One of the MANY problems with political parties

Got this email today from the SC Democratic Party:

Brad-

We’ve got just three more hours until our 5 pm deadline, and we still need your help to hit our goal.

Hitting this goal will bring us one step closer to defeating Nikki Haley and Lindsey Graham this fall!

Are you ready to help? Chip in now!

If you’ve saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will go through immediately:

Donate $7 instantly >>>

Donate $35 instantly >>>

Donate $50 instantly >>>

Or donate another amount now >>>

Onward to victory!

Thanks,
South Carolina Dems

And my mind zeroes right in on this part: “… one step closer to defeating Nikki Haley and Lindsey Graham this fall.”

It doesn’t occur to them that there just might be people — quite a lot of people, actually — who would be right there with them on the “defeating Nikki Haley” part, but would stop short at the “and Lindsey Graham” part, and would therefore decide they don’t want any part of any of this.

It doesn’t occur to them because they are a political party, and they have a candidate running for Graham’s seat. And if you are a political party, then you have to buy in completely to the notion that all of your candidates are better than all of their candidates. The whole our and their thing is core to your being.

Which is not the way you think, if you are someone who thinks, and have not surrendered that faculty to a group.

This is the problem with parties. Well, one of the many problems with parties…

18 thoughts on “One of the MANY problems with political parties

  1. Doug Ross

    Yes, but you are just a recipient of the emails, not a target. Get someone to start a PAC to defeat Haley and elect Graham. All six of you can meet at Lizards Thicket.

    1. Doug Ross

      And, to repeat myself, if you don’t like the emails, don’t support the companies that produce them. They are the problem, not the emails. They are the ones promoting pure partisanship.

      Hate the player, not the game.

  2. Brad Warthen Post author

    What’s weird is that I get these from Democrats, but not from Republicans. Even though I vote more often in Republican primaries…

    But that just underlines the problem. If the Dems are going to bother sending these appeals to people who are not demonstrably Democrats (or even are demonstrably NOT Democrats), it seems they’d split it up — send some anti-Haley messages, and some anti-Graham ones separately.

    Of course, as you say, I’m not the PRIMARY target. But you would think I’d be A target, unless the party is just philosophically opposed to growing. Which, if you’re a Democrat, is a particularly suicidal attitude in South Carolina…

      1. Doug Ross

        What percentage of South Carolinians will vote for Graham and Sheheen? It’s not very big. And it’s not a demographic you can target in any way. What are the core beliefs of a Graham/Sheheen voter? A love of lawyers and government intervention?

        Even Graham won’t vote for Sheheen and vice versa, right?

        1. Brad Warthen Post author

          No, not “A love of lawyers and government intervention.” More like an appreciation of competence. They’re smart, relatively nonideological guys. That goes a long way with me.

          1. Doug Ross

            “They’re smart, relatively nonideological guys.”

            Right.. that’s what people say when a politician matches their ideology. Graham’s ideology is fairly well defined. He’s the go to guy when the Sunday shows need someone to represent the neo-con perspective (assuming John McCain lets him).

            1. Doug Ross

              As for Sheheen, he’s got no ideology or apparent motivating principles.. I don’t know what he believes in besides 4K kindergarten. He’s a blank slate who is afraid to take a position on anything.

            2. Brad Warthen Post author

              Doug, you keep dismissing Vincent for a supposed lack of accomplishments.

              But this year, we saw both an expansion of 4K — which is important, despite what you say — and the elimination of the Budget and Control Board, both of which have been signature issues for Sheheen.

              I can’t think of any other lawmaker who’s had that kind of success.

          2. Doug Ross

            Ask the Sheheen campaign which candidate for Senator Vincent will be supporting in November. If Sheheen is non ideological, seems like a simple answer.

            1. Brad Warthen Post author

              No, actually, it isn’t, and you know that.

              And it has nothing to do with ideology. Ideologically, I see Vincent and Brad Hutto as being pretty different.

              But they are both nominated by the same party, and the party — which is providing all sorts of support to make the campaign possible — expects one nominee to be loyal to its other nominees.

              Which is another thing wrong with parties. But if you’re running under a party’s banner, you’re sort of honor bound, aren’t you?

              Elvis Costello will never get a major party’s nomination for anything…

              “I wanna bite the hand that feeds me; I wanna bite that hand so badly. I wanna make them wish they’d never seen me.”

              But I’d vote for him.

          3. Bryan Caskey

            “A love of lawyers and government intervention.” Not exactly a great slogan.

            Got me thinking. If you were running for office, what would your bumper sticker be? I’ve got Doug’s and Silence’s. I’ll let the rest marinate a little bit.

            Doug Ross: 2016: A lovable libertarian
            Silence 2016: No real names; no fireworks!

            1. Brad Warthen Post author

              I’ve toyed over the years with having this sticker printed up:

              “Don’t ever trust any politician whose message can be completely summed up on a bumper sticker.”

              The type would be small enough that, if you could read it, it would mean you were too close…

            2. Dave Crockett

              We still have a “Vote Click & Clack 92 96: Unencumbered By The Thought Process” bumper sticker….

  3. Doug Ross

    How many voters associate Sheheen with 4k? And how many even know what the budget and control board does? Very, very few. Whatever happened to the BCB is inside baseball that doesn’t matter to the regular voter. That’s the cognitive disconnect you have regarding Sheheen. It is an issue for editors and politicians.

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