Data Bases • Custom Term Papers • Free Term Papers • Free Research Papers • Free Essays • Free Book Reports • Plagiarism? Links • Top 100 Term Paper Sites • Top 25 Essay Sites • Top 50 Essay Sites • Search 97,000 Papers @ DirectEssays.com • Search 101,000 Papers @ ExampleEssays.com • Search 90,000 Papers @ MegaEssays.com Free Essays • Term Paper Sites • Chuck III's Free Essays • Free College Essays • TermPaperSites.com • My Term Papers • Get Free Essays • Essay World • Planet Papers	Search Lots of Essays Back to Subjects - Political Science Republican vs Democrat Republican vs Democrat Ralph Nader campaigned for the 2001 Presidency by arguing that there are no real differences between the two major parties. In a broad sense, that statement might seem true. Major political parties play a majoritarian role in an otherwise pluralistic democracy in the United States. They are both majoritarian institutions trying to win control of the government. The differences between the parties lie in each party’s beliefs about the purpose and scope of government. The United States is a government run by the people and for the people. The whole population may participate in governing through the device of having a much smaller number of people act on their behalf. In a pluralistic democracy, every citizen does not need to be knowledgeable about all politics in general. But a specialized group of citizens need to be especially knowledgeable, in particular, leaders. “The government operates through competing interest groups rather than public opinion. The competing interest groups represent the people’s interest to government decision makers. Democracy exists when many (plural) organizations operate separately from the government, press their interests on the government, and even challenge the government.” The public is best served if the government structure provides access for different groups to press their claims in competition with one another. A pluralistic model of democracy allows minority interests to organize and press their claims on government freely also. Why do we have government? Government may be defined as a set of institutions that regulate behavior within territorial boundaries thru the legitimate use of force. Government is also the organization authorized to control this behavior and exercise the force needed for such control. All governments require people to surrender some freedom as a part of being governed and people can justify surrending some freedom to this control in order to obtain the benefits of government. Government has always served two major purposes: maintaining order, which is preserving life and protecting property, and providing public goods, such as highways, state parks, etc. Recently, government has pursued a third purpose: promoting equality. In the United States, the government’s fundamental issues are often defined as freedom, order and equality. How it decides to promote those fundamental issues and how it chooses the proper mix of freedom, order and equality in its policymaking has to do with the process of choice. Freedom means different things to different people at different times, depending on what political context is being used. The two major senses of freedom are: freedom of and freedom from. Freedom of means freedom to do something. It is the lack of constraints on behavior. Freedom from means immunity from discrimination and it comes close to the concept of equality. Order is viewed in one sense as preserving life and protecting property. Few people would argue the need for order. However, order viewed in broader senses refers to established patterns of authority in society and to traditional modes of behavior, such as how students should dress in school (neatly and without outrageous hair colors) and what the press should not publish (sexually explicit material). Equality can be used in many different senses to support different causes. Political equality in elections means one person has one vote. However, people argue that a poor person and a rich person do not have political equality, even though they both have only one vote, because wealthy citizens have the added benefit of money which may influence policy to their own liking, while most other people do not have the monetary means for such influence. Therefore, some people argue that one cannot have true political equality without social equality. In order to achieve social equality, the government provides equal opportunities. That means that every person has the same chance to succeed in life. Many believe that in order to achieve social equality, it is essential that people actually end up being equal. This is referred to as equality of outcome. Political parties are groups of individuals organized for the purpose of winning control of the government by winning elections. They are different from interest groups in that interest groups have narrower interests and try and persuade government policy not control government policy. Parties contribute to democratic government through the functions they perform for the political system. Political parties select individuals to run for public office through a nomination process, which designates them as the party’s official candidate. This again is different from interest groups who support candidates but they do not nominate them to run as their representatives. The four most important party functions are nominating candidates for election to public office, structuring the voting choice in elections, coordinating the actions of government officials, and proposing alternative government programs. Why are there only two political parties in the American political system? First, the Electoral College plays a role. The Electoral College consists of a group of electors chosen for the sole purpose