Dinan Guan
Kye Barker
Discussion 1H
Party Identification Party identification is an individual’s preference for one political party or the other. It is important because most voters identify with one of the two major political parties. This causes party identification to be one of the best ways to predict voting behavior. I view partisanship as a form of identity which develops early in a person's life as a result of familial, social, and environmental factors. I believe that the influence of childhood is especially significant in shaping party identification because of the amount of time and emotional commitment from these factors that begin at birth. However, I believe as people grow older, party identification becomes more of a conscious
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I believe that party identification formed during childhood isn’t actual loyalty because children lack political knowledge and experience, and therefore can be swayed. I believe that as voters reach adulthood, they begin to adjust their party loyalties according to their personal experiences. The influence of childhood starts to diminish. Party identification is not purely psychological; it also possesses “a rational component, rooted in evaluations of the performance of the parties in government, the policies they will pursue, and an individual’s interest and ideology (Lowi 369).” Voters tend to build allegiance to parties that reflect their views and interests. For example, a high income earner may feel an affinity toward the Republican Party because that party supports lower taxes overall, whereas the Democratic Party promotes higher tax rates for higher income …show more content…
As I have stated before, childhood influence has a significant impact mainly because of the long term amount time and emotion spent during these early years. However, the political leanings of parents and their environment have such a strong influence on children because it is all they know up to that point. Children are impressionable, but this does not mean that these impressions are indelible. If the political leanings of parents are so important, wouldn’t other beliefs that they possess influence children the same amount? Children would then reflect the beliefs of their parents continually. Obviously this is not the case. Childhood influence is important, but it is definitely not the only factor that determines party identification.
Another rival hypothesis is that party identification is constructed solely by ideological affinity. Voters do tend to side with a political party that shares their same views and interests. However, in reality, there aren’t many voters who are actually willing to research the public policies candidates pursue. It takes too much time and effort to investigate such matters. Not many people will readily dig through information about a party’s platform, especially if it is lengthy or hard to understand. Consequently, this lack of inaction is one reason for the lack of political knowledge in Americans
For instance, Menand writes, “The fraction of the electorates that responds to substantive political argument is hugely outweighed by the fraction that responds to slogans, misinformation...random personal association.” Mass voters mostly pursue the wrong or irrelevant information that are irrelevant to the election; thus lead them to vote for the candidates which they do not really want. Their choices mostly lack rationalities. Many voters who are slightly informative think that they are participating in a certain issue and considering the value of the candidates; yet most of them do not have adequate information and knowledge in understanding the meaning of political terms. Voters lack judgment on their government and candidates, their minds are easily being brainwashed by a small amount of people who has informative approaches in participating governmental issue, and affect their
Millions of citizens around the United States, at some point in their lifetime, obtain a political ideology. Typically, their political values are influenced by their parents. Political scientists have identified that around age eleven, children begin to develop political opinion. According to Wilson’s, American Government: Institutions and Policies, 91% of a high school senior class indentified with the same party as their parents (American Government 158). I can attest to this since I in fact have the same party association as my parents. Ever since I was young, I categorized myself as a Democrat due to the fact that my elders were. However, as I have matured I am able to recognize the beliefs and ideologies that followers of certain parties possess. Since I have been more exposed to the political arena I am able analyze the issues more critically and hence I continuously question whether I should classify myself as a Democrat or Republican.
Singh, S., & Judd, T. (2013). Compulsory Voting and the Dynamics of Partisan Identification. European Journal of Political research, 52(2), 188-211. Retrieved from http://journals1.scholarsportal.info.proxy.bib.uottawa.ca/details.xqy?uri=/03044130/v52i0002/188_cvatdopi.xml
Political ideology holds an important place when determining what to consider yourself as. The Republican Party holds a vision that is established on American traditions of family, community, and
From their earliest formation, political parties have been a controversial aspect that have both strengthened and weakened the United States. It has a massive effect on voters, congress, and policymaking in the government. Party polarization is the prominent division that exists between parties, most noticeably Democrats and Republicans, because of the extreme differences of the ideological beliefs of the opposing parties. In the past, many individuals considered themselves “mixed” and did not associate themselves with just one side. According to www.pewresearch.org, “the share of Americans who express consistently conservative or consistently liberal opinions has doubled over the past two decades”. Every year less and less people consider
Today, political parties can be seen throughout everyday life, prevalent in various activities such as watching television, or seeing signs beside the road while driving. These everyday occurrences make the knowledge of political parties commonly known, especially as the two opposing political parties: the Republicans and the Democrats. Republican and Democrats have existed for numerous years, predominantly due to pure tradition, and the comfort of the ideas each party presents. For years, the existence of two political parties has dominated the elections of the president, and lower offices such as mayor, or the House of Representatives. Fundamentally, this tradition continues from the very emergence of political parties during the election of 1796, principally between Federalist John Adams and Anti-federalist Thomas Jefferson. Prior to this election people unanimously conformed to the ideas of one man, George Washington, and therefore did not require the need for political parties.1 However, following his presidency the public was divided with opposing opinions, each arguing the best methods to regulate the country. Ultimately, the emergence of different opinions regarding the future of the United States involving the economy, foreign relations, ‘the masses,’ and the interpretation of the Constitution, led to the two political parties of the 1790s and the critical election of 1800.
