Political Parties in the United States - Essay Example

Political Parties al Affiliation Political Parties in the United s Introduction The United s has two main politicalparties in a duopoly system. The political parties are the Republicans and the Democratic parties. As a duopoly system, the two political parties share in the power in the country, no matter the ruling party as according to the party the current president belongs. The Americans have considered this, especially because the parties are a plurality system where the elected president has to have the majority of the votes than other candidates for the same position. The political parties have various roles that they play in the community but they have had a bad reputation over the years that they have existed in the country. As a result, most of the citizens of the country prefer to have the branding as independent voters instead of being staunch republicans or devout democrats. The bad reputation of the political parties in the United States has led to the formation of other institutions that have taken over the functions designed for the political parties. The essay will analyze the various ways in which the major political parties in the United States have failed in their duties as political parties and how the other institutions have taken over those responsibilities. The analysis will have the inclination of also evaluating whether the result if the take-over by other institutions have led to a more or less democratic country of the United States. Functions of the Political Parties of the United States One of the major functions for the political parties in the United States is the provision of candidates to run for various government offices in the country during the elections. The running candidates come from the main political parties this helps the voters decide on which candidate to choose, and especially depending on the party that they represent. Another major function for the political parties is to inform the public on the major issues in the country. They take a stand on a variety of issues and offer alternative ways of tackling situations. They also have the responsibility of ensuring the ruling political party does not take over the complete control of the country. This is through ensuring that the president exercises his powers responsibly and in the benefit of the nation. The political parties also form the government and especially the legislature where they ensure that they have representatives for the policies and ideologies of the political party. Loss of Power, Influence, and Importance of the two Political Parties in U.S The rise of the Independent voters in the United States is an indication of the loss of power, influence, and importance of the political parties in the country. The political parties had the function of representing the needs of the voters in the two systems. However, the independent voters no longer feel that the political system of the country continues to consider their political perspectives. The political parties of the country only represent a convenience where they have little influence in various events such as the choice of nominees for the elections and the patronage. The voters have earned considerable influence over elections, a position owned by party officials. As a result, the politicians aspiring to win the elections raise their own money independent of the subsidies afforded to them by the parties. This aspect has raised the argument of the increasing irrelevance of the political parties in the country. There is an increasing culture where people have less value for the identification that results with association of a political party. It is a rising trend of de-alignment in the political system of the country. As a result, the American politics has become a populist kind of politics where the political candidates have a stronger urge to respond to the feelings of the public. This is because the public has more power than the party bosses to elect the candidates to power. In the same sense, money has become a major drive for the de-alignment of the political parties in the US. There is the rise of a plutocracy culture in the politics of the country where the wealthy have the power of coming into power and gaining instant reputation and recognition from the voters. This means that the public, who make up the voters, no longer have consideration for the public endorsements of the political figures in the country. Institutions That Have Taken Over the Positions of the Political Parties Due to the increasing weakening of the political parties in the United States, some institutions have taken over and gained a lot of power in the country. They are responsible for the funding of the various political aspirants who do not have the financial backing of the political parties. An example of such an institution is the Political Action Committees (PAC), which is responsible for the supplanting of the political parties in the country and making them irrelevant. The PACs are in the form of connected or non-connected institutions that pool funds to give to the political aspirants for supporting them in their political campaigns. The connected PACs involve the labor and trade unions and established businesses, in which the members of the unions contribute the money required for the political campaign process. The non-connected PACs have an ideological mission on the issues of politics and they often include members of the Congress of the country. There also exist the Super PACs who make independent contributions to federal races, which are the publicizing efforts of specific candidates of their interests. They do not make direct financial contributions to the political aspirants. Because of the help of the various PACs, the political candidates in the elections end up having more money than the political parties have. The PACs have a limitation of contributing a maximum of fifteen thousand dollars to a national party. An election campaign, therefore, can have as many as ten PACs supporting a certain political candidate for the election. The Result of the Existence of Institutions That Take Over the Political Parties The political parties of the United States still have the roles of nominating the political candidates for the election. However, the influence of the PACs has a lot of impact on the political system of the country. The main concern, therefore, is on whether the PAC institutions have contributed to a more or less democratic United States. There have been insistent claims of the role of the PACs in condemning the opponents of the candidate they have chosen to support. This is opposed to highlighting the achievements ad positive points of the candidate of their choice. This has resulted into a less democratic country where the people often get a twisted and unfounded picture of the political candidates. Due to the rise of the plutocracy in the United States, the political candidates with more support from the various PACs that fund their political campaigns often end up winning the elections. The super PACs ensure the excessive publicizing of the political candidate of their choice at the expense of the other candidates. The voters end up having excessive positive information on the candidate supported by the PACs. As such, the loss of power of the political parties of the country have led to the rise of the two major types of political candidates, the insurgent candidates with the grassroots support of the political parties and also the PAC-supported candidates who have the ability of buying advertisement time with the aim of buying the confidence of the voters. Conclusion It is no longer about the political ideologies when it comes to electing the political figures in the United States. The political parties in the country have undergone a de-alignment where they have lost their relevance, power, and importance in the political system of the country. The PACs are among the institutions that have taken over the roles of the political parties and have led to the rise of a political culture of independent voters, populism, and plutocracy in the United States. The democracy of the United States has diminished under the influence of tool of money presented by the minority of the privileged in the country. Read More