Column: Two party options no longer working

A few years back when I was still a reporter with a video camera, political commentator Cokie Roberts came to Berry College for the Gloria Shatto Lecture series to give the students an insider’s view on politics in Washington.

Well before the lecture took place, local reporters like myself got a chance to sit down and talk to Roberts. I don’t remember who asked – it could have been me or Diane Wagner, the Rome NewsTribune government reporter at the time – if there would ever be a viable third party in American politics.

Roberts, gave her answer straight up, as I found in our story Wagner wrote at the time:

It’s been tried before and has never been long-lasting, she said.

“But I do see more and more people dis-affiliating themselves with the major parties. It puts them in a strong position, because those are the deciding votes.”

This was back in 2012, when people believed the Tea Party was about to have its way with the Republican party on the eve of the presidential election later that year.

It failed to make a big impact on the election that year, and once again there’s still no viable third party to vote for in elections this year.

All this reminds me of The Who and their famous line from “Won’t Get Fooled Again.”

“Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.”

I’m sure I have used this line before, but it remains relevant considering what the American people have endured under both parties. Gridlock, economic problems, wars in the middle east and Afghanistan, surveillance of nearly everything we do. The list could go on for pages, yet it seems like nothing is ever done.

When voting for President Barack Obama in 2008, I was hopeful for change like many others in the political system. I found my hopes dashed on the rocks of healthcare reform in 2009, and believe the democrats only bury themselves deeper as scandals piled atop the presidency.

I’m not even going to go into deficit spending, stimulus packages that never seem to trickle down to the American people in a timely manner, and my personal favorite: wedge issues. For Benghazi and the Bin Laden operation. Those things are only window dressing compared to the overall problem.

Which is this: both political parties don’t care as much about what the voters want anymore. They only want to maintain their power and control on the state and national level, so they can put party agendas into place.

So I want to ask a straightforward question, Polk County voters: what have the democrats or republicans done for you lately?

We have to all agree the situation could be much worse. Back in the 18th and 19th century, what we consider nasty partisanship would have been laughed at with what history has recorded as their own dirty tricks. Want to see some really horrible things written about our founding fathers? Go find newspapers – if you still can – from the 1800 election between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson.

I can point to countless times in American history where both parties have been responsible for horrible transgressions – the spread of slavery, removal and destruction of native Americans, the failure of reconstruction, wars, economic disasters, corruption on the highest order.

Campaigners back then on both sides of the aisle even bought votes from people with cigars and rounds of shots in saloons and brothels. Politicians from the local level on up played for keeps.

True, both parties have changed over the generations to fit into what America is at the moment. Things are still better today than they were back then, but not by much.

Instead of buying votes with booze, corporations make huge donations to both parties in elections. Combined the parties spend billions of dollars to support candidates on all levels in their election bids. Dirty tricks are still the name of the game when it comes to leaks to the press. Everything from sexting to social security policy is fair game when it comes to attacking political opponents.

Each side tries to sidestep the other to get ahead in the political system, a neverending chess match the average citizen watches with feigned interest because it all sounds the same.

If America needs a change, there is one area the average citizen can provide their own two cents: the ballot box. The options aren’t good this year, but imagine two years from now if a new party were in place? Who would be sent to office then?

It’s my belief the two-party system needs a serious upgrade, maybe even a few new parties to help stabilize the congress and get elected officials back to the job of doing right by the country and not grandstanding for CSPAN cameras every chance they get.

Maybe it’s time the voters start sending some of these same people, who are re-elected over and over again, home and into retirement. Jefferson knew what he was saying when the tree of liberty must sometimes be replenished with the blood of patriots.

In this case, the bloodletting needs to come metaphorically in the form of giving up on democrats and republicans.

Both parties have been given plenty of time to clean up their acts, to get the country moving toward a direction of true prosperity. Decades of promises from both sides have always come up short of their desired results, or more likely are completely forgotten for the next short term thing to come down the line.

I’ve harped a lot about short term thinking to people in the past, because it bothers me that we can’t seem to look ahead to what the future might hold for us. Like the wedge issues each party find so easy to exploit, short term problems are always good excuses for not dealing with the bigger picture.

This is why we need some new political parties, so we can start thinking of ways we can improve our country over the next 20 years through to the long off century ahead.

So long as we continue to send the same folks to office from the same parties, repeating unkept promises over and over, we will continue to see the same results.

What I want – and what I believe a lot of Americans like me want – is a party that understands there is a compromise on most issues all of the voting public can agree on together. I want a party who isn’t afraid to stand up for what is the right thing to do on social issues, yet isn’t afraid to say no to insane Federal spending. I want a party who believes the U.S. Constitution is untouchable, and not a document to be cast aside when convenient.

I want a party who will bring all the sides to the table and actually fix something, not just stick a band aid on it and leave it for the next president or Congressional session to deal with later.

Most of all, I want a party that isn’t all about the money or power, but service to the people.

I wish upon a star for the day we’ll have better options in elections. Until that day comes, I believe we’ll all have to watch the two parties continue to tangle themselves up in knots and waste our tax dollars in pointless arguments.