By Darren Mcvey

There is a scene in the movie “Bad News Bears,” where little Joey Turner retaliates against his abusive dad/coach by holding on to a routine grounder.

As his teammates try to wrestle the ball away from him, the overweight kid runs all the way in for a home run. American voters tend to respond with the same kind of vindictiveness.

Take, for example, the local race for Kentucky’s Congressional 3rd District seat between Anne Northup and John Yarmuth. Northup represents the so-called “culture of corruption” of the Republican majority of the last six years, although she has been a squeaky-clean community servant for Louisville for five straight terms.

Yarmuth, on the other hand, is apparently a heck of a nice guy, but a borderline leftist. For years, he used his alternative newspaper, LEO, to denounce the death penalty for Timothy McVeigh and Saddam Hussein, support legalizing marijuana, promote Pro-Choice groups like Planned Parenthood and increase taxes and the size of the government at every opportunity. But, at least he isn’t a Republican.

So, rather than vote for the “lesser of two evils,” much of the local electorate will just as well stay home on Nov. 7, or even worse cast their ballot for change for change’s sake. This is a perfect example of the biggest misconception of the American political system. We are not voting for Northup or Yarmuth, we are voting for Republicans or Democrats.

Americans like to take pride in their independence from party affiliation and look down on any candidate that votes the party line. Most people, however, are discernibly Republicans or Democrats.

Republicans represent traditional conservative values and Democrats represent progressive liberal values. Pick a team or sit down.

It is clear that conservatives are disgusted with Republicans, but voting for Democrats will not accomplish anything. Many people are preoccupied with November elections and forget about primaries. Primary elections are the time to focus on personal qualifications and vote for the best candidate. By November it is too late to consider a candidate’s merits; it is now time to focus on the party they represent. It does not matter whether it is an honorable community advocate like Northup or a truck driver with a creepy mustache like Mike Sodrel. Republicans are going to vote to lower taxes, protect traditional marriage, oppose expanding abortion rights and strengthen defense. Likewise, whether it is Yarmuth, Hill, Weaver, or Lucas, Democrats are going to support intense investigations into the Bush Administration, raising the minimum wage and getting out of Iraq (or at least cutting the troops funding).

Not only does the majority party control legislation, it frames the debate for the whole nation. If Democrats take control this election, they will control what the major issues are for the next two years.

Just as Republicans have stressed the War on Terror and immigration reform lately, the Democrats will force debates about alleged terrorists’ rights and the Patriot Act.

But, despite the labels attached to these actions, we must take a pro-active stance and choose.

So, whether you like Anne Northup or not, don’t just sit at home on Election Day.

Throw to first base and give your team a chance.