Assess the claim that the Democratic and Republican parties are now ideologically distinct and internally united (30) There is much debate on how today’s two major political parties are arranged with their ideologies. Their ideologies are the main principles which each party stands for so is more or less the back bone and reasoning for every party’s existence. There have been many links and divides between the Democrats and Republicans since these parties began and at times some have argued for these links becoming too strong and the parties not being individual enough and representing what the party is meant to stand for. Within each party historically there have been many deep various factions, these are smaller groups within each party who although associate themselves with the main big tent party have their own separate ideologies on certain factors which separates them. For many years both parties have had a conservative and a liberal wing, which has damaged the unity of each party as they have not been ideologically distinct.
Even though the representatives are elected to promote the will of the people, sometimes is seems as if they are working towards their own agenda. Politicians get paid to represent others’ wishes; however, they are voted as a representative but not obligated to fulfill those wishes. The Electoral College, the actual votes that count for the presidential election, is not directly affected by the popular vote. In the 2000 election, Gore won the popular vote, but Bush won the electoral vote. There was much controversy over
Also the disunity within the Republican Party brought about by the government shutdown has caused the Democrats to join together despite divisions to present a more unified party to seem a more attractive option to the Republicans and also to criticise the Republicans hounding them in the press to lower their credibility to boost the Democratic standings in the popularity polls which has also brought about a large drop in support for the Republicans. Also as for the issue of same sex marriage the Democrats are predominantly in favour of it with it endorsed even by Barack Obama himself showing the mood of the majority of most of the Democratic Party despite a small minority who oppose it (mainly the Blue Dog Democrats). Another piece of evidence that the Democrats are not very divided is that the most conservative faction of the Democratic Party, the Blue Dog Democrats has been drastically reduced in recent years their numbers being in the 50’s in past years but in the 113th congress their numbers have been reduced to 14 so their influence has dwindled to give way to the congressional progressive caucus led by Nancy Pelosi who
After spending the primary season trying to prove they are most in tune with their party, they run for election on the basis of being most in tune with the nation. However, large swaths of the nation are at odds with the social contracts that politician holds with their party (or, otherwise, they would all be members of that party). This sets up the confusing political structure in American culture where politicians must first promise their parties they care strongly about certain issues, then assure the rest of the country that they do not actually care that strongly (Strom 1990). This confusing political structure emerges directly out of the conflicts in the
Despite the vague implications of the word, it seems to be ringing well with voters – especially Democrats – and he has succeeded in framing himself as the candidate of “change.” At the age of 46, Obama is viewed by many as a young, fresh face, having only been on the Washington scene since 2005. But in spite of his popularity, Obama has several key weaknesses that will become more apparent in a national campaign. According to the National Journal, Barack Obama’s voting record makes him the most liberal member of the U.S. Senate (“National Journal: Obama Most Liberal Senator in 2007”). In other words, no other senator has voted more strictly along the party line. This will certainly raise questions about his promises of bipartisanship and uniting the country.
The Tea Party Following the election of President Obama and the rapid growth of the nation's debt, a significant cross section of Americans were becoming increasingly dissatisfied with government spending. These people have formed a rather loose coalition and have taken the moniker “the Tea Party”. Increasingly frustrated with excessive spending, bail outs, and economic hardship, the tea party has accumulated significant support across the nation and has gained the support of a number of important Republican elected officials. As their influence grows, their momentum is gaining more power. The Tea Party is a group that apparently has no intentions of backing down on their goal: to reduce spending and balance the nation's budget.
A party identification (PID) or long-term attachment that summarizes a person’s outlook and attitude on the merits of a political party is the most influential factor in the voting polls but not to me. Because I have seen and experienced different governments around the world, I have grown to believe in more than a party. I know I am not the only one. Each year more and more Americans are going through the process of dealingnment which means they are losing their identity with a political party. Even then, there are still a percentage of Americans that are strong partisans who feel their party affiliation is on top of everything.
His proposed ways to do this have many convinced hence he’s leading the polls and now is the favorite to be running against Obama in 2012. Newt Gingrich former speaker of the house for the Clinton administration. He is one of the Republicans early leaders in the Canaditsy however he has declined by a rather big margin as of recently. Gingrich is currently place in the middle on the polls he is a very respected man which won him Times person of the year award for his contributions to politics. Although he seems out of contention Gingrich has surprised before and is considered the Dark Horse of the
The most notable of these, of course, was the 2009 stimulus plan, which is still the subject of debates today. These debates center around whether it was necessary and what level of help it actually offered to the majority of the American people. While many Democrats will point to the decline of the unemployment rate as proof that Obama’s policies are working, there are those on the Republican side that disagree. The Republican presidential candidate, Mitt Romney, has stated, “His policies have not worked. They have not gotten American back to work again... I’m going to get America working again.” (CNN Politics).
In recent years, government mistrust has become rampant. In the past, approximately 75% of Americans trusted the government most or all of the time. However, this number has sharply decreased. In the Gallop’s annual governance poll conducted in September of 2011, only 19% of people were satisfied with the way the country was being governed. First, it is important to recognize that these polls suggest that Americans are displeased with the people in charge of our government, not the institution as a whole.