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Political parties are at the core of all

that is wrong with our political system
Daniel L. Gardner, Contributing columnist Published 11:29 a.m. CT Oct. 22,
2018
4-5 minutes

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President Donald Trump celebrated Supreme Court Justice Brett

Kavanaugh at a rally in Council Bluffs, Iowa, as he seeks to boost
Republican enthusiasm going into next month's midterm elections.
Trump called the Democrats 'an angry leftwing mob.' (Oct. 9) AP

George Washington was our first and, perhaps, best president. One
of his primary goals for the new nation was unity, and he worked
tirelessly to arbitrate differences between and among political
leaders, choosing not to join any political party.

Washington served two terms, though he considered retiring after

one term. Oddly enough, two political rivals, Thomas Jefferson and
Alexander Hamilton, both encouraged Washington to serve a
second term for the sake of the union.

In his farewell address, Washington warned the people of the

intrinsic dangers of political parties.

“Without looking forward to an extremity of this kind (which

nevertheless ought not to be entirely out of sight), the common and

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continual mischiefs of the spirit of party are sufficient to make it the

interest and duty of a wise people to discourage and restrain it.

“It serves always to distract the public councils and enfeeble the
public administration. It agitates the community with ill-rounded
jealousies and false alarms; kindles the animosity of one part
against another; foments occasionally riot and insurrection.”

In subsequent administrations, the parties flourished and grew and

battled all the other parties, yet they all shared the same goal:
growing the power of the federal government. The Constitution had
delegated most government duties and protection of rights to the
states and the people.

As parties began to dominate government in the capital, politicians

made laws and created bureaucracies to increase powers of the
federal government. While politicians worked to grow the power
and scope of the federal government, they continually raised and
fought over issues of their own making, dividing citizens into
political camps just as Washington and other founders had
predicted and with the same anticipated outcomes.

Every national election in my lifetime has been deemed “the most

important election” in our lifetimes. The 2018 midterm elections are
no exception. Polls, politicians and pundits predict Democrats will
take back the House and Republicans will gain a couple of seats in
the Senate.

Of all the presidents from the past 100 years, Donald Trump is
arguably the least partisan and most pragmatic. Trump has
probably been a registered Democrat for more years than a
registered Republican, and he has given millions of dollars to
politicians across the political spectrum, including the Clintons. Out

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of 19 Republican candidates, Trump was my 19th choice.

Nevertheless, Trump may prove to be the best president out of all
the 2016 candidates if he maintains his pragmatic approach to
solving both domestic and international challenges.

Unfortunately, though Republicans controlled both houses of

Congress the past two years, #NeverTrump Republicans and lock-
step Democrats along with their kissing cousins in the media
thwarted Trump’s policies, positions and initiatives as effectively as
a divided government.

If Democrats take the House, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and her
legions in the House and media will impede, vilify and denigrate
every Trump decision, policy and initiative. In that sense, political
parties’ goals and actions have remained the same since
Washington’s day.

Washington’s prescient warnings have become today’s news: “It

serves always to distract the public councils and enfeeble the public
administration. It agitates the community with ill-rounded jealousies
and false alarms; kindles the animosity of one part against another;
foments occasionally riot and insurrection.”

Voters would do well to remember party politicians created “false

alarms,” kindled “the animosity of one part against another” and
fomented riots and insurrection.

Daniel L. Gardner is a syndicated columnist who lives in Starkville,

MS. Contact him at PJandMe2@gmail.com.

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