Presumptuous Party Problems

Let's pose a question: what is the singular worst thing about the United States political system? Is it the corruption? The corporate involvement? The obscene amounts of money in politics? These are all tremendously shitty, but I'd argue that the biggest problem is our two-party system. The black-and-white idiocy that has done nothing but strengthen its hold on politics for decades. Let's look at some reasons:

When did "Republican" become synonymous with "religious" and often "intolerant" (e.g. anti-gay, anti-abortion, anti-immigration, anti-women, etc.)? When did being "more conservative" become a thing that someone says to claim to be a better candidate? Let's look at actual conservatism. Being politically conservative means that you aim for as little government interference as possible. So, are you gay? Do you want to marry? Sure, whatever. Do what you want, we don't care. Conservatives are also supposed to believe in laissez-faire, and hold off from making many laws that stick their fingers into business. What can we think of that republicans were pushing for recently? Oh, right. SOPA. Fuck that. Anecdote time: if you can't tell by the things I say and do, I'm conservative. I'm also an atheist, find a lot of the shit that the government has been helping corporations accomplish repulsive, and have no beef with women (I'm a classical feminist‐I see women as being equal) those of differing sexual orientations than I. But I can't call myself a Republican, because they don't really agree with my views, despite claiming to be conservative. If they actually were, they shouldn't be meddling with our lives so much, and they should be keeping their goddamn religion out of politics, like actual conservatives.

Of course, I'm not only going to pick on the Republicans. The Democrats are just as bad, what with acts like the NDAA, or the ACTA support. Admittedly, they stay closer to their views from what I can tell (liberal politics), but they are also just as polarizing. I don't have as much to say because I don't follow them as much, due to conflicting political views. But the biggest problem with the two-party system can actually be summarized as thus:

When did compromise become a bad thing?

Seriously. This whole charade wouldn't be quite so bad if these two parties could fucking compromise on things. Instead it becomes a "we do things my way, or we don't at all" game, where each side waits for the other to relent. This isn't just stupid, but it's shitty interpersonal skills and horrible politics. Yes, it's all well and good to hold true to your convictions, but sometimes you have to ask yourself if stubbornly refusing to do anything any way but the way you want will hinder what you may be trying to accomplish. You don't need to hold hands and sing "Kum Ba Yah" together, but you should at least try to find common ground to agree on.

Oh, and stop taking all that corporate money to push through their pet bills. Politics and business are supposed to be separate, fuckwads.