Posted on May 7, 2016
Is there a way to fix the current political party system?
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I believe that the party system has our political "leaders" to involved in party interests to be able to see what is best for Americans.
Politics
Republicans
Democrats
Elections
Political Organization
Posted 9 y ago
Responses: 14
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Until all Americans educate themselves and take their responsibilities as citizens seriously, nothing will really change. It is shameful when less than 50% of eligible Americans exercise the right and responsibility to vote. Many of those who do are not intelligently doing it. We know more about the Kardashians than we do about the issues facing our Nation.
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PO1 Tony Holland
Fortunately not all of us are fixated on the Kartrashians and their ilk. I personally serve as a poll worker whenever possible.
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The debate rules and ballot access virtually eliminate everyone but democrats and republicans. If that is fixed, everything else gets better
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It's a complex issue, but I don't think that the parties are the actual issue. Looking around the world the only countries that don't have political parties are either monarchies under despotic rule or very small. Even a few of those, while they say they ban political parties, they have functional equivalents.
Political parties are alliances, ways to make common cause, to negotiate compromises, and maintain orderly governance. Dysfunction in our parties is merely a symptom, not a cause. To fix it, I think we need to get at the underlying causes. Where I think they are? Too numerous to address in a comment. But, here's a few ideas: require politicians to abide by the same laws and ethics that all other public employees must regarding gifts and conflict of interest; eliminate the structural advantages that the two parties have enshrined into law placing third parties at great disadvantage; disallow all fund raising by office holders during legislative sessions and such (they must actually go to work).
Political parties are alliances, ways to make common cause, to negotiate compromises, and maintain orderly governance. Dysfunction in our parties is merely a symptom, not a cause. To fix it, I think we need to get at the underlying causes. Where I think they are? Too numerous to address in a comment. But, here's a few ideas: require politicians to abide by the same laws and ethics that all other public employees must regarding gifts and conflict of interest; eliminate the structural advantages that the two parties have enshrined into law placing third parties at great disadvantage; disallow all fund raising by office holders during legislative sessions and such (they must actually go to work).
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SSG Daniel Deiler
I highly disagree sir. Political parities have CREATED divisiveness in this nation. It has turned into a "us vs. them" mentality in that a person reacts emotionally based upon their inherited or learned conservatism/liberalism plain and simple.
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CPT John Sheridan
SSG Daniel Deiler - I respect that point of view. Especially when you consider how the Democratic-Republican parties have created laws to lock out third parties. Anti-fusion laws, which prevent candidates from seeking the nomination of more than one party or parties from alligning and barriers to ballot access for third parties create a false linear binary system. Both parties in the US cooperate with each other to keep third parties from becoming viable. They also cooperate in the systems of Gerrymandering that essentially disenfranchise voters.
If we didn't have the legally protected oligopoly of two, both parties would have to be responsive to the electorate.
If we didn't have the legally protected oligopoly of two, both parties would have to be responsive to the electorate.
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SSgt Christopher Brose
SSG Daniel Deiler Most of my family is liberal, I am conservative. How did I inherit or learn my conservatism?
CPT John Sheridan is absolutely right, parties by themselves are not the problem. Two particular parties have contributed heavily to the dysfunction, but it's hard to blame parties in general for problems if many parties can't even get a seat at the table.
CPT John Sheridan is absolutely right, parties by themselves are not the problem. Two particular parties have contributed heavily to the dysfunction, but it's hard to blame parties in general for problems if many parties can't even get a seat at the table.
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