These words were spoken by George Washington in his farewell address. He did not believe in the party system and felt government should be a unified effort.

Easily recognized in these words is a fear of the corruptive nature of party politics, corruption in which the ‘Party’ becomes the most important entity rather than the proper governing of the nation.

If one studies much that Congress does, one will find that party politics often disrupt the smooth flow of governmental ecisions. If legislative decisions are disrupted, if decisions are hindered in any way by pure party politics, then governing has taken a back seat to struggles for power.

During such debates, squabbling, if you will, Congress is failing in its responsibility to the nation; it has been consumed by its need to feed its power structure.

What we absolutely do not need in this age of great strife, an age of becoming of age, are political leaders who may realize what is best for the nation but base their decisions instead on what is best for the party or its financial backers or both.

We need politicians in Washington who can stand on their own two feet in defense of their opposition to leaders who would control them. We do not need representatives in Washington who function as no more than puppets in servitude to questionable leadership.

As a recent example, there are few Americans who do not recognize the need for campaign reform. The only exceptions are those that have their heads buried in the sand, those with apathy that, if reversed, could help affect changes in our system.

But, is even a beginning to reform likely to occur in the near future? NO! And, why not? Because Republican leaders in support of Gingrich, stopped the potential by not putting the issue to vote by Congress.

This was in spite of enough support for the measures in question to pass. Thus, party power determined the outcome, not the people as represented by its elected officials.

The corruptive nature of power has too long been in the hands of individuals who are easily corruptible by their need for power and money, by a political system that supports and feeds on corruption at the expense of the well-being of this nation and its people.

It is disheartening that bi-partisan efforts, rare as they are (and usually only because of extreme public outrage), make the news.

This should, as George alluded to, Ladies and Gentlemen, be the modus operandi, not such an exception that it is caused to be newsworthy.