,, is a box that aligns people with similar (not identical) goals and values for the country


just like any other box is a way to group similar people together on some basis or another

but those in the box are still uniquely INDIVIDUAL as well

I say that to say, regardless of the party we register to be a part of,, we have the FREEDOM to still vote for the individuals we choose (regardless of their party)


so I don't think the party system itself is problematic at all

I just think blind allegiance to party is unwise and dangerous


most topics that are polled or surveyed (as far as I have observed) are largely divided based upon the party affiliation, which makes sense since members of a party have become so due to similar ideas on those topics


I do not vote strictly on party lines but on what the individuals past experiences and contributions have been and how they 'interview',, or how they deal with the responsibility and pressure of answering tough questions, dealing with controversies, and making tough decisions on the national stage


I have a worldview in line with democrats because I view it through a preference for humans and civility, where I see republicans having a worldview that prefers the corporate and the wealthy




what is your view and your part in our current political party climate?

Well that made sense in the 90. We're in 2017. The dems and Republicans are 2 sides of the same coin. No different. Both sides are corrupt and favor elitists. Tell me I'm lying.....I never thought I'd live long enough to what changes the demo party go full elitist. I voted for the guy both sides of the coin disliked. And I am happy!

actually, they are not

one can go to either party page and read their platforms, there are differences in what the 'PARTY' represents


https://www.democrats.org/party-platform

https://www.gop.com/platform/


again, this is different from INDIVIDUALS,,
its the PARTY PLATFORM

Lol, sorry Harmony, many Americans are not buying their propaganda. A better point of view would be to admit the reason why Donald J. TRUMP is President....It is the failure of the Elephant and the Mule. No other reason. Love this post by the way!

I agree with this.
Although they state they stand for different things I don't believe it anymore. At one time actually the first election I voted totally Democrat ticket believed whole heartedly hook line and sinker donated time money etc. Then when Carter failed so dismally IMHO...
I walked a away from Politics during Reagan's first 4 years liked what he stood for and started hap hazardly voting Republican.

By the time rhe Clintons were done in Office I had made up mind pretty much to depise both sides equally.

I refuse to vote blindly along party lines. I have lost total faith in either party. They can spew whatever drival about what they stand for in my mind it all comes down to the same crap.
I honestly dont see anything changing til we impose term limits.

So OP I have to respectively disagree with you they are the same the propaganda may sound different not really... Both parties have lost sight of something vital...
"We the people" til that comes back both are equally corrupt.

parties don't lose sight,, people do

with hundreds of millions of people, there are bound to be any number of manifestations of what a party's platform states and what the individual chooses to do

in the end, it matters not one way or another because we have individual freedom to choose candidates regardless of party

just stating what about the values in the platform draw me to the democrat vs the republican (platform)


its like being a 'christian', it is a reference to general common values, and no guarantee that everyone who is a 'member' will follow all the same values,,,

it is the individuals chosen, more so than how long they serve or what party they affiliate with,,,,who are either prone to be 'corrupt' or not,,,

That there are too many people pushing too much diversity/individuality for centralized/federal representative government to be efficient and effective.

Especially in a polarized 2 party system.

When 1 person is representing nearly 40 million people from 1 state, and their "peer" is representing less than 1 million people from another state, and the "representative" from the state with nearly 40 million people has never spent time in their state beyond setting up a residence so they could run for office, while the 1 person representing less than 1 million has lived among its local constituents all of their life, that is not a recipe for efficient, effective, representative government.

I think it's impossible for federal government to be truly representative of "the people" anymore.
That's just based on population size and current zoning and representative mandates.
That isn't even beginning to address all the individual "minority" groups demanding individualized treatment.

I think in order to actually have a federally "representative" government the number of representatives has to be increased significantly. 435 congressional districts? Try 4,000+.
Little different than increasing the number of teachers to reduce student class size.
That many politicians trying to get anything done, especially if all else is held the same (e.g. needing a super majority to pass an issue), will be inefficient and ineffective.


I have no part in our current political party climate.
No one does.
It's turned into American Idol where people think their individual call in vote matters.

I think most people realize that on some level, and take out that alienation and frustration at their pointlessness in the system out on the internet, searching to vent it on others to make themselves feel better.

i.e. I think the government as it is now shows how little representation and power people actually have, so they go try to find other people to dominate with their views.
They say things like "I focus on reason and logic, I look at their voting record, I'm an informed voter!" when that is really just "I'm smarter than you, I matter more than you, I still have power! I'm not powerless like the system makes me feel!"

Harmony,
Actually, they have. The reason we "vote" comes down to "trust". We can't know every dirty trick and political ploy!!!... that's why we vote these suckers in! When the politicals say that we have failed them.... well that just wrong,,,, it's the other way around..

It was the Spaniard Jorge SantaYana 1863-1952, that said "Those who do not understand their history, are doomed to repeat it".
READ IT READ IT READ ALL ABOUT IT!!!
ROME BURNS WHILE NERO FIDDLES HER DESTRUCTION.

