It’s fight time! March election reveals combative tone in California races | Opinion

The March primary election season is upon us, and you know what that means: It is time to fight!

At least that is the impression given by the multitude of candidates seeking office this year.

From mailers to online ads, a key word they use over and over is “fight.” Variations like “fighting” are also commonplace.

I recall when the big promise of candidates was that they would “work” for the voters. An ad would say the candidate “will go to Washington to work for you.”

Today candidates are not promising to simply represent the voters. They pledge to fight for you — for your way of life, for your family’s future, for the California of tomorrow.

Opinion

There was a time in American history when politicians who differed actually did fight, in the form of duels. The most infamous is, of course, the Burr-Hamilton duel of 1804. Then-vice president Aaron Burr and former U.S. treasury secretary Alexander Hamilton sought to settle a long-running dispute by firing pistols at each other. Hamilton was the fatal loser.

None of today’s politicians rise to such gunplay — at least not yet. But they do make clear with their combative words that they want to attack problems in a perceived war against what they see as wrong.

All fight, all the time

Leading the charge in Fresno is county supervisor candidate Garry Bredefeld. He is currently a City Council member who wants to step up to county government. “A fighter for you” is the first headline one sees on his campaign website’s homepage, along with a solicitation to join “Team Bredefeld.”

“A real vision and fighter for Fresno County” is the next headline over his accompanying mission statement. In it, he promises to “stand up and fight against” radical policies that he believes endanger the community.

He is far from alone in having the fighting spirit.

Luis Chavez, another City Council member and county supervisor candidate, says on his homepage “I’m ready to fight for Fresno County.” He pledges to be “a responsive, strong advocate fighting for our needs” if elected.

A third councilmember and supervisor candidate, Migel Arias, declares he is “fighting for Fresno.”

“I’m Roger Bonakdar and I’m ready to fight for you” is how the a Fresno council candidate introduces himself.

Running against Bonakdar is Raj Sodhi-Layne. She describes herself as “a mother, banker businesswoman, and a neighbor fighting for northeast Fresno.”

Congressional candidates Vince Fong and Mike Bourdreaux can mix it up. Says Fong: “I have spent my career fighting for Central Valley families. I am eager and ready to take that fight to Washington...” Boudreaux implores voters to “join the fight for a safer, stronger Valley.”

California’s Democratic U.S. Senate candidates have gotten into the fight as well. Burbank’s Adam Schiff says he has been “on the front lines of the fight for the heart and soul of our democracy.” Katie Porter of Irvine says she is “a nationally renowned leader in the fight to protect consumers, taxpayers, and middle-class families.” Oakland’s Barbara Lee points to her own life story as a Black woman when she claims she “has been fighting for justice from the very start.”

The field marshal of political fighting today is former President Donald Trump. A campaign fundraising website says he “will never stop fighting for patriots like you” — especially if one makes a donation.

Fighting in cycles

Political scientist Thomas Holyoke at Fresno State said the emphasis on fighting comes in cycles.

“We go through periods in American history when political compromise is held up as a crucial civic value, which of course it must be since our system of government simply cannot work without compromise,” Holyoke said in an email. “The founders designed it that way. During such periods, when compromise and getting things done is desirable, then voters want somebody to ‘work’ for them.”

But fighting for voters was key right before the Civil War, he noted, especially in the Southern states. More recently, Arizona’s Sen. Barry Goldwater famously said “Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice.”

President Biden sees the presidential campaign this year to be a “war for America’s soul,” Holyoke noted.

Andrew Fiala, a philosophy professor at Fresno State and head of its ethics center, explained in an email how polarization is connected to words we use.

“A different rhetorical frame might lead us to seek common ground and reconciliation,” he said. “It is not incidental, I think, that some people are talking about ‘civil war.’”

Real results

Maybe voters tune out the onslaught of political advertising and don’t think twice. But for the good of national discourse, I wish candidates on all sides could turn down the temperature, take a deep breath and get to work.

More than fighters, Americans need their political leaders to be problem solvers. From City Hall to Congress, elected representatives must seek compromises and achieve actual accomplishments, not simply perform theatrics.

Fighters who achieve nothing are losers.