of selecting the President. Each state legislature chooses a number of electors equal to the number of its representatatives in Congress. That elector then votes for President. This process eliminates the popular vote and gives all states, with large or small populations, the same voice in the selection process. With the Electoral College, you need a majority to run the government and each political party is considered a majoritarian institute. Second, the United States members of The House of Representatives are chosen from single-member districts, and the candidate polling the largest number of votes in that district is declared the winner. Such an electoral system compels a party to strive for a majority of the votes in that area. To appeal for the support of a majority of voters, a party must present a program sympathetic to the desires of most of the voting population. With two major parties of approximate equal strength competing for control of government, it is possible for government control to alternate between the parties. The two party system is said to promote government stability because no single party can win a majority and govern. Also, more than two parties would not give a majority in Congress and compromising would be hard. The beauty of our two party system is that neither major party is strong enough to win with just its firm partisanship. The winner must capture a majority of the vote. The American two party system is also unique from other two party systems because of the Constitutional separation of powers. A president cannot serve in Congress while in office. Therefore, it is possible for the presidency and the Congress to be controlled by different parties. The disadvantage of the American system is the deadlock that can develop between the President and Congress over policy when each is under the control of a different party. In spite of political domination of Republicans and Democrats, there have been several other party movements. Third parties have never succeeded in winning the presidency or control of Congress because they have difficulties building a strong following and getting elected. The most obvious is the strong hold of the other two parties. As a rule, people resist change. Also, the two larger parties have become a melting pot of ideas and trends. They have done this to reinforce their strength and build support. However, third parties do have a place and purpose in the American political system. They serve as a tool for awareness and they provide information and cause the American voters to think. By rallying support for their issues, they force the other two parties to recognize new ideas and issues. Republican Party vs. Democratic Party There are two main political ideologies that make the Republican Party different from the Democratic Party. The first would be their different beliefs in how much power the federal government should have over the people. Republicans believe that all powers not directly granted to the federal government by the U.S. Constitution are reserved for the states. They believe that the power of the federal government should be limited and greater power should reside with the states. Democrats believe just the opposite. They believe that the concentration of power should reside with the federal government and not with the states. Republicans believe that the national government is too tied in special interests and is not responsive to the public at large. They feel the federal government over regulates and that its size and complexity leads to waste and inefficiency. The states, on the other hand, are much more closer to the people and are better able to respond to specific local needs. Democrats believe the states are unable to protect the rights or provide the needs of their citizens. They believe the blacks and poor people are often left unrepresented by white state legislatures who disproportionally serve rural interests. Republican presidents from Nixon to Bush have transferred power from nation to states through the appointment of Supreme Court justices who have a commitment to limits on national power. Ronald Reagan, a Republican, strongly opposed replacing state standards with national ones. He opposed a bill, which would have established a national minimum drinking age, a responsibility of state government. However, because of the number of teen-age deaths resulting from lower age restrictions, Reagan later signed the bill stating that the problem had become a national problem. More recently, the cornerstone of President Bush’s education plan is setting high standards and holding states, school districts, and individual schools to those standards. States will be required to develop their own strategy for rewarding schools that succeed and penalizing those that fail to teach. Assessments run by the states will measure school progress. Bush’s plan would also give states more latitude to decide which schools received extra subsidies, while Democrats would prefer to be more assertive in forcing states to steer such money to schools with the greatest share of low-income students. Another example of Republicans favoring states’ power would be The Welfare Reform Act of 1996. Although, Clinton’s welfare plan proposed limiting welfare recipients to two years of aid, while adding some $9.3 billion in new spending for community service jobs, the Republicans, who took control of Congress in 1994, were not interested in expanding Washington’s role. They wanted to put state government in charge of welfare policy. The Democrats thought that a bitter remedy and the President vetoed two billing containing Republican-written welfare provisions. Knowing the Republicans had enough votes to overturn a third veto, President Clinton later signed a revised bill. Liberals called