The Louisiana Democratic party is wrapping up its 10-day “Back to Basics” tour today after stopping in the River Parishes yesterday.

Louisiana Democratic Party Executive Director and Reserve native Renee Lapeyrolerie cited as one of the reasons for the tour the fact that on a local level Democrats are still winning elections in Louisiana despite a dramatic decline in people voting Democrat on the statewide or nationwide levels.

This point offers a valuable lesson for those elected officials in Washington who seem to feel their main duty is to block the opposing party from getting anything accomplished. Recent (in)actions on Capitol Hill have caused many Americans to give up voting altogether. But this is not really a solution.

On the local level, people seem to vote for whom they truly think is the best person for the job. In bigger elections, however, the chosen candidate is often the person who agrees with the voter on an ideological level. Why is there such a disconnect?

If voters would apply the same criteria to voting for congressmen and presidents as they do to voting for sheriffs and parish presidents, perhaps the country would not be in a seemingly perpetual state of immobility.

So the next time you find yourself in a voting booth, forget what all the pundits have told you, and ask yourself why you are voting for a particular candidate.

If the reason is not because they are the best person for the job, maybe it’s time to rethink your methods of evaluating candidates.