The views of my parents were the first experiences that I had relating to politics, and they helped shape the political opinions and beliefs that I hold today. In this paper, I will be discussing the political party I identify with, as well as which interest groups have influenced my life and beliefs the most. I will also discuss specific policies that I support, and what we as Americans can and cannot do because of the laws passed by the political party that I support. I will also touch on my personal level of interest and involvement in my political party.
Party identification is the political party that an individual categorizes them self with. Political parties came about as a way to organize citizens with similar beliefs and attitudes. These parties then attempt to influence the government by electing members into office. Today there are two main parties people can identify: Republican and Democrat. There is also a third choice, being an Independent, but for the purpose of this paper this group will not be recognized as a political party. These reasons will be discussed later. There are many different theories as to why people do or do not identify with a political party, including social psychology, issue related, and psychological attachments. I believe the social psychology theory has the right idea. Sociology is about studying human society and how it develops and functions. So, it makes sense that social factors would have a big impact on whether we identify with a political party or not.
Americans are divided by their political ideology, or basic political beliefs. A group of citizens with similar views on public issues who work to put their ideas into effective government action is called a political party. Parties can be principle-oriented, issue-oriented, or election-oriented; the American parties fall into the last category. Although the United States was founded without political parties, a two-party system has evolved from the competing factions. Andrew Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson, as heads of the Federalist and Anti-Federalist groups, are often considered the “fathers” of the modern party system. By the 1850s, the nation had a party system with two major parties that has remained relatively stable ever since.
I am responding to Micheal Schudson’s essay titled “America’s Ignorant Voter”. He makes several arguments against whether America having relatively ignorant voters poses a problem to our society, and whether it’s becoming worse over the years. One of the arguments he poses as to why Americans seem so clueless about political matters is due to the complexities of our nation’s political institutions.
Sometimes who lacks a strong affiliation with a particular political party is called a swing voter. The voter’s behavior is not easy to predict in an election. Party lines may be cross by the voter. Many political parties or campaign try to win the heads and minds of swing voters, and make a hope to win the election. Swing voters play a vital role in election. Sometimes it is because so confusing for political campaigns because swing voters are undecided voters, and it is a fact that swing voters are really undecided voters. A voter who is ensuring about how they plan to vote in the election are undecided voters. There are many voters who do not have established their own personal political philosophy, and they are new
The Political Parties Model in which politicians diverge ideologically to provide a cue of party affiliation, allowing voters to vote rationally using their habit of party identification. The Political Parties Model suggests that party labels clarify the political choices available to voters.
Choosing a political party is an important decision to make in today’s American society. The options for the political parties are Democrat, Republican, and Independent. Picking a political party can happen for some people at a young age. I chose my political party when I was 16 years old. I chose Independent. My parents are Democrats themselves. It makes for an interesting discussion at the dinner table when talking about politics. Some people will choose their political party for a few different reasons. Some people will choose their political party just to be the same thing as their parents, because they really believe in what either party is saying, and sometimes people feel pressured to do so.
Introduction Political party manifestos are a common feature in most liberal democracies all over the world. Manifestos are a vehicle through which parties sell their policies and ideologies to the wider electoral community. The content of the electoral manifestos reflects how political parties plan to address issues of national concern (Chunga 2014, p.10). In countries with strong democracies and high literacy levels, manifestos are a crucial component in wooing voter support for parties and candidates. Since the dawn of multiparty democracy in Malawi in 1993, political party manifestos have become a key feature when parties and candidates campaign for political office.
Politics is one of the most debated topics in the country today. With the wide variety of values present in America, it is bound to be a difficult topic to discuss. I’ve grown up in a family of democrats with religiously republican grandparents. Considering myself an Independent leaning democratic, I can usually calmly talk politics with my family. This year’s election has made any conversation surrounding politics toxic to my family and creates a large argument of one side or the other and no in between.