Characteristics and Functions of American Political Parties (Essay Sample)

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Characteristics and Functions of American Political Parties
When the American founders came up with the system of federalism, and the parameters in which the president and the congress were to be elected, they forgot or intentionally failed to mention political parties. This is a clear indication of their negative outlook towards political parties. In fact, people like George Washington condemned their harmful effects. Irrespective of this condemnation, these early leaders went ahead and instituted the current two party systems. Different scholars have tried to come up with the correct summations of what exactly a political party means. (Maxwell, 119) Defines party as a coalition of interests whose primary aspiration is to win elections. Today, political parties are an important ingredient in as far as democracy is concerned.
There are two major political parties in the United States of America. These major parties are the Republican and the Democratic Party. Other parties such as the reform party, the socialist, the constitutional party and the socialist party are examples of third parties in the U.S. All these parties have the rights to take part in presidential elections although, the two major parties usually carries the day. The party system is a great determinant in the presidential choice in the United State (Hoffman, 140). Functions of political parties
Over the years, political parties in the United States have survived due to the integral role they play (Maxwell, 119). All parties in the United States share similar functions. One of their key functions is to nominate and elect their members in public offices (Maxwell, 119). Secondly, they disentangle the various issues for the voters so that they can be in a position to understand and take a position on matters concerning public policy. In layman’s terms, political parties in involved in educating the voters. Thirdly, political parties are instrumental in the mobilization of voters. They play a central role in convincing voters to participate in the electoral process. Lastly, it is up for the parties to run the government depending on the level in which they are active. For instance, Judges in Texas assume office depending on the party in which they come from. It is also a matter within the public domain that these elected officials push for their party’s agenda. Characteristic of American political parties
American political parties are a unique lot. They hold some characteristics that are hard to find elsewhere in the world. These include; decentralization, two party system and pragmatism.
Pragmatism
This is a scenario where ideas are measured depending on the results that they bring on the table. Compared to western nations, American political parties are less pragmatic as most of them limit themselves to their ideological stand.
Decentralization
While looking at the parties from a far they appear as if they are highly hierarchical, this is not the case. All parties resemble the American federal system. The American parties are highly decentralized if compared to parties in other areas two party systems
The America political system is highly dominated by two parties that is, the democrats and republicans. Voters mainly chose between these two parties. The affairs between the national and the state parties have always been sour. In most cases the national parties view the state parties as organs that have failed to view the wider picture. The other limiting factor is that a state like Texas has interest groups that interact with national parties. One the other hand state parties feel that national parties do not really appreciate the uniqueness of their localities. These tensions have created a platform in which actions both at national and state level are inter related.
Both Texas republican and democratic platforms are totally different. They both however believe that every man is born with equal rights. The republicans in Texas uphold the original American conservative dream that everybody has undeniable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness (Nelson, 68). Republican democrats on the hand believe that a democratically elected government must serve all the citizens as there are things the government can achieve which are not possible for individuals to achieve. They however differ with regards to the government. The Texas republicans believe that the powers of the federal government should be limited while the democrats view the government as the main source power. They...