Political Parties: A good thing or a bad thing (Iran, Obama, dictators)

[melinuxfool]

I'm inclined to say a bad thing. Many people simply pick the candidates with the right letters after their names, without actually knowing anything about the individual for whom they cast their vote.

The whole system of partisan politics is something George Washington advised us to avoid, and with the way things are going, I'm very much inclined to agree. Why do we give so much credence to these two parties, and why do we continue to vote for them?

[smokingGun]

I remember when i took an American politics class in college, the prof (who studied arcane matters of US history) said that the Founders envisioned our system of government to be a bipolar democracy with two major parties. Even from the way our voting mechanism is structured with winner-take-all, it's geared so that people coalesce around a majority & minority party.

In parliamentary-style governance, it's different with seats in legislatures proportionally divided among many parties. But that leads to a whole different mess with ppl jockeying to form coalitions/alliances with those they have very little in common just to get a majority vote. In many ways a huge multiparty nation is just one step removed from one you imagine where we have no labeled parties. I think the end result would be akin to a chicken running around without a head.

[DrummerBoy]

Originally Posted by melinuxfool

I'm inclined to say a bad thing. Many people simply pick the candidates with the right letters after their names, without actually knowing anything about the individual for whom they cast their vote.

The whole system of partisan politics is something George Washington advised us to avoid, and with the way things are going, I'm very much inclined to agree. Why do we give so much credence to these two parties, and why do we continue to vote for them?

Sure, the American two-party system has its flaws, but it's still the best thing going, especially when you compare it to other types of government, like Monarchies (rule by royalty, usually non-elected but rather inherited) or Dictatorships (rule by brute force, with NO elections) or Theocracies (see Iran--'nuff said!)
As it was laid-out in the Constitution, our system of government is--at least on paper--darn near perfect. It utilizes a system of checks and balances so as to insure that no one person or party enjoys absolute rule. And yeah, like you said, alot of Americans pick candidates for the wrong reasons, but the operative word here is "pick." We get to pick! That's a right and a privilege that many people in other countries don't have, and sorely wish they did.
In my opinion, the biggest dilemna facing our current two-party system lies not with the voters' lack of savvy on what makes a good candidate, but rather with the partisan politics that the Dems and the Repubs ceaselessly practice. They've gotten to the point where they, in a mindless knee-jerk fashion, endorse an issue if its initiated by their party, and then--which is even worse--refute it if it's devised by the opposing party. Even if, in reality, they personally feel it might actually be a pretty good idea! What the GOP has been doing for the past year against Obama is a prime example. They simply refuse to work with him out of misguided loyalty to their party, while putting aside the best interests of the people, whom, lest they forget, were the ones to put them in office.

[ChrisC]

Bad, when there are only two choices and they both stink. One wants to enslave you, the other wants to bilk you. Wonderful choices there. It's like going into an ice cream shop and all they have is vanilla and chocolate--and both flavors have gone rancid. But the counter girl keeps telling you having only two flavors is a blessing. Sure it is.