George,

I agree with Will Lyster that our democratic system needs fixing. But I'd like to ask Will why the Republicans had no Presidential Primary this time around. Why was there no debate amongst the Republicans? I think it would have been good for the Republican Party to have a Presidential Debate and a Presidential Primary, just to show that they're not all a bunch of uniformly-thinking yes-men.

And why have the Republicans redistricted congressional districts in Texas to maximize the number of safe seats for their party? How is that democratic? The Democrats aren't guiltless in this arena either, but the recent redistricting by Texas Republicans has been the most agressive ever. It undermines constituents' democratic right to vote out of office a candidate they don't like.

I believe that every congressional district in the country should be drawn up by non-partisan groups in order to make as many districts in the country as possible competitive in congressional races. Our representatives in congress should be able to be held accountable for their votes. Senate seats are a different thing, given the borders of states have already been drawn and can't be manipulated by some fat-cat career politicians, and it is not unheard of for "blue" and "red" states to have a senator or two from the "opposite" camp. And that's refreshing.

How comforting is it to know that it is the politicians who control who goes to Congress instead of the American people?

Joseph Cheek (electronic mail, September 24, 2004)