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Friday, June 25, 2010
Idiots With Opinions Dept.
Fran here. There are times when sheer anger catapults me out of the Curmudgeon Emeritus's persona. This is one of them.
I was just listening to Steaming Tea with the Brazen Three, a regular BlogTalkRadio feature, and the comments one of the hosts made about the pernicious nature of third parties struck me as beyond the pale.
This woman is a conservative. Yet she denigrates third parties absolutely without understanding, as if she had no sense for why they form and put forward candidates in the first place.
Third parties arise because their allegiants want to see a particular agenda served. An agenda expresses either a set of principles, or a set of priorities that dictate a particular agenda. Its platform propaganda notwithstanding, the Republican Party doesn't stand for any particular principle. Nor does it consistently serve any discernible agenda...at least, if we omit getting elected and re-elected. Look at the behavior of the Republican Congressional majorities that George W. Bush enjoyed for six years, and tell me if you'd like to argue otherwise.
A third party such as the Constitution Party was born out of the frustration of persons who believe they have a right to be governed under Constitutional principles -- and that the federal government must abide by its Constitutional constraints. The Libertarian Party formed because persons passionate about freedom saw the two major parties trading away our liberty one salami slice after another. The talk about turning the Tea Parties into a new, explicitly electoral force is broadly similar to what animated the Constitution and Libertarian Parties. The GOP claims to uphold a strict-construction / limited-government agenda, but has its behavior while in power been consistent, even more often than not, with that claim?
If the Republican Party feels that it's losing votes and contributions it genuinely deserves to third parties such as the Constitution and Libertarian Parties, let it mend its ways. Carping about losing elections because "our votes" (their perennial complaint) went to a third-party candidate is whiner's behavior. If the GOP would just commit to an explicit set of platform principles and then hold true to them, it wouldn't have that problem!
EARN our BLEEP!ing votes, you sons of bitches!
Rant ends.
Comments
Go get ‘em Francis!!
Posted by Everett Littlefield on 06/25/2010 at 08:11 PMIt’s that “born to rule” mentality of the major parties. If the Tea Partiers do nothing else but weaken that they will have served a good purpose.
Posted by KG on 06/26/2010 at 03:51 AMAmen!
I refuse to commit myself to either of the two big parties, simply because they have no goal beyond getting power. I refuse to add to their sense of being -too big to fail-. Eff ‘em. Let the fall on their arses.
Posted by Deb S. on 06/26/2010 at 10:22 AMWhat? Republicrats “earn” our votes? An interesting concept. Never happen.
ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ!
Posted by ΛΕΟΝΙΔΑΣ on 06/26/2010 at 11:45 AMIf the votes belong to the party, as the GOP (and, for that matter, the Democrats too, when they’re the victims of “spoilers") claims, why do we even bother having elections?
The biannual ritual we endure in this country is testament to the fact that the votes belong to the _voters_.
The effect of a Republican loss on the country is unfortunate. But it is having the effect of alerting the Republican leadership that Business-As-Usual is not acceptable anymore. Which, in practical terms, is what third parties are really good for.
Posted by Matt on 06/28/2010 at 01:01 PM
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