Factionalism, page 1

Politics in America has been, for centuries, tainted by the influence of factionalism. Any intelligent (or in some cases moronic) person who wanted to have an influence on how the country was run had to be sponsored by one of two major parties and support their ideas. You couldnt have your own opinion, or the parties would run you out of politics. In his farewell address, George Washington warned against factionizing, something that was happening, even as he lived. Washington was the only independent president, every one after him was a member of either the liberal or conservative faction, and at almost any given time there has been only two parties of any influence, representing each wing of politics.

A politician in America was only a pawn to his party, furthering it`s intrests above his own, catering to the whims of the party leaders. And from the start of the twentieth century the largest influence of parties has been corporations. It was true in 1903 and one hundred years later it is still true, companies have a massive influence on America`s politics. People like Theodore Roosevelt and Ralph Nader have helped slow corruption, but like dirty clothes it keeps reappearing.

At the moment, corporate corruption in government has taken a particularly insidious form, where the CEOs of major companies actually use their money to go into politics and pass laws that aid their companies, and in turn their pension. They are often on the corporate boards, and hold large amounts of stock options. They lower corporate tayes and raise corporate welfare, while raising personal taxes for the lower to middle class and cut welfare. There is a quite famous recent case where the leaders of this country have gone to war with two seperate nations to help the companies that they have owned.

These people have gotten into power by taking advantage of "straight ticket" voters, people who consistently vote for a single party, regardless of the candidate. They often do this because their parents did and they still feel that whatever their parents did was right. Straight ticket voting is a threat to democracy, as voters are not making intelligent decisions when voting, they are basically sheep. Without voters making intelligent choices, the government of this nation is fair game for anyone with enough money. If we were to get rid of political parties, voters would have to actually research and understand a candidate, and vote based on their views rather than what their parents did. Politicians could actually make decisions based on what they believed, rather than what their faction leaders tell them.

Progress could be made by politicians that wouldnt be silenced by parties because they endorse neither and hold radical views. People like Ralph Nader could actually have a chance to help the country, and yes the flip side is also true, Patrick Buchanan would have a chance too, though I dont believe that he could help this country by doing anything other than committing suicide.

What is your opinion on this?

XAOS