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The role of political parties in election
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Importance of Political Parties and Differences in Party Systems " Never the less state as well as national parties continue to exist and function, and they show many signs of being stronger, more complex, and better financed than they were a generation ago. If this is true, it must be because the parties are doing a better job of serving the candidates." (Political Parties. 48) The author refers to political parties as doing a better job of serving their candidates. A political parties main focus is to obtain public office, if this is true, a party must do everything in its power to serve its candidates. Parties provide massive financial support to aid their candidates with numerous incurred expenses in running a campaign. They also perform many laborious and time-consuming tasks such as: mailings, advertisements, websites, scheduling, and registering and mobilizing voters. Parties are beginning to become more efficient in the "business" of politics. I agree that political parties have become stronger, more complex, and better financed. It almost seems like the party that runs the better business during an election is the party that wins. Parties sell their candidates to us like mutual funds, with emphasis on track record, piece of mind, stability and the promise of growth. As much as parties serve their candidates lets just hope that candidates turned incumbents don't blindly serve their parties. "Why multiparty is preferable. The most powerful argument for multiparty is that it is more natural." (Multiparty Politics in America. 59) The author describes how a well-practiced multiparty system would be better at producing majority rule than our present bi-hegemonic system. In a bi-hegemonic system it is not necessary for either party to win a majority of the eligible votes, but only the majority of the votes cast. Party leaders consider it a waste of time and money to campaign for the habitual nonvoters (most likely the result of lack of agreement with either party platform). More of a platform selection should encourage better competition and voter turnout. Changes in campaign requirements would be needed to give minor parties a fairer chance in the United States. These changes would include: the abolishment of all laws that discourage the formation of new parties; public funding for all campaigns with spending limited to that funding; the prohibition of private donations and soft money; free access to the media and the forbidding of commercial advertising; and the change of the electoral system to one of proportional representation.
A political party is a group of people who seek to win elections and hold public office in order to shape government policy and programs. George Washington warned the nation against creating political parties in his famous “Farewell Address”. He feared political parties would divide the country and weaken support of the Constitution (Doc 4). The first major political parties, the Federalists and the Republicans, were created during the term of President George Washington. Despite President Washington’s warning, the rise of the two political parties, in the years after his term was inevitable. The Federalists were in favor of a strong central government, while the anti-federalists opposed most their ideas. Over time, the gradual development of political parties resulted in the Democrat and Republican parties we have today. The Whiskey Rebellion and different views between the Federalists and Antifederalists were a couple of the main causes that led to the rise of political parties in the 1790’s.
8.In order for political success, both sides of the political spectrum must be critically examined in order to omit mistakes and for cultural advancement. Over two hundred years of United States politics have seen many changes. The names of parties may have changed, but the bi-partisan feature of the party-system has not. Republicans and Democrats are our two major partisan groups in present day America. Sometimes there are disagreement amongst party members that lead to dispute and a less concentrated effort. That is the beauty of a democracy, everyone is allowed to put their two cents worth in.
There has been much speculation whether political parties have become too strong in American politics and if that is a good or bad thing. My belief is that political party power in the United States is just about right where I believe that there are some instances where political parties have been in situations where they have too much power and instances where it is moderate. First off, political parties are crucial to our democratic government because it is composed of a group of people that the constituents elect to represent their issues or achieve a common goal. Being part of a group that shares your common interests or goals is more powerful than tackling an issue by your self. It gives you more voice and power in government. Also, political
Though he is aware that these parties are likely to grow, he advises that “wise people” (Washington, 1796) will discourage it. He cautions that in promoting political parties the danger arises of one party seeking the upper hand and that it ignites animosity at the expense of the public.
