Political party is not an indication of character

— A lot of people will probably take issue with this article, but there isn’t any diplomatic way to say it, “you can’t really tell a politician’s character or integrity by his or her political party.” There is so little difference between the two major political parties that we should use this election cycle as a way to express our dissatisfaction with Washington’s mode of operation. As a nation we might never have this opportunity of national housecleaning again.

It would be my suggestion that we consider two tests as our personal qualifications for supporting any candidate. Number one, as I have previously mentioned, if they are running for an office that does not have term limits in place, they must agree in writing to support legislation to enact term limits or give thevoters of America the opportunity to vote on the issue. And, test number two, they must demonstrate their “independence” from their political party if they are running on either of the two major party tickets. Ideally we will someday realize that every candidateshould be an Independent even if they consider themselves “liberals, conservatives, moderates or whatever” regardless of their party affiliation. If the political party has the power (including the money) to influence the outcome of its party primary either by selection of the candidate, pricing the filing fee out of reasonable range, or using its voting block influence, we will never have truly independent legislators.

That cannot happen until we are willing to evaluate the individual candidate independent of their party affiliation. If the seven Republican candidates who have announced their intention to file for the May primary seeking theDistrict 3 seat in the House of Representatives actually do so, the State Republican party will collect $52,500 in filing fees ($7,500 per candidate) for that race alone. Those who file for the Senate race to opposeSenator Lincoln will pay $12,500 each, so the party will collect $25,000 if only Boozman and one other candidate file. This political campaigning under a party banner is big business. The explanation for these high fees is it “takes money to build a successful party.”

In the current open seats for the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House 3rd District and even in local races for county office, we probably have announced party candidates who would best be described as free-thinking, constitutionally astute, non-partisan persons. The problem with our two-party system is the assumption that any candidate having a major party character (R or D) behind their name is a devotee of that party’s principles or platform.

There is no actual litmus test that guarantees a major party candidate will vote in a specific manner after they are elected. Much the same as vows in marriage are broken, political winners frequently change after their election regardless of party.

The reality of who controls the purse strings does wake one up when the campaign literature is put away.

When Evan Bayh made his farewell speech announcing his decision not to seek re-election, the newspaper stated “he attributed his decision to the bitter partisan divides that dominated Congress in recent years.” Just voting along party-lines may be the order of the day in Washington but it does not necessarily bode well for our nation. When there is so much power - read that as tax dollars to be spent - in Washington and so many of the individuals who have established years of seniority control your political destiny, it is no wonder we have an ineffective Congress that continues to spend our heirs’ future to preserve their own positions. When respected men and women leave political office voluntarily such as Senator Bayh is doing, citizens need to look forreasons. It is one thing to sign a pledge (the Contract with America of Newt Gingrich’s era), another to be forced out by scandal and yet another to be embarrassed at the failure of your efforts to bring leadership to our government.

Many years ago, I heard a very wise man say “basically most people are honest.” The years have reinforced that phrase becauseit has been demonstrated over and over in my experience. However, given a crowd that seeks selfgratification of any kind, even a very strong person can sometimes be lead to compromise their own values. A small percentage of those who are led astray will continue down that path while most will recognize their failures, regret their actions and return to their value system.

Washington seems to be a location where it is easy to be pressured to lower your standards in the name of progress. When it becomes a routine way of doing business it is easy to accept it as a “way of life.”

When elected representatives point out too many “problems” in a piece of legislation or ask too many embarrassing questions, they subject themselves to a lot of criticism - labeledan extremist, not a team player, a troublemaker, standing in the way of progress, etc.

If our country is ever going to change the direction we are being lead, we must take responsibility for who we support and why we vote for them.

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Leo Lynch, a native of Benton County, has deep roots in northwest Arkansas. He is a retired industrial engineer and former Justice of the Peace He can be contacted at [email protected] .

Opinion, Pages 4 on 02/24/2010