Purpose Of A Political Party

Even though some may find it limiting, the two-party system does allow for a wide spectrum of people to participate in the presidential election process. This is because most people do fit under the umbrella of either the Democrat or Republican Party. Even if they don’t fit under these two parties and belong to a third party, they’re still able to vote in open primaries and then the general election. People who even do not belong to any party are not left out and can still vote for whichever candidate they think is best and do not have to be affiliated with that candidate’s party to do so. The two-party system allows many people to participate in the presidential election process because even though it’s a two-party system, it still has other smaller third parties that people can belong to.

In recent discussion of Democrats and Republican parties, a controversial issue has been whether or not the U.S. should expand their options from more than a two party system. On the one hand, some argue that there should be more choices other than between the two Democrat Party and Republican Party. From this perspective, voters have more of a variety when they vote. On the other hand, some argue that the U.S. should remain as a two party system. In the words of Gary Johnson, one of this view’s main proponents, “The Republicans and Democrats have spent decades trading power back and forth between themselves, and in doing so, have managed to install a two-party duopoly that completely controls America’s political process.” According to this view, Democrats and Republicans are dictating other parties opportunities to get elected. In sum, then, the issue is whether there should be other options rather than a choice between the Democrat and the Republican Party. I agree with Gary Johnson’s view that the Democrat and Republican Parties are controlling America’s

Third parties offer voters an alternative to the same two parties that run in the presidential election every four years, often with more concrete goals and views, yet there has never been successful third party candidate. For over one and a half centuries, the Republicans and Democrats have held a duopoly over the United States government (Diamond 2015). People have been growing more and more frustrated in their government and the two parties, so why haven’t third-party candidates gained any ground in the political sphere?

In order to avoid losing voters to third parties, the two major parties are often forced to adopt positions championed by third parties. To fully comprehend why third parties exist, it is important to first be able to identify the numerous challenges they face in order to gain any sense of credibility.

Another reason for the insignificance of third parties and the reason for the two party system is the first-past-the-post (FPTP) voting system. Unfortunately for third parties, the two main parties always tend to come out with the majority even if they don’t win the popular vote. An example of the unfairness of this voting system is in 2008 the independent party of America managed to get 1 in every 5 votes but still didn’t manage to gain seats. Having said that, FPTP in theory allows for a strong stable government with a hefty majority providing they dominate congress and the legislature.

The two-party system needs to be changed or completely abolished, because it offers limited ideas and opinions to run the country. The two parties have their own perspectives on issues such as gun control or abortion; Craig Goodman of the University of Houston claims he“doesn’t think it’s very democratic. Why should you exclude someone because they are a small number, and they don’t get to express themselves?” (Cargo 1). The two-party does not allow the middle ground or smaller parties to really have a say (Mathias 4).  Most voters only know the leading independent and the two party nominees. Kate Cargo describes “the two-party system leaves voter with low-quality ideas and frankly, low-quality candidates” (Cargo 1) while the third party candidate could have a great compromise on a hot issue, it will never see the light of day. While the two-party system does allow people to have easy access to the opinions of the parties on these issues, it does not make up for the limited options we have. As a country we need to have as many options as possible even if they are extreme. Accessibility is important, but it should never limit our options.

Third parties in the United States do not win, but they do tend to keep elections interesting. Although third parties bring in votes for themselves, most of them have extreme views on issues. These type of views cannot put a party at the top of a nation that mainly consists of moderate individuals. America has one of the most advanced democracies and as a result has developed the two party system. The reason a two party system overpowers a three-party system is because, ideally, the constitution only has two sides to it, the opposing and the supporting. While the United States has a large two party system, third parties have been around for hundreds of years, they play a large part in presidential elections, and within the national government

