In Defense of the Unafilliated

It's not my schtick to get political but, uh, there is this giant election thingy coming up next week and so this will be my ONE observation on the whole madness.

A couple of times in the past few weeks I have heard disparaged those who don't identify with the Democrats or Republicans. Once was at a pub for an otherwise enjoyable evening watching the Red Sox, when two of my companions -- both ardent Democrats (we were in Massachusetts -- now THERE'S a surprise!!!!) -- were incredulous at the thought that anyone could be unaffiliated. One of them, a generally terrific guy, tried to explain to me how Joe Biden was pro-life -- insert laugh track here -- so I took his rant with a grain of salt, which is how I tend to take most politically-laden rants.

The other was this weekend when the host of "Wait Wait, Don't Tell Me" (and as the host of a show on NPR, I think he's contractually obliged to be a Democrat) described the populace "as 45% Democratic, 45% Republican and 10% people who stand outside, looking toward the sky with their mouths open while it rains, and then drown."

Well, by cracky, someone has to stick up for the 10 percenters, and as a proud member of that group, I will do my best.

Here's my reason for being unaffiliated: From where I sit, our two political parties are giant, soul-sucking enterprises that I want absolutely nothing to do with. And those who rise to prominence in the parties tend to: 1. love to talk about themselves and take credit for the sun coming up in the morning; and 2. seek to have you convinced that the other guy/lass eats children for breakfast. Remember kids like that in the schoolyard? We used to hate them, now as grown-ups we elect them.

The operatives of the two parties act in the most appaling ways possible and then ask to be rewarded with the keys to the kingdom. Now, from where you sit, perhaps one party misbehaves more -- maybe even a lot more -- than the other. That's fine. But misbehavior is still misbehavior, and I'm not impressed by any of it.

And people think I'm the strange one???!!!!!

And let's clear one thing up. I'm not unaffiliated because I don't know what I believe. I know perfectly damn well what I believe and neither party stacks up as much of a match for me. Look at a few issues and you tell me which soul-destroying party I should belong to:

Abortion: very pro-life
Immigration: open the borders!
Taxation: progressive -- the rich benefit from the system and I have no problem if they pay more -- within reason. I'm not in favor of punitive taxation. I also think a partial fix for Social Security would be to eliminate the cap on payroll taxes to fund it.
Welfare: I thought Bill Clinton got it right -- provide a safety net but make folks work for it.
War in Iraq: Never liked it, thought Bush administration (Cheney/Rumsfeld in particular) made a huge mess of it. Was never fully convinced of the evidence for going in.
War in Afghanistan: The Taliban had it coming.
Labor: pro-union though I believe the labor movement is misguided and been misleading in its campaign against the Colombia Free Trade Agreement. My in-laws are Colombians and I've visited the country three times. The characterization of the country by anti-agreement forces does not square with my experiences of the country nor, I think, the facts. Besides, we in the hedonistic U.S. have helped destroy that country with our fiendish drug habits. The least we can do is help to foster honest work there. That means you, narcotics users -- you have Colombian blood on your hands. I don't see how turning this agreement down helps ordinary Colombians.
Death penalty: very against it.
Education: in favor of public charter schools and think parents should be given tax credits if they enroll kids in private schools -- seeing as they're saving taxpayers money by not having their kids educated in public schools. We offer government grants to 18-year-olds to attend private colleges and no one seems to mind, so why do we treat first-graders any differently? Can't we make the argument that the first-grader needs the support more? (NB: My two eldest children attend a Catholic school and we pay the full freight -- this means I save my town about $15,000 a year by not asking it to school my kids. I don't mind paying taxes to support public education, so I feel like I'm doing more than my share.)
Health care: The ridiculous hodgepodge "system" we have now has to go. I'm willing to listen to alternatives, but we must find a way to cover all Americans and separate peoples' health coverage from job status. For all its warts, a universal payer system will do that. But, again, I'm open to alternatives.

I could go on and on. But I don't see my beliefs consistently backed by one party. Do you? And I'm OK with that. Last time I checked, I don't have to consult the Republicans or Democrats before I make up my mind.

So, vote for the candidate of your choice next Tuesday. Go out there and try to get others to vote for the candidate of your choice, too, while you're at it. Heck, if you're than invested in it, have a ball. But when someone tells you they're neither a Republican nor a Democrat, consider just for a moment that perhaps they have a good reason for where they stand.

-- MJM