Tom and Curley discover the true reason for political parties

The likelyhood that a research vessel will not be named “RRS Boaty McBoatface” has some constituents of the British government in an uproar.

Boaty McBoatface is the overwhelming winner in a public vote to name a £200m shiphttps://t.co/Amp47j4lpF

— Boaty McBoatface (@BoatyMcBoatface) April 17, 2016

Though more than 120,000 people voted to name the vessel Boaty McBoatface, science minister Jo Johnson said the government wants a name that “lasts longer than a social media news cycle,” the Guardian reports. People are outraged, saying this is not how democracy works.

Perhaps this is a lesson in politics for some.

KIRO Radio’s Tom Tangney says there’s the folk theory of democracy and then there’s real democracy. People believe that democracy means that whatever the masses want, that’s what they get. However, most people don’t care about politics, he points out; which is a benefit for electing officials to do the boring work for them. Just try sitting through a council meeting, he challenges.

“That’s why we hire people – to do the boring jobs,” he says.

Many people tend to go no further into politics than the basics of parties, he says. Even then, some affiliate themselves based on social identities, rather than policy.

KIRO Radio’s John Curley learned some time ago that political parties are used to making decisions at improper times. When he was running for Sammamish council, the second question he was asked was what party he was affiliated with, despite running for a nonpartisan position.

“They would say, ‘Seriously, what are you,'” Curley says. “You know what I would say? I’m for freedom. And what was their response?”

“You’re a Republican,” Tom says.

Freedom is just a code word, Tom points out.

“I love the fact that they naturally yield the field of freedom to Republicans,” Curley counters.

“That’s fine, because we know it’s a joke,” Tom says.

“So if Republicans are for freedom, what are Democrats for? Tyranny?” Curley wonders.

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