The Two-Party System
Political parties frame the debate, recruit candidates, and raise money. The Democratic and Republican parties dominate American politics and are organized at the national, state, and local levels. Over the past decade in many states, an increasing percentage of the electorate has chosen to remain unaffiliated. Despite dissatisfaction with the Democrats and the Republicans, minor parties face huge obstacles in their efforts to gain a foothold.
The United States Constitution makes no mention of political parties, yet the two-party system has become a foundation of the American political system. The party that controls the White House has a major advantage in setting the national agenda through the bully pulpit, but executive power is constrained by the legislative and judicial branches. Congressional leadership plays a key role in determining the directions of the parties as do the national party committees, state parties and state leadership. Surrounding both parties are constellations of ideological and interest groups seeking to push them in one direction or another.
Both parties boast long traditions, the Democrats pointing to Thomas
Jefferson, FDR, Harry Truman and JFK and the Republicans tracing back
to Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan. Thanks to
cartoonist Thomas Nast in the 1870s, Democrats are represented
by the donkey and Republicans by the elephant; a more recent phenomenon
is the assignment of the color red for Republicans and blue for
Democrats. Generally,
conservatives align with the Republican Party and liberals and
progressives align with the Democrats (+).
There
is
also
the
stereotypical
image
of
Democrats
as
the
party
of
big
labor
and
ivory
tower
academics
and
Republicans
as
the
party
of
big
business
and
the
rich.
Views
of
the
parties
are
also
shaped
by
their
national
leadership;
thus
the
Democrats
are
seen
as
the
party of President Barack Obama, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid and
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and the Republicans as the party of
Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
Within the parties are various forces and factions. In the Democratic Party there is constant tension between progressive and more pragmatic or centrist elements such as Blue Dog Democrats. In the Republican Party social conservatives form a significant element of the base, tea party activists have been a force since 2010, and there are also libertarian elements. Moderate Republicans are seen as a disappearing breed, disparaged by conservatives as RINOs (Republicans in Name Only). Many independent groups such as the tea party movement or the labor movement operate outside the party structure but seek to influence it even as they in turn are wooed by the party.
A contrarian view holds that the major parties are basically
very similar. During his campaigns Ralph Nader often spoke of a
"two-party duopoly" and
likened the Democrats and Republicans to Tweedledee and Tweedledum.
As politics has
become
increasingly
professionalized, candidates of
both parties must raise vast amounts of money to pay for pollsters and
consultants. There is a Washington establishment, a culture of money
and lobbyists, described in the book This
Town,
in which Democrats and Republicans figure equally.
On a micro level, far away from Washington, DC county parties and
local party clubs provide a direct interface with citizens, engaging in
such activities as sponsoring speakers or tabling at farmer's markets
or county fairs.
Over time, the American electorate has tended to vote so that
neither of the parties holds too much power, and fortunes of the
parties can change unexpectedly. Bill Clinton was elected President in
1992, but Republicans rebounded to gain control of the House of
Representatives in 1994. Twelve years later Democrats regained control
of the House. When Barack Obama won the White House in 2008, Democrats
appeared to be in a very strong position. In May 2009 Time
magazine ran a cover story showing the Republican elephant as an
"Endangered Species" and National Journal focused on "The
Shrinking GOP." However, in November 2009 Republicans won
governorships in New Jersey and Virginia, on January 19, 2010 they
elected Scott Brown to the U.S. Senate in the
Massachusetts special election, and in November 2010 they dealt
Democrats an historic drubbing.
Then, in 2012, despite all
efforts, they failed to make President Obama a one-term president. Some
observers have even questioned Republicans' ability to regain the White
House in future due to changing demographics of the country.
Republicans have been working to address the problem. Following
the 2012 campaign, the
Republican National Committee undertook a major reassessment and vowed
"a new way of doing things." (>) The Republican
State Leadership Committee's Future Majority Project focused on
recruiting diverse candidates and women in the 2013-14 cycle.
