Unit 6. Political parties

The Founding Fathers (the first cabinet of the USA in 1789 – President George Washington with Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, Henry Knox and Edmund Randolph) viewed political parties as factions (interest groups that pursue narrow private interests rather than the common good). They designed a constitutional system that, together with the size and diversity of the country, was meant to keep factions so divided that no one of them could gain significant power. Yet parties emerged quickly, and the Constitution was one cause of their appearance.

The separate and staggered elections required for Senators, Representatives, and the President (and the republican form of government guaranteed the states) create many fragmented electoral interests. But they also ensure many and frequent elections. Parties arose in part because organizations were needed to recruit, screen and nominate candidates for these elections. The separation of powers also helped create parties because a tool was needed to coordinate the policy initiatives of the separated branches. Political parties are organizations seeking influence over government. A party seeks to control the entire government by electing its members to office and thereby controlling the government’s personnel.

The Founders set up a system that encourages two parties, rather than no parties. Only one person is elected from each electoral district, and that person needs a plurality (more votes than any other candidate) to win the election. Thus coalitions form before elections. Political parties are few in number, and are coalitions of interests with middle-of-the road programmes whose vagueness results from compromises made to unite dissimilar elements. Since 1856 there have been two major national parties: the Democrats and the Republicans.

Compared to political parties in Europe, parties in the United States have always seemed weak. They have no criteria for party membership – no cards for their members to carry, no obligatory participation in any activity, no notion of exclusiveness.

In the US, party organizations exist at virtually every level of government. These organizations are usually committees made up of a number of active party members. State law and party rules prescribe how such committees are constituted. Usually, committee members are elected at local party meeting – called caucuses – or as part of the regular primary election. The best-known examples of these committees are at the national level – the Democratic National Committee and the Republican National Committee. Each of the two major parties also has a central committee in each state. The parties traditionally also have county committees and in some instances state senate district committees, judicial district committees, and in the case of larger cities city-wide party committees and local assembly district “ward” committees as well. Congressional districts also may have party committees. The state and local parties are active on a continuous basis, while the national organizations lie mostly dormant between presidential elections. The party which loses presidential elections can sustain its strength in Congress and state governments.

Two other factors have been important for the development of a two party system in the US. First, winning the presidency is so important an office that it has inspired two broadly based national coalitions, one consisting of the party in the White House and the other of everybody else. Presidential coalitions have defined the major parties and the agenda for national politics for decades. Second, there has usually been a division of voters into two camps on the important issues, such as slavery or government regulation of the economy.

One of the most familiar observations about American politics is that the two major parties try to be all things to all people and are therefore indistinguishable from each other. Parties in the United States are not programmatic or ideological, as they have sometimes been in England or Europe. The national leadership of the Republican Party supports increased military spending, cuts in social programs, tax relief for middle- and upper-income voters, tax incentives to business, and the “social agenda” backed by members of conservative religious denominations. The national Democratic leadership, on the other hand, supports expanded social welfare spending, cuts in military spending, increased regulation of business, and a variety of consumer and environmental programs. The Democratic Party at the national level seeks to unite organized labour, the poor, members of racial minorities, and the upper-middle-class professionals of the New Politics movement. The Republicans, by contrast, appeal to business, upper and upper-middle-income groups, and social conservatives.

American political parties exist in three principal “guises” or aspects. They are: first, as an individual loyalty to a label, called the “party in the electorate”; second, as a permanent structure or machinery, the “party organization”; and, third, as public officials elected under a party label, called the “party in government”. Within each party political philosophies of citizens can be different but they unite to gain political power which they would not be able to win separately. Sometimes, a special issue produces a third party, but the two major parties often take over the issue and its supporters, and so the third party loses strength. There are several types of third parties. In national elections, independents and some third parties attract votes from people who are dissatisfied with the major parties and the government in general. Other third parties, such as the Socialist and Libertarian parties, represent ideologies that have only small followings in the US. Others are single-issue organizations, such as the Prohibition, Women’s and Right to Life Parties. The most important third parties have been those that result from splits in the major parties. The impact of third parties, however, is most evident in the adoption of their policy suggestions, such as primary elections, direct election of senators, women’s suffrage, income tax, and a balanced budget by the major parties.

