George Washington the Genius
Apparently the Constitution was originally intended to prevent political parties; unfortunately, it failed. Here’s George Washington’s take on political parties from his farewell address, I think it’s particularly poignant in these obscenely polarized times, where both sides tend to lie and distort and inflame the passions of the citizenry in an attempt to retain or regain power:
“The common and continual mischiefs of the spirit of party are sufficient to make it the interest and duty of a wise people to discourage and restrain it. It serves always to distract the public councils and enfeeble the public administration. It agitates the community with ill-founded jealousies and false alarms; kindles animosity of one part against another; foments occasionally riot and insurrection. It opens the door to foreign influence and corruption, which find a facilitated access to the government itself through the channels of party passion. Thus the policy and the will of one country are subjected to the policy and will of another.”
Think about that in the current political context. Think about the “ill-founded jealousies and false alarms” raised by the GOP over the Cordoba House project. Think about the the crippling and distracting affect this has had on the public administration, as the GOP stand in a unified front, refusing to even allow a yes or no vote on Democratic legislation in the Senate, while simultaneously refusing to offer any real solutions to America’s pressing problems, all in a transparent attempt to regain power. It’s appalling.
If one were to create a perfect governmental system out of whole cloth, political parties would play no part in it. Political parties only serve as an excuse to be ill-informed about the policies and issues affecting this country. When a citizen can go into a polling booth, secure in the fact that they think the republican or the democrat will always represent their views it promotes voter apathy. The truth is that ill-informed citizens often vote along party lines, even when said party is adverse to their own interests. The abolition of political parties would require that voters be more intelligent and informed when they step into the ballot box. In this day and age of high technology disseminating mountains of information about every candidate, such a development would only benefit everyone.
Certainly their are Constitutional issues involved with abolishing political parties. Courts have interpreted the free speech clause of the first amendment as requiring freedom of association, which is great in most cases, but which really prevents the complete abolition of political parties. However, simple measures, like removing political parties from the ballot and election process could go a long way towards requiring a more educated electorate and bettering our electoral process.
