Election Rules and Factions.

I think the modern era of primaries is a good one, it is decentralized. Since Wisconsin has moved to a direct primary, I think it has been a benefit to the voters, and a hindrance to the candidates - but that is the way it should be, we [the general public] should have as much control as possible.

Obviously the biggest criticism of the primaries in the 2008 Presidential election was the fact that in some primaries, open primaries to be exact, any voter can vote for any candidate. However, in closed primaries, you can only vote for whom you are registered for (i.e. Registered Republican can only vote for a Republican). This can create problems for some candidates because, for example, many republicans were said to have something against Hilary Clinton. I don't have any numbers to back that up but it was considered a popular unsung rule within the Republican party that anyone but Hilary would do. So, in open primaries, some Republicans would come out and vote for Obama, or John Edwards, because they were desperate that Hilary not take the oath of office. This discrepancy needs to be addressed because I believe it is an unfair tactic and is harmful to America's democracy because it is, in my opinion, gutter-snipe politics with a vicious end game. You should vote for who you want to vote for, not against who you do not want to win. That seems pretty cut and dry to me... [What do you think....?]

I also think the US Government should scrap the electoral college, and switch to an all out General Election. Personally, I think this would be a better representation of Democracy. In 2000, Al Gore won the popular vote but lost the election due to the electoral college. I don't think it makes sense to have someone get the most votes in the country (i.e. the "will of the people") and still end up on the losing side.

With regards to factions and financing, there is absolutely no doubt that factions play a role in politics. Federalist 10 was very clear about the reality of what factions are and how they can damage the goal of the party and hence damage and tarnish the image of the country. I am going to define the word faction :

"cabal: a clique (often secret) that seeks power usually through intrigue"

source = http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=faction

When it comes to American politics, that definition certainly sounds familiar doesn't it (i.e. special interest groups, lobbying, etc..)? In truth, I think the overall idea of Campaign Finance Reform is positive but implementing it is another story. Implementing laws that limit the individual contribution of personal donors to $2000 and PAC to $5000 is a solid start, nonetheless, there's no guarantee this will root out all of the dirty money in politics. What's to stop wealthy individuals from special interest groups (i.e. NRA, Board of Education) from giving out money to others in order to provide the money to the candidates? The IRS? Give me a break.

In conclusion, however, I think we are very lucky to live in the United States. In some countries for example, like China and Russia, you still have de-facto dictatorships. While America's democracy is not perfect, it's better than the alternative. I also think it's important that the same side doesn't always win. I wouldn't be very nice if we had 50 years of consecutive Democratic or Republican rule, would it?!