Individuals who call themselves Democrats, Republicans, or Independents do not pay membership dues, do not attend meetings, do not have cards, as in other countries, but vote for the candidate with whom they want to identify themselves. So, very often it is not the party platform of a candidate which determines a citizen’s decision to vote or not to vote for him, but the personal qualities of a candidate (charisma) or family traditions which, as polls show, are the most important in determining party membership. Historical reasons are also important. So, many people in the South have remained Democratic since the Civil War, when a Republican administration led the victorious northern army against the southern forces. There is a growing tendency among people to split their vote, which means that they choose Democrats for some offices and Republicans for some other office. The number of those who vote the straight ticket is decreasing.

Parties perform a wide variety of functions. They are mainly involved in nominations and elections – providing the candidates for office, getting out the vote, and facilitating mass electoral choice. They also influence the institutions of government – providing the leadership and organizations of the various congressional committees.

TASK 1. Find the English equivalents for the word and word-combinations given below.

Фракция; придерживаться; обеспечивать; объединять несхожие слои общества; представление об исключительности; фактически; партийное собрание; административный округ; бездействующий; поддерживать; вдохновлять; определять; вид; ярлык; избирательный участок.

TASK 2. Choose one of the new words to make the sentence complete.

1. Hillsborough … was the first one to enter the coming election.
2. They … their candidate and … a great amount of financial resources to make him popular.
3. Unfortunately they could not … the same pace for a long time because they ran out of money.
4. But the candidate did not want to give up; he raised more funds, sold his house and … a room in a cheap motel as his campaign quarters.
5. He passed his German exam with an excellent score and was transferred to the overseas … of Coke in Frankfurt.

TASK 3. Match the word and its definition.

Devote	to propose by name as a candidate the act or process of dividing
Reserve	to keep back for future use, to set apart for a particular person or use
Division	an administrative subdivision of a state in the United States
Maintain	to give one’s time, attention or yourself to some activity, cause or person
County	to keep in an existing state; preserve or retain
Nominate	to keep in a condition of god repair or efficiency

TASK 4. Choose the right answer.

1. The principle of federalism means that …

a) there is a partnership between two levels of government

b) the federal government controls the state government

c) the state government has priority over the federal government

2. The main two sources of money for the state government are …

a) federal and state funds; b) gas and road tax; c) income and sale tax

3. American Constitution …

a) did not say anything about political parties; b) stated what parties should be formed;

c) stated that there should be two major political parties

4. While the president of the United States is a Democrat, the Congress …

a) is always democratic; b) can be either Democratic or Republican;

c) can only be Republican

5. Voting on a split ticket means that …

a) you vote for the Democrats; b) you vote for the Republicans;

c) you vote for some positions of the Republicans and some positions of the Democrats

6. The main supporters of the Democrats are …

a) big businesses; b) small businesses; c) neither of the two

TASK 5. Match the English words and word-combinations given below with their Russian equivalents.

1) достичь компромисса	a) electoral college
2) на самом низком уровне (движения)	b) at the grass-roots
3) коллегия выборщиков	c) to pay membership dues
4) платить членские взносы	d) to do away with abuses
5) оказывать давление, проводить подготовительную пропагандистскую работу перед обсуждением какого-л. законопроекта	e) controversial issues come up
6) группа, отстаивающая чьи-л. интересы	f) to reach a compromise
7) положить конец правонарушениям	g) an interest group
8) набрать, проверить политическую благонадежность и выставить кандидатов	h) the agenda
9) относительное большинство голосов	i) obligatory participation
10) с умеренными программами	j) with middle-of-the-road programmes
11) обязательное участие	k) a plurality
12) повестка дня	l) to recruit, screen and nominate candidates

TASK 6. Answer the following questions.

1. Why are there sometimes insignificant differences in the views of some Republicans and Democrats?
2. Why do some politicians find the absence of sharp differences in the views of Republicans and Democrats advantageous?
3. Do third parties exist in the United States?
4. What kind of organization do the two leading US parties have?
5. Does the party affiliation of a candidate always determine people’s support of him?
6. Why do some people split their vote?
7. What is the main function of the national parties committees?

TASK 7.Render the following text.