Free and open primary elections

In his farewell address, George Washington, “In contemplating the causes which may disturb our Union” warned of the grave dangers of political parties then just developing at the time of his departure from the presidency.

The “spirit of party,” Washington said, “is, unfortunately, inseparable from our nature, having its root in the strongest passions of the human mind…The alternate domination of one faction over another…is itself a frightful despotism...