Foley ballot flap more indication that the parties are too powerful

The Republican Party in Florida has picked Joe Negron to replace disgraced former House Representative Mark Foley - who resigned last week after it turned out he was an e-mail pedophiler - on the ballot in next month's election.

Which proves all the more that the major parties - Republican and Democrat alike - have too great a stranglehold on this country.

Negron didn't have to submit himself to any of the scrutiny that is supposed to come with being a Congressional candidate. He's not going to be running because he gathered enough signatures on a petition to warrant his name being on the ballot. No, the only reason he's running is because the party bosses hand-picked him to be "their man". Because all that matters to them is "keeping control" of Congress... to hell what is in the best interest of the people of that district.

I've written in the past few days how the process of my being an electoral candidate for the first time has led to some personal change and growth. Well, I'm going to write more about this in the weeks and months following the election, but I'm compelled to say this much now at least: for all the talk about "voter apathy" in this country, why should the average American feel morally obliged to go to the polls in an election, if the American people aren't in charge of their own country anymore?

In a sane world, nobody would be filling in for Foley on the ballot. The contest would belong to whoever it was who's left in the race (which I guess would default to the Democrats, since no one else is really allowed to run in an election in this country)... and tough cookies for the Republicans.

But I guess I shouldn't be expecting anyone - from either of the two major parties - to do the decent thing by not circumventing the American people, should I?