Political Parties

Political parties are organized groups of peoplewho share a set of ideas about how the country should be governed. They work together to have members of their group elected in order to influence the governing of the country. When members of a political party form a majority in Congress, they have great power to decide what kinds of laws will be passed. With few exсeptions, presidents tend to appoint members of their party to governmental positions, including those of secretaries (ministers, heads of federal executive departments) within the presidential cabinet.

Political parties are the basis of the American political system. They are in fact important institutions in American democratic life. The Constitution does not mention parties or make any provision for them. The authors of the Constitution feared that parties representing narrow interests rather than the general interests of all the people could take over the government. They hoped the government would be run by qualified people who did not have a second loyalty - a loyalty to a party. They believed their government would work well without parties. Despite this, parties began to form shortly after the Constitution was ratified (1789) and they proved to be effective in the American political system.

At the national level, the United States makes use of a two-party system that has remained practically unchanged throughout the nation’s history, even though rival national parties have appeared and disappeared from the political scene. The Federalists, for example, who rallied around President George Washington, disappeared slowly after 1800. And the Whig Party, which arose in the 1830s in opposition to President Andrew Jackson, a Democrat, collapsed two decades later.

Today the United States has two major political parties. One is the Dernocratic Party, whose origins go back to the nation's third president, Thomas Jefferson and which formed before 1800. The other is the Republican Party, which was formed in the 1850s, by people in the states of the North and West, such as Abraham Lincoln, who wanted the government to prevent the expansion of slavery into new states then being admitted to the union.

Party membership in any American party is rarely formal. Members of the Democratic and Republican parties are not registered, they do not have cards and do not pay membership dues. There are no official formalities for admission. Any voter during elections may become a Republican or a Democrat by a simple declaration, that he is a member of this or that party. He takes no responsibilities when he makes that declaration. Associating with a party is strictly and exclusively a matter of individual self-expression.

Americans do not have to join a political party in order to vote or to be a candidate for a public office. However, running for office without the money, which can he provided by a party, is difficult. Many voters become members of a party because they feel strongly about the party aims or want a voice in selecting its candidates. Everyone votes in secret, and no one can know how another votes or force another person to vote for any particular programme or candidates.

One explanation for the long life of the Republican and Democratic parties is that they are not strong ideological organizations, but loose alliances of state and local parties that unite every four years for the presidential election. Both parties compete for the majority of the American voters. These parties have supporters among a wide variety of Americans and embrace a wide range of political viewpoints.

Most Americans today consider the Democratic Party the more liberal party. As they understand it the Democrats believe that the federal government and the state governments should be active in providing social and economic programmes for those who need them, such as the poor, the unemployed or students who need money to go to college. The Democrats earned that reputation in the 1930s when there was a worldwide economic depression. During the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt the government under the Democratic Party established the Social Security programme, which ensures that those who are retired or disabled receive monthly payments from the government. Labour unions also received government support.

Republicans are not vividly opposed to such programmes. However, they believe that many social programmes are too costly to the taxpayers and that when taxes are raised to pay for such programmes, everyone is hurt. They place more emphasis on private enterprise and often accuse the Democrats of making the government too expensive. For that reason, Americans tend to think of the Republican Party as more conservative.

There are so many differences in both major parties that not all members of Congress or other elected officials who belong to the same party agree with each other on everything. There are conservative Democrats who tend to agree with many Republican ideas. There are liberal Republicans who often agree with Democratic ideas. Very frequently in Congress, there are both Democrats and Republicans who do not vote the way their party leaders suggest. Sometimes members of Congress cast votes which the people they represent do not favour. They do this as a matter of conscience or because they believe they are acting in the best interests of the nation.

There are other, smaller parties in the United States besides the two major parties. None of these smaller parties has enough popular support to win a presidential election. But some of them are very strong in certain cities and states. They can have their own state or city candidates elected, or can determine which major party wins by supporting one or the other.

At every level of political life including town councils, state governorships, Congress and the presidency, the Republican and Democratic parties struggle for public office. The selection of these officials is a two-stage process, first, to win the party nomination, and second, to defeat the opposing party’s candidate in the general election. Persons elected to office exercise the power to make and execute laws as representatives of the people.

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