Partisan politics plays role in real world

Guest Opinion

By JEFF WARD

Special to The Press

Under the title "Beware the Great Divider" a recent Coeur d'Alene Press editorial criticized the Kootenai County Reagan Republicans for our active participation in local elections. The Press contends that the KCRR is somehow "polluting" the purity of local elections by supporting candidates with whom we share a political philosophy. To imply that partisanship in local elections came about just because of our group is silly. People involved in partisan politics were the driving force in local elections decades before we were ever founded in July 2009.

First of all, "non-partisan elections" is a complete misnomer. The state of Idaho does not list political party affiliation on the ballot for municipal and local taxing district elections but that does not mean that the candidates and their supporters are not active members of a political party. Even The Press, in same issue as the above-mentioned editorial, led with the word "Republican" to describe "non-partisan candidate" Jim Hollingsworth. There are no non-partisan elections, just non-partisan ballot listings. Everyone "in the know" in our community is aware of the political affiliation of the candidates. It is the height of elitism to think this knowledge should not be shared with the average voter. To deny the voters the right to know the beliefs of candidates, their general philosophy and with whom they politically associate, is just another way to pull the wool over voters' eyes.

One of the reasons the so-called "non-partisan" elections are, by far, the lowest turnout elections is because the ballot does not list the party affiliation of candidates. In a perfect world voters would read The Press cover to cover, scour the Web for information about the candidates and email each one questioning their positions. It is not a perfect world. Voters like and use the electoral short-hand of party affiliation on the ballot to make decisions about the general philosophy and affiliations of candidates. Often party preference is a much better indicator of political philosophy than the candy-coated spin provided by campaign literature and ads. If voters don't have those party indicators, on average, four out of five voters choose not to vote. Such abdication of franchise allows others more vested in government to decide, often those with personal interest in expanding the size and scope of government like public employees, government contractors and entitlement recipients.

The Reagan Republicans is a local group of political activists who wish to see conservative candidates elected and endorse those we feel would well serve our community. We publicize our endorsements, knock on doors and make phone calls. We are not an arm of the national, state or county Republican Party and are answerable only to our local members. We find it funny that our local group is targeted for criticism for advocating Republican candidates for local office but two years ago when out-of-town Democrat big-wigs like former Governor Cecil Andrus, sitting Congressman Walt Minnick and Boise Mayor David Bieter infused partisanship into the Coeur d'Alene City Council race by strongly supporting fellow partisan Democrat Mike Kennedy, we did not hear even a peep from The Press.

As to a local partisan group supporting candidates in non-partisan offices, we see it as simply the right thing to do. The people have the right to know the governing philosophy of the candidate for whom they are voting. We wonder how a community that universally elects conservative Republicans to partisan office somehow, more often than not, elects liberals and Democrats to non-partisan office. It is either a function of electoral schizophrenia or "non-partisan"-fueled low-voter turnout. I suspect the latter.

Jeff Ward is president of Kootenai County Reagan Republicans.