The United States of America: A Fledgling Republic
The United States of America is a fledgling Republic of idealists who are bonded together as one unique unit of sorts – and all who call this country home enjoy many of the freedoms that other countries could only dream of. This Republic is much different from many other developed societies, due to the fact that the North American political system operates through highly developed political parties, or, groups of like-minded people who band together in an attempt to take control of government. Political parties represent the direct connection between citizens and the public officials they elect. This essay will discuss how Democratic and Republican platforms support or conflict with our assigned course materials. Declining party trends will also be explored. The United States political system is in no way perfect – but the difference with this Republic is, the fact that, it is always open to change.
Democratic Platform Comparison
According to the assigned reading assignment, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) party interests involve working hard to simplify the electoral system and recruiting the right candidates that embody party values. Before the ‘2008 presidential primary, the DNC was searching for a potential, well-spoken, polished, and charismatic candidate that could, not only, sway the electorate, but also unite the Democratic Party under one mantra. During the 2004 Democratic National Convention, an up and coming Illinois State Senator and United States senatorial candidate took the stage on July 24, 2004, in Boston, Massachusetts – to deliver the keynote address… his name was Barack Obama. His speech synthesized party interests, in a once disenchanted Democratic electorate, with these powerful words, “There is not a liberal America and a conservative America, there is the United States of America – there is not a Black America, and a White America, and Latino America, an Asian America… there is the United States of America.” Out of this momentous speech, the once polarized perceptions, or, when political parties place vested interest in fomenting disagreement, the audacity of hope was planted – and the realignment, or, shift occurring when the pattern of group support for political parties changes in a significant and lasting way. This proved to be one of the most critical elections, or, an election that marks the emergence of a new, lasting alignment of partisan support within the electorate. Even though the Democratic electorate saw droves of new voters, volunteers, elected officials, and money generated for the DNC, within the span of a decade, the DNC and the United States would begin to take a 180° turn from the message of hope to the halls of desperation. According to the Pew Research Center, based on 2014 data, 39% of Americans identify themselves as independents, while 32% identify as Democrats, and 23% identify themselves as Republicans – according to Pew, this is the highest percentage of voters who have identified themselves as independents in more than 75 years of public opinion polling.
Republican Platform Comparison
Per the reading assignment, the Republican platform (GOP) discarded most notions of moving the party ahead into the 21st Century – but insisted in relying on old machine party politics, or, a highly organized party under the control of a boss and based on patronage and control of government activities. This type of party organization was extremely popular in the 19th and 20th Century – but began to lack luster during the advent of the 21st Century. Due to the failure of any formidable Republican candidate to match the inclusive, liberal platform, or, statement of a party’s positions on the major issues of the day, the GOP began to make it their business to focus their efforts on the single-member, simple-plurality system (SMSP), or, an electoral system in which the country is divided into geographic districts, and the candidates who wins the most votes within their districts are elected. During the last presidential term of Barack Obama, the GOP worked long and hard to ensure that geographic districts were redrawn, and conservative candidates were set in place – running up to the ‘2016 presidential election. With the presidential election of Donald James Trump in ‘2016 and the November ‘2018 midterm elections, the Democratic Party won a new majority in the House of Representatives, while the Republican Party increased its majority in the Senate. This is the first split Congress/divided government since the 113th United States Congress (2013 – 2015) – and the first Republican Senate/Democrat House split since the 99th United States Congress (1985 – 1987). Instead of seizing on the time to synergize their common interests, the GOP did the exact opposite – they employed the practice of polarized perception. With President Trump at the helm of the GOP, stoking the fears of racial violence and divisiveness, many of the Republican electorate now felt emboldened to express racist views, in words and physical violence, toward minority groups – and those who may not share the same extreme political values. This extreme change in party values is evident in the GOP now being made up of mostly white men, evangelical Protestants, those with less education, and the Silent Generation (according to the Pew Research Center).
In closing, there is a growing majority of American citizens that are becoming increasingly angry, disenchanted, dejected, and ultimately left behind by the Democratic and Republican parties. This party abandonment is evidenced by the hard numbers – according to Pew Research Center, eligible voters who identify themselves as independent has risen to upwards of 39%. These numbers squash electorate voters who identify themselves as Republican and Democrat. This steep decline in party loyalty is indicative of an electorate who is sick and tired of being patronized, marginalized, controlled, and taken completely for granted. John Quincy Adams, in a letter penned to John Taylor in 1814, had this to say concerning democracy:
“I do not say that democracy has been more pernicious on the whole, and in the long run, than monarchy or aristocracy. Democracy has never been and never can be so durable as aristocracy or monarchy; but while it lasts, it is more bloody than either. … Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide. It is in vain to say that democracy is less vain, less proud, less selfish, less ambitious, or less avaricious than aristocracy or monarchy. It is not true, in fact, and nowhere appears in history. Those passions are the same in all men, under all forms of simple government, and when unchecked, produce the same effects of fraud, violence, and cruelty. When clear prospects are opened before vanity, pride, avarice, or ambition, for their easy gratification, it is hard for the most considerate philosophers and the most conscientious moralists to resist the temptation. Individuals have conquered themselves. Nations and large bodies of men, never.”
The end of democracy, as this fledgling Republic has once known, now sits on the horizon – and as the Old Order eventually vanquishes itself, the New Order of the Ages will emerge.
REFERENCES:
- Pew Research Center: U.S. Politics and Policy. (April 7, 2015). Party Identification Trends: 1992 – 2014. Retrieved From: https://www.people-press.org/2015/04/07/party-identification-trends-1992-2014/
- C-SPAN. (July 24, 2004). Barack Obama Speech at 2004 DNC Convention. Retrieved From: