Hyper-partisanship & American Democracy

I'm not going to comment on the mid-term elections. There are more knowledgeable and eloquent commentators than me, but I do want to comment about something that is seriously wrong with our democracy: hyper-partisanship. I'll give two examples to illustrate this issue, both from the recent mid-terms.

My two examples: Alvin Greene, Democratic nominee for Senate in South Carolina soundly lost to his Republican rival. Christine O'Donnell, Republican nominee for the Senate from Delaware was defeated by her Democratic rival. What's wrong with this picture? Simply this: these two geniuses won 28% and 40% of the votes, respectively.

Why would any American in his sound mind would vote for such obviously unqualified individuals if not for hyper-partisanship? Shouldn't the representatives we send to Washington be superior individuals? Shouldn't they be creative thinkers? Excellent deal makers? Visionaries? Great executors? Instead, a sizable minority of voters base their voting decisions on a single criterion: does the nominee have a D or an R next to their name.

Until this changes the solutions to our fundamental problems will elude us, and we will continue to send to Washington unworthy individuals who are not equal to the massive challenges that we face.

In case you have not heard about these fantastic former nominees and don't know what I'm talking about read for yourself about Greene (felony charges, "stellar" military career performance, slightly worse communicator than an average turnip) and O'Donnell (financial problems, lying on taxes, holding some fantastically bizarre opinions).

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