I'll take it futher. Political parties should not be! Every candidate should have to run as a party of one to be judged on his individual merits and records, not on his party affiliation.
The problem with that is, in a Representative Constitutional Republic, which is what the United States form of government is most accurately described as, not a "Democracy", a "no party" political landscape would be a disaster. Nothing would ever be done, and there would be hundreds of competing interrestes on all levels. Political parties are necessary, the American people need to just learn to vote for the party which most reflect their convictions and beliefs, which is why I am a registered Republican. To make a duel legislative form of government function and actually accomplish things, you have to have large blocks of like minded people who are members of political parties that are identified by their beliefs and ideals, their "plank". The problem is, the Republican party has allowed people like specter, snowe, collins, chaffee and others to be "Republicans" when they only marginally support half of the Republican party plank, in some cases, less than half. The problem with the democrat party is that their plank says what all liberals believe, but liberal democrats running for office NEVER say what they really believe, unless they're in a safe liberal district or state, like kennedy, kerry, biden, pelosi, and frank. Most others never say what they really think, because they know most Americans are socially and fiscaly and ideologically conservative, so they lie. And too many democrat voters are mind numbed slaves on the plantation of the democrat party, obeying thier political masters at all costs, voting democrat all the time, even though most democrat politicians, and the democrat party plank is totally opposite of what many of those mind numbed democrats believe. So given that comparrison, there is FAR more wrong with the democrat party than the Republican party. Also given that, even with all the political attacks on the Republican party, the Republicans will still pick up seats next year, because real conservatives that think for themselves know where real conservative values lay politically. With Republicans, not democrats. If anything, I am hoping anyway, all this SCOTUS strife will strengthen the conservative movement, because many will figure they're not conservative enough. God willing that will result in a Republican President who will do all the good things Bush has done; tax cuts, rebuilding the military, pro-life support, judicial nominees, education reform, medicare reform) and do the things that Bush hasn't done that he should have (border control, REAL immigration reform, budget discipline and use of line item veto). I am hopeful that the GOP will find a really solid across the board conservative for '08.
I see no circumstance that a liberal democrat, which is all that gets the RAT nod anymore, could beat a solid conservative Republican for President. The '04 county by county map shows that. I mean, what state did Bush win in '04 that a hitlary, kerry, edwards, gore, dean, pick-a-liberal could possibly win from a solid across the board conservative in 2008? I can't think of one myself. kerry and his trolls went on and on about how "if I'd of just gotten 100,000 more votes in Ohio, I'd be President". Only 100,000??? That's a BIG number. And the total number of votes kerry won by in five of the states he won was less than 100,000 votes. That indicates the Republicans are far closer to picking up additional states in '08 than the democrats are. That's how I see it anyway.