A Delaware State News article by Matt Bittle that appeared in the spring promised a forthcoming bill that would remove party labels from the Delaware General Assembly website (“Bill seeks to depoliticize legislative website,” May 11). The ostensible rationale for the revision was to remove politics, so citizens would be more concerned with what legislators were doing. Alas, the story must have caused some blowback, since there is no evidence the aforementioned bill was ever formally introduced by the legislator highlighted or anyone else.
Don’t get me wrong: That’s a good thing. How dare anyone take away the party designation of our state legislators! Think of what a problem that would cause for citizens, who may or may not be versed on the majority/minority status proposed as a substitute. And how about lobbyists intent on influencing legislation? Telling them to maneuver without the party labels is like asking a fish to swim in sand.
Granted, our political parties generally end up under water in popularity surveys, down there with views of Congress and school boards. So there is every reason to help parties promote themselves, rather than leaving us guessing or relying on another source for answers.
If we hide who among our state legislators are D’s and R’s, we are in danger of being overtaken by I’s. From Reconstruction to the present, Delaware’s major parties have withstood challenges from the likes of Populists, Progressives, Prohibitionists, Socialists, Libertarians, Dixiecrats and members of the Tea Party. But it would be folly not to recognize that Independent party registration has grown at a faster rate than that of the major parties.
Of course, removing party identification among our state legislators is just the first step to tyranny. Memo to Democrats and Republicans: Wake up. The next move will be to deny funding to parties, cancel state party conventions and remove perks enjoyed by party leaders.
We know political parties do some good things, like recruiting candidates and releasing issue platforms. Then again, one could criticize state legislative party officials for not opening emails to public scrutiny.
The legislator who planned to wokewash party labels from the General Assembly website was quoted in the DSN article saying he hoped the move would draw bipartisan support. What? How would we know? Sometimes, it’s good to float a trial balloon, which, in this case, was pierced by common sense. Count this as retention by subtraction.
Dr. Samuel B. Hoff is George Washington Distinguished Professor Emeritus of history and political science at Delaware State University. He has published extensively on Delaware political parties.
