By John Ostapkovich

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - We’re in the eye of the political storm this weekend, between opposing political conventions, and a former Republican Congressman argues that the parties themselves are holding us back.

Mickey Edwards left Congress in 1993, a time of comparative collegiality.

“It’s changed tremendously, even in the last decade it’s changed tremendously that Republicans and Democrats in Congress barely talk to each other any more,” says Edwards.

The problem is not ideas or ideals but, to Edwards, rules that entrench party organizations as kingmakers.

“We’ve created an incentive by letting the parties control our elections, which they’ve done for a long time now,” Edwards explains.

So Edwards proposes, in The Parties versus the People, ways to break their stranglehold, like open primaries and non-partisan redistricting.

Clearly the people in office, thanks to the current system, won’t like this, which is why he calls for new blood to crash these parties.