Rigid Adherence To Party Politics Can Be Dangerous

Published by Dick Schaefer, Award-winning, Unpaid, Part-time Contributing Writer; Amateur Investigative Reporter; and Aspiring Photo-Journalist

Date:  11/6/2010
Post:  1,024

Are you a blind follower of the Democratic Party, the Republican Party, the Libertarian Party, the Tea Party, the Socialist Party, or some other political party?  OR do you think for yourself?  Are you an independent thinker who leads others rather than blindly following the political party leaders (demagogues)?

I know people who have voted exclusively for Democrats their entire lives.  Heck, their parents and grandparents voted for Democrats their entire lives!  And I know people who have voted exclusively for Republicans their entire lives.  Their parents and grandparents voted for Republicans their entire lives.  Because I have lived in Gasconade County and Cape Girardeau County the better part of my life, I know more of the latter than the former.

Tell me, do you think it is smart to be locked into one political party and one ideology to the extent that you never consider voting for a candidate of the other party?  Do you think this is a good thing for democracy?  Do you think that blind adherence to one political ideology is a good thing?

Let's say you're a strong conservative Republican, and you have a choice between an arrogant and incompetent incumbent Republican and a competent conservative Democrat in a city or county election.  Do you blindly vote for the incumbent Republican because YOU ARE A REPUBLICAN and YOUR PARENTS HAVE ALWAYS BEEN REPUBLICANS or do you vote for the conservative Democrat who you know to be much more qualified for the job?

In the recent mid-term elections, some prominent conservative Republicans supported and voted for a couple competent, conservative Democrats rather than follow the party line.  They did this because they judged the Democratic challengers to be more competent, less arrogant and more worthy of their support.  These conservative and independent thinking Republicans followed their own personal convictions rather than the endorsements of the County Republicans.  In a few cases, these Republicans recognized they would face the wrath (and intimidation) of certain arrogant Republican party regulars.  And that's exactly what happened!

I commend the Stemme's, the Kallmeyer's, A. E. Newman and many others for having the courage and sound judgment to go against the flow!  I denounce a certain "goose-stepping" Owensville Republican for attempting to browbeat Olan Stemme in his office immediately prior to the election because he supported a Democrat candidate for County Clerk.

What are you?  Are you an independent thinker?  Do you have the courage of your convictions to go against your political party and vote for the candidate of another party when you judge that candidate to be more worthy and deserving?  OR are you a blind follower of the dictates of a political party?  Do you march to your own beat, OR are you a blind "goose-stepping party regular"?

You may recall that the German people learned how dangerous it can be to blindly follow one political party!  Let us hope and pray that will never happen in America!