Reply #9: Agreed, with one caveat

"I don't want my elected officials to be as PARTISAN as I am"

When he's running for the office I see the possible necessity of ths point of view, but once he or she is elected I damn well want my elected officals to be partisan. Liberals and democrats and progressives (or what ever label you prefer) have to to stop playing so damn nice.
Otherwise they cede the field to the partisans and the republicans.
This has been happening too long.
This is the one of exact things Thomas Frank writes about in his new book.