I wonder why some people say that there is no difference between the political parties. Every time I hear someone say something like that it strikes me as a ridiculously stupid thing to say, and seeing all the issues lined up like this drives that point home.

OK, since I'm one of those stupid people, I'll don my fire-walking boots.

You alluded to why there's no difference in the parties by referencing campaign finance reform, as did Dick Clarke the other day when he said "Morals have nothing to do with it; it's POLITICS." A lifetime of public service used to be thought of as a good thing; now voters just assume you're a pro poll-watcher, career suck-up whose opinions, if not actual votes, are for sale to special interests. Sure, environmentalism is one of my (and the Dem's) special interests and defense contractors and drug companies are the GOP's. That doesn't mean there's any moral difference in which set of whales you're whored to.

I'm reminded of the story about George Bernard Shaw at the party, wherein (I'm grossly paraphrasing) he asks the lady (who hates him) if she'd have sex with him for a $10 and she says of course not, and then asks if she'd do it for a million bucks and she says, well maybe so, and finally asks if she'd do it for $100, and she says "What kind of person do you think I am?" and he replies, "We've already establshed that; we're just hagling over price."