Political Parties Standards of Performance

By James A. George © 2016 All Rights Reserved

Not to beat a dead horse, but President Washington warned about the pitfalls of creating political parties.

“The first President of the United States got it right. In his farewell address, George Washington warned of the "continual mischiefs of the spirit of party" making it the "interest and duty of a wise people to discourage and restrain it." In other words, he cautioned against the dangers of political parties.”
 http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/16/opinion/alexander-washington-george/

Perhaps America has realized some benefits from a political organization, but not without the downside of divisiveness. Looking back at history as I have done in writing a new book, political parties have been in constant turmoil and change. The present situation is no different in producing polarization than at many times in history.

Recruiting Washington to run a second term was motivated to keep the north and south together as famously acknowledged by Thomas Jefferson, who used the argument to keep him in office. From that lesson, one of the jobs of President of the United States is to rise above particular political alignment and to hold the nation of diverse people together for our shared interests and common purposes.

What is the highest order common purpose of the government of the United States? I submit that it is to optimize the return on national resources. The government is in continuous operation to produce required outcomes. How it accomplishes that is a product of Congressional legislation that creates the enabling mechanisms.

Given capital, materials, people, and infrastructure, government performs work via systems and processes that produce services, outcomes, and assets that satisfy specified needs. The intent is to create a good life for all through a public and private enterprise partnership. Citizens are critical enablers to the entire process by working for private enterprise and for government organizations in mutual support to produce a high return on costs.

The system works under the guidance and constraints of Constitutional laws, regulations, plans and budgets.

To understand the role and purpose of political parties requires a more comprehensive understanding about the American political system, and therefore we will march down that road together to produce “standards of performance for American political parties.” We will answer what citizens might expect from political parties that ultimately produce well-vetted superior candidates for public office.

James George at the National Portrait Gallery