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 To tell you the truth, I have been toying with this question for some time. I have spent some time and bent some ears asking this question and I still don't have a clear answer. This question is perhaps more complex than I thought which has lead me to a few underlying questions. The answer revolves around anonymity, openness and the trouble with confidentiality. Let me try to explain my thinking.

For most bloggers or participates in a site like TheBatavian, anonymity isn’t an issue. Even if you were to use your real name, you’re still basically anonymous. Ask yourself how many people know you and if they do know you are those people unaware of your political leanings, or outlook on life? Political figures have no such anonymity. On top of this there is also a general feeling of negativity towards anyone holding public office. I personally have been attacked several times on this site by people who disagree with my viewpoints and at times told that I shouldn't have the right to post at all. I find those to be among the most UN-American suggestions I have ever heard. I would think that people would want to hear what their elected officials think, whether they disagreed or not. Some might say it is a duty of every elected official to respond to any question asked.

Another part of this question is openness and why elected people would fear it in the first place. The fear for an elected person is that every time you offer an opinion someone will most certainly disagree with it and you will have one less vote come election time. Maybe they are right, if politics is a game being used to "play up to the crowd" or manipulate people. I think for the most part, a game is what politics has become in this country. Lies and deceit, playing up to the crowd and goading the other guy are now common place in politics. Our state is not in trouble because of Republicans or Democrats; it has more to do with the system that is now in place. This hurts us when tough decisions need to be made. Instead of working as a team, the party that is not in power plays politics to the detriment of the entire state. Personal gain and power is the driving factor in all of it. The attitude is, if your party is not in power, than to hell with the state or the country. That's the political mantra of our country. 

I wonder what politics would be like in our country without political parties? Without anyone to do you’re thinking for you, would people have to dig deeper into issues and have a better understanding before they took a side? Without political parties would politicians have to get their own message out without having a mob of blind followers to spin it for them?  Could future politicians survive without the shield a political party offers? If this took place, wouldn’t all politicians have to turn to the web and blogs? Isn't that the type of system we should be striving for to run our country? Isn't that "The more perfect union" we have been looking for? The answer is, we are not there yet but, we can not achieve the goal without people taking the first steps to "real" open government.