“There are no American political parties … because we have none, we have no opposition to those who rule us.”

Gore Vidal

We don’t have political parties, let’s begin with that. And we’ve never had them since John Adams said “I want a nation of laws, not of men.” Well that’s very lofty, of course, but what he meant was he didn’t want faction. Well, faction is political parties. Now, without faction you don’t have any kind of, well, motion going within the state … we’re suffering from it now.

- Gore Vidal, interview (wmv format) - via The Young Turks

See also:

Wikipedia: What Went Wrong in Ohio by John Conyers.

Preserving Democracy: What Went Wrong in Ohio: Status Report of the House Judiciary Committee Democratic Staff (pdf)

Henry Rollins Interviews Gore Vidal @ YouTube