[OutsiderFan]

I recently finished watching the American Experience documentary about women's suffrage. Never have I been more impressed with how long, hard, and determined a fight to win rights was, as it was for women to secure the right to vote. At the same time, I was never more pissed that this lesson about winning rights was not emphasized in U.S. history classes.

The sad fact is the women's right to vote was a partisan political issue, blocked mostly by Democrats upholding white supremacy in the South because it was seen as a slippery slope to Blacks winning the right to vote as well.  So as much as you would like to think granting women the right to vote was a bi-partisan initiative, it wasn't.  In fact, Republicans were responsible for the 19th Amendment (that was suppose to be the 16th) passing the Congress, not because they were women's rights warriors, but because they were trying to win more power in Congress. 

At the same time, when we considered a law that would expand health care coverage to millions more Americans, and try to get cost down, it too wasn't seen as an opportunity to come together to do the right thing, it was also a partisan game to win votes more than it was to look out for the American people. Precious few elected representatives actually do what is right and just, without making calculations about their own interest.

I say all this, not to argue who's position is or isn't right, but to illustrate how as a country, our two party political system that relies on there being opposite sides, continues to fail us, as it has for a long time.  One of my answers to "fix this" is to do away with political parties and install term limits, but this is way easier said than done.

[OutsiderFan]

I recently finished watching the American Experience documentary about women's suffrage. Never have I been more impressed with how long, hard, and determined a fight to win rights was, as it was for women to secure the right to vote. At the same time, I was never more pissed that this lesson about winning rights was not emphasized in U.S. history classes.

The sad fact is the women's right to vote was a partisan political issue, blocked mostly by Democrats upholding white supremacy in the South because it was seen as a slippery slope to Blacks winning the right to vote as well.  So as much as you would like to think granting women the right to vote was a bi-partisan initiative, it wasn't.  In fact, Republicans were responsible for the 19th Amendment (that was suppose to be the 16th) passing the Congress, not because they were women's rights warriors, but because they were trying to win more power in Congress. 

At the same time, when we considered a law that would expand health care coverage to millions more Americans, and try to get cost down, it too wasn't seen as an opportunity to come together to do the right thing, it was also a partisan game to win votes more than it was to look out for the American people. Precious few elected representatives actually do what is right and just, without making calculations about their own interest.

I say all this, not to argue who's position is or isn't right, but to illustrate how as a country, our two party political system that relies on there being opposite sides, continues to fail us, as it has for a long time.  One of my answers to "fix this" is to do away with political parties and install term limits, but this is way easier said than done.