My dog's bigger than your dog|
My dog's bigger than yours,
My dog's bigger
And he chases mailmen,
My dog's bigger than yours.
Is voting on only one issue ever the best
strategy?
Single issue
voting has long been a force in US politics.
In the past among those issues have included slavery, the gold standard,
temperance, abortion, gun rights, etc. The US
electoral system is dominated by a two-party system. According to Duverger’s Law, it will always
be a two-party system. Only one of those
two parties will be in the majority at a time and only that party may have the
power to take action on that single issue. The temptation is great to use the position on
that single issue to determine which individuals will be allowed in your party.
The problem is
that despite the adage “The enemy of my enemy is my friend”, the enemy of your
enemy might, or might not, be your friend.
You may make common cause with that individual on this single issue, but
that does not mean that you will agree with them on other issues. Once they are invited to the party on that
one issue, it may be hard to get them to leave on other issues. The Republicans in the 1860s invited those Know
Nothings who agreed with them on slavery to join the Republican party, even if
they might not agree with the Know Nothing position on immigrants. It becomes more of a problem when the only
value is winning, being in power. Then
you might invite people into your party, just because they can make you the majority
party. ( e.g. Nixon’s Southern Strategy).
If the game
is played correctly, nice guys can finish first. Jack Warner, one of Mr. Reagan's Warner Bros.
employers, when the Reagan-for-President boomlets first started, is said to have
replied, ''No, Jimmy Stewart for President; Ronald Reagan for his best
friend.''. I want to live in a world where
nice guys like Jimmy Stewart will be President. I don’t want to know someone’s position
on a single issue, I want to know if they
are a nice guy.
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