I think the problem in a one party system is shown historically. The South became polarized to the Democratic party in the 1850s, with other parties being totally squeezed out (Republicans, Whigs, Know-Nothings, etc). This one party system then allowed a gradual radicalization of the one system. Without balance, they ended up driving a wedge between themselves and the Union (I recognize the Union wasn't perfect, either. However one didn't see secession efforts by disgruntled states in the north).
We see this in France's Revolution, also. They started with a wide variety of parties, from kingmen to jacobins (and a few parties even more radical than they). But the right wing was eliminated over a couple years, after which the centrists (Garondians) were wiped out, leaving only the one side to run amok. The Democrats are in trouble, because many of them have become socialists. Utah doesn't need a socialist party. It does need a two party system, which means either they need to revive and recover the Democratic party, or they need to quickly get behind a second party. A one party system gives too much power to a small cadre of politicians. This opens the door to abuse of power. It is okay if one party is conservative and the other is moderate/centrist. My personal view on government is this: The Constitution establishes a small federal government, but the states can do just about anything they want. If one state wants to have little government, and another wants to socialize, more power to them. If one state wants to be atheist and another Mormon, more power to them. If one wants to be religious and the other hedonistic, more power to them. In this way, if I disagree with a certain state, I can always move to an area more to my liking. However, if the feds control everything, there is no where for me to go (Canada??? I'm not sure if I want that health care program). So if a city or state wants to have more government, it doesn't bother me (in other words, a democrat for mayor is okay). What I read into Elder Jensen's article is if the Democratic party isn't what we want it to be, then perhaps if enough of us were to switch over to it, we could change it for the better. We'd kick the socialists out of it and into the Green Party (or other socialist party of one's choice), and create a moderate Democratic party. K'aya K'ama, Gerald/gary Smith gszion1 @juno.com http://www .geocities.com/rameumptom/index.html "No one is as hopelessly enslaved as the person who thinks he's free." - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe ________________________________________________________________ Sign Up for Juno Platinum Internet Access Today Only $9.95 per month! Visit www.juno.com ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// /// ZION LIST CHARTER: Please read it at /// /// http://www.zionsbest.com/charter.html /// ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?aaP9AU.bWix1n.YXJjaGl2 Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
