Party labels divide us
COMMENTARY
Josh Deitz

Last week, Republicans in Congress hit a new low in the battle between the parties. The health and education spending bill currently before Congress provides exactly $0 for Democratic congressional districts in the House of Representatives.

That’s right, if you voted Democrat, Tom DeLay believes you do not deserve any money from the government.

Guess what, Tom, Democrats are Americans too. So are independents, Green party members, socialists, libertarians and every other citizen of the United States. Denying Americans equal access to money for health and education makes Tom DeLay and his Republican flunkies no better than typical fascists.

It’s become accepted practice for the dominant party in Congress to take the majority of money in appropriations bills. The split usually runs about 60-40. This isn’t fair, but it ensures that money is spread out somewhat evenly across the country.

Party dominance does not make some Americans more deserving than others. Congress should be spending money based on need, not party affiliation. This country has more deserving projects than we can fund, but national priorities should come before political parties.

Pardon me for putting the United States before donkeys and elephants. The U.S. would be best served by getting rid of the established political parties altogether.

Rather than investigating issues and voting based on the interests of their constituencies, most legislators simply follow party instructions. Similarly, voters tend to vote for the party rather than the representative.

There is a growing discontent with the traditional political system. We have abysmal voting rates because Americans feel disconnected. Between the massive influence of lobbyists and typical party shenanigans, the discontent isn’t a surprise.

In the past few elections, we have seen relatively strong support for third-party candidates who present an alternative to the traditional Democrats and Republicans.

John McCain, Ross Perot and Ralph Nader have all had large impacts on recent elections. More and more Americans are registering as independents precisely because neither party represents them well.

The biggest problem in American politics is that political parties put themselves before the good of the nation. Rather than find the option that is best for the country, they find the option that is best for re-election. Both parties spend most of their time pandering to whoever will donate the most money to their campaigns.

Neither political party is serving the interests of the American people. The Republican spending fiasco should make this abundantly clear.

We need alternatives. We need government by the people, not by the party. We need a revolution in the way politics are done in this country. Our democracy dies a little more each day.

Josh Deitz is a senior political science from Atlanta, Ga.