Elston He on abolishing political parties

An article.

Every time the United States Congress has been divided by party, with the antagonism of Democrat and Republican almost palpable, the nation has stagnated. Every time the Untied States Congress has been a different party than the White House, the nation has stagnated. And every time party politics have been allowed to dominate, the nation has stagnated. Political parties were created to express common views, to propose a common platform, and to unify members of American political society so that action could be taken. Today, however, political parties are simply used as perfunctory labels and to categorize people as this or that. Members are expected to vote in blocs, to such as extent that those who actually cross party lines are lauded by moderates and denounced by party mainstreamers. Political parties do not help the populace express its political views any more clearly or efficiently. Rather, they are the primary factor behind the current quagmire of the American political system. Both in past history and the present day can this stagnation be seen. 

During the Nixon-Ford years, from 1968-1976, the Republican White House and Democratic Congress accomplished deeds only by working together. Nixon, himself a minority president, achieved his largest domestic accomplishments with the 1970 creation of the Environmental Protection Agency, 1970 Clean Air Act, and Philadelphia Plan, which redefined affirmative action as a program to confer advantages on certain groups. Those were all policies that appealed to the Democrats, rather than to president’s Republican base. Nixon was forced to work with the other party. On the contrary, Woodrow Wilson’s call for Democratic Party loyalists to reject the Treaty of Versailles with Lodge reservations. As a result, blindly voting party members shot down the treaty, preventing the United States involvement with the League of Nations – this failure to join led to World War II. Similarly, after 2006 saw the overwhelming return of Democrats to Congress, President Bush and the Democratic majority reached a standstill. Nothing was accomplished, but rather, political stagnation resulted. 

It is indeed possible to create policies for the good of America, but doing so requires compromises of party principles, compromises that many politicians are not willing to make for fear of alienating their base constituency. The entrenchment of party politics is so deep that these compromises hardly ever happen. Since many Democratic and Republican principles are diametrically opposed to each other, without compromises national politics fall into a quagmire where nothing gets done. Politics are often denounced for this very failing, and thus changing the way politics is dominated by parties and corresponding special interest groups will civic participation be increased for voter apathy be decreased.  

The ineffectiveness of political parties can easily be solved by the complete outlawing of political parties. This may seem shocking as well as a blatant attack on American democracy, but indeed it is not. Out founding fathers, and especially George Washington, strongly opposed these parties, which could only pull apart American politics. And this is exactly what happened, a division of America. They have further allowed for the too easy manipulation of voters. Party loyalty often leads to mindless voting – “ohh, he’s a Republican, so I must vote for him,” for “ohh, she’s a Democrat, so I definitely can’t vote for her.” Rather than voting based on merit, party voting occurs, and so the best representatives of the people may not be elected. 
 
The increasing numbers of independent voters, now a good third of the population, only attest to the public’s disgruntlement with the status quo in politics, a status quo due created by the dominance of political parties on the electoral and legislative processes. By voting for candidates based on merit and character, independents express their political desires without the need for parties. This year’s presidential primaries have been clear indicators of the independent voter phenomenon; candidates from both sides are forced to appeal to these voters and moderate their policies. So the disintegration of political parties would not damaged the American political system; democracy will not collapse because parties are removed from the equation. On the contrary, new life would be injected into Washington, D.C. as politicians were no longer by party labels and no longer pressured into party voting blocs. Increased cooperation can be the only result.  
 
One fear, and perhaps a justified one, is that disbanding the two major parties would lead to the creation of numerous splinter groups of a dozen or fewer politicians. It would be seemingly impossible to unite all of these groups together to get the majorities required, but this would never happen. Why? Because of the American people. Americans would not allow such stagnation to occur – the public outrage would be so vehement that politicians would be forced to work together if they ever wanted to be reelected. The democratic processes in America are resilient enough to withstand such drastic changes, and so abolishing political parties is certainly a feasible idea. 

One clear example of this is John McCain. John McCain is basically a right-centrist. His willingness to work with Democrats has posed a serious problem for him in the primaries and will most likely continue to do so in the November elections. Being criticized by his own conservative base for attempting to bring unity seems contrary to logic, and it is. Yet this exactly has occurred because of party politics. They prevent meaningful political cooperation. However, this is very interesting because McCain’s willingness to be moderate, to work across the aisle, is exactly why he appeals to many independent voters. The rational voter recognizes this trait. At the same time, party loyalty, even when the legislation proposed is completely inane, is often rewarded with political appoints or nominations. The good is punished and the bad rewarded. This is not the message our political system should endorse. 

The current political system is failing to provide America and her people with the best policies and services this country can provide. Much of the political stagnation currently affecting our country is a result of divisive party politics. The public’s opinion of politics has only become more and more cynical and pessimistic with time. If American is to retain its position as global superpower, and if American citizens are to continue enjoying the freedoms and opportunities offered by this country, then all political parties must be brought to an end.