The problem is not the parties, it is the media. That is where the real power lies.
The Republicans are terrified of the old media, and this administration has greater collusion with it, whether voluntarily, or through extortion and blackmail, than at any other time in our history, except perhaps during WWII.
I admit, there is little separation, if any, between the Democrats and the old media. They are completely entertwined.
I'm going to disagree; I think the problem really is the parties: take a look at the NSA's domestic spying — a lot of people, probably a supermajority by now, have at least serious misgivings about the agency. It would be a serious win to seriously push even legal restrictions, if not completely dissolving the agency, and yet the GOP just rolled over on the issue.