Is the purpose of political parties to win elections?

John Hinderaker has received a lot of attention by dismissing Sarah Palin as a potential President. Palin for President? Forget It

His reason:

“No one with a 59 percent unfavorability rating among independents has the chance of a snowball in Hell of being elected President.”

A number of people have responded negatively, Michael Perry, for one.  

John has defended his position.  His reason is that

“The purpose of a political party is to win elections.”

I disagree. That’s objective of the operatives – the paid functionaries of a party; the hired guns. They are paid to win elections. They don’t even have to believe in the party’s objectives to do this.

The purpose of a political party is to advance an ideology, a theory of government.  The Republican Party was founded on an idea, and Lincoln won because of the power of that idea whose time had come.  Very few people go to the polls simply to be able to claim that they voted for the winner. I would not give a penny to any candidate or party simply to have said that I backed a winner.

THE primary reason for the emergence of the Tea Party is the fact that the Republicans forgot that the purpose is NOT to win, but to do. John goes on to say that:

“For the Republicans to capture the Presidency in 2012, we need to run the strongest possible candidate. That, quite obviously, is not Sarah Palin.”

That’s not obvious to me, but then I don’t believe that the ultimate purpose of political parties is to win elections. Neither do I believe that we should let our political opponents select our candidates, or that the next guy is line is the one that the Republicans should anoint. That’s what we did in 2008. How did that work out for you Republicans?

Perhaps we should run a stealth candidate that nobody knows so that the Left hasn’t had time to slime him or her? Perhaps the Republicans can run a secret candidate, the generic opponent who is now polling well against Obama, and reveal his name after Mr. X wins the election?

I have enjoyed reading Powerline and John’s contributions. But he has made me think seriously about switching my party affiliation from Republican to Independent.  That way perhaps Republican party operatives, candidates and elected officials  will want to appeal to my political objectives instead of assuming I'll support them just to say that I helped the Republican Party win the next election.