George Washington's farewell address on political parties still echoes to us today

In his farewell address, George Washington warned against the negatives of political parties with these words:

“The common and continual mischiefs of the spirit of party are sufficient to make it the interest of a wise people to discourage and restrain it.  It serves always to distract the public counsels and enfeeble the public administration.  It agitates the community with ill founded jealousies and false alarms; kindles the animosity of one part against another, foments occasional riot and insurrection.  It opens the door to foreign influence and corruption, which find a facilitated access to the government itself through the channels of party passions.”

In looking back through the over 200 years of our history, there is evidence that supports many of the observations in the quote above.  We have seen examples of important issues before congress that have been delayed as the result of quarreling between republicans and democrats.  Under these conditions, it is nearly impossible for issues to be resolved in a timely manner.  In addition, under a party system, it is inevitable that one political party will seek advantage over another by spreading discontent and causing political agitation.  In his address, Washington seems to suggest that the spirit of loyalty to one’s party will supersede loyalty to the nation and will be lost in the scrambling for political power. I have listened to speeches made by politicians and have heard them assert that when their party is in power, things will be better for the country.  When I hear a party claim a monopoly on knowing what is best for the country, I immediately become suspicious.

In his remarks, Washington implies   that the party spirit is inevitable.  He does not say that we should ban or prohibit parties from forming, but rather that we should discourage and restrain it.  Thus, if we cannot discourage the rise of political parties, we need to do what we can to restrain the spirit of the political party.

We at PolitiVote agree with the sentiments of George Washington.  While we recognize that there is no way to completely eliminate partisanship in politics, we do not feel that it should be necessary to register as a democrat or republican before voting.  The real issue should be the candidate and his or her qualifications.  We at PolitiVote do not claim solidarity with any political party.  The focus should be on the best idea on solving problems – not the party from whom this idea may emanate.

Source for the quote:  http://www.earlyamerica.com/earlyamerica/milestones/farewell/