Editorials

The Base is the Enemy
By: Torry Lewis

Bases are the enemy of the political system in the United States. No, I’m not talking about the baseball diamond, military bases, or the opposite of acids; I’m talking about political bases. Are those groups of people loyal to a political party and usually, informally, manifests the political dogma of the party. The loyal base does not look at contenders from the other party, they do not support bi-partisanship (for the most part), and will leave their house no matter what to vote for their party.

So why are these party loyalist so dangerous? Because their elected officials are stupid. Elected officials, while campaigning, are accustomed to receiving a ton of mail with pledges and promises for them to sign from their base. They sign it and forget about it. Well….until they have to break it. Elected officials let the base put them against the wall in times where compromise and bi-partisanship should reign.

When these politicians get in office, especially for the first time, as evident with the new Tea Party Members, they immediately try to make the base happy. In the Republican led House of Representatives, during the first weeks in power, they passed several bills catered to the base. Repeal of the healthcare law, repeal of the energy efficient light bulbs, and so on was the topic of debate. This was a simply a waste of time.

From middle school through college you have learned that a bill must be passed by both houses of congress and signed by the President (in some cases). The republicans in the house passed these bills which were quickly shut down in the Democratic led Senate and would have definitely been vetoed by President Obama. This is a prime example of making noise to the base, acting as if they are representing their interest in the most pure form.

This is a dangerous technique.

The American Congress is set up in a delicate manner. Because political parties are involved in an institution where 535 people must be included, compromise is needed. If there is no compromise, Americans witness gang mentality in Congress. Are you a Crip or a Blood (for humor purposes, add a stereotypical gangsta rapper voice)? I’m sorry, are a Democrat or Republican?

During the debt ceiling debate, Sen. John McCain took a shot at the politicians who cater solely to their base. While addressing the Senate, McCain said “[that] is not fair to the American people, to hold out and say we won’t agree to raising the debt limit until we pass a balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution,” McCain said. “It’s unfair, it’s bizarre. And maybe some people [who] have only been in this body for six or seven months or so really believe it.”

Hoorah, Senator!

He was then attacked by Tea Party republicans saying that he has been in office too long and does not understand what’s going on in the real world. This is the first time that I believe that long tenure in political office has showed wisdom. McCain knows that compromise must be had for the institution of Congress to be successful. NO PARTY should block important policy decisions, like the debt ceiling, to advance their political standing within their base.

Why are the elected officials stupid for catering to the base? For kissing the hand that feeds them? Simple. Because the base will not vote for the other side in protest. Once in office the chance of an elected official losing re-election to a member of his own party is about 5%. Too bad these dummies are worried about the 5% chance that they will be ousted by their own party.

The quest to the people that want to maintain office should be to bring more people on your side! A Congressperson and the President is more likely to succeed if they compromise. Your base will not leave you, though they may not fight horrible weather to vote for you, but to subsidize this loss in base support they must look at the potential gain in outside support.

Mr/Ms Congressperson, I’m not advocating that you should forget the base, but you must realize that your base is selfish and will not grow. Thank them for what they did to elect you and continue to fight for them. Just don’t let them put you in a corner to where you cannot fulfill your duty to them and the American people in general. Look at your job in a larger sense; If you fail to compromise and nothing happens, you have failed your base. All you have to do is remind your base, “Sometimes getting a little of what you want is better than getting nothing at all”. If they begin to corner you, they are your enemy that will continue to support you…so do not feel threatened.