In the 2014
midterms, Democrats endured widespread losses, casting some doubts on
its future prospects. In
addition
to
losing
control
of
the
Senate,
and
falling
short
in
governor's
races,
Republicans
achieved
a
net
gain
of
between
300
and
350
state
legislative
seats
according to he National Conference of State
Legislatures, giving them
"their highest number of legislators since 1920." Democrats have
their
own gender gap, among white males. One need only look at
the U.S. political map, which is a sea of red with dots of blue in
urban areas, to see that Democrats have a problem in rural areas. The
Democratic National Committee announced its own "top-to-bottom
review" following the 2014 midterms. (>) Looking
to
2016, history suggests Democrats could have a difficult time holding on
to the White House after two terms of Democratic administration under
President Obama.
Over the past decade, conservatives and progressives
alike have
developed increasingly sophisticated infrastructure to support
like-minded candidates. Functions such as training, data and
opposition research, which were formerly filled by the party committees
are supplemented by or even implemented by outside entities.
Although
the assortment of groups and
networks
on the right and on the left are independent of the parties, there are
often linkages and connections. For example, party committees and
independent groups may use the same consultants or vendors (+), and it is
not uncommon for staff of these groups to have worked at one of the
party committees. In effect such groups form adjuncts to the
parties, aligning with them and supplementing their work; one could
argue the have as much or more impact. While progressives had
somewhat of
a head start in the development of this infrastructure, conservatives
have clearly caught up in recent years.
One key group on the progressive side is America Votes. Formed in the 2004 cycle, America Votes coordinates the campaign activities of a number of progressive groups thus avoiding duplication of efforts. Another group, Catalist, provides "progressive organizations with the data and services needed to better identify, understand, and communicate with the people they need to persuade and mobilize." The Analyst Institute is "a clearinghouse for evidence-based best practices in progressive voter contact." The Atlas Project provides "political data, analysis, election history and insight." Also on the progressive side, American Bridge focuses on opposition research, including having trackers following and videotaping Republican presidential candidates and other Republican candidates. Democracy Alliance, formed in 2005, "was created to build progressive infrastructure that could help counter the well-funded and sophisticated conservative apparatus..." A recent addition on the progressive side is the American Democracy Legal Fund, "a group established to hold candidates for office accountable for possible ethics and/or legal violations."
On the
conservative side, groups such as The Leadership Institute (founded in
1979) and
GOPAC (founded in 1978) work on training activists and leaders.
The
Koch brothers provide backing to an array of organizations.
Freedom
Partners supports "broad-based coalitions to advance free markets and a
free society." i360, a "data and technology resource for the
pro-free-market political and advocacy community," has developed a
database of 190+ million active voters and 250+ million US
consumers."
Americans for Prosperity is "an organization of grassroots leaders who
engage citizens in the name of limited government and free
markets." The Kochs also support three constituency groups:
Generation Opportunity (youth), Concerned Veterans of American and
LIBRE (Hispanics). Another group on the conservative side is
America Rising LLC, which like American Bridge does opposition research
and tracking.
Another example of ideological infrastructure are think tanks such as the Heritage Foundation on the right and the Center for American Progress on the left; these serve as idea factories.
Is Increasing Partisanship a Problem?
Many commentators and officials believe the partisan
tone has become
more strident in recent decades. Some observers have argued that there
are
fewer swing seats in Congress, and that as a result Members, ensconced
in
safe districts, do not need to moderate their positions. The
professionalization of politics may also contribute; while there have
certainly been negative campaigns in the past, consultants now have the
attack campaign down to a science. They churn out slick
communications
attacking opposing
candidates. In a fair number of races, campaigns are outspent by
outside interest
groups whose backers are not apparent and whose messages frequently
feature attacks. Additionally, talk radio,
cable television and the blogosphere abound with heated rhetoric,
echoing attacks. The net result appears to be severe dysfunction, where
both sides are talking past each other.
There have been various efforts to transcend partisanship. During
their presidential campaigns, candidates
George W. Bush ("uniter not a divider") and Barack Obama ("there are no
red states and no blue states") both made bipartisan appeals, but once
they were in office they found those sentiments difficult to implement.
