I think most of us can agree that - while politics in this country have been partisan and nasty since George Washington left office - the current political climate has probably never been as hostile and acrimonious as it is now. One cause of this decline in civility, I think, is the fact that one political party in this country has begun putting politics over policy.

Many on the right accuse Democrats of being anti-American. To some extent this is true. I've never felt that Democrats actually want this country to fail. In their own misguided way I think the vast majority of Democrats want what is best for this country. Where the anti-American part comes in is when Democrats put what is best for this country on the back burner in favor of engaging in partisan politics with Republicans.

As an example of this mentality take this statement from Brad Mills over at the Flickertail Journal blog:

Technically, I am not a Democrat. I am an anti-Republican who sees the Democratic party as the only game in town for standing up against the radical rightwing extremists who have taken over the Republican party and subsequently the entire federal government.

Mills describes himself politically as an "anti-Republican." Now, to me, one's political ideology should not be summed up by opposition to something. If all you do is oppose Republicans then what do you stand for?

Personally, I think of myself as a conservative. I stand for limited government and a social/economic environment that lets free people make as many free choices as possible. Now my ideology often leads me to oppose those who call themselves Democrats, but I would never define myself as "anti-Democrat." That's because a good idea is a good idea regardless of its source. If a Democrat suggested invading a country that was supporting international terrorism and apparently had stockpiles of WMD's I would support the suggestion and wouldn't change my mind on the matter once election time rolled around and it was time to campaign against those same Democrats (I'm looking at you, John Kerry).

The problem with modern Democrats is that they've got people who think like Mr. Mills running the show. For too many Democrats today the goal is to oppose the Republicans, not do what is best for the country. Which isn't to say that Republicans are always doing what is best for the country. Far from it. Of late this conservative has often had to hold his nose while supporting Republicans. They've been the lesser of two evils, at best. It's just that if Democrats expect people like me to take them seriously as an alternative to Republicans they're going to have a platform that extends a bit beyond simple opposition to President Bush/Republicans.

The two party system works better when both Republicans and Democrats are genuinely working toward the betterment of the nation rather than the betterment of their respective parties.