American Dissatisfaction With Everything Is Reaching Historic Levels - http://huff.to/1qCE9he
Reference the above article discussing results of a recent poll by Pat Caddell: I agree with Caddell's conclusion but not his solution. I think the two-party system is an inevitable and desirable political framework that is a legacy of our constitutional system. The problem, ultimately, is that the electorate are not keeping up their end of the deal. The two-party system is inevitable because of the electoral college and the 12th Amendment. It is desirable because it confers a degree of stability lacking in most parliamentary democracies.
Look at the root meanings of "congress" and "parliament." A congress comes together to pursue a common good. In a parliament, the parties talk (parle) about their differences, and then the ruling party or coalition of parties does what it wants while the opposition fields cat-calls from the back. Parliamentary systems are set up so that the opposition is really out of power. They cannot frustrate the ruling party or coalition.
In our system, Congress must work together and seek compromise because our constitution and the legacy of house and senate rules dictate they do. If one party decides to act as the opposition in our system, they have the power to bring government to a grinding halt. That creates openings for executive overreach that imperils our democracy. I, for one, do not believe that our current President has overreached with his use of executive orders and actions. But what about future presidents? How will they respond to obstructionist Congressional parties? Has the die been truly cast during these last congresses?
What can the American people do? I noted above that the electorate hasn't kept up its end of the deal. There are any number of pundits and paid loudmouths ready to tell you that you have no voice (Caddell is one of them). They will insist that all politics is corrupt, that "Washington" is the problem, and that there isn't a dime's worth of difference between the parties. And, if you believe their cynicism and accept their prescription of apathy and abandon the political field to them, then they will be right.
Today, roughly 20 - 25 percent of registered Democratic or Republican party voters vote in the primaries that select our candidates. That means that less that 15 percent of registered voters in this country decide who will actually compete for office. We need to reclaim our ownership of the parties and the process. If we don't the meaning of this day -- July 4th -- will truly be diminished to hot dogs, beer, and sunburns; and the lives, fortunes and sacred honor of the men in Philadelphia who gave us this country, will have been given in vain.
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