Let's Have a "Bye-Partisan" Party

Hello friends,

I write tonight with an unorthodox notion: let's throw out our parties.  I don't want to get rid of the bi-party system; I just want to make sure we have the right two parties in power.

Here's my suggestion: we hold a run-off where every party that wishes to participate, regardless of the current number of supporters, can.  We put up a website where each party gets a page to display its values, goals, leader biographies, and other relevant information.

During the initial period, citizens can vote for the parties they would most like to see in power based on the descriptions online.  There should be zero campaigning on television, radio, etc, during this time so that each of the parties has the same opportunity to garner the public's attention through the website.  At the end of this initial period, the top ten parties would continue to round two.

During round two, citizens would submit questions online, to which the parties would respond.  This would probably be done in forum style.  The party leaders would participate in public debates, similar to those held during the presidential elections.  To ensure fairness, each leader's transportation and accomodation for the debates would be purchased by a non-partisan group using tax dollars.  These don't need to be expensive; I'm not suggesting we fly them in private jets and put them in the best suites at five star hotels.  Again, there should be ZERO campaigning on television and radio.

In the final phase, America would choose its new leadership.  Each citizen of legal age votes for the party they most wish to see in power; the top two win.  It's that simple.  No electoral college.  No delegates or super-delegates.  No campaigning.  To put it simply, we put the power to choose the government back in the hands of the people.

Once the parties have been chosen, the American government processes would go back into effect.  The parties would put forth their candidates for elected seats, and the public would vote.  We can only hope for new laws governing campaign finance and such between now and then, but that's a separate topic.

To ensure that we don't face the same issues of power corruption and dissociation in a hundred years, we would repeat this process every fifty years.  Fifty years is plenty of time to accomplish major goals, and our society tends to change dramatically in its needs and values in that time.  Doing this too often could be expensive, but there should also be a process in place for the public to force a "special election" or recall, as it were.

This is the central issue we now face.  In order for a new party to gain a place on our ballots, it has to receive a certain percentage of the vote.  However, most people feel voting for a new party is a waste of their vote as only a Republican or Democrat has much chance to win.  We don't have a practical mechanism for throwing out the parties, even though studies have shown that most Americans fully relate with neither party.

This is the best plan I can see, though I'm certainly open to other ideas and suggestions for modification.  I often wish I weren't a small voice in a large, noisy arena.  I would love to see this plan in action, though I have little hope that anyone powerful enough to implement it will risk ceding their power in this way.  I guess this all makes me an idealist, but I've been called worse.

Until tomorrow,
MK