Party Politics

This chapter explores the ideologies and dynamics of party politics in the United States of America. It discusses the differences between Democrats and Republicans and their impact on society. The focus has shifted from being party-oriented to being more candidate-oriented, with people aligning themselves with the vision of the candidate as the determinant factor of voting preference. The party system has become service-based, with parties winning the confidence of the masses by promising the delivery of preferred services. Voting choices vary based on the demographic structure of the region and the interests of different sections of the population.

Running head: PARTY POLITICS
PARTY POLITICS
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Author Note

1PARTY POLITICS
Chapter 7
The parties in the United States of America are based on ideologies. The Democrats are
the champions of liberal values, they values the minority rights, the rights of the women and are
in favour of bringing about changes in the society. The Republicans on the other hand are very
much conservative, elitist and status quo oriented in their stance. While the Democrats espouse
values which are inspired by democratic values of freedom and free thinking which makes them
left leaning and progressive, the Republicans being anti change and right wing oriented tend to
be very regressive. These are the two major political parties and political ideologies that are
present in the United States of America. In recent times there have been emergence of other
parties as well but they subscribe to either of the broader political parties and ideologies. There
has been a sea change in the political party system of United States of America and the focus has
shifted from being party oriented to being more candidate oriented. People of the United States
of America tend to align themselves with the vision of the candidate and that is the determinant
factor of the voting preference of the electorate. With the passage of time, the party system has
undergone changes and the current party system that prevails in the United States of America is
service based. The service based parties tend to win the confidence of the masses by means of
providing them the promise of the delivery of service that they prefer the most. Thus the party
system has become clientele based in the United States of America whereby the aspirations of
the people weigh more than party affiliations. The choice of vote changes from region to region,
depending upon the demographic structure of the region. There are several reasons as to why the
vote varies as per the demographic structure as each section of the population has different
interests to be served, hence they choose to vote for those parties or candidates whose stance
seems favourable to their personal interests. The section of the population belonging to the less

2PARTY POLITICS
privileged economic background are more likely to vote for the Democrats as they are welfare
oriented while the Republicans are very much in favour of the austerity measures which are
definitely not at all beneficial to the interests of the people belonging to the low income group.
The business houses and the capitalist classes are however more in favour of the Republicans as
they have a pro business approach and do not impose much restrictions on the business pursuits.
The laissez faire approach of the Republicans are very much in favour of the business houses.
The educated class however are much more in favour of the Democrats as they espouse
libertarian views. Similarly, the women and the racial and ethnic minorities are very much in
favour of the Democrats as they are champions of the rights of the oppressed sections of the
society. The Republicans being conservative do not pay much attention to those issues. This
pattern has been maintained throughout history.