It’s been argued (on many a podcast, no doubt) that the brand of beer you drink or the rig you drive will reveal your political affiliation. The clothes you wear, the bumper stickers on your car have now become identity markers that go well beyond matters of taste or concerns about gas mileage and AWD capability. Thanks to political partisanship and identity politics your grocery cart reveals much more than your late-night snacking habits. It can be as a not-so-subtle cue to who you vote for and what political party you affiliate with. Supposedly. This is a story we’re told in this world of heightened partisanship and political animosity. You can detect your enemy in the beer aisle or find your ally when you both decide to protest patronizing a store because of a certain stance or policy they enacted or dismantled.
America is rife with political division and this polarization isn’t helping anyone other than political leaders who stand to gain something from the friction and chaos. At the federal level there are numerous government shutdowns this year, yet to be fully resolved. In Washington D.C. the debate over ICE and its recent heinous actions of killing two American citizens, among other dubious measures, has stalled, and one of the losers in the debate is the Department of Homeland Services. In its fifth week of the partial shutdown and essential employees like TSA agents continue to work without pay, and it impacts travelers. It doesn’t appear that the government will land upon a compromise, and now with an unauthorized war in Iran dictated by President Trump, the chances of any form of cooperation between Democrats and Republicans lessen by the minute.
Political animosity degrades democratic functioning and while it’s come to be accepted as a standard in the nation’s capital, a recent article in Montana Free Press about last fall’s municipal elections in Kalispell, reveals that the tentacles of political partisanship are gaining strength in elections that should remain nonpartisan. Like most cities around the country, Kalispell’s local elections like the mayor and city council are nonpartisan. Essentially, and as defined in the Montana Code, it means that the candidate should be elected based on their record, qualifications, fitness, and for the good of public services. Their affiliation to a political party is not relevant. Unlike a U.S. senator where his or her political party is critical for legislation, a city counselor can’t use those party sources to further their work, whether that’s to fix potholes or look at the issue of water line infrastructure improvements on Kalispell’s Main Street. Nonpartisan positions like this were formed to ensure cooperation between different elected officials, even if they belong to different parties.
Some members of the local Republican party think otherwise after their conservative candidates lost local elections last fall. Even though these offices are nonpartisan and Al Olszewki, the Flathead County Republican chair, told the reporter from the Montana Free Press elections like mayor and city council are outside of the party’s jurisdiction. And, they’re rightly intended to be nonpartisan, so a party can recommend a candidate but they can’t endorse.
What happens with political polarization and tribalism is that previous non-political issues become highly charge political issues. Productive debate and cooperation erode and the result is usually a villainization of the opponent and not a measured, nuanced, or practical response to the types of issues that impact our daily lives like city parks, road construction, local business support, and robust public schools. Very few of us benefit when a candidate uses their position to influence a political policy or promote a specific agenda. Republicans are the dominant political party in Flathead County and have been so for a very long time. Most votes cast in this county go toward Republican candidates but that does not have to mean that in each and every election a declared party follower must be instilled into office. Blind party allegiance doesn’t benefit democracy; at we’re standing on the precipice where this has become the norm. Just as ridiculous as it is to label someone by the type of beer they drink, so is casting nonpartisanship out of style.