Google co-founder Sergey Brin has put his two cents in on election day in a post on Google+. Brin asked elected officials to withdraw from their parties so that America can move past what he believes is a political climate hindered by hostility.
Brin wrote on Tuesday, Election Day in the US:
“I must confess, I am dreading today’s elections … because no matter what the outcome, our government will still be a giant bonfire of partisanship.”
CNet reports that the Google co-founder begged winners of Tuesday’s elections to ditch their political parties so that their work can be more constructive. He stated:
“It is ironic since whenever I have met with our elected officials they are invariably thoughtful, well-meaning people. And yet collectively 90 percent of their effort seems to be focused on how to stick it to the other party.
“So my plea to the victors — whoever they might be: please withdraw from your respective parties and govern as independents in name and in spirit. It is probably the biggest contribution you can make to the country.”
This isn’t the first time that Sergey Brin has taken a stand in the political realm. The Google co-founder’s family were refuseniks who were able to leave the Soviet Union when he was a child. He has taken part in two issues that involved censorship: Google’s withdrawal from China operations and the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA).
Tech Crunch notes that Brin’s call is somewhat impractical because every democracy on Earth has some kind of party structure. While some American Founding Fathers despised political parties (what they called “factions), they saw the party system as inevitable. James Madison wrote:
“No free country has ever been without parties, which are a natural offspring of freedom.”
While Brin’s request is not likely, one popular solution to the bitter partisan gridlock is a multi-party system. In this system, multiple groups constantly forge new alliances based on specific issues instead of a two-party system where each party has the same enemy on each issue.
While come of these multi-party systems do exist, putting it in place in America would require both Republicans and Democrats to give up some of their power.
Do you agree with Sergey Brin that our elected officials should renounce their parties?