it a “shameful act of expediency”. Social welfare is based on the premise that society has an obligation to provide for the basic needs of its citizens. While both parties agree that assistance is necessary in providing the minimum living conditions necessary for all people, the parties differ on their beliefs of strategies on how to assist those people in need. Republicans feel it is the role of government to provide a vibrant and growing economy so all people have the opportunity to provide for themselves. They believe government should be the last choice people look to for assistance. Democrats believe the federal government should be the first choice in looking for help. The differences can be explained as: teaching a man to fish versus giving a man a fish. These differences are clearly seen in policies involving tax cuts. Republicans prefer tax cuts to spending and usually push for higher tax cuts involving businesses. Democrats prefer to spend tax revenues on social welfare programs, and while they do believe tax cuts are important, they prefer to lower the taxes on those individuals in greater need and usually push for higher taxes to be paid by the wealthy. Providing for a vibrant and growing economy involves creating the need for jobs. In order to accomplish this, Republicans want to keep the capital gains tax low. Capital gains tax is the tax one pays upon selling, for profit, something one owns. Capital gains mostly affects those who have saving to invest in stocks, land or some sort of business, usually the wealthy. Capital investments fuel industry and create jobs. In 1969, the capital gains tax doubled. In 1970, there were 31 million investors putting up capital to increase production and create jobs. In 1978, there were fewer than 25 million. In 1998, President Clinton proposed a balanced federal budget, which included new spending for teachers, a “deficit-neutral” expansion of the Medicare program, and childcare. Republicans preferred a broad tax cut, however, the Clinton Administration did not favor large tax cuts. Clinton wanted to reserve anticipated federal budget surplus and was hoping to prevent the money from being spent on tax cuts favored by many Republicans. The Republicans and Democrats find themselves at odds once again with President Bush’s plan for a tax cut. Though both parties agree on a significant reduction in at least individual income tax rates, fights looms over the size of the tax cut and whether the wealthy will end up with most of the savings. The Democrats feel President Bush will be gambling away funds on a tax cut that could be used for new programs. Some Democrats are rallying for the idea of devoting one third of the non-Social Security surplus to tax cuts, one third to additional spending, and one third to some reserve. The amount of tax cuts in President Bush’s plan to get passed in Congress has yet to be determined, however, the party’s differences in government strategy can easily be seen by their different views on budget plans. Do citizens have a meaningful choice between the two parties? The amount of power the federal government should have and the role it should play in social welfare, I believe hold the strongest magnitude of differences between them. I touched upon the fundamental issues of promoting freedom, order, and equality. Many would also argue the political dilemma of freedom versus equality conflict when the Republicans and the Democrats enact policies to promote social equality. This is just another example of the differences in political ideologies that exist between the two parties. Differences between Republican and Democrat are clear if people take the time and examine them. Whether Republican or Democrat, Conservative or Liberal, the most important right you have as an American citizen is the right to vote and everyone should exercise that right. Bibliography: Class Discussion Class Discussion Janda, Kenneth, Jeffrey M. Berry and Jerry Goldman. The Challenge of Democracy (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2000), 105. Janda, Kenneth, Jeffrey M. Berry and Jerry Goldman. The Challenge of Democracy (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2000), 108. U.S. Senate, “No Child Left Behind”, accessed 5 March 2001; available from http://www.senate.gov/~rpc/releases/1999/ed012301.htm Goldstein, Amy and Michael A. Fletcher 2001. “Bush’s Voucher Lite” The Washington Post National Weekly Edition 18:14 (January 29-February 4):11. All Politics, “Welfare Reform”, accessed 28 March 2001; available from http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1997/gen/resources/infocus/welfare/intro.html Harris John F 2001. “Clinton and His Era” The Washington Post National Weekly Edition 18:14 (January 29-February 4): 7. Skinner, Kiron K, Annelise Anderson, and Martin Anderson. Reagan In His Own Hand (New York: The Free Press, 2001), 260. Martinex, Gebe. “Clinton Budget Sets $9.5 Surplus, Offers New Programs” Washingtonpost.com. Accessed 28 March 2001; available from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/budget/stories/ls99/overview.htm Rich, Spencer. “Clinton Seeks Major Social Security, Medicare Changes” Washingtonpost.com. Accessed 28 March 2001; available from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/budget/stories/ls99/entitle.htm Kessler, Glenn and Juliet Eilperin 2001. “The Path of Less Resistance” The Washington Post National Weekly Edition 18:16 (February 12-February 18): 13 Kessler, Glenn 2001. “Gentlemen, Prepare Your Calculators” The Washington Post National Weekly Edition 18:17 (February 19-February 25): 29 Kessler, Glenn 2001. “About That Growing Surplus…” The Washington Post National Weekly Edition 18:15 (February 5-February 11): 12 Word Count: 2396
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