In May 2006 Unity08 launched with the goal of electing a bipartisan
ticket to the White House; the group folded in 2008. In 2007
former Senate Majority Leaders Howard Baker, Tom Daschle, Bob Dole and
George Mitchell established the Bipartisan Policy Center.
Some are advocating "transpartisanship,"
an approach which "recognizes the validity of all points of view and
values a constructive
dialogue aimed at arriving at creative, integrated, and therefore,
breakthrough solutions that meet the needs of all sides." New to the
scene in the 2012 cycle were No Labels
and Americans Elect.
Americans
Elect
("Pick
a
President,
Not
a
Party")
proved
to
be
a
flop;
after
working
on
ballot
access
in
all
50
states,
the
group
conducted
a
primary
process
that
failed
to
produce
a
qualified
candidate.
No
Labels
("Not
Left. Not
Right. Forward.") formally launched on December 13, 2010 to
"counter hyper-partisanship"
and "bring together
leading
thinkers from the left, right, and all points in between." As of July
2014 the
group reported 83 members of Congress had joined. In July 2014 No
Labels fostered creation of the Congressional Problem Solvers Caucus
"to develop innovative bipartisan policy solutions to key national
challenges." In Fall 2015 No Labels released a National
Strategic Agenda "to help catalyze debate in the 2016
presidential
election." The Agenda set out four goals:
create 25 million new jobs over the next 10 years, secure Social
Security and Medicare for the next 75 years, balance the federal budget
by 2030, and make America energy secure by 2024.
Another effort to overcome partisanship was 1787, which described itself
as "an organization with a policy platform grounded in common sense."
1787, which started up in 2013, had resonances of Americans
Elect. It planned to have "a
presidential, vice presidential and multiple congressional candidates
on ballots in 2016" and scheduled its 2016 national
convention, to be held at the Omni Hotel at Independence Park in
Philadelphia from April 21-24, 2016. However, this effort gained
no traction.
Third Parties: Huge Obstacles
In an Oct. 2013 Gallup survey (+)
of
1,028
adults,
60
percent
of
respondents
said
a
third
major
party
is
needed.
(The
question
asked
was,
"In
your
view,
do
the
Republican
and
Democratic
parties
do
an
adequate
job
of
representing
the
American
people,
or
do
they
do
such
a
poor
job
that
a
third
major
party
is
needed?")
Supporters of existing minor or third
parties including the Libertarian Party, the Green Party, and the
Constitution Party argue that their parties can fill the void.
Occasionally an independent candidate comes forth with
sufficient credibility and resources to have an impact in a race. There
are also
a few state-based third parties such as the Independence Party in
Minnesota which could benefit from dissatisfaction. However, despite
the apparent opening for a third party, difficulties
with uneven and inequitable ballot access requirements (>), raising money,
recruiting
credible candidates, and attracting media attention form high
barriers to these parties. The historical record and the many
formidable
obstacles in our system suggest that third parties will continue to
have a marginal impact. Even if third parties' efforts do not fully
succeed,
their ideas leaven the debate and their presence may hopefully improve
our democracy.
Useful Links
- American Political Science Association: Political Parties
- Open Secrets: Political Parties
- Platforms: Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, Greens, Constitution
- Amazon.com: search Political Parties
- Pew Research Center. June 26, 2014. "Beyond Red vs. Blue: The Political Typology."
- Mark Leibovich. July 2013. THIS TOWN: Two Parties and a Funeral-Plus, Plenty of Valet Parking!-in America's Gilded Capital. New York: Blue Rider Press [Penguin imprint].
- Thomas Mann and Norman J. Ornstein. May 2012. IT'S EVEN WORSE THAN IT LOOKS: How the American Constitutional System Collided with the New Politics of Extremism. New York: Basic Books.
- Parties at the Fair: State and county fairs provide good opportunities for political parties to reach a wide cross section of the electorate. Most of these occur from July to October. 2016: MN.
- 2014: OH-R | CA-D, CA-R | MN
|
WI-D. 2013: MN.
- Previous edition of this page:
2012