Thoreau Thursday: The Individual is Voting In Lockstep

If you see America as the culmination of the success of a lot of individuals doing what is best for themselves, how do you justify voting in lock step on every issue with everyone else in your party?  We know every Republican doesn’t agree on every issue and that every Republican doesn’t believe that government and taxes are always bad.   So why do they suppress their individual beliefs for the good of the collective?  Why is it OK for the Republican Party to use the threat of supporting a rival in the next primary to keep folks from supporting health care reform, but not OK for the government can’t use fines to encourage environmentally responsible behavior?  Compromise to save the environment or provide medical care is horrible, but compromise to save the Republican Party is OK?  I suppose whatever It is that allows a person to criticize a fellow Republican for “impure thoughts” for considering raising revenue to reduce a deficit, also allows them to fight hard to protect embryos and stem cells but dismiss the murder of women and children by remote control planes as collateral damage.  So, while it may be hypocrisy, it’s also really useful.  An individual certainly should be able to do whatever is best for themselves … even if it isn’t always what’s best for themselves.