Isn’t Life Strange?

I hate political parties.

While it is true that 99.9 percent of the time I find myself siding with the candidates of one particular party, the decision to vote for that candidate is never based upon party politics. Yet I often find myself at odds with many politicians from that same party. Sometimes it’s just easier to vote against the candidate you least like.

Wouldn’t it be refreshing if the Democratic and Republican parties ceased to exist?

Wouldn’t it be more helpful to all Americans if we could have a better way of evaluating the job performance of each and every one of our politicians instead of allowing them to hide behind party politics?

I’ve recently concluded that I don’t like Republicans just as much as I don’t like Democrats. This isn’t right. There are plenty of fine people who belong to both of those parties. However, we insist to know which party takes what side of an issue. Can a Democrat not be fiscally responsible simply because of his party? Can a Republican not be socially compassionate?

Why does it take a Democrat majority to make every Republican in Congress vote against runaway spending? This certainly was not the case when they had the majority during the George W. Bush presidency. During that time it seemed no spending bill was too much for them.

Is it not possible for Democrats to vehemently oppose other Democrats on the basis of judgment and values? Can a Republican not speak out against a fellow Republican he knows is wrong?

Can a Democrat not side with a Republican on common values without the threat of pressure from the party leaders?

These questions have been troubling me for quite some time. I’m convinced that this nation is handicapped by the two party system, a system that George Washington warned us not to pursue. This system takes away our responsibility to choose the very best person for our representation. The party system encourages politicians to distance themselves from those they represent and replaces that responsibility with the supreme task of doing anything to gain or maintain power at all cost.

I know I have mentioned this before. It’s been on my mind a great deal as of late.