Thursday, June 18, 2009

American political reality

As much as I think it is important to pick a political party and stick with it, the reality is that any thinking person will not agree with any group all the time or even close. It is not possible because a coalition by definition has to have conflicting instincts. Otherwise it wouldn't be a coalition.

So for example,

Republicans in general stand for less government and personal freedom. They are usually referring to taxes , guns, and business when.
However, Social Conservatives believe in a big government to promote and demand various levels of morality. This includes many prohibitions against gambling, and sex-related activities (and entertainment), and others.
Also, whereas Republicans generally support lower taxes at all costs, some Foreign Policy Conservatives support a vigorous Defense buildup and spending that might require higher taxes down the road.

Likewise,

There are Democrats who believe in staying out of people's "personal lives" when it relates to abortion rights but are intent on using the power of the government to stop payday loans or legalized gambling because it "preys" on the poor. The same person who should be able to choose when it comes to an unborn child isn't able to choose in other areas.

Also, there are people who promote the use of the government to regulate the safety of almost every product and support the bans on cigarrette use in many jurisdictions, versus people who want to legalize anything that doesn't hurt someone else in an immediate sense.

It takes horsetrading, and srong personal relationships to forge lasting coalitions.

In the current healthcare debate, we need our party to be the impetus for Universal Healthcare.
But we need the Republicans to keep the pressure on us to ensure a free market system.
Some in our party believ it is better to plan outcomes and manage millions of people.
It is clear to me, we should set up a system where everyone has access to money to be used for healthcare, and then let a free-market work to meet those needs.

This, like many good ideas in politics can't be found within one party.
But it should be found in American politics after a full and fair debate.

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