In his farewell address to the American people delivered on September 26, 1796, George Washington warned against the development of political parties.

"It serves to distract the Public Councils, and enfeeble the Public Administration....agitates the Community with ill-founded jealousies and false alarms; kindles the animosity of one.... against another..."

Never has a political prediction been more correct. Never has a valuable bit of advice been more ignored.

Now I could spend the rest of this column discussing the distortions, vilification, power plays and out right lies that make up modern party politics. But I don’t think I need to. All you have to do is watch the nightly news. Instead, I will localize the problem by telling you how the State of Georgia deals with party politics.

Rather than acting to protect its citizens from political abuse, Georgia has written it into state law. Under Georgia law, you have no chance of having your voice heard on public policy unless you first declare yourself to be a member of one of the two major parties. Georgia voting rules makes it almost impossible to get on the ballot as an independent or third party candidate. The state finances and conducts the primary elections used by the parties to choose their candidates for the general election.

That’s right. Georgia requires that we, the taxpayers, finance the Democrat and Republican parties by paying for their primaries. The state sets the rules for who can qualify for the primaries, uses state offices, equipment and personnel to conduct the primaries, and counts the votes. The two major parties are now a key part of Georgia’s government.

Just how complete is the state’s control of the political process? Consider the so called flag referendum. The question is attached to the Democratic and Republican Presidential Primary ballot. If, for some reason, you actually wanted to vote in this fiasco, you will have to declare yourself to be a Democrat or Republican before you will have access to the ballot.

Now, the voting records cannot show which individual you supported. It will show which party’s ballot you requested. The voting list, with your party preference, is available to anyone who wishes to pay for it. Once you express your preference by taking a Republican or Democratic primary ballot, you can expect your mail box to be filled with letters from politicians telling you about the terrible things their opponents are doing and why it is critical that you send in your money so they can defeat this evil.

Now I have read the Georgia constitution from end to end. I cannot find anything that authorizes the state to finance and conduct political primaries. I think it is unconstitutional for the state to do so.

Thirty years ago or thereabouts, political parties in Georgia were responsible for their own methods of choosing candidates. The Democrats chose to use a primary. They organized, conducted and paid for it. The Republican Party, which was quite small at the time, held nominating conventions. The state had nothing to do with the process.

I think the State of Georgia ought to distant itself from party politics. The state should conduct only the general election, and open the ballot to anyone who wishes to run for office. Candidates chosen by political parties should have no special consideration. They should be required to meet the same standards as any independent or minor party candidate.

Just imagine how much better our government would be if we were allowed to select individuals who best represent our desires, rather than the policy of the political parties. Wouldn’t it be great if we can once again say that our government is by and for the people?

Frankly Speaking by Frank Gillispie, this item was published with permission of the author. Published February 11, 2004 in the Madison County Journal - www.mainstreetnews.com