The primary value of political parties is to reveal a candidates position on major issues. So if a candidate claims to be a republican then we know he or she supports or at least does not oppose certain principals or issues such as prolife, smaller government, lower taxes, less regulations, etc. Likewise candidates claiming to be a democrat will generally support right to choose, social welfare programs, mitigating climate change etc. Without political parties, voters would be faced with determining the position of hundreds of candidates on dozens of issues. There are many other pros and cons to political parties, but suffice to say, they are here to stay for a number of reasons.Indeed, and yet on this and most other MBs, most of the messages stupidly presume an absolute "Left" vs "Right" / "Liberal" vs "Conservative" / "Democrat" vs "Republican" political dichotomy. This is built in and something the Founders tried to avoid, at least originally, being an aspect of the British system that they really hated.. Because, in the final analysis, creating such stark, artificial divisions can only serve the interests of the established elites.. Be anti-democratic and hopelessly corrupt, in other words.We have more that three parties today but they usually don't get many votes, Libertarian, Green, & Constitutional. Throughout history we have had 3rd parties and some were pretty significant in elections, such as Ross Perot's Independent Party which garnered 20 million votes, Theodore Roosevelt's Progressive Party, and the Dixiecrat Party that carried Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina in the 1948 presidential election.One of the enduring American myths we cherish is the two-party system. We must have two parties! To have three parties or more is impossible; to have only one, unthinkable.
Take the issue of slavery here lately. People mostly jumping up and down blaming the Democratic Party as though the Republicans were apt to do a significantly better job had they won. They wouldn't have. Everyone knows this. Yet it's just this kind of crap that captivates all of far too many's political time and energy. We can no longer afford such luxury. Serious decisions need to be made now. Lots of work that's needed doing for decades. High time to end this "Party" nonsense and elect the people one supports directly. Also, mandate political participation. Civic engagement. Civil service.