The Difference Between Being a Democrat And a Republican

See Maine and South Carolina

If you didn’t think there was a difference between the two political parties and thought everything was a “uniparty”, the stark contrast between what happened in Maine and South Carolina over the past week ought to start to disabuse you of that opinion.

In Maine, the Democratic Senate primary winner, Graham Platner, was forced out of the race. Before the primary vote, he was known to be an antisemite, a Nazi tattoo on his chest, a communist, and a serial abuser of women. He also had a fake background a la George Soros and maybe someone else we know from Nevada.

A poll came out that showed him losing to the incumbent Republican, and the centralized Democratic Party went into a tizzy. All of a sudden, they discovered Platner’s warts. It might be a made-up story that he assaulted a woman or not. We don’t know. We know the Democrats manufactured rape stories against Justice Kavanaugh and President Trump that were not true, though lots of Democrats still believe the malarky. They still believe the made-up stories about Clarence Thomas, for goodness sake. It’s entirely possible this one was made up, too, to get the central planners what they wanted.

Remember, Joe Biden won the Democratic Primary, and after one bad debate performance, he was removed too. There is precedent for this stuff, and the more they do it, the easier it will be to do again.

Democrats don’t want to hear from the plebians who vote. They say they do, but don’t act that way.

Contrast that to South Carolina. Senator Lindsay Graham had a tragic aortic rupture that killed him.

There was a mad scramble behind the scenes to jockey for position for appointment to fill out Graham’s term. Graham’s body was still a bit warm, so the mad scramble wasn’t very public, but you know it was happening. The appointee would obviously have name recognition. But, perhaps more importantly, a de facto endorsement for re-election.

That would limit competition.

President Trump suggested Lindsay Graham’s sister fill the remaining five months of her brother’s term.

Oh, the outrage! It was the patrimony. The Senate was the “House of Lords”. Forgetting that the Dingell family has held the same seat for 100 years or that the Kennedys have done similarly. If anyone remembers, Democratic Senator Mel Carnahan was tragically killed in an airplane crash, and his wife filled out the term, and then ran and served! Throughout U.S. history, plenty of spouses or siblings have filled in when someone has died. Do some research on President Woodrow Wilson, a stroke, and his wife.

What does that appointment do?

If you assume Graham’s sister will not run, and I think that is a pretty good assumption, it creates a highly competitive environment inside South Carolina. Now, anyone who wants to attain the seat has to stand up an organization and compete for it.

The voters get to choose twice. First in the primary, then in the general.

It’s one reason why I am a Republican, not a Libertarian. Libertarians prize chaos and disorder. That always ends with totalitarians seizing control because people prefer a little order to arrange their freedom around. It’s also why I will never be a Democrat because they believe in centralization and are anti-competitive. Democrats are takers.

What just happened in South Carolina is the essence of being a democratic republic. Ben Franklin said it would be good for us if we could keep it. Seeing the evolution of the Democratic Party since 1850, it’s awfully hard to keep.