In George Washington’s farewell address, he warned against the rise of political parties, or factions, as the founders called them. This sounds prophetic today.
“The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge natural to party dissension … is itself a frightful despotism,” he said. It could lead to the rise to power of a party’s leader at the expense of liberty.
Because of this, he said, “the common and continual mischiefs of the spirit of party are sufficient to make it the interest and duty of a wise people to discourage and restrain it.”
Imagine last week’s 34 guilty verdicts against former President Donald Trump without the context of political parties. For that matter, imagine debates over any contentious issue today — immigration, abortion, aid for Ukraine, etc. — without party loyalty becoming determinant in every issue.
Some might argue the case against Trump never would have been brought under those circumstances. Certainly politics played a role; look no further than the reaction of Utah’s governor and members of the state’s congressional delegation — many not fans of the former president — calling into question the actions of New York’s district attorney. But the case was put forward and the former president’s lawyers had an opportunity to defend him against the charges of falsifying business records, allegedly to pay off an adult film star with whom Trump had a sexual encounter (which he continues to deny) in hopes of not having it exposed during his successful presidential campaign.
This series of events is significant.
The former president still faces accusations of election interference in Georgia and the District of Columbia, as well as mishandling classified documents in Florida. None of these has a trial date yet, and, if elected, Trump could appoint an attorney general who dismisses the federal cases, but not the one in Georgia.
This is the backdrop of an election that has also called into question President Joe Biden’s leadership, failures at the border and his own family legal troubles. President Biden’s son, Hunter, is about to go on trial in Delaware for allegedly lying about drug use while applying to buy a gun. Later this year, he is scheduled to stand trial on tax evasion charges. He will be the first child of a sitting president to go on trial.
What’s a country to do?
We make no judgment on either of these legal cases. The judiciary will take its actions. But if those in the nation’s two dominant political parties lean in to weaponizing individual power with a win-at-all-costs strategy, the country will be the worse for it. We believe what George Washington said. We believe that power can corrupt. But we also believe there are good people in government who want the strength-building values of the country to prevail — for people from all parties and all walks of life.
Opinion polls show Americans are concerned about the convictions but are holding fast to their partisan beliefs. A Morning Consult survey found 54% of registered voters approved of the verdicts. However, 74% of Republicans disapproved, while 88% of Democrats approved. About 75% of Republicans also said the verdicts made them less trustful of the criminal justice system.
A separate poll by Reuters/Ipsos found majorities among both party faithful, saying the verdicts did not change the way they planned to vote.
What would the polls say if factions no longer controlled hearts and minds?
Washington wasn’t the only one to foresee these problems. Alexander Hamilton said political parties were “the most fatal disease” of popular governments. James Madison, who co-authored the Federalist Papers with Hamilton, said in Federalist 10 that a “well-constructed Union” should, among other things, exhibit “its tendency to break and control the violence of faction.”
For most of the nation’s history, these warnings have seemed quaint. But now, we urge all to heed Washington’s warning and reject any “spirit of revenge” for the good of the country.