A Democratic Party long ruled by moderates and conservatives succeeded in stunting what seemed like the natural growth of a successful Republican Party until the 1990s. Since then, various forces have contributed to the growth of the Republicans, and in the end, to an altering of the core membership of each party. Most recently, the state has seen the development of a dominant Republican Party that doesn't yet hold quite the dominion the Democrats enjoyed through most of the twentieth century. The Republican Party has certainly benefited from the defection of former Democrats, the arrival of Republicans and independents from out of state, and organizational difficulties in the Democratic Party. Thus, Republican officials dominate state government, and Democrats find themselves reduced, for the present, to the status of an embattled minority party seeking to recreate themselves among their voting and financial constituencies. This is showing that the newfound Republican dominance can be the beginning of a new strong party system, or if we are in a state of transition in which the terms of political competition are still in change. If it is a new party system, I don’t think it will be very durable or last too long for that matter. Now, it seems that Republican dominance of state government will
In the 1790s, soon after the ratification of the Constitution, political parties were nonexistent in the USA because President Washington feared they would drive the country apart. However, Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton, with their rivalling mental models, could not help but spark the division of the United States into the Democratic-Republican and Federalist parties. These parties, the Democratic-Republican wanting a small, local government system and the Federalist wanting a strong, powerful government system, turned citizens against one another and eventually led to the inimical Democratic and Republican parties of today. Hence, the formation of the original political parties in the United States is very significant. Political
...r to help each other and also contribute to voting for the country. However, even today America still has political party groups which affect the country both positively and negatively unlike what Washington had thought. He stated that parties would cause problems, however the parties are what keep the government intact and it also helps make decisions for the country.
system produces conflicts between the Congress and the President and promotes very outdated beliefs that stem from the Constitution. A vast majority of the American population has the stern belief that the Constitution does not need to be changed in any way, shape, or form. This belief, however, is keeping the country from progressing along with other countries around the world. These single parties are holding control of multiple branches of government at once and monopolizing the power during their respective terms. The government “faces an incapacity to govern since each party works as a majority party” and believes there is no reason for innovation (Dulio & Thurber, 2000). The two parties are seemingly always clashing about one thing or the other, making it difficult for things to get accomplished, and proves the thesis correct that the two-party system is ineffective for a growing country.
Political parties, like interest groups, are organized groups that effort to influence the government by electing their associates to important government offices. The first party system appeared in the 1970s and pitted the federalist beside the Jeffersonian Republican. Over the years, the federalists progressively weakened and disappeared altogether after the pro-British sympathies of some Federalist leaders for the duration of the War of 1812 led to charges of betrayal against the party. From the collapse of the federalist until 1830s, American had only one political party, the Jeffersonian Republicans, who gradually came to be known as the Democrats. There was strong factional conflict within the Democratic Party, principally between the
Our political system is our backbone, so we need to buckle down and start working together, learning from our past mistakes. In his article, “Elston He on Abolishing Political Parties” Elston He gives his opinion about political parties, “Political parties were created to express common views, to propose a common platform, and to unify members of American political society so that action could be taken. Today, however, political parties are simply used as perfunctory labels and to categorize people as “this or that”. This is a good statement to show just how divided America has become. We as a country should abolish all political parties and run as a whole instead of separately as enemies because, together we are stronger then we are apart, government formation should be built upon honesty and integrity not lies, and political parties will only lead to disaster.
A party system is the concept that political parties in a democratic country have basic similarities: they control the government, have a stable base of mass popular support, and create internal mechanisms for controlling funding, information and nominations. From 1789 to the 1890’s, the United States had three party systems.
There are two ways to get rid of the causes of factions, or political parties. The first way of removing these causes is to destroy the liberty essential to their existence. The second way to get rid of the causes is to give everyone the exact same o...
In the United States today, a third major political party is needed. The two current major parties are inadequate due to a lack of representation of the people, and recurrent stalemates that occur when a controversial decision has to be made. Adding a third major party would help with the voting decisions, representation of the people, and the government overall. Due to the fact that the two current parties already hold either a left-centrist or right-centrist political platform, a third party would need to adopt a moderate standing. A moderate third party would also be idyllic because since the 2008 presidential election, more voters are becoming independent rather than identifying as either Democrats or Republicans (Chart A530).
In closing, Washington had warned the people about the dangers of the political party saying that ‘ It serves always to distract the public councils and enfeeble the public administration. It agitates the community with ill-founded jealousies and false alarms, kindles the animosity of one part against another, foments occasionally riot and insurrection.’ Its up to the people of America to realize the problem with two party system, and vote outside of the two major parties.
Plurality voting and winner-take-all rules directly undermine any chance of a third party victory, leading to the perpetual existence of a two-party political system. With winner-take-all election rules making any third party victory far from possible, the two major parties can shift their identity early on in the election to align better with the concerns of the general public that may be expressed from third party support. Third parties do not pose much of a threat to the two major parties due to their inability to carry a state through electoral votes. Any large desire for policy change will likely provoke a major party critical realignment before it leads to any third party victory. The two major parties will likely, based off of historical patterns, bring forth a candidate whose campaign is unique to the nation-wide concerns, leading to a shift in overall voting