Kurly's Kommentary - Actions speak louder than oaths in politics “I'll take thy word for faith, not ask thine oath; Who shuns not to break one will sure crack both” –Shakespeare- LAKE WORTH – The Republican Party of Palm Beach County recently sent its members a new Oath of Party Loyalty and Ethical Conduct to sign that has been issued by the Republican Party of Florida.   The Oath requires that while a member of a County Republican Executive Committee, he or she cannot actively, publicly or financially support the election other than the candidate for the Republican Party’s nominee in a general election in a partisan race and can only support a registered Republican in non-partisan elections.    The REC member is also required to abide by a RPOF Code of Ethics, which defines “ethics” as “a set of standards of conduct that guides decisions and actions of individuals within an organization with reference to right and wrong.”   Politics is a very murky business. Even at the local party level, it is often a balancing act between rivaling personal (or even clannish) allegiances, contradictory fiscal and political commitments, and ideological considerations. This is particularly true when a politician’s viability or existence is determined by the amount of donations in a campaign treasury-or a willingness or necessity to work with other politicians across the aisle.  So “loyalty” is often a misnomer when it comes to politics.   So does a loyalty oath, or even an oath of office, really mean anything in politics? James L. Buckley, the former Senator from New York once stated that “In the last analysis, of course, an oath will encourage fidelity in office only to the degree that officeholders continue to believe that they cannot escape ultimate accountability for a breach of faith.”   In the last election cycle, both Florida Republicans and Democrats faced serious loyalty issues with the defection of former Governor Charlie Crist from the Republican Party to become an independent candidate for Senate.  The RPOF rightfully enforced its loyalty oath to head off any support by public officials and party members for Crist from his faithful in the party.  In turn, many Democrats turned their backs on the Democratic Senate nominee Kendrick Meek to support Crist’s candidacy, raising major allegiance issues in that party and helping to lead to his defeat.    While political loyalty oaths are designed to maintain the integrity of a political organization, they can be abused too.  A loyalty oath can be used as a means to discourage dissent within a party or admission to the party ranks. At the party level, if a radical fringe takes control, it could claim a violation of the otherwise innocuous oath and ethics code as a means of purging the organization of opposing viewpoints.   In term of political ethics, “right and wrong” can have many different meanings, particularly in an age of hyperbolic political debate characterized by an emphasis on extremism. In this day, can a “liberal” or even “libertarian” joining the Republican Party or a Tea Party member the Democratic Party be judged as unethical or disloyal to the basic precepts of each organization? Should an anti-abortion advocate in the party be ruled unethical for not supporting a pro-choice candidate on religious grounds?   From a practical perspective, if an Oath or Code of Ethics is too broad or too subjective, can it actually discourage participation by dedicated people in the political process?  What happens to a party member when his wife belongs to the other party and runs for office?  Should the husband get kicked off the committee where he has absolutely no choice to support her if he does not want to get divorced? If the election is non-partisan, why shouldn’t you be able to openly support your best friend, a cousin, or a business partner running for office if he or she is opposed by a party member?    As seen by the actions of Governor Crist and his supporters, ethics and oaths are not much of a determinant of political behavior and don’t mean much in fostering faithful deeds in both politicians, even Governors, and members of political parties.   Requiring a party member during an election cycle to perform, either by contributing financially or by volunteering to knock doors or to make calls at a phone bank, maybe a better way of guaranteeing loyalty to a political party.  In politics, actions do speak much louder than oaths.   Comments or questions?  Email me at kurly@stevenkurlander.com  Follow Kurly daily on his   &   pages 

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