Partying

Among the most common questions I am asked on the campaign trail is why I am running as a Democrat. In Utah County, we all acknowledge that it is an up-hill struggle. It requires meeting and reassuring a lot of people who never considered voting for a Democrat before.

One of the strengths of our country is the tradition of checks and balance made possible by a two-party system of politics. However, partisanship across the nation is increasingly bitter. Those who vilify their opposition and stereotype broad swaths of the population damage rather than strengthen our communities. They are seeing the world in two dimensions. All of us are people with varying circumstances and experience and no single political party could define us all. In fact, a single party in power does more to invite corruption and oppression.

When political party leadership calls for purging its membership, it loses its claim of representation. It may march on with militant energy and special interest funding, but it can only serve its narrowly-defined membership.

Admittedly, no two parties could define us either. The concept of “the big tent” is essential for politics to move forward with true representation. I have chosen to run as a candidate in the Utah County Democratic Party because their doors are open to those who want to serve the communities they live in. I may not agree with all members of the party on all subjects, as they may not agree with each other, but there is mutual respect for the people that make up our communities and for the will to better these communities.

I suppose that it is on account of their minority that this is true. I hear that in places where Democrats hold a super majority, there is the same struggle to keep their party members in line. If this is so, no wonder I am always cheering for the underdog! That is where you find the most civility.