Ideological Differences
The two major political parties have multiple ideological differences that distinguish them. These differences center on issues including the role that government plays, entitlements offered to the American people, and issues including taxes and rights such as healthcare afforded the citizenry. Some common differences that have a major impact on the lives of people, and causes that commonly result on individuals voting differently are as follows. The Democratic Party is commonly viewed as holding a Liberal philosophy; it’s economic ideals promote minimum wages and a philosophy of progressive taxation among the classes, meaning that individuals that make more or have higher incomes should be taxed at a higher tax bracket. Further, the Democratic Party believes about military that less should be spent and that society should be supported on ideals that support community and social responsibility (Sabato & Ernst, 2009).
The Republican Party, however is based on a more conservative ideology. This ideology supports more individual rights and the concepts of justice over community and social responsibility (Sabato & Ernst, 2009). Along these lines, more spending is allocated toward military, with the Republican Party not supporting tax increases for anyone, including those that make higher incomes, with wages set by the free market (Sabato & Ernst, 2009). The Republican Party emerged in the mid-1850s as a response to the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which was a move to continue slavery in the territories of the U.S. (Beck, 1997). The Republican Party enlisted party members including individuals that were formerly Whigs and Free-Soil Democrats, and elected Abraham Lincoln, with its first actions including the Union victory and abolishing slavery (Beck, 1997). The party supported banks, business, the gold standard, and industrial workers along with industry (Beck, 1997). Other supporters included conservatives among certain religious entities.
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The Democratic Party, alternately is considered the oldest political party, not only in the States, but in the world. Its presidents have included Jackson, Van Buren, Polk and Douglas (Beck, 1997). The Democrats have often had an upper hand in the House and Senate although not always while a Democratic president has been in the presidency.
Third Party Success at the Presidential Level
At the presidential level, for a political party to gain support, it must win the support of Congress, or the House and the Senate. A Third Party candidate must also gain success at the majority level, something which historically has been very difficult for a third party, which typically represents the minority vote. These issues often undermine the third party candidate. Often the Congressional support splits even majority candidates. The House and Senate are split between Democrats and Republicans, rarely third party candidates or Libertarians or Independent parties. If the president is a Democrat and the Congress is largely Republican, this results in Congress vetoing or causing much conflict among the causes the President wants to support vs. the bills and causes the House or Congress wishes to support. Likewise, the President typically may represent a majority vote of the people, but not all of the people, making it difficult for the President to win over the people on very difficult causes or make mass reform in some instances. The people represented in the country may provide much pushback for major reforms and change.
Hill (2002) suggests that the election is based on a “winner take all” political system. Even if a third party has a solid backing, in most cases a third party will not win simply because, throughout history, third parties represent a minority that is not capable of taking over the majority (Hill, 2002). Throughout history according to Hill (2002) there have been more than “one thousand” third parties, but few have lasted; many lose under the idea of “winner take all” for the mere fact they are a minority, and have a hard time competing with the larger majority system that rewards individuals with the most votes, not with necessarily the best ideas (Hill, 2002). The current political system rewards those with the most votes, not those with the best ideas. Hill suggests that the current system focuses on only a few issues including health reform, Medicare and Social Security, and another twenty percent or so of issues that face the majority of voters, while there are still many more issues that face minorities that are rarely, if ever addressed, giving rise to minority parties (Hill, 2002).
Campaign Process and Two-Party System
According to Patterson (2002) party competition allows the direction of government to be swayed in one direction, or another. It is vital to democracy. Political competition has always focused on two parties, although minor parties may play a role but have never competed successfully. The Republican and Democratic parties represent most of the “economic, ethnic, religious and regional groupings” within the United States (Patterson, 2002). The first political parties formed in the competition between Hamilton and Jefferson, forming as an outgrowth of Lincoln’s Republican Party in 1860 (Patterson, 202). The Republican and Democratic Parties later came to take over the system; in other countries multi-party systems grew, but in the U.S. only the Democratic and Republican parties survived. These include single-member districts in the U.S. that make it “challenging” for other parties to gain presence and the party ability to accept one another’s differences, and compromise when necessary.
Minor parties typically do not last long, and typically define themselves along the lines of a single issue or ideology, as in the case of the Libertarian party (Patterson, 2002). While this may attract a loyal following, this may not be a solid or large enough following to lead the group into the presidency.
- Beck, P.A. (1997). Party Politics in American. Cambridge: Longman Publishing.
- Hill, S. (2002). Fixing Elections. Florence: Psychology Press.
- Patterson, T.E. (2002). The American Democracy, Ch. 8., Sixth Edition. New York: McGraw Hill Companies.
- Sabato, L.J. & Ernst, H.R. (2009). Encyclopedia of American Political Parties and Elections. New York: InfoBase Publishing.
