I guess party trumps all, huh?

“We constantly complain about spineless politicians. And then when a couple of them stand up for what they truly believe, our first move is to rev up a primary opponent for him?”

Yes. Exactly. I don’t care if the bastard has an R after his name. If I don’t agree with him on a major issue, then I’ll support someone who does.

“Either we trust the judgement and heartfelt beliefs of our politicians or we encourage them to be as calculating in their votes as we hypocritically criticize them for.”

If I was a pol, this would be a get out of jail card for me. I elect a representative to represent ME. Not to get an attack of ‘beliefs’ which, convienently, coincide with the way the winds are blowing in DC. And no, I don’t trust their judgement.

I don’t prostitute myself for pols that happen to have an ‘R’ after their name. Neither should you.

I’m confused. You start out by saying things like, “Loyalty to party and its leader should outweigh many concerns” and “I fully support the pledge I signed that would deny party funds to those who vote against the surge,” and “enforcing party discipline.”

Then, after my disappointment in you peaks, you say, “I understand the need for party discipline in this matter. But a representative of the people who either votes to reflect the position of his constituents or out of a duty to his own moral precepts and conscience shouldn’t receive a death sentence. It is not wise politically nor is it right.”

So what is it? It’s seems the ultimate question is where does an elected representative’s loyalties lay? Perhaps we agree first and foremost representatives must represent their constituencies, but I get very perturbed when people start talking about party loyalty and penalizing representatives who don’t put the party first. Party loyalty should only go so far and the founders never intended for politics to be dominated by an entrenched two-party system.

I actually support party dictatorial discipline of party members because it will create more independents.

So where to draw the line?

Democrats are fond of offering up various European ‘allies’ to assist our efforts to slow Iran’s quest for nuclear weapons…

No, probably not. This does smack of more bogus guilt-tripping by the right, however. Pretty standard fare these days.

Kind of a crazy idea if you think about it. Supporting our military people is the same as supporting the failed military policies George W. Bush.

Kind of like saying you support