What is party loyalty?

Answer 1

This is a very interesting question. As a PCO, I ponder this quite frequently. Obviously as an active member of a party I would have to say that party loyalty is doing what is good for the party, but that begs at least 2 questions. 1. What is good for the party and 2. Why is the party so important?

I have observed a short sighted tendency by members in my own party to make decisions that are focused on getting party members elected at all costs. The logic of this of course is that if you don't have a majority you can't make the rules and thus you cannot further the party agenda. However, I would counter that getting people elected that make bad decisions is ultimately bad for the party in the long term because the party pays for those bad decisions long after the decision makers have been voted out.

The party is important in so far as there is strength in numbers. But that is a two edged sword. In order to have a party platform, you must satisfy the majority of the party members that the tenets of the platform are in line with the tenets and beliefs of the active party members. This leads to the effect that those people who work the hardest for the party get their voices heard over those who don't. Yet if the platform is so far off the main stream ideology, then there will be insufficient voters to elect your party members based on party affiliation. So strict adherence to the party platform can actually cause the party to loose ground with the voting public.

I think that it is a fallacy to believe that the public is a gullible lot of sheep. More and more people are finding ways to arm themselves with information without needing to rely on corporate media. This has the effect that voters are better informed than they were 20 years ago and thus, party leaders need to be constantly willing to adapt the platform to the changing demands of the consumer (voter). Failing to do this will cause the party to become disconnected from the public and over time after all games have been played and every cheat and loophole that the law will allow has been exploited, if the party fails to adapt, it will ultimately fade into irrelevance.

So party loyalty can come in two forms: short term (get folks elected now) and long term (make the party something the people can get behind).

Answer 2

Party loyalties is usually in reference to political parties ( democrats, republicans) , to show where ones loyalty lies or which party you support. But it can be used in reference to any opposing parties on any subject.