As a staunch independent voter, I write in response to two op-ed pieces in the Aug. 19 edition of the Arizona Daily Star. Both pieces were thoughtful and contained interesting perspectives on our political system. Yet, each contained glaring misconceptions that should be addressed. In the first piece — “Parties should reassert control over primaries” — columnist Jonathan Hoffman laments what he sees as a lack of party control over primaries. To the contrary, except in those few instances where ...

George Washington, in his 1796 farewell address to the young nation, set forth some guiding principles for America. Among his concerns was the “baneful” effects of political parties. He cautioned that, although parties might now and then be responsive to the concerns of the electorate, “they are likely, in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people.”Well, it’s 2016, 220 years later,...