There are copious Americans who believe that the political party system is shattering our nation. In my opinion, our nation would not be the nation we are today without political parties. Other than presenting candidates and electoral campaigns to the electorate, political parties perform innumerable tasks to better the United States of America. They serve as institutionalized mediators between our society and duly elected representatives who are responsible for determining and executing legislations. They seek public policy priorities and civic needs and concerns identified by their affiliates and supporters. Political parties educate the people on how the political, electoral system, and general political values work. By doing so, voters are well informed of each party’s stance on specific matters. They also inspire individuals to participate in political decisions and turning their outlooks into policy options for all. Unlike other countries, America is a democratic nation we want our people to freely voice their thoughts and support the party who shares their interest and perspectives. In addition, political parties help to annihilate any unexpected shifts in political trends that hold the ability to disrupt the balance of our government. As we all know our nation is a two -party system that assist in advocating stability in the government, because there will only ever be two

The Electoral College is responsible in aiding the protection of the nation’s two-party system. As explained by Tara Ross in Anthony Taylors article “Making A Case for the Electoral College” “The electorate would splinter its votes among many candidates. Multi-candidates’ presidential races would result in constant recounts, uncertainty, and consistent runoffs. While the Republican and Democratic party don’t necessarily prevent the election of a third party, they certainly do aid in the lack of third party presidential nominees and selectants. While this is the case, many Americans are beginning to turn to the idea of a third-party candidate. Such as Jeffrey Jones findings in his online news article featured in Gallup “Americans Continue to Say a Third Political Party Is Needed” he found that “Americans' current desire for a third party is consistent with their generally negative views of both the Republican and Democratic parties, with only about four in 10 viewing each positively. Americans' views toward the two major parties have been tepid for much of the last decade. However,

Political Parties were never intended to be an exercised idea in the American government. Our founding fathers had emphasized their hatred for the division of our ‘republic.’ “All obstructions to the execution of the laws, all combinations, and

     For hundreds of years, the two party system has dominated the American culture, but many people are confused by what a two party system actually means. Although a two party system is defined as two parties that are bigger than the rest, third parties have greatly impacted elections for over a hundred years. Minor parties still continuously voice their opinions in issues, causing other candidates of either major party to adopt their philosophies. Furthermore, some parties, such as the Reform have actually been successful in obtaining a position, such as governor. Finally, third party candidates have actually taken away votes from a number of nominees over the years.

The American two-party system is the result of the way elections are structured in the United States. Representatives in the Congress and in state legislatures are elected to in single-member districts where the individual with the most votes wins. Seeing that only one party 's candidate can win in each district, there is a strong motivation for political candidates to organize themselves into two competing parties. By doing so, party members and candidates maximize their chances of winning elections. In some countries where there are multi-member districts, parties that win smaller percentages of the vote can often win legislative representation. Consequently, in such systems, there is an incentive to form smaller third parties. Other features of the American system of elections, such as campaign finance rules, the Electoral College, and rules giving party candidates ballot access further reinforce the two-party system in the United States. While third parties rarely win major elections, and never the presidency, they have been successful in changing the outcome of elections by withdrawing political support away from one of the two major party candidates. Whatever American system contains to encourage a two party system typically discourages the emergence of third parties. Ever since third parties have emerged in American political history, their successes have been short-lived. Most third parties try to build their support to become like one of the dominant parties, just

In 1892 in St Louis, Missouri The People’s Party, or more commonly known the Populist Party was formed. The main purpose of the Populist party was to represent the labor leaders, farmers, and reformers, which focused on bank regulation, graduated income tax, and government owned railroad. Bank regulation was enforced to limit things such as restrictions and requirements, which led to better money regulation with the formation of the party. With graduated income tax, there would not be as big of a difference between the rich and the poor. Because of this the poor would not be paying as much income tax as the rich, which would eventually equal things out. Among many other things, one main goal of the populist party was to form an alliance with

The Constitution has nothing to say about political parties. Nowhere does it define political parties or explicitly specify that there should be two dominant parties. Nevertheless, America has had a strong two party system for last 150 years, a degree of party stability and endurance that can be found in no other nation (Landy and Milkis, 451). This system of two dominant parties has both its advantages and its drawbacks, the same as any system will. The two strong parties simplify and stabilize American politics from both the citizens’ and the politicians’ point of view and allow for government to be unified across the separation of powers built into the Constitution

goals. Most of the parties are created to correct social problems. Some of them form around