Yes, BB, it's a continual and festering problem on both sides of the aisle. No doubt about it. It's one of the reasons I would prefer to see political parties themselves go the way of the dinosaurs, and instead have a system where individuals of NO party affiliation whatsoever run for office...with no party machine whatsoever behind them.

Nothing behind them but their own unique ideas and their own character.

And funding? Simple. Fund all the candidates equally from a public fund. Have them all given equal air time to express their views. Have a relatively short campaign...6 weeks? 2 months?

Vote.

Form a non-partisan government from the results...not a government permanently divided into 2 opposing and self-interested power blocs who live to trash one another, but a government of many independent individuals who decide things by open non-partisan debate and discussion, followed by a vote.

It's just a dream, of course. I know it's not going to happen in the system we have now. They would never allow such a thing to happen.