Who's party line is it anyway?

I was recently part of a politically-charged discussion where a multitude of topics were covered, but I thought it might be fun to share what they learned about me...

I am registered as a Republican for 2 reasons:
1. I want to be able to vote in the primaries - the State of Maryland doesn't currently offer open primaries, but if that were to ever change, I would promptly become "Unaffiliated".
2. From my perspective, most political issues boil down to a matter of money. I firmly believe that our government shouldn't be spending money they don't have, so therefore I tend to fall on the conservative side of most fiscal matters - this was the only driving force behind my decision to register as a Republican over a Democrat.

However this does not mean:
1. The Republican Party can "count on my vote" - they do not have my allegiance or support. I vote on the person, not the party.
2. I support a two-party system. I am a huge advocate for open primaries and open elections. You should be able to vote for whoever you think is the best candidate for the position, regardless of political affiliation, lobbyist backing, etc.
3. You can make assumptions on my political views. To me, sticking to party lines is like stating your answer before you've heard the question - it's foolish and insulting to human intelligence. We have the ability to question and reason, yet people seem to forfeit those abilities in order to "belong" to a group mindset. They say "I'm a Republican" or "I'm a Democrat" as if to say "therefore you automatically know where I stand on the key issues".

In addition to my disdain for party politics, they also learned that:
1. I strongly support the implementation of term limits for all elected positions. Elected officials were never intended to be long-term. It was a considered a duty to serve- they would do the best they could on behalf of their constituents and then allow someone else the opportunity to serve while they went back to their life.
2. I even go a step further and urge that attendance also be a documented statistic that voters can use in deciding who to vote for. Here's a fun homework assignment: Turn on CNN and count the occupied seats and compare it to the number of unoccupied seats (I'll give you a hint - the number of the former is almost always smaller than the latter). Serving in Congress must be the only "occupation" where you can not show up for work and not worry about being fired.
3. With the implementation of term limits, the pension program would also become obsolete - no more career politicians. You get elected, you serve, you go home. That's it. Speaking of money, the salaries should be voted on by the public. It's our tax money that pays their salary - I think it's more than fair to allow us the ability to decide how much we're willing to spend on their "service".

And the number one point that I drove home? The government works for us, NOT the other way around. We allow them the honor to serve as our representatives - it is an honor that should be EARNED, not given freely. As voters we can revoke that honor just as easily as it was given and we shouldn't be afraid to do so at a moment's notice. The moment they get comfortable is the moment they stop listening.

My rant on governance will have to come to an end for now - although I'm inclined to believe that I'm a bottom-less pit of opinions on the subject. Never-the-less, I will be sure to pick a different hot-button issue for my next post.

Stay tuned...

K8