Neither Fish Nor Fowl

At the end of FTR two weeks ago, guest Zac McCrary with Anzalone-Lizst commented off-air that I had asked one of my "go-to" questions: what's the sense of having just two major political parties if there's no true difference between them. Specifically, I had quoted Governor Wallace's "not a dime's worth of difference" line. And it is true that I've been asking guests that question for a long time. That's because party cohesion is the way legislative agendas are achieved. It is also how individual voters can decide a candidate's general core-beliefs. It's an even more relevant question this election year.

There's the Bright/Love 2nd District race. Before he announced his candidacy, there was speculation that Mayor Bright might run as a Republican...OR a Democrat.

Last night at the GOP convention, Sen. Joe Lieberman was the closing speaker...the same Joe Lieberman who was Democrat Al Gore's VP running mate in 2000 and a Democratic candidate for President in 2004. Now he's an "Independent", trying to get Republican Sen. John McCain elected President. The Chicago Tribune on Monday detailed Lieberman's path across party lines: "Lieberman's relationship with Democrats dramatically soured in 2006, when he lost a primary to anti-war candidate Ned Lamont. But he went on to win the general election, running as an independent with strong backing from Republicans. The process left Lieberman feeling alienated from his former party, an outlook reinforced by the fact this year's Democratic nominee, Obama, was one of the few members of his party in the Senate to send Lamont money and formally back him."

Alabama Republicans, virtually all of whom used to be Democrats, are fond of saying they didn't leave the party...the party left them. But during Alabama elections season it becomes more and more difficult to tell the parties apart. Gun-rights? All of the TV campaign commercials show candidates holding shotguns. Gay marriage? Everybody is against it, though some Democrats will quietly endorse "domestic partnerships". Eliminate "pork"...a chorus of Yeas!!! (unless it's money being sent home by Alabama's delegation to Washington). Women's rights? Now the GOP is all in favor of women, or more specifically Alaska Governor and VP candidate Sarah Palin, working and raising a family, though it wasn't too long ago that the GOP preached that women were supposed to stay at home and raise the kids.

It is to the advantage of the candidates, incumbent or otherwise, Democrat or Republican, to blur the party lines at election times because it gives them the wiggle room they need to convince you to vote for them. And since they control the Legislature, they continue to make it more and more difficult for third parties to make any real progress. And speaking of third parties, even Libertarians are getting into the party-blurring act this year. Bob Barr is the party's presidential candidate...the same Barr who wrote the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is now running under the banner of the party of get-government-out-of-my-face (though Barr frames the issue under the banner of "State's Rights"). Go figure.