Political parties in the United States that are not totally complacent with government are one of the main things that separate our government from governments such as the People’s Republic of China. The parties give people a choice of voting for the person who best supports their viewpoints.

Some will tell you to vote for the person and not the party, which may seem like a good idea. But there is a catch. Voting for a specific individual and not the party may not always be in your best interest.

Let’s take the California Recall election as an example. Bush’s approval rating was higher than it is now. Republicans were in control of Congress as they are now, and a Democrat Gray Davis was being recalled.

The majority of people in the state thought that by electing Arnold Schwarzenegger, the state’s financial position would improve. They were obviously wrong, but they followed the prevailing party at that time because of Schwarzenegger’s overwhelming popularity, thereby voting for him because of his status as an individual.

I do not think another Republican would have gotten elected during that recall election. This shows how when you cross party lines to vote for the person, it doesn’t work out in your best interest.

A voter needs to vote for the candidate that represents his or her viewpoints best, and most of the time that is a candidate from a certain party.

For example, conservative Christians in the middle or lower class will most likely vote for a Republican. Most Republican candidates are likely to support Christian issues, which is their strongest viewpoint, even though a Democrat candidate may be in their best interest economically. Republicans are more likely to support putting the Ten Commandments in public schools or doing away with Roe v. Wade, whereas Democrats would balk at both of these issues.

There are issues that both parties can support, but the main issues are either supported or not supported either by the left side of the spectrum or the right side of the spectrum. In regard to these issues, such as abortion and religion, there is generally no middle ground.

People who claim to vote for the person and not the party, are generally voting for the person within a particular party who supports their interest best. The only time it comes down for voting for a particular person is in the primary elections, where you are voting for a person within your same party.

One party’s platform represents each individual voter better than the other, plain and simple.