In this election year, one thing has made itself more obvious to me than any of the issues the candidates might talk about: America’s two-party system is not helping. In fact, it tends to make matters worse.
Every day I turn on the news all I hear about are how one party is trying to get a bill passed, but the other party just votes it down.
Nothing is getting done in Congress because each side is trying to keep the other down. It’s no surprise why Congress has a lower approval rating than our president.
But the two party system has always been around.
The first two political parties were the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists.
Those parties were formed when Congress was trying to ratify the Constitution.
The Constitution itself didn’t create the two-party system. It never says anything about a party system.
The two parties were formed as groups who either wanted to ratify the Constitution (Federalists) or didn’t want to ratify the Constitution (Anti-Federalists).
The division among the parties is not just in the government, it’s in everyday life. There have been numerous times I have been sitting at work and listened to some of my older co-workers blame all of our countries problems on “those Socialist Democrats.”
I have also heard other people place the blame on “those hick Republicans.” The problem with that thinking is those people are the ones who tend to vote along party lines no matter what. It doesn’t matter what the person thinks, if they are a member of the preferred party, then they must be qualified.
The primary elections add to the issue. In most states, including Oklahoma, the primaries are closed. If you are a registered Democrat, you can only vote for a Democratic candidate. If you’re a registered Republican, you can only choose the Republican candidates. If you’re an independent, you have no choice. You just have to sit back and cross your fingers. Why can’t we vote for another party’s candidate?
It’s no secret that the two parties despise each other and are constantly working against the other.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi appeared on The Situation Room on CNN the other day to giver her input on the Democratic primary.
She told host Wolf Blitzer that Clinton and Obama should run on the same “super ticket” just to ensure that a Democrat returns to the White House, not to mention the fact she said she was working to make sure the Democrats remain in control of the House of Representatives.
I can understand how the system can be beneficial. It does provide a sort of check-and-balance system within each branch of government.
But what’s happening within our country today is downright scary. In his farewell address to the nation, George Washington warned the public of the dangers of a two-party system. As he put it, “The alternate domination of one faction over another…is itself a frightful (tyranny).”
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