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  Bucking Partisanship The Western Way
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Last EditedWesternDem  Mar 12, 2007 12:16pm
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News DateMonday, February 26, 2007 06:00:00 PM UTC0:0
Descriptionby Gary Trauner

One fine day last summer during my campaign for Wyoming’s lone seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, I happened to knock on the door of a leader of her local Republican Party – let’s call her Mrs. Lincoln (not her real name, but appropriate). She invited me in to her home, and over the next twenty minutes we had one of the more interesting discussions of my entire campaign. We agreed that partisanship is not inherently bad – it can allow people of like-mind, with similar philosophies, to band together for support and to promote their views. However, much to my amazement, Mrs. Lincoln decried the blind and bitter partisanship she saw nationally, and even locally, in her own party. To illustrate her point, she asked if I thought Republicans were inherently stronger on national security. As you might imagine, I did not. She then asked (rhetorically, I hope) if I changed parties tomorrow, would I be any stronger on national security as a Republican than as a Democrat. The absurdity of it all was immediately clear.

This story came to mind while reading a recent interview in Newsweek with Vice President Cheney. I was floored, but hardly surprised, by his quote in regard to a question about Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska. The Vice President stated “Let’s say I firmly believe in Ronald Reagan’s 11th Commandment: thou shalt not speak ill of a fellow Republican.”

Wow.

Is it really true that we should refrain from holding people accountable or responsible simply because of the party label they have chosen for themselves? Should I have blindly supported Republicans Mark Foley (inappropriate behavior with minors) and Duke Cunningham (bribery) or Democrat William Jefferson (likely bribery, cash in freezer) just because they might have checked the same box I did when I registered to vote?
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