Guest Post by: Mikey Mystik

Picture this: It’s the last week of June 2007: A newly Democratic majority runs dry on a recent immigration bill while Republicans call the President on his wanting to give legal status to several million undocumented workers while some Democrats cheer. Still, the Commander-in-Chief continues to push our military to stay the course in Iraq while one of his most trusted GOP wingmen, the conveniently and “Ramboishly” named Dick Lugar demands a change lest we live in the danger zone with Maverick and Goose at Bagdad’s version of Top Gun.

All the while the Gaza Strip in overtaken by Hamas rebels, and our uniformed folks announce the development of new fortified vehicles to guard against road side bomb attacks however the vehicles likely won’t be ready for action until troop levels have dropped off significantly from the war’s deadliest months.

As if we needed more cause for concern, Congress’ current approval ratings in the last month have consistently been below 30%.

Meanwhile there’s that whole Bill Jefferson indictment on bribery charges after feds found $90,000 literally just chillin’ in the New Orleans congressman’s freezer back in February. Of course the Democrat denies any wrongdoing. As my father would say he must have sold a lot of girl scout cookies.

Then again on the Republican front, pro-choice, pro gay rights Rudy Giuliani makes nice with (no, this is not a typographical error) televangelist Pat Roberson at Robertson’s Regent University. He tells Roberson that he thinks Regents’ amount of influence is “really great.” After Robertson blamed 9/11 on the American people and proclaimed that evolution teaching will bring natural disasters to Dover, PA and that all Islam is Satanic all I can say is are you really serious, Rudy?

In nearly the same breath, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg decides to relinquish his GOP membership in favor of an Independent ticket after being a Democrat just eight year ago. And lastly, just this week Scooter Libby’s perjury sentence was reduced to what could be seen as simply a really expensive parking ticket. Tell that to Lil’ Kim and Martha Stewart.

So it would seem that politicians are not only exploiting partisan sentiment on behalf of their parties but also on the behalf of themselves. Are they so desperate to win favor as to sacrifice their moral compasses? Did they ever have moral compasses? To answer this question I submit the words of George Washington from his farewell address in 1796:

“All obstructions to the execution of the Laws, all combinations and associations, under whatever plausible character, with the real design to direct, control, counteract, or awe the regular deliberation and action of the constituted authorities, are destructive of this fundamental principle, and of fatal tendency.

They [political parties] serve to organize faction, to give it an artificial and extraordinary force; to put, in the place of the delegated will of the nation, the will of a party, often a small but artful and enterprising minority of the community; and, according to the alternate triumphs of different parties, to make the public administration the mirror of the ill-concerted and incongruous projects of faction, rather than the organ of consistent and wholesome plans digested by common counsels, and modified by mutual interests.

“However combinations or associations of the above description may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely, in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people, and to usurp for themselves the reins of government; destroying afterward the very engines, which have lifted them to unjust dominion.”

In lay terms, if a governments ’intentions and allegiances are to a party and not the republic for which it stands, that government becomes devoid of character and principle. When a party serves to out-govern its opposition rather than serve its people by finding common ground, that party becomes unjust.

I fear this has happened to our country. Our leaders have lost site of their purpose. From the extreme perspectives, Conservatives think Liberals are the scourge of societal well being who want to run recklessly through the world being gay and raising taxes while Liberals in turn argue that the current administration has ignored the voice of its people and call President Bush evil.

These extremes may exist where some of us live but what if a person is a Christian Democrat? What if he or she is personally pro-life but does not feel abortion can be abolished without dealing with the aftermath of unplanned pregnancy? What are gay Republicans to do? Where do they fit in the political spectrum?

Personally, I feel it’s time we the people start voting just as people. People should never let a party, even if they do agree with its stance, be their sole reason for voting. To paraphrase a certain Dr. King, whether red state or blue state our United States must not vote simply by the color of a party but rather by the content of the character of each candidate within those parties.

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