Did we have an election?

At one time I considered myself fairly politically astute, and tried to keep tabs on the political happenings in this country, but lately I've found myself realizing that it doesn't really matter. If Republicans are still worried about why they lost the elections a few weeks ago (rather than turned to more pressing matters like getting the Lexus serviced, managing their investment funds, or getting tickets to see the Nutcracker during the Chrsitmas run), I might suggest that the first step would be to run a candidate. In the 21st district here in Washington, there was a state senate seat and two legislative seats open, and the Washington State Republican Party couldn't be bothered to find a single candidate for any of the three positions. Now granted this is a pretty liberal (OK not 'pretty' but rabidly) part of the state, but if they are gonig to play games of running for "competitive" districts, they can kiss my hind-end. I've been debating whether running no one is better or worse than the crazy old man, "Cowboy" Wilson, who ran last election under the Republican ticket for my district.
But back to the larger question, Does it matter?
People are fond of huffily stating "If you don't see the difference between Reps and Dems, then you aren't looking close enough." But actions speak louder than words. Most Rs support military adventurism in support of "freedom" and "stopping WMDs", while Ds support military adventurism in support of "humanitarian intervention" and "stopping genocide". Rs want soulless corporate bureaucracy to govern our lives, Ds want soulless UN bureaucracy to govern our lives. Rs give you the bread and circuses of piddling tax cuts and professional sports, Ds give you the bread and circuses of "entitlements" and MTV.
Aside from the war in Iraq, the real hot-button issue that divides the two parties is abortions, and for all the screeching about Ds being the party of death, what exactly have the Rs done to limit abortion since gaining a majority? The silence is deafening (and people who brag on GWB's Supreme Court nominations distinctly underwhelm me).
My father was fond of muttering that this country needed another revolution, though with the state of the nation, we'd probably end with a government as stupid and corrupt as this one. It's a shame there is no New World to sail off to.