Pledge not to Pledge Upon
taking office, elected officials take the following oath witnessed by their
fellow citizens: I do solemnly swear (or affirm)
that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against
all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance
to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation
or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties
of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God. Lately,
however, our elected representatives have been signing all manner of pledges in
a misguided attempt to please loud special interests with narrow agendas. Take,
for example, anti-tax activist Grover Norquist. He doesn’t vote in Montana, and has never lived in Montana. If Norquist walked down Broadwater Avenue,
few likely would recognize him. Yet
this Beltway figure has cajoled and threatened elected officials across the U.S., including our US
Congressman, six Montana
state senators and 28 state representatives, into pledging a kind of loyalty
oath to oppose any tax increase at any time for any reason. Other pledges are equally troubling. There is the pro-life pledge, promising
to support only pro-life judicial and Cabinet nominees, and vowing to defund
any organization that performs or funds abortions. Another is the Marriage Vow, which a few presidential candidates have
signed, but a few others, fortunately, have denounced. The Marriage Vow amounts
to a promise to put a federal chaperone into every bedroom in America. The vow pledges “vigorous opposition to any redefinition of the institution
of marriage, faithful monogamy between one man and one woman, and that children
raised by a mother and a father together experience better learning, less
addiction, less legal trouble, and less extramarital pregnancy.” It goes on to pledge support for “second
chance” periods for those seeking divorce—a “cooling off” period. Family law traditionally has been a matter for the states to decide. Why do
small-government conservatives think that Washington politicians should be the
ones to decide who gets married, who gets divorced, and who brings up our
children? There
are more than 20 pledges that politicians agree to when they sign the National Rifle
Association Survey. Why does the NRA believe redundant pledges are necessary?
Isn’t the oath to defend the Constitution and its Second Amendment sufficient? Such
pledges are a tactic of interest groups offering endorsements to candidates who
need votes and campaign donations. It
used to be enough to just say what you believe. Now you have to sign on the
dotted line. Americans
want elected officials who will be clear about their principles and will use
their best judgment so they will act to serve the nation’s best interests as
circumstances develop. Political
affiliations signal a few basics about candidates and how they are likely to
approach issues, including unpredictable problems that face every public
official during their terms of office. In general, a Republican is one who believes
in equal opportunity and free enterprise to find solutions. In general, a Democrat is one who believes in
equal results and government legislation to find solutions. There used to be room for judgment so that
30 years ago 60 US
Senators were considered “in the middle”. [1] Today every single US
Senator has taken a side. Interest
groups have so narrowly defined our political parties that few who think beyond
bumper sticker slogans feel comfortable belonging anymore. The party of Abraham Lincoln and Ronald
Reagan excludes anyone who doesn’t buy into a narrow set of tax, religious, and
social agendas. The party of Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman has become a
ragbag of interest groups pushing divisive identity politics. I fear
it will only get worse. All 50 states have their own interest groups trying to
make a name for themselves sending out surveys or pledges. When candidates don’t sign, they are branded
as infidels and cast into the outer darkness. It’s
time for a voter’s pledge. I will not vote for any candidate who signs a pledge
or takes any oath beyond a promise to support and defend the Constitution—the
only pledge that counts and the only one that should matter. [1] http://nationaljournal.com/magazine/congress-hits-new-peak-in-polarization-20110224?page=2 |
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