How Quickly We Abandon Our Principles - Party Switching for Personal Gain

By Diego Garcia III | Editor of The Brownsville Beacon

The United States is a functioning republic that has a presidential system of government. Many other nations across the world have chosen to adopt a parliamentary system of government. Where we grant executive power to one single person, a parliamentary system of government chooses a prime minister from among members of their respective legislative branch. In many parliamentary systems of government, as well as in many presidential systems, there are multiple political parties that believe in an array of issues and platforms.

Our founding fathers did not envision a nation where partisan politics would rule. As a matter of fact, Alexander Hamilton and James Madison both wrote about the dangers of having political parties. George Washington was not a member of a political party, and warned the country about forming political parties in his farewell address. Regardless, political parties would inevitably be formed. The first two were Hamilton's Federalist Party and Thomas Jefferson's Democratic-Republican Party. Somewhere in between, the Whig Party would emerge, and as the Civil War approached, we get the current two political parties — the Democrats and the Republicans.

From time to time a third party will emerge, such as the time when Theodore Roosevelt failed to gain the Republican nomination, losing to incumbent William Howard Taft. Roosevelt formed the Progressive Party, nicknamed the Bull Moose Party. While the United States does have several fringe political parties, the two major political parties remain the Democrats and the Republicans.

The Democrats and the Republicans could not be more different in their political ideologies. This isn't a civics lesson, so I won't bore you any more than I already have with the ins and outs of their beliefs, but in general, Democrats are for a bigger, more involved central government while the Republicans are for smaller, less involved central government. They differ on everything else from abortion, to immigration, and gun control.

Many people shape their political beliefs as a result of their upbringing. Some people will align with their parent's political beliefs, while others will go completely against their families in an act of, what I can only imagine is defiance. In any case, your life experiences shape your belief structure, your moral compass, and your principles. 

There are those who are party-neutral and fail to identify with any one political party. I fit very nicely in that vague grey-area that is the Independent. I am neither a Democrat or a Republican. I am neither conservative or liberal. I check off boxes from both columns. I have voted for Democrats. I have voted for Republicans. I am not a straight-ticket man by any stretch of the imagination. I am of the mind that each candidate should be studied and evaluated carefully. 

However, there has been a disturbing trend that has been happening during the last couple of election cycles. It appears as if there are those who are so preoccupied with gaining elected office that they will do whatever it takes to get there — even if that means turning your back on the political party you've been supporting for years. I'm talking about party-switching as a tactic to get your name on the ballot.

While The Great State of Texas has historically, and recently, been a red state (with the exception of the Ann Richards years), There are a few areas that are staunchly blue. One of those areas is Austin and Travis County. The other is Deep South Texas. The Rio Grande Valley almost always votes Democrat. Republicans rarely get elected to office. Elections where you have to register your party affiliation (you don't have to register your political party affiliation if you run for city office) are usually won during the Democratic Primary season. Often times candidates duke it out for a position on the November ballot and are unopposed by the time the general election rolls around. 

It is because of this that some candidates have recently started using party-switching as a tactic. Instead of filing for the primary election as a Democrat, some candidates are filing as Republicans at the last minute, making sure there isn't another Republican challenger, virtually ensuring them a spot on the general election ballot. 

It really is a pity people abandon their principles so quickly just so they can get their names to appear on the ballot. I couldn't possibly imagine spending my life supporting a Democratic platform only to decide to run in an election as a Republican. If anything, that should be a big red flag to any voter. If someone is willing to abandon the beliefs and principles they believed in their entire life just to get their name on the ballot, what makes you think they're going to stick to any campaign promise that comes out of their mouth? What makes you think you'd be able to believe anything they say if they are so quick to flip-flop on key party values?

Imagine, for a minute, someone has lived their entire life believing in the principles of the Democratic Party. They have previously registered as a Democrat. They have volunteered on Democratic campaigns. They believe in helping any and all immigrants seeking to come into the United States. They believe the Second Amendment should be abolished or, at the very least, severely restricted. They support and defend a woman's right to have an abortion. Then one day, they decide they want to hold an elected office. But instead of facing one, or two, primary challengers, they decide to circumvent the primary process and register as a Republican in order to get their name on the ballot.

I would think that any candidate willing to do that wouldn't be taken seriously, and I'm hoping the public isn't easily duped by people who throw buzzwords and platform-less candidacies at them. However, sometimes people will act desperately and vote for people who promise them the moon. I can't help but think of a quote an adviser tells the President of the United States in the movie The American President:

People want leadership, Mr. President, and in the absence of genuine leadership, they'll listen to anyone who steps up to the microphone. They want leadership. They're so thirsty for it they'll crawl through the desert toward a mirage, and when they discover there's no water, they'll drink the sand.

I understand there is a perception that all politicians are corrupt and Deep South Texas is in desperate need of change, and perhaps we do need change. However, we need leaders who have the legitimate interests of the people and their constituents at heart. Politics isn't a vanity exercise. I understand some people see it as an easy way to make money by taking bribes and kickbacks. But there is a lot more to politics than making money and stuffing your own personal war chest.

Deep South Texas is in crisis. There is good reason why one of the local bloggers calls Brownsville the Third World Capital of the United States. Our infrastructure and public institutions are crumbling. We need representatives and elected officials who are going to do everything in their power to make Brownsville and the Rio Grande Valley a better place to live. We need elected officials who are going to deliver real, tangible results rather than empty campaign promises and pie-in-the-sky, imaginary dreams.

We need people who are going to stand by their beliefs and political convictions, not someone who is going to abandon them for personal gain.