The Two-Party System in the United States, Essay Example

The United States has had several major political parties over the course of the nation’s history, but in the 20^th and 21^st centuries the political process has been dominated by two major parties. The Republican Party and the Democratic Party have some significant ideological differences while also sharing some common traits. These two parties have effectively managed to monopolize the political and electoral systems in ways that keep third parties from achieving any notable success, despite the fact that the Democrats and Republicans do not always represent the interests or concerns of all Americans. The following paper examines some of the areas where the two major parties differ from each other on an ideological basis, and discusses several of the reason why third parties have not been able to overcome the obstacles keeping them from defeating the major parties on a federal level.

The political process in the late 20^th century and the early 21^stcentury has been marked by significant division among voters, which has the effect of making it difficult for Congress and the President to work together and leading to gridlock (Noel, 2013). The contemporary political parties are largely defined by the terms “conservative” (for the Republican Party) and “liberal” (for the Democratic Party). These terms are associated with a number of specific political issues that attract support from various political constituencies, and are further associated with some broader ideological positions. The positions held by these two parties and the ideological bases for these positions can be seen to have changed and evolved over time, and some of the positions held by the current versions of these parties are quite different from positions each party has held in previous historical periods. In order to understand the ideologies and positions of each party it is helpful to consider where they stand now and where they have stood earlier.

The modern Republican Party is considered to be more conservative than the Democratic Party. This split along conservative and liberal lines dates back many decades, starting primarily in the years just before and after World War II (Dautrich& Yalof, 2009). The Democratic Party in the 1930s was led by President Franklin Roosevelt, who was President during the Great Depression and during most of the war. The economic conditions in the United States during the Depression were dire, marked by a major stock market crash and high unemployment rates. In response to these conditions, Roosevelt enacted “The New Deal,” which promised that the federal government would take responsibility for helping to alleviate the problems of poverty and help jumpstart the economy (Gerring, 1998). Roosevelt established a number of major federal programs, most notably Social Security, which provides retirement benefits to older Americans. Roosevelt also set up works programs to help unemployed people get back to work. These and other programs from the Democratic Party set the precedent that the party would support a powerful federal government. Roosevelt also presided over the country when the United States entered World War II, though later the Democrats would become associated with the anti-war movement during the Vietnam Era. By the 1980s the Republican Party would be more closely associated with aggressive foreign policy and support for military action (Gerring), which serves as an example of how the two parties have evolved on ideological and policy issues in recent decades.

While the Democratic Party has been associated with the ideology that the federal government can and should help individuals who are struggling by providing support for education, food, retirement, and health care, the Republican Party has become more closely associated with the ideology that the federal government should intrude as little as possible in the lives of the American people (Gerring). This position was staked out clearly by President Ronald Reagan, who replaced the more liberal President Jimmy Carter in 1980. Reagan supported tax cuts and deregulation of businesses and also took an aggressive foreign policy stance against the Soviet Union (Noel, 2013). Years later, when Republican President George W. Bush was in charge, the United States again got involved in large-scale wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The current President Barack Obama, a Democrat, is considered to be a liberal by his Republican opponents, but his administration has been supportive of financial policies that help businesses, and Wall Street has done well during his presidency (Noel). At the same time, President Obama has helped to enact the Affordable Care Act, which provides health insurance for millions of Americans through an expansion of the federal government, and has also helped draw down troop levels overseas (Noel). This shows that the leaders of the two parties do not always act strictly according to conservative or liberal ideologies.

The two major parties have managed to keep third parties from achieving significant success in Congress or winning a bid for the White House. Even when these other parties take positions that many people support it is difficult for them to win elections (Schraufnagel, 2009). These parties sometimes have a negative effect on one of the two major parties, such as when Ross Perot attracted a significant number of conservative voters away from George Bush Sr., which helped Democrat Bill Clinton win the election (Schraufnagel). After President Clinton’s two terms ended, his Vice President Al Gore ran against George W. Bush. In that election, third party candidate Ralph Nader siphoned off liberal votes from Gore, which helped Bush win the election (Schraufnagel). Despite these challenges, the two major parties have much greater financial support, and also benefit from the established structure of having Democrats and Republicans filling most federal and state government positions (Noel). Furthermore, the Electoral College process which apportions state votes means that a third-party Presidential candidate would have to win on multiple state levels to win the Presidency (Schraufnagel), a task which is virtually impossible with the current system.

By adhering to strong social, economic, and political ideologies that are far enough apart to polarize voters, the Republicans and Democrats have managed to successfully monopolize the political process for decades. This political power and influence also makes it enormously difficult for third parties to break the monopoly. Even when third parties have some popular positions or ideologies, they have not been able to attract enough voters to win many elections. They do sometimes affect the process by influencing the positions of the parties that are closest to them ideologically, or by attracting voters away from those same parties. As it stands, however, the two major parties appear to have a monopoly on political power that will remain in place for the foreseeable future.

References

Dautrich, K., & Yalof, D. (2009). American government. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

Gerring, J. (1998). Party ideologies in America, 1828-1996. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Noel, H. (2013). Political ideologies and political parties in America. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.

Schraufnagel, S. (2011). Third party blues. New York: Routledge.