Primary Candidates – Which Team Do They Represent?

An article appeared on al.com prior to the College Football Championship game that spoke to me on a level beyond football and rivalries, as a political analogy came wrapped up in a piece regarding the football team of my beloved alma mater’s fight for a national championship title.

The article was written prior to the championship game and outlined the mission of this year’s team while giving some insight as to how they overcame an early season loss to battle back for a shot at the title. One theme stood out: “Either you’re with us or you’re against us.”

Sadly, that quote pretty much articulates how I view many of those currently holding elected office at the local, state, and federal levels, and particularly those in the political party claiming to be fighting for conservative principles. But on the flip side, I imagine that it might also reflect how those within the political class may well view the constituents they are elected to represent. Far too often, conservative campaign promises are abandoned in lieu of gaining favor with corporatist conservatives once elected office is attained. I can’t help but think how far we’ve fallen from the representative government that our Founders envisioned, and yet I imagine they all anticipated that we would one day experience it.

The rift between constitutional conservatives and corporatist conservatives is hardly new. Goldwater conservatives and Rockefeller Republicans have been at odds with each other for decades. But I’m alarmed by how we’ve reached a point in the political process of this nation where the differences in ideology and how it plays out in this election cycle are further dividing even those who identify as constitutional conservatives.

Hardly a day goes by that my Facebook news feed isn’t filled with various friends engaging in rather nasty verbal battles with each other regarding their primary choices for president. Most arguments revolve around personality issues rather than substantive policy discussion, but what can we expect when televised “debates” – and we’ve certainly dumbed down that definition – are little more than reality show circuses as the intent appears to be to destroy any candidate deemed unworthy of the establishment class.

As we get closer to our own March 1st primary, the wagons will continue to circle more closely, and emotions will escalate even higher as the remaining primaries proceed to determine the GOP nominee. While I am completely solid in my choices for Congress (and those choices are based on research, what I personally know of the candidates, and my study of various congressional scorecards but not endorsements from within the incumbent club), I’m still undecided as to my presidential vote. But I do know that with each candidate I choose, it will be the person who best reflects my values, and the one I can confidently count on to vote for solid conservative principles without my constant calls begging that representative to hold firm to their campaign promises.

As Jonathan Allen, the player on Alabama’s championship team quoted above, also stated prior to the big game, “you’ve got to be held responsible and do your job.” If that was a winning strategy for a college football team, why should we expect any less from those we elect?

Marcia Chambliss serves on the leadership team of Smart Girl Politics, www.smartgirlpolitics.com, an online community for conservative women. She can be reached at: Marcia@sgpaction.com. Her views do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Smart Girl Politics.