The WA-3 Congressional Race: A Front-Row Seat to the Political Food Fight

 

Welcome to the Political Food Fight

Washington's 3rd Congressional District has officially entered that magical time of year when political parties begin eating their own young while insisting everything is perfectly fine.

The primary is over, and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez and John Braun are headed for the November general election.

I am not writing this to tell anyone how to vote. I am not interested in convincing anyone to vote Republican, Democrat, Independent, or for the candidate whose campaign slogan is apparently just "Dear Lord, Let This Be Over." I'm interested in watching what is happening around this race because, from where I am standing, it is pretty damn fascinating.

There is something particularly entertaining about watching both parties accuse each other of the exact behaviors they routinely excuse in their own camp. Political hypocrisy apparently has no party affiliation. It just changes shirts.

Meanwhile, Over in the Democratic Camp...

Democrats appear to be discovering the ancient political tradition of blame everyone except ourselves.

If someone doesn't vote the way the party expects, they're suddenly the problem. If someone questions the strategy, they're the problem. If someone refuses to blindly support the preferred candidate, they're the problem. If an Independent says, "Wait a minute, I don't actually agree with either of you," apparently the appropriate response is to explain why that person is somehow responsible for the collapse of civilization.

Nothing says "we value independent thinking" quite like demanding that independent voters think exactly like you.

The irony is that Democrats who spend enormous amounts of time talking about protecting democracy can sometimes become remarkably uncomfortable with the idea that voters might exercise that democracy in a way the party doesn't like.

Apparently, democracy is wonderful right up until somebody uses it incorrectly.

Then there is the "vote blue no matter who" mentality. Democrats will argue that voters have to support the nominee because the stakes are too high to do otherwise. Yet when someone points out that they have serious disagreements with that nominee, suddenly that person is selfish, irresponsible, helping Republicans, or somehow betraying the cause.

That's an interesting definition of political freedom.

Meanwhile, Across the Battlefield...

Republicans aren't exactly innocent bystanders here.

Republicans have spent years complaining about party-line thinking, government overreach, censorship, identity politics, and people being told what they are supposed to think. Then, when someone on their own side steps outside the approved talking points, suddenly that person can become a RINO, a traitor, a communist, a liberal, or whatever insult is currently making the rounds.

Apparently, independent thought is perfectly acceptable as long as it reaches the approved conclusion.

Republicans also have their own version of selective outrage. Something can be an unforgivable scandal when a Democrat does it, but suddenly become complicated, misunderstood, or completely irrelevant when a Republican does essentially the same thing.

The hypocrisy doesn't disappear because your team is wearing red.

That is the part that seems to escape both parties.

The Republican Popcorn Section

The funniest part of all this is watching Republicans sit back and watch Democrats implode.

They don't have to do much right now. They can simply sit there with their popcorn while Democrats argue over who is responsible for the mess.

They're sitting there like people who accidentally wandered into a restaurant kitchen while the chefs are throwing pots and pans at each other.

"Should we intervene?"

"Nah."

"Should we say something?"

"Absolutely not."

"More popcorn?"

"Definitely."

Republicans understand something that Democrats sometimes seem to forget: you don't have to defeat your opponent when your opponent is perfectly capable of doing the work themselves.

The irony is that Republicans have done this exact same thing to themselves plenty of times. The difference is that right now, they're getting a front-row seat to watch the other side do it.

Political memory is apparently very short.

Then There Are the Independents

Somewhere above this entire battlefield is another group of people: the Independents.

They are standing on a hill overlooking the whole spectacle. Down below, Republicans are yelling at Democrats. Democrats are yelling at Republicans. Democrats are also yelling at Democrats. Republicans are occasionally pointing at the Democrats and saying, "See?"

The Democrats respond by pointing at each other.

Someone is waving a party platform around like a referee's flag. Someone else is screaming that everyone needs to fall in line.

The Independents are standing there with their arms crossed, looking down at all of it like a group of exhausted parents watching two toddlers fight over a toy that neither one actually wants.

"Are you two finished?"

"No."

"Do you even remember what you're fighting about?"

"No."

"Does anybody?"

"..."

"Fantastic."

They then look at each other and shrug.

Apparently, being Independent is the equivalent of going rogue these days.

You don't owe either party your vote. You don't owe anyone a vote simply because they tell you the alternative is worse. You don't owe a political party your loyalty. You don't owe a candidate your support because somebody tells you that voting differently is helping the other side.

You get to look at the candidates, look at their records, look at their positions, decide what matters to you, and make your own damn decision.

That shouldn't be controversial.

Apparently, in modern American politics, it is.

The "Least Terrible Sandwich" Argument

This brings me to the part of this race that I find particularly amusing.

If Braun and Perez are going to be the only two options, some voters are going to look at the ballot and think:

Fact is, if Braun and Perez are going to be the only 2 options, it is a choice of would you like a shit sandwich or a shit burger.

Before somebody gets their political panties in a twist over that statement, no, I'm not saying the two candidates are literally identical. I'm saying that some voters may look at both choices and decide that neither one represents what they actually want.

That's a legitimate political position.

The response to that should not be, "Well, you're helping the other side."

That's not an argument. That's just some worn-out line that a Democrat came up with and pretty soon, the rest of the herd is parroting it. It's the Democrat's version of the Republican's "That's communism!"

Both parties have perfected the art of telling voters that they are free to make their own decisions, provided those decisions are the correct ones.

That is where Independents tend to get irritated.

If I am told that I am an independent voter, then I am going to independently decide who deserves my vote. That's kind of the whole damn point.

This Isn't a Team Sport

Maybe the biggest problem with American politics is that both parties have convinced themselves that elections are supposed to be team sports.

They're not.

I'm not required to cheer for one team because I hate the other team. I'm not required to pretend a candidate is wonderful because the opposing candidate is worse. I'm not required to overlook something I find unacceptable simply because someone tells me the alternative is scarier.

That isn't independent thinking.

That's choosing which team gets to tell you what to think.

If your candidate can't earn someone's vote without threatening them with what the other candidate might do, the problem isn't the voter.

Your candidate needs to give people a reason to actually want to vote for them.

There's a difference between persuading someone and demanding obedience from them.

Apparently, we are having trouble remembering that distinction.

So I'll Be Watching

I'll be watching this race from that hill above the battlefield.

I'll watch Republicans point at Democrats. I'll watch Democrats point at Republicans. I'll watch Democrats point at Democrats. I'll watch Republicans pretend they have never done exactly what they're criticizing Democrats for doing, while Democrats insist they would never use the same tactics they accuse Republicans of using.

I'll watch people accuse Independent voters of secretly working for whichever party they don't like because apparently "I don't agree with you" is now a political conspiracy.

I'll probably continue sitting here wondering when political parties decided that voters were employees who needed permission slips before casting a ballot.

I'm not here to tell anyone what to do. I'm simply observing the circus.

The Republicans have their popcorn, the Democrats have their knives out, and the Independents have binoculars.

Somewhere in the middle of all this, there is supposed to be an election.

Pass the popcorn.