Thats the problem. Everyone assumes we only have two parties, then votes against people instead of for people. I made an even stronger effort to vote for people in the 2012 election. That meant research into every person on the ballot, not just the two from the major parties. If I didn't like any of the choices, I didn't vote for a particular seat.

Election reform, from both how we vote, and the money in the system is the key to political reform in this country. It's why I'm a supporter of the American Anti Corruption act. Does it have a chance of passing? Who knows. I'm not going to be a curmudgeon and sit on the sidelines, I'm going to try and make it happen, and make it very clear to the people who represent me that this is my top priority. They lose my vote if they go against it in 2014.


Gridlock is a natural and intentional part of our government, by design. It's how ideally it stays limited. However the current state of affairs is dire in that the basics aren't even being taken care of. Instead of gridlock over differences of opinion on new items, it's gridlock for gridlock sake to try and sway the next election. Congress is constantly campaigning, instead of doing their jobs. Due to also the above mentioned 2 party system, the extremists are in control of much these days, and they have helped turn words like moderation and compromise into dirty words. Same way Nixon's administration helped turn liberal into a dirty word.