Well, LH, that's only part of the problem... Fix democracy first that provided a framework where parties can represent a diffent menu of options... The broken governemntal structure is what keeps the parties having to play the same game...

Consider this: If it takes 60 votes to cut off a fillibuster and bring about an actual up-and-down vote then 11% of the population controls the other 89%...

And the Dems know this and the Repubs know this so they tailor their message to as little as 11% of the population!!! Not much room for error there and that is exactly why the Dems and Repubs are so similar...

Fix the broken democracy and the parties will follow...

Now to do that is anyone's guess 'cause we wold have to have a party step away from the minority and propose a fix that a minority that allready holds the power would surely reject... In other words...

...we are basicly screwed...

B~