Party uber alles?

Sometimes the masters accidentally let the mask slip and show the fascade (or should I say farce) for what it is:

"This is still a McCain convention," Erwin said, adding that enthusiasm for Paul's speech was for his message, not necessarily his candidacy. "There are parts of his message that the entire Republican base likes.

"But at the end of the day, part of the job of being a national delegate is to do what is best for the party in November. And that means supporting the party's nominee."

I'm more concerned about what's best for the country, parties be damned (and I'm starting to mean that in the most literal sense of the word). They exist to thwart, not promote, the will and best interests of "we, the people." Shenanigans like this merely reinforce, yet again, that fact:

After a super-majority of Ron Paul supporters captured control of the Republican state convention Saturday, state party officials abruptly canceled the event without electing delegates to the national convention.

Early in the day, state delegates supporting Paul's continued pursuit of the Republican nomination voted through a rules change that forced the state party to abandon its preset ballot of potential national convention delegates and open up the race to the rest of the state delegates.

The vote followed a rousing speech by Paul of Texas, who said his presidential campaign will continue as long as he has support.

But as the convention continued into the evening, chairman Bob Beers said the party's contract for the hall at the Peppermill Resort Casino had expired and the event would be rescheduled.
((the Church Lady would have said: "how convenient" -- Jemison))

"Due to a rules change that left us on an overtime basis, we will recess the convention until a date that we are going to announce next week," Beers told a shocked crowd, which stood silent for a few seconds before erupting in boos.

I refuse to support any party that excludes candidates from debates and changes the rules on the fly every time their vested interests (and pre-approved candidates) are threatened. Both the GOP and the Democrats are playing a dangerous game--the more they delegitimize the system, the more likely it is people are going to finally say to hell with the whole charade. I know I'm just about there.