Fasces wrote:Banning all political parties has a certain appeal, but if accept Madison's postulates on the inevitability of factionism, they would be replaced with something else, almost immediately. Candidates would still define themselves by terms, whether it be conservative, progressive, or anything else, and voters would still vote based on these terms rather than internal policies.
In any case, it doesn't matter. Acting like the Republic and Democratic parties are monolithic institutions is also silly. They each continue many, many, factions within them, already informal, which supports the idea that ridding America of the Republicans and Democrats would be a short-term measure at best.
This is my point in why it cant be done, and there already exist factionalism with in the party. The Monolithic forces of the party comes from the way the party institutions or "company" control a lot of the financing, and campaign perks. that's where the "party wip" gets his/her power in using that to extort members of the same, by undermining their reelection chances by virtue of undermining their national party support.
Technically some states have mitigated that power by outlawing out of state financing of their congressional campaigns but a lot of congressmen have gotten away with avoiding that law. (the Tom Delay indictment in Texas was along those lines). And still people with in a state donate money to the national party campaign thus empowering them.
In theory State governments could out law national party's which are like company from donating as well or directing their local party affiliate in donations thus weakling the national party wips piratical power further. (Something many states are of a vested interest to do due to the need to have their congressional delegation loyal to in state interest which benefit the state government inherently, not out of state interest which don't benefit the state government).
But state party wips would still be of significant power, as long as the people given them money rather then give the money directly to the canadits.
Of course the other thing States can do is remove all party recognizing from their ballots, which is perhaps the most direct thing they could do.
In the United States you have to remember Individual state and local governments run ALL the elections I including federal elections(all of which are really State elections for State delegations including the presidential election which is recall just for the state elector delegation.).
Fasces wrote:To reform the American system, while keeping it intact, one would need to remove ballot access restrictions against Third Parties, allow fusion voting to occur (one candidate running for multiple parties), and promote restrictions on what can be spent in a campaign in order to allow minor candidates a chance to match the two powerhouses.
Not sure I agree with this. But if it could be done at all it could only be done at state and local levels, as their the only ones that actually hold the elections in the United States.
Honestly thou to get any of it done and enforced people need to start realizing and remembering the important of their state and local governments. The federal government cant really do this stuff cause it doesn't really directly control anything.
Campaign financing limits we have attempted to apply with even more corrupting results. It seems if you limit the size of contributions you end up with only the super rich or party organizations (rich by organized and coordinated groups) running, because people dot simply get well known enough as to get more well known with out lots of money.
Restricting what can be spent is Constitutionally troublesome to impossible, expectantly for the federal government, and ballot access in most states is depended upon signatures, which you often need to have a large preexisting party organization in order to reliably get enough of them each election to get on the ballot.
That is why a lot of 3rd party's are really only on the ballot in some of the states.
For the record there is no federal recognition of political party's period(no federal election either), only state recognition.
Congressmen are regarded as individuals by the federal government, and by many state governments as well.
In fact some states have open primary's where you might actually see 2 democrats, or 2 republicans face off in the general election.