John Deeth Blog - CAFTA Aftermath
The Democrats are considering punishing House members who did not vote the party line on CAFTA. These Representatives may lose their committee assignments because their conscience, or maybe even their constituents, were more important to them that the position dictated from the party leadership.
THIS is why I have given up on the 2 major parties. How can an elected official be the voice of their fellow citizens, their constituents, when the party is standing by to muzzle that voice if it dissents from the party platform. More importantly, how can a voter believe that a candidate has their best interest at heart when the party's interest is the only one that will get them on the important committees, and get them the important dollar necessary to run for the job again.
The longer I look at the political landscape, the more I realize that a vote for a Republican or Democratic candidate is a vote for the party's agenda, and a pawn for the party's leadership. John has blogged several times about how politicians will throw in a dissenting vote when the outcome is certain in their favor. As long as the party position is certain to win, they will take the renegade posture to impress the voters at home. But if the party loses the vote, whoa unto the dissenters, far better they had never run than to face the retribution of the caucus. Even if the voters take favor on the dissenting candidate for their brave stance, they will have a hard time voting for them next term when the party throws it's own favor to a new candidate. Sure, the rookie candidate will have energy and enthusiasm and will promise that things will be different when they get into office. They will represent the people. They will fight for your interest. They will grovel for the campaign cash, or get the same bum's rush the voice of dissention got.
If you firmly believe in the majority of a given party's platform, by all means, vote for that party's candidates.
If, on the other hand, you fall into the vast majority of voters whose positions cross party lines, or at least are a bit more moderate than the party leadership, then you need to know that there are alternatives to the two sides of the political spectrum. Like your visual spectrum, the extremes are Black and White, but the majority of what you see is a cavalcade of colors. This election cycle, look at all of the colors and all of the choices you have to choose from.
Some people think that third-party votes are "wasted votes". If you vote for a major party candidate because you think that they will listen to you, that is a wasted vote. The Democrats have illustrated that point in the linked blog.
