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The American two-party system
States has always had a two-party system, first in the opposition between the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists, then in the competition between the Republicans and the Democrats.There have been frequent third-party movements in the history of the country, but they have always failed.Presidential elections seem to have played an important role in the formation of this type of two-party system.The mechanism of a national election in so large a country has neceitated very large political organizations and, at the same time, relatively simplified choices for the voter.American parties are different from their counterparts in other Western countries.They are not tied in the same way to the great social and ideological movements that have so influenced the development of political life in Europe during the last two centuries.There have been Socialist parties at various times in the history of the United States, but they have never challenged the dominance of the two major parties.It can be argued that the main reason for the failure of Socialist parties in America has been the high degree of upward mobility permitted by a rich and continually expanding economy.The consequence of this mobility has been that cla consciousne has never developed in the United States in a manner that would encourage the formation of large Socialist or Communist parties.In comparison with European political movements, therefore, American parties have appeared as two varieties of one liberal party, and within each party can be found a wide range of opinion, going from the right to the left.The American parties have a flexible and decentralized structure, marked by the absence of discipline and rigid hierarchy.This was the structure of most of the cadre-type parties of the 19th century, a structure that most liberal parties have retained.Federalism and a concern for local autonomy accentuate the lack of rigid structure and the weakne of lines of authority in the parties.Organization may be relatively strong and homogeneous at the local level, but such control is much weaker on the state level and practically nonexistent on the national level.There is some truth to the observation that the United States has not two parties but 100—that is, two in each state.But it is also true that each party develops a certain degree of national unity for the presidential election and that the leadership of the president within his party gives the victorious party some cohesion.In voting, Republicans and Democrats are usually found on both sides.An alliance between liberal Republicans and Democrats against conservative Republicans and Democrats tends to develop.But neither bloc is stable, and the alignment varies from one vote to another.As a consequence, despite the existence of a two-party system, no stable legislative majority is poible.In order to have his budget adopted and his legislation paed, the president of the United States must carefully try to gather the neceary votes on every question, bearing the wearisome task of constantly forming alliances.The American two-party system is thus a pseudo-two-party system, because each party provides only a loose framework within which shifting coalitions are formed.The Republican National Committee(RNC)is responsible for promoting Republican campaign
activities.It is responsible for developing and promoting the Republican political platform, as well as coordinating fundraising and election strategy.Its current chairman is Michael S.Steele.The chairman of the RNC is chosen by the President when the Republicans have the White House or otherwise by the Party's state committees.The RNC, under the direction of the party's presidential candidate, supervises the Republican National Convention, raises funds, and
coordinates campaign strategy.On the local level there are similar state committees in every state and most large cities, counties and legislative districts, but they have far le money and influence than the national body.The Republican House and Senate caucuses have separate fundraising and strategy committees.The National Republican Congreional Committee(NRCC)aists in House races, and the National Republican Senatorial Committee(NRSC)in Senate races.They each raise over $100 million per election cycle, and play important roles in recruiting strong state candidates, while the Republican Governors Aociation(RGA)aists in state gubernatorial races;it is currently chaired by Governor Rick Perry of Texas.The Democratic National Committee(DNC)is responsible for promoting Democratic campaign
activities.While the DNC is responsible for overseeing the proce of writing the Democratic Platform, the DNC is more focused on campaign and organizational strategy than public policy.In presidential elections it supervises the Democratic National Convention.The national
convention is, subject to the charter of the party, the ultimate authority within the Democratic
Party when it is in seion, with the DNC running the party's organization at other times.The DNC is currently chaired by Virginia Governor Tim Kaine.The Democratic Congreional Campaign Committee(DCCC)aists party candidates in House races;its current chairman(selected by the party caucus)is Rep.Chris Van Hollen of Maryland.Similarly the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee(DSCC)raises large sums for Senate races.It is currently headed by Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey.The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee(DLCC), currently chaired by Mike Gronstal of Iowa, is a smaller organization with much le funding that focuses on state legislative races.The DNC sponsors the College Democrats of America(CDA), a student-outreach organization with the goal of training and engaging a new generation of Democratic activists.Democrats Abroad is the organization for Americans living outside the United States;they work to advance the goals of the party and encourage Americans living abroad to support the Democrats.The Young Democrats of America(YDA)is a youth-led organization that attempts to draw in and mobilize young people for Democratic candidates, but operates outside of the DNC.In addition, the recently created branch of the Young Democrats, the Young Democrats High School Caucus, attempts to raise awarene and activism amongst teenagers to not only vote and volunteer, but participate in the future as well.The Democratic Governors Aociation(DGA)is an organization supporting the candidacies of Democratic gubernatorial nominees and incumbents;it is currently chaired by Governor Brian Schweitzer of Montana.Similarly the mayors of the largest cities and urban centres convene as the National Conference of Democratic Mayors.Each state also has a state committee, made up of elected committee members as well as ex-officio committee members(usually elected officials and representatives of major constituencies), which in turn elects a chair.County, town, city, and ward committees generally are composed of individuals elected at the local level.State and local committees often coordinate campaign activities within their jurisdiction, oversee local conventions and in some cases primaries or caucuses, and may have a role in nominating candidates for elected office under state law.Rarely do they have much funding, but in 2005 DNC Chairman Dean began a program(called the “50 State Strategy”)of using DNC national funds to aist all state parties and paying for full-time
[9]profeional staffers.The Democratic Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party.It is the oldest political party in continuous operation in the United States and it is one of the oldest parties in the world.the party's platform is considered center-left.The Democratic Party has the most registered voters of any party as of 2004, with 72 million voters.Polls taken over the last decade indicate 34% to 36% of American voters self-identify as Democrats.Since the 2006 general elections, the Democratic Party has been the majority party in both the House of Representatives and the United States Senate.Democrats also hold a majority of state governorships and control a majority of state legislatures.Barack Obama, the current President of the United States, is the 15th Democrat to hold the office.The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party.Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the Grand Old Party or the GOP, despite being the younger of the two major parties.In the U.S.political spectrum, the party's platform is generally considered center-right.The Republican Party has the second most registered voters as of 2004 with 55 million, encompaing roughly one-third of the electorate.Polls over the last year have found that twenty-one to twenty-six percent of Americans self-identify as Republicans.[3][4][5][2][7][6][5][3][4] In the U.S.political spectrum,There have been eighteen Republican Presidents.Republicans currently fill a minority of seats in both the United States Senate and the House of Representatives, hold a minority of state governorships, and control a minority of state legislatures.
