Votes of Conscience

The choice is almost always yours and there are buts, and qualifiers of many colors shapes and sizes.  There are also limitations in the kinds of choices made and avoided.  Needs and wants often conflict along with timeframes. 

Political parties work at restricting votes of conscience in the name of unity.  They have ways of enforcing representatives from straying across the party line.

Sometimes party leaders politicians are allowed to vote in a way to save their skin back home if the district polling is different from the party line.  This happens but only if the majority doesn't necessarily need the vote.  Otherwise, politicians are often required to take "hard" votes that may not be popular but necessary for reasons of the "party".

"Party Solidarity" kind of begs the question are you really voting for a representative who will use their judgement or a party which you might not always agree with.

Votes to convict the president in the senate after his impeachment by the house of representatives for words and actions taken while in office should be votes of conscience rather than party line votes.

There is no good reason to punish republicans in the matter of Donald J. Trump if they vote to convict him.  Or at least I can't think of one. 

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