The War of Political Parties

December 5, 2012: Transcending Political Parties

In his article "How to Turn Republicans and Democrats Into Americans", Mickey Edwards brings up a topic George Washington and James Madison warned us about: political parties.  Although we are all citizens of this great country, our political parties create a wall of separation, forcing Democrats and Republicans to battle each other.  No longer is solving the real issues the goal in politics; the system has transformed into "a struggle for power between two private organizations".  Is this really the best way to organize the government?

Although now that these political parties exist and there's no way to fully get rid of them, Edwards does have a few suggestions I also feel can improve the situation:

"Break the power of partisans to keep candidates off the general-election ballot.": If every candidate, regardless of party, were put on the same ballot, and voters, regardless of party, could choose among them, voters' choices would not be as biased towards the representative of their political party.  Rather than giving their vote to a candidate simply because they support Republicans or Democrats, citizens could judge candidates based off of real issues and the policies.  Representatives could represent everyone, not simply the members of their own private political group.

"Turn over the process of redrawing congressional districts to independent, nonpartisan commissions.":  As Edwards recalls, as a Congressman his district was redrawn to benefit the political parties, leaving him with a more rural district full of issues he felt he could not properly represent.  By preventing this occurrence, legislators can have a district that they can truthfully voice issues for, serving the community interests.  Properly serving a community should not be sacrificed simply because political parties wish to maintain their power.

"Choose committee staff solely on the basis of professional qualifications.":  This idea is one that should be reflected in all areas of work, and it surprises me (although power for political parties can be blinding) that this has not been practiced amongst Congressional staff members.  However, with all staff members chosen based on their qualifications rather than the political party they represent, these jobs can be better carried out, allowing for a more efficient government.  Just like most cases of gender, jobs should not show a bias towards certain political parties.

Overall, I really have no complaints over Edwards' propositions to solving these political party issues.  The only fact I would have to stress is that this government needs to somehow be turned into a setting in which political parties do not feel the need to have more power, eliminating the motivation behind the struggle.  Perhaps we should eliminate events such as the Democratic and Republican Conventions, bringing both parties together.  If all representatives were treated as equals and the government emphasized the importance of helping the country rather than dominating it, political parties could work together in this great country in which we all live.

We may never be able to destroy political parties, but we can certainly try to overcome their negative effects.