The Party is Over by Mike Lofgren goes undercover to reveal what politics is like behind the screen. I believe this book was more for criticizing the GOP and Republicans that the Democrats. The GOP and Republicans are a lot different in politics now than they were decades ago. The book talks about how the Republicans are against the government, how Republicans are anti-science and anti-intellectual, and also how they view religious rights. All of these lead to problems with politics. The Democrats were brought up than the Republicans, but were still mentioned. They too did some damage in today’s politics. This book informs us on how the Republicans went crazy and Democrats became useless, and how it’s become a problem.
The Republicans are against the federal government. In result, they are ruining the concept of the foundations of self- rule in a representative democracy. They use objection, obstruction, and filibustering to block not only the process of government but also in order to make Americans deeply cynical about Washington. According to the book, legislating has become “war minus the shooting”. Eric Cantor, the House Republican leader, said he would shut off major legislation which further on could potentially affect our economic recovery an entire congressional session. Another example of a Republican who isn’t exactly fit for the political job is Newt Gingrich. Newt Gingrich saw the House as a rotten and corrupt institution largely because it was run by democrats. When Gingrich won control over the House, it only resulted in wasted money and stationary committee nameplates. He also decimated the traditional committee system, and reduced the power of the committee chairman. When he stepped down and the other Republic...
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...ous statements it can be inferred that in some ways the Obama administration was like the Bush Administration in terms of foreign national policies. Obama also made poor choices by expanding on Bush policies that were already a dangerous jaunt from constitutional practices. Another thing Obama did was increase our expenditures by the billions, which can cause harm in his domestic reform agendas, and might lead to divisive and expensive foreign wars.
In closing, this book informs us on how the Republicans went crazy and Democrats became useless, and how it’s become a problem. The books unfolds the faults of the Republicans and Democrats “behind the scenes”, and made me more aware of the parties today.
Works Cited
Lofgren, Mike. The Party Is Over: How Republicans Went Crazy, Democrats Became Useless, and the Middle Class Got Shafted. New York: Viking, 2012. Print
Renowned author Charles Dickens once wrote, “it was the best of times and the worst of times” (Tale of Two Cities). An all to true statement when one looks at the current American political situation, but author and journalist Jonathan Rauch endeavors to analyze the current political climate and explain how it became what it is today. In his article ‘How American Politics went Insane’, Rauch dissects the 2016 election and events leading up to the final vote to understand how politics went sideways. Rauch begins by offering a hypothetical scenario that depicts an extreme disintegration of American politics and its political institutions and parties.
8.In order for political success, both sides of the political spectrum must be critically examined in order to omit mistakes and for cultural advancement. Over two hundred years of United States politics have seen many changes. The names of parties may have changed, but the bi-partisan feature of the party-system has not. Republicans and Democrats are our two major partisan groups in present day America. Sometimes there are disagreement amongst party members that lead to dispute and a less concentrated effort. That is the beauty of a democracy, everyone is allowed to put their two cents worth in.
There are two ways to get rid of the causes of factions, or political parties. The first way of removing these causes is to destroy the liberty essential to their existence. The second way to get rid of the causes is to give everyone the exact same o...
The Broken Branch: How Congress Is Failing America and How to Get It Back on Track, written by political scientists Thomas E. Mann and Norman J. Ornstein, is a novel which describes how Congress has failed to fill its responsibilities to the people of the United States, and how Congress’s role in the American Constitutional System differs from the part it was designed to play. Mann and Ornstein describe the shift from Congress being a decentralized, committee-based institution to a more regimented one that focuses on political parties rather than committee. The authors believe that Congress cannot succeed in getting the United States back on track unless they start to follow the rules dictated in the Constitution. In addition, Mann and Ornstein
American politics have long revolved around the Grand Old Party and the Democratic Party. Arguably every conflict can be drawn back to the exacerbation of these two discordant parties. Both entities refuse to approach middle ground because it would hinder the respective party’s prestige or disobey ideals held for the past two centuries. Being a noted Democratic advocate, forty second US president William Clinton speaks at the Democratic National Convention. Because he employs rhetorical strategies, such as antithesis and procatalepsis, the partiality in his speech not only extols the Democrat’s persona but also degrades the Republican’s image.
“Republican Party Platforms, Then and Now.” The New York Times. The New York Times Company, 28 Aug. 2012. Web. 18 Mar. 2014.
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.
Wattenberg, Martin P. (1986). The decline of American political parties 1952-1984. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.
American democracy was built on the foundation of compromises. For example, the Constitution would have never been ratified if the Bills of Rights was not part of the compromise. In a system that is built on making compromises, it is dangerous to have high levels of political polarization. The Republican-controlled House and the Democrat-controlled Senate are constantly at a gridlock and are on the path to becoming the most unproductive Congress since World War II. Despite the “growth” of self-proclaimed Independent, a quick look at their voting history would show that they are usually weak Democrats or weak Republicans. In American politics, party identification is still the single best indicator of how a person will vote. In recent years, both parties have become smaller and more ideologically homogeneous; Republicans are dominated by conservatives, while a growing number of Democrats call themselves liberals. Most Americans claim that they see important differences between the parties and many feel that they must stay loyal to their party especially during presidential elections.
When one defines party identification, strong party loyalty is central. However, a cursory glance over the previous one hundred years of American history shows that politics has changed, so too the public’s response. While multiple factors may contribute to changes in voting and public opinion, national identity and economic conditions play major roles when viewing the outcome in retrospect. The American voter has evolved from being party-oriented to candidate-centered.
Robinson mimics the emotions of the democrats through his tone shifts. To mirror the intensity of anger the democrats share towards Trump, Robinson intensifies the state of the nation. Robinson explains that the GOP, the current majority of most American governments and their branches, is fragmented by varying ideologies, is led by an unstable president-elect, “and quite possibly headed for a fratricidal civil war” (Robinson). The intense word choice resembles the furiosity the democrats feel towards Trump. However, just like his audience, Robinson converts his intense anger into fearful anxiety. He mentions the diminishing role of democrats in the government, stating that “as far as the federal government is concerned, [republicans are] the whole trifecta” after listing out every GOP controlled region of government (Robinson). Through enumerating the various branches of federal government controlled by the republicans, Robinson implies that democrats are losing their voice. In a nation where tradition holds two major parties of equal strength, the sudden weakness of the democratic party induces fear in
One way parties hurt our government is they often cause division between American society and government officials. As explained in document 6, "Political parties led more to just debate and competition. At times people grew to mistrust and even hate each other due to political difference." In our country, hatred and mistrust due to political difference had consequentially affected our history. The most notable example of this was the death of Alexander Hamilton. On account of distrust and animosity between political parties, Hamilton became bitter rivals with Anti-Federalist Aaron Burr. The two grew to abhor each other to the point where they agreed to a gun duel to the death. Hamilton was shot, received a mortal wound, and then died the next afternoon. Undeniably, political division can not only cause arguments, but divide communities and ruin families, and even in some cases, cause
Sundquist, James L. 1983. Dynamics of the Party System: Alignment and Realignment of Political Parties in the United States. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution.
Today’s Democrats and Republicans could not be any more different from one another. Both sides have both taken up different points of view then they had in the past and have become increasingly intolerant toward opposition. They will only watch, read, or listen to anything from people with similar points of views and values and when things go wrong, they are more likely to point the blame toward the people with different opinions.
As political parties become more and more polarized over the years, it’s important to understand the internal factors that have lead to this political