of the Congress by one party and the Presidency by another has generally been the case since World War II. The disadvantage of the American system is the deadlock that can develop between the President and the Congress over policy when each under the control of a different party. The Democratic and Republican parties in the United States are unlike parties elsewhere in the world. It is because our party system is very decentralized in structure and does not contain rigid discipline and hierarchy. It would be only a slight exaggeration to say that the United States does not have two parties but 100, two in each state. The parties among themselves are very diverse and their agendas vary from state to state. At the base of each party are those loyal to their party, that is those who regularly vote for their party candidates. The next level consists of local party officials. These officials choose the party's state officers. Each state organization then names their states party representatives to a national committee. An executive committee is then selected from the members of the national committee. The national committee is headed by the national chairman, who is chosen by the party's nominee for President, but must be approved by the national committee. Elected officials from the local to the national level exert considerable influence on the operations of local, state, and national party machinery.In spite of the political domination of Democrats and Republicans, there have been several other party movements. Third parties have never succeeded in winning the Presidency or the control of Congress. There are several reasons why third parties have difficulties in building a strong following and getting elected. The most obvious is the strong hold of the other two. As a rule people resist change, and the positions the third parties advocate are usually later adopted by one or both of the major parties. The larger two parties have ...
