Article: SPEAK OUT; Accountability would aid the parties

Eric Weltman and Paul Lachelier

Political parties are declining, both in numbers and influence. Parties do, however, have the potential to be more than fund-raising machines and identification labels for office-seeking individuals. They can provide a distinctive vision of the "good society," and hold their candidates accountable to the policies that achieve these visions. They can also be institutions of democracy, making politics a more meaningful part of ordinary people's everyday lives. More Americans are eschewing parties and registering as "independents." In Massachusetts, 49.4 percent of registered voters are unaffiliated

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