This is not a time of a dictatorship and we have achieved representative democracy. We have evolved as a nation and have grown out of the need for political parties for information on issues and candidates. The 1992 Presidential election was a definite sign that the usefulness of political parties is crumbling. The Democrats came out on top, followed by the Republicans, however, a third party candidate, Ross Perot, emerged and ended the race with nearly 10,000,000 popular votes. Perot made himself out to be the only one who could clean up the mess in Washington, and came through with an impressive finish (Wolfson, 1994). From this example, it is obvious that the way we know political parties, or perhaps political parties as a whole, are being phased out by the people. This is also evident in the percentage of voters that vote for third party candidates in the past few decades. The world in which we live is constantly changing and getting faster and more efficient at making news readily available to the people. Back in the times before radio, TV, the Internet and e-mail, people had to find out somehow about politics. The main source of their information came from political parties to educate them as to who was running and what they stood for and believed in (Carlin, 1992). Now, if someone needs information on some kind of politics, they can simply turn on C-Span, surf the ever-expanding net, or write an e-mail to a congressman or legislator. Another strike against political parties is evident. Lately, politicians have had their way in separating themselves from the voters whom they are supposed to represent. A greater gap is growing between the two. Voters do not like being just a number. One Democratic voter was quoted as saying, “We didn’t choose to abandon the Democratic Party in its hour of need; the party chose to abandon us”. (Ehrenreich, 2000) The basis of democracy, in case some have forgotten, is equal repres...
