Do We Need 'Em?

I've been wondering for quite some time about our American political "party" system. Republicans, Democrats, why do we still need them? Is this some artifact of our Founding Fathers that no longer serves a useful purpose? Think about it; do we really need to govern based on an "us versus them" mentality where one side claims victory and the other is vilified?

Can't a politician simply state his or her position on the issues, run for office on that basis and then govern that way if elected?

Partisan politics really came to a head for me over this so-called "Bail-out" bill. I watched with incredulity as Nancy Pelosi (Dem) stood behind the podium this week and railed against Republicans at a time when she should have been asking for bipartisan support. What gives? Why do we need this sort of partisan politicking?

It seems to me that all of the antics I see played out on the Hill by both parties often produce a lot of bad policies that are not only detrimental to the American concepts of freedom and liberty but are also destructive to our basic concepts of capitalism (and for that matter the whole American way of life thing).

I'm beginning to think Joe Lieberman, Democrat turned Independent, has the right idea.