How to Turn Republicans and Democrats Into Americans - Mickey Edwards

Great piece by Mickey Edwards which has the potential to change the course of this country for good and yes, the Max keeps that dreamer inside me alive. Let's wish this happens in our lifetime.  

I am not calling for a magical political “center”: many of the most important steps forward in our history have not come from the center at all, including women’s suffrage and the civil-rights movement, and even our founding rebellion against the British crown. Nor am I pleading for consensus: consensus is not possible in a diverse nation of 300 million people (compromise is the essential ingredient in legislative decision-making). And I’m not pushing for harmony: democracy depends on vigorous debate among competing views. The problem is not division but partisanship—advantage-seeking by private clubs whose central goal is to win political power. There are different ways to conduct elections and manage our government—and strengthen the democratic process. Here are some suggestions designed to turn our political system on its head, so that people, not parties, control our government.

• Break the power of partisans to keep candidates off the general-election ballot.
• Turn over the process of redrawing congressional districts to independent, nonpartisan commissions.
• Allow members of any party to offer amendments to any House bill and—with rare exceptions—put those amendments to a vote.
• Change the leadership structure of congressional committees.
• Fill committee vacancies by lot.
• Choose committee staff solely on the basis of professional qualifications.

Fareed's take on this and the cable news which is hell bent on de-democrazing this country...here:

"Polarization has been fueled by a new media, which have also been narrowcast. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) gave an interview to the Wall Street Journal in which he suggested that he might further the conservative agenda through an occasional compromise. That provoked a tirade from Rush Limbaugh, which then produced a torrent of angry e-mails and phone calls to Issa’s office. Issa quickly and publicly apologized to Limbaugh and promised only opposition to President Obama. Multiply that example a thousandfold, and you have the daily dynamic of Congress.

It’s depressing — but the fact that our politics are the result of structural shifts means that they can be changed. Mickey Edwards, a Republican and a former House member from Oklahoma, has a highly intelligent essay in Atlantic magazine, suggesting a series of reforms that could make a difference. Some of them are large-scale, such as creating truly open primaries and handing over the power of redistricting to independent commissions. Others are seemingly small but crucial changes in congressional procedure and practice, for example, filling committee vacancies by lot and staffing committees with professionals rather than with political apparatchiks."