The saying used to be "All politics is local." Now the reverse is at least equally true: "All politics is national."
Meaning, whereas there used to be lots of politicians who were conservative Democrats and liberal Republicans, those days are pretty much gone. Democratic politicians are almost all liberal. Republican politicians are almost all conservative.
This poses a problem in nonpartisan races, such as for Salem Mayor and City Councilor.
Sure, nonpartisan has a lovely inclusive vibe to it. Let divisiveness rule in those nasty races where candidates have Democrat or Republican accompanying their name. Our local races can simply focus on local issues like homelessness, no need to bring in national politics.
Nice aspiration, but impractical. I'll explain why.
Salem is a city that leans leftward, having a liberal/progressive majority of voters. Currently there are seven progressives on the nine-member City Council (Mayor plus eight councilors), with one of the progressives, Micki Varney, being a temporary council appointment due to a resignation.
However, the Mayor's office and all four City Council seats up for election in 2022 lack incumbents. So there's more uncertainty than usual about whether progressives or conservatives will end up with a majority on the City Council.
It makes sense for conservative local candidates to appear as moderate as possible, given that Salem is a liberal city. But voters shouldn't assume that just because a non-progressive candidate sounds middle-of-the-road, they truly are.
Usually they're more conservative than they come across as while campaigning. Then if elected, they transform into a pretty traditional right-wing Republican, since there are so few moderate Republicans.
Here's photos of the candidates supported by the Progressive Salem organization. Hoy is running for Mayor. Nishioka for the Ward 2 council seat. Medlock for the Ward 4 council seat. Vieyra-Braendle for the Ward 6 council seat. Varney for the Ward 8 council seat.
Thus their opponents are more conservative (Nishioka is unopposed). Mayor: Chane Griggs. Ward 4: Deanna Gwyn. Ward 6: Julie Hoy (not related to Chris Hoy). Ward 8: Chris Cummings.
While it makes sense to ask tough national political questions of all the candidates, it's particularly important to do so for the four more conservative candidates listed above: Griggs, Gwyn, Hoy, Cummings.
The progressive local candidates have little reason to appear more moderate. They're seeking to be elected in a liberal city, though some parts of Salem are more liberal than others. But as noted before, the conservative candidates are motivated to hide their right-wing'ness as much as possible, so will try to keep a focus on local issues.
That's why I'm hoping voters will ask them tough questions about national political issues. Their answers will help indicate what sort of Mayor/city councilor they would be, and to what extent they share views held by most Republicans.
Some suggestions:
— Is Joe Biden the legitimate winner of the 2020 presidential race, having defeated Donald Trump in a free and fair election?
— Do you favor abortion being legal in all 50 states?
— Should marriage between same-sex couples remain the law of the land?
— Do you support strong efforts to reduce human-caused greenhouse gas emissions in order to combat global warming?
— Are you in favor of the United States working to strengthen NATO given Russia's invasion of Ukraine?
Obviously there are many other national political questions that could be asked of local candidates. These are just five that came easily to mind.
And I'm not saying that questions about local issues aren't just as important, or more so.
I just want the campaigning for Mayor and City Council to reveal as much as possible about the candidates, because not much is gained by hearing platitudes like "I'm in favor of working to end homelessness, preserve public safety, and improve our parks."
Also… not putting kittens or puppies in a meat grinder.
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We have lost touch with the most basic question we must ask of any candidate: what is it that government ought to do? The only one right and moral answer has two parts.
The late Ronald Dworkin wrote that “No government is legitimate unless it subscribes to two reigning principles. First, it must show equal concern for the fate of every person over whom it claims dominion. Second, it must respect fully the responsibility and right of each person to decide how to make something valuable of his life.” (Dworkin, Justice for Hedgehogs, 2)
He further wrote that “. . . [I]n a genuinely democratic community each citizen participates as an equal partner, which means more than just that he has an equal vote. It means that he has an equal voice and an equal stake in the result.” (Dworkin, 5)
These two principles place boundaries around any principle or policy a candidate may propose. There can be no politically neutral distribution. A laissez-faire political economy that leaves unchanged the consequences of a free market does not show equal concern for everyone. The opposite fails to meet the second principle. Governance is the administration of simultaneous equations: balancing the two principles that are the foundation of a legitimate government.
The duty of the voter is to find the candidate that can best answer the question. Voters who reject the this twofold definition must come up with one of their own – and which they cannot do and still call themselves citizens of our republic.