Tip O’Neill, the former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, famously used to say, “All politics is local.”
More and more, however, that just refers to the location of the voting booths – and we’re worse off for it.
The winner of Tuesday’s special election in Maine Senate District 14 would have a say on a variety of items directly affecting the day-to-day lives of the residents of its 11 central Maine cities and towns, including the state’s strategy for rebounding from the COVID pandemic.
But many voters – Republican ones, anyway – were singularly focused on national drama, according to Shawn Roderick, campaign manager for the Republican candidate, William Guerrette, who lost to Democrat Craig Hickman.
While the candidate wanted to talk about state issues, Roderick told the Bangor Daily News, residents instead wanted to discuss Sen. Susan Collins’ vote to convict former President Donald Trump. Some wanted Collins to be rebuked, while others said Trump was at fault for igniting the U.S. Capitol riots.
That could just be an indication of the timing. Trump’s loss and Collins’ vote are both recent and have set off a contentious debate about the direction of the party. Ultimately, members of the state party sent Collins a letter decrying her vote, while she answered with one defending her decision – and her electoral victories.
But it could also be another example of the nationalization of local politics. Instead of focusing on the issues and elected bodies closest to us – where people have the best chance of taking action that matters – more and more people are all wrapped up in national matters, following whatever outrage of the day the biggest personalities want them to care about.
The sustained focus on national issues has changed state and local politics. There is not as much regional variation within the parties as there used to be. Party members in one state are largely pushing the same agenda as their counterparts in other states, often using the same model legislation created by national organizations.
As a result, states are not as much the “laboratories of democracy” as they are dumping points for either Democratic or Republican think tanks, depending on who’s in charge.
As a result, candidates matter less. Rather than individuals with their own set of experiences and a vision for their community, elected officials become placeholders for a party-line vote.
Nearly every issue divides along partisan lines now, with everyone from the national parties down to the local committees getting in lockstep.
One result is gridlock. When nearly everything become a fight between parties, it makes it less likely that any space exists for compromise, even on issues that on their face seem nonpartisan.
Another is that every national partisan fight is mirrored by officials locally. That’s why we have county commissioners taking on mask mandates they have nothing to do with, and selectmen declaring their town a “Second Amendment sanctuary.”
That sort of partisan signaling certainly doesn’t help lower the tax rate, improve schools or attract businesses. Instead, it builds acrimony and hardens positions.
That’s not the way to build better communities. Some politics must remain local. Some solutions must transcend partisanship.
Local officials are asked to figure out things like where to put the new police station and whether the town needs a community center. State legislators vote on the state budget, advocate for local needs and handle problems for constituents.
That’s why they are there, and that’s what voters should be focused on.
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