you are generally forced into one of three options: Democrat, Republican, or not voting. While voting for either a Dem or a Rep can be a painful process, it's better than not voting. Usually.
However, there's no reason to support a party that you don't agree with on every issue. I'm staunchly libertarian, but I don't associate myself with the Libertarian Party. As much as I love those guys, their official stances on some topics - gun control, for instance - border on hypocritical in my opinion. One issue I don't agree with is enough for them to lose my support; I won't oppose my own beliefs.
It's something I find more often with Republicans nowadays, but few of the red voters I know actually agree with the GOP's official stance on a lot of things. Maybe it's that we're on a more liberal (and, let's say it out loud, gay) campus, so even the conservatives are a little left. Or maybe more people jump on the ruling party's bandwagon, associating themselves with a group they wouldn't were it in the minority. Whatever it is, the number of left-leaning Republicans has grown faster than right Democrats, it seems.
And perhaps you could apply the same logic with two-party elections as you do with two-party politics, but the difference here is that outside of an election your sacrifice isn't forced. You have to choose to ignore your own beliefs.
Make no mistake about it, supporting a political party is supporting every one of that party's stances. The College Republicans here at UNCG can say they are not officially against gay marriage, but they still support the Republican Party, so they are.
This goes both ways and applies to all parties, of course. Don't tell me you support your party because it is the one you most closely agree with. There are a thousand charities or independent political groups you could give your money to or volunteer for that focus on the issues you specifically agree with. You're just sacrificing your values for the sake of the party, and that makes you a hypocrite. Every dollar you give to the Republican Party is a dollar against same sex marriage. Every dollar you give to the Libertarian Party is a dollar that keeps assault weapons on the streets and trigger locks out of homes with children. Every dollar you give to the Democrats is a dollar that… okay, the Democrats don't really do anything. That's just a wasted dollar.
None of this is to say you should be less active politically. Be active, be informed, and be involved. Just don't lose sight of who you're following, and, most of all, don't whore yourself out in the process.
For more of Luke's writing, check out his blog at lukemcintyre.blogspot.com.
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