The American two-party system
States has always had a two-party system, first in the opposition between the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists, then in the competition between the Republicans and the Democrats. There have been frequent third-party movements in the history of the country, but they have always failed. Presidential elections em to have played an important role in the formation of this type of two-party system. The mechanism of a national election in so large a country has necessitated very large political organizations and, at the same time, relatively simplified choices for the voter.
American parties are different from their counterparts in other Western countries. They are not tied in the same way to the great social and ideological movements that have so influenced the development of political life in Europe during the last two centuries. There have been Socialist parties at various times in the history of 我和谁过一天作文the United States, but they have never challenged the dominance of the two major parties. It can be argued that the main reason for the failure of Socialist parties in America has been the high degree of upwa
rd mobility permitted by a rich and continually expanding economy. The conquence of this mobility has been that class consciousness has never developed in the United States in a manner that would encourage the formation of large Socialist or Communist parties.
沙苑子的功效与作用In comparison with European political movements, therefore, American parties have appeared as two varieties of one liberal party, and within each party can be found a wide range of opinion, going from the right to the left.
The American parties have a flexible and decentralized structure, marked by the abnce of discipline and rigid hierarchy. This was the structure of most of the cadre-type parties of the 19th century, a structure that most liberal parties have retained. Federalism and a concern for local autonomy accentuate the lack of rigid structure and the weakness of lines of authority in the parties. Organization may be relatively strong and homogeneous at the local level, but such control is much weaker on the state level and practically nonexistent on the national level. There is some truth to the obrvation that the United籍字组词 States has not two parties but 100—that is, two in each state. But it is also true that each
party develops a certain degree of national unity for the presidential election and that the leadership of the president within his party gives the victorious party some cohesion.
In voting, 撒的拼音和组词Republicans送元二使安西古诗意思解释 and Democrats are usually found on both sides. An alliance between liberal Republicans and Democrats against conrvative Republicans and Democrats tends to develop. But neither bloc is stable, and the alignment varies from one vote to another. As a conquence, despite the existence of a two-party system, no stable legislative majority is possible. In order to have his budget adopted and his legislation pasd, the president of the United States must carefully try to gather the necessary votes on every question, bearing the wearisome task of constantly forming alliances. The American two-party system is thus a pudo-two-party system, becau each party provides only a loo framework within which shifting coalitions are formed.
The Republican National Committee (RNC) is responsible for promoting Republican campaign activities. It is responsible for developing and promoting the Republican political platform, as well as coordinating fundraising and election strategy. Its current cha
irman is Michael S. Steele. The chairman of the RNC is chon by the President when the Republicans have the White Hou or otherwi by the Party's state committees. The RNC, under the direction of the party's presidential candidate, supervis the Republican National Convention, rais funds, and coordinates campaign strategy. On the local level there are similar state committees in every state and most large cities, counties and legislative districts, but they have far less money and influence than the national body.
The Republican Hou and Senate caucus have parate fundraising and strategy committees. The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) assists in Hou races, and the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) in Senate races. They each rai over $100 million per election cycle, and play important roles in recruiting strong state candidates, while the Republican Governors Association (RGA) assists in state gubernatorial races; it is currently chaired by Governor Rick Perry of Texas.
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is responsible for promoting Democratic cam
间读音paign activities. While the DNC is responsible for overeing the process of writing the Democratic Platform, the DNC is more focud on campaign and organizational strategy than public policy. In presidential elections it supervis the Democratic National Convention. The national convention is, subject to the charter of the party, the ultimate authority within the Democratic Party when it is in ssion, with the DNC running the party's organization at other times. The DNC is currently chaired by Virginia Governor汽车爬坡 Tim Kaine.
The 圉正Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) assists party candidates in Hou races; its current chairman (lected by the party caucus) is Rep. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland. Similarly the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) rais large sums for Senate races. It is currently headed by Senator Robert Menendez of New Jery. The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC), currently chaired by Mike Gronstal of Iowa, is a smaller organization with much less funding that focus on state legislative races. The DNC sponsors the College Democrats of America (CDA), a student-outreach organization with the goal of training and engaging a new gen
eration of Democratic activists. Democrats Abroad is the organization for Americans living outside the United States; they work to advance the goals of the party and encourage Americans living abroad to support the Democrats. The Young Democrats of America (YDA) is a youth-led organization that attempts to draw in and mobilize young people for Democratic candidates, but operates outside of the DNC. In addition, the recently created branch of the Young Democrats, the Young Democrats High School Caucus, attempts to rai awareness and activism amongst teenagers to not only vote and volunteer, but participate in the future as well. The Democratic Governors Association (DGA) is an organization supporting the candidacies of Democratic gubernatorial nominees and incumbents; it is currently chaired by Governor Brian Schweitzer of Montana. Similarly the mayors of the largest cities and urban centres convene as the National Conference of Democratic Mayors.
