In an era of hyper-partisanship, people are often surprised to hear that I agree with Democrats about 55% of the time and Republicans about 45% of the time. I guess I’m a rarity as somebody who regularly splits the ticket while voting, often for my preferred candidates on third party lines under New York’s fusion voting laws.

I will often start off on the Working Families line then hop up to the Conservative line and then over to other lines like the Independence line should the candidate not be available on the other line. It’s a check on the major party power, it gives smaller more ideological parties a bit of a check on their power. I generally like Republican executives and Democratic legislatures, I like the check they provide on each other’s power.

I generally look at candidate and their background to see what they have done in their lives. I’d rather vote for a thinking person who has gotten things done than any one ideology. I also like to push forward divided government as I believe a divided government is best for blocking the passage of new laws and limiting the size and scope of government. Divided government also avoids the extremes by blocking legislation completely unpalatable to the other side.

I like the Democrats as I think they are often on the right side of history when it comes to the big picture things. Fairness in banking and commerce are big things. Reforming healthcare to make it more affordable. Working on the climate crisis, especially reducing the massive climate emissions generated by our big cities. Providing school aid to hold the line on taxes while providing a quality education. Pushing industry to innovate like with clean air standards for automobiles. Protecting freedom of the press and the right of women to make choices over their bodies.

At the same time, I think Republicans are helping to limit over regulations of our personal freedom and the ability to invest and grow our economy. Democrats are always pushing to lock more land up as wilderness when the land could be sustainably managed for diverse purposes. Democrats are often pushing for unfair and unjust gun laws that are arbitrary and capricious that put the states interest over the public interest. Republicans often push for lower taxes that allow us to keep more of our hard earned paychecks and allow our investments to grow. Republicans often push back against excessive risk regulation and are more willing to let individuals live and let live.

Neither political party really suits my interests. But I do vote and try to push for competitive elections and divided government where no one side has too much power. Often it’s a broken government that governs best. We should celebrate our dysfunctional system that does more to defend the status quo and protect our interests.