Dissing Independent voters

by Thomas Mills, Politics NC, March 22, 2017.

Americans are as divided as ever along political lines and we constantly hear people say how tired they are of the hyper-partisanship driving our politics. Some politicians are acknowledging the damaging effects of the division. They understand that their political careers may depend on reaching out to the center in the future. Others, not so much.

Back in January, Sen. Thom Tillis called for an end to bickering, saying, “Let’s be clear: the American people didn’t give the GOP a stamp of approval or a mandate to ram through an ideologically driven, far-right agenda. If the election was a mandate for anything, it was for elected officials in both parties to break through the gridlock to finally start producing results.”

In his State of the State address, Gov. Roy Cooper called for finding common ground. “In Raleigh, partisan battles, power struggles and lawsuits might grab the headlines, but we have to work together where we can. To look beyond ourselves to see what’s right for the state, regardless of who’s in power.”

Tillis and Cooper recognize that people are frustrated with the lack of results in both Washington and Raleigh. Those people blame both sides and want leaders who can look beyond politics to solutions. They’re reflected in the growing number of unaffiliated voters in the state. There are now as many people in the state registered as unaffiliated as there are Republicans.

In contrast to Cooper and Tillis, the Republicans in the General Assembly are encouraging partisanship and trying to water down the influence of unaffiliated voters. They passed a bill to make judicial elections partisan but Cooper vetoed it. Cooper was smart. Not only are judges supposed to be less partisan, North Carolina makes it difficult for independent candidates to get on the ballot in partisan races. We need more independence in our judiciary, not less.

Now, Republican legislators want to force cities and towns to make municipal races partisan. Mayors across the state oppose the move. Local issues are generally less ideological and forcing partisanship to every level of government is divisive and heavy-handed. Again, unaffiliated voters are the people who get shorted in this move. Republicans in Raleigh seem to believe that party affiliation should be a defining qualification for public service.

GOP legislators have made it clear that they have less respect for independent voters and want more partisanship, not less. Instead of fostering an atmosphere of cooperation, they’re encouraging an environment of division. Instead of healing the wounds of polarization, they’re looking for ways to open up more. Republicans in the Raleigh lost sight of the difference between campaigning and governing.

http://www.politicsnc.com/dissing-independent-voters/