The 2008 Presidential election was supposed to be a highlight of my political life. I had just turned 18 and couldn't wait to see George Bush, Karl Rove, and Dick Cheney out of the White House. But it soon became obvious that I didn't have a dog in this fight. You see, I didn't like Barack Obama, from the time he was only known as the Senate's lone Black Ranger, even until much of the world thought that he was the Messiah reincarnate. I wasn't voting for Hilary or Joe or John Edwards. My friends and family didn't understand: surely I could have found someone to vote for amongst this diverse group of candidates? But I couldn't. You see, my problem with all of these politicians was that they were all federal Legislators (Senators to be precise); and they had all let me down. (Now many people pointed out to me that Rudy Giulani could possibly be a good President, after all, he did manage to clean up New York after the grimy '70's, '80's, and '90's. I, however, found his "a noun, a verb, and 9/11" campaign strategy less than convincing).

Edwards, Obama, Clinton; these were legislators that failed America. As legislators, what had either of them done for me, or any citizen, lately? I wasn't impressed with their cowardly and calculating habit of refusing to speak out against Bush Administration policies until it became politically convenient to do so. Even if these policies directly contradicted their party's ideology or their campaign promises. Even when the masses displayed their collective frustration with Republicans and the Bush Administration in the 2006 midterm elections by giving Democrats control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate, President Bush did whatever the hell he wanted.

Though the Democrats held 49 seats in the Senate and 202 seats in the House, the Republicans were still able to hold the entire Congress hostage. The Bush Administration was still able to torture terrorists, gain additional funding for shady contractors in both the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, and mushroom the powers of the executive branch. Its almost as if Democrats confused their position with a fly on the wall. But now that Democrats have control of the White House and both chambers of Congress, why are they still so afraid of the Republican party? And don't mention the upcoming midterm elections to any Democrat, or else they might just start to cry.

Yes, Scott Brown, a truck-driving average American with a law degree and a nude spread in Cosmopolitan Magazine, won Ted Kennedy's Senate seat; leaving the Democrats with a simple majority instead of a super-majority. Perhaps their apprehension is caused by the coming retirement of major Democratic Congressmen such as Chris Dodd, Evan Bayh, and Patrick Kennedy (thanks to Patty, our Legislature will be Kennedy-less for the first time in about 60 years). Perhaps it is the poor quality of their leaders which worries them, because if I were led by someone as asinine as Nancy Pelosi, or as banally stupid as Harry Reid, I would give up as well. An even more plausible explanation could be that with a simple majority, the Democrats would have to work (actually attempt to do their jobs) to appeal to the masses, which will not be easy as the Republican-labeled ‘elitist' party.

Whatever their qualms, the failure of our legislators to even pretend to be concerned with the needs of American citizens, as well as their preoccupation with party politics and re-election is indicative of a larger issue. They, and most of their colleagues were and are content with operating within the shallow confines of our malfunctioning legislative system. Yes, our Congress is malfunctioning, and here's why.

We have forgotten the core principles upon which our nation was founded. Our Founding Fathers chose democracy for our country in the hopes that it would foster honest debate amongst our politicians in order to produce the best outcomes for the majority of American citizens. But there were two unforeseen permutations which unfolded in our new legislature: career politicians and the development of political parties. For much of our history, the political implications stemming from these two legislative elements have been carefully hidden from the public by political parties. Now, however, it seems after years of cover up, the smoke-filled room deals have moved into the open. Politicians have become more audacious, now that they believe themselves to be above our laws and our approval.

The first of these legislative permutations is not new but has never been so prevalent. Career politicians, rather performing the job of a national legislator to the best of their abilities, they are more concerned with their job security. They must please their party leaders, the executive branch, lobbyists, and beneath all of these actors comes those they represent. The second permutation is an old one, one which, as any good ex-AP US History student knows, our very first President warned us against. "Parties," George Washington asserted, "serve to distract the Public Councils, enfeeble the Public Administration, agitates the community with ill-founded jealousies and false alarms, kindles the animosities of one against another, and opens the door to foreign influence and corruption..." Although Washington may have been naïve to think that political factions would never form in a political body, but he understood that one's loyalty is first given to ones' constituents, and not a political party. Partisanship may have been inevitable, but this does not mean that we should accept the unabashed nonchalance of politicians towards the populace.

The failure is not only legislative, the failure is also our own (and I won't bother to begin discussing the despicable performance of some of our major news media outlets). When we, the citizens of America, were endowed with certain self-evident rights and liberties, we were also given responsibilities. Most importantly, we accepted the responsibility of self-governance: holding our leader accountable for their words and actions and expressing our needs and interests. A democratic populace is meant to be a politically active populace. But we, as our politicians, have become complacent and demand immediate gratification.

The fact of the matter still remains: our legislature has been hijacked by self-interested, office-seeking, party-centric politicians who are too cowardly, too stupid, or too character deficient to perform their jobs correctly. And in any situation where the creation of affordable healthcare can be hijacked by Joe Lieberman, and then held hostage to Ben Nelson's blatant and unrepentant political wrangling for federal money to his pet projects is insane!

The Democrats have good reason to be worried, like when you hear your mom coming up the stairs and you haven't cleaned your room yet. They didn't do their jobs. So pray for them come November, they may just be left bloodied and bruised.