Why didn't the Romans see their empire falling appart??? They grew fat, they trusted their politicians. Their politicians gave favor to other countries for bribes. Public assassination was common place. Corruption on all levels of government were accepted as part of politics......sound familiar kiddies????

I don't think we should be trying to revive dead institutions like the Republican and Democratic parties. I belive if we do, we just continue to watch Nero jam on his ax as Rome burns. Musta been a HELL of a lead!!!

Donald J. Trump is our President. He is the best bet we have from keeping Rome from burning. After Trump we may need new political parties. Because as of the last election.....THEY ALL FAILED US....

Why didn't the Romans see their empire falling apart

they grew fat and valued staying fat
(enough to allow corrupt PEOPLE to gain and keep power, if they espoused that they would keep them FAT)


Greed destroys, not politics,,,politicians are just people, and some people are corrupt,,,,

that's true of ANY career label,,,

I thought this going to be all the parties joined together getting along and having a good time.

Singing Koombaya ma lord, no doubt!!

One's world view gets distorted when one is viewing things through a partisan bubble.

Political parties are best understood, as alliances. Not identities.

Just as alliances between nations constantly shift, and are never quite as close as the nations make things appear, so too political parties are always only SORT OF described by their published "platforms."

And the reason for the alliances are not always as straightforward as the allies pretend that they are.

That's why I like you Harmony! We need to revive that old 60s show...
POINT:COUNTERPOINT...

Agreeing that we disagree!!

a school of 650 sure does out perform in the world of politics. Money has its privileges.


In 2007 Deerfield's endowment was valued at US$415 million, or roughly $680,000 per student. Fees were around $37,000 for day students and $52,000 for boarders in 2012-2013.


List of Deerfield alumni

King Abdullah, King of Jordan
Jeffrey L. Bewkes, CEO of Time Warner
Christopher S. "Kit" Bond, U.S. Senator from Missouri
John Chafee, 66th Governor of Rhode Island[5]
James Colgate Cleveland, U.S. Representative from New Hampshire[5]
Ken Huff, former NFL player
Alex Killorn, professional ice hockey player for the Tampa Bay Lightning
David H. Koch, VP of Koch Industries
Ben Lovejoy, NHL defenseman for the New Jersey Devils
Ogden R. Reid, U.S. Representative from New York[5]
Haun Saussy, University Professor of Comparative Literature, University of Chicago
Sarah Groff, triathlete, U.S. Olympian
Randal Williams, former NFL player
Malcolm H. Kerr, former president of American University of Beirut
Matthew Fox, Golden Globe Nominee
Stephen G. Smith, editor of National Journal
Eric Widmer, Former Head of School, Deerfield Academy


Some say that it is a grooming school



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deerfield_Academy

Politicians have a very clever way of making you vote for them or not, and it's very well planed between all political parties,just so they can carry on playing their greedy little games with peoples lives, one party will say, sorry you have been kicked in the butt 10 times a day for the last 4 or 5 years,but just a few more years and we should be coming out of it,and of course the other party will say,but if you vote for us, we will only kick you in the butt 8 times a day,so who do you vote for, Left or Right, Dem's or Rep's, it doesn't matter, because they are all in it together, they don't give a Flying F%$# about you,and in a few years down the line, they will start it all over again,and we will all willingly bend over to be kicked in the butt 9 times a day,because we are told that for the last so many years we had it better than expected.It's just a big con from the day you are born.

sorry you feel that way

politicians, lawyers, doctors, teachers, soldiers, or janitors

are all HUMAN first ,, some care and some don't,, occupation doesn't negate character

The problem with this attitude, is that it is elf-defeating. It's giving up, and patting yourself on the back for giving up.

The politicians who are corrupt, are there because we put them there, and then refused to learn from our mistake.

When it comes to self-rule (i.e. democracy), you can't just count on MAGIC. You actually have to work had to be a GOOD voter, and an informed and rational voter. And if you decide not to educate yourself AND decide not to try to correct things by electing someone different, you will be ADDING to the corruption.

Those elf's should be defeated and deported.

I am sorry if I have offended your beliefs,but that is how I feel,
We are all entitled to our opinion, maybe you really do feel as if I am
being self defeatist,but I firmly believe that the Powers that be, actually enjoy the fact that we are having this type of debate between
ourselves-either here, in a Bar on a street corner, it means we are not Questioning them, do you actually think that I am patting myself on the back,and that I that I wouldn't be happier to have an alternative to vote for,but we don't, I do Tar them with the same brush, because that is how I see them, we could have this discussion for the next 20 or more years, and you can bet your last coin, we wouldn't have moved on very much from where we are now, defeat and deport them,Wow! now that's
the way to go,do you suggest that if you can't beat them, then-join them,now that's defeatist,of course you are all correct,we are all Humans first,and we did put them there,is this not the perfect time to suggest that we all should try and Educate ourselves, and maybe in turn
we may actually Educate those we are talking about.