Political parties, Interest Groups and social movements each try to shape the nature of political and power in America. We want to take a look at all three in this blog.
Political Parties have changed dramatically since the development of the Federalist party shortly following the ratification of the Constitution. While third parties have existed for most of American history our political system has been primarily dominated by two parties at a time creating the "two party system." Today's Democrats and Republicans (GOP) are very different from earlier forms and their goals and make up changes based on their political and electoral goals and the changing times. Take a look at each national party website to get a sense of how they are presenting themselves today.
Republican Party Webpage
Democratic Party Webpage
Interest groups come in all shapes and sizes. They may organize around particular groups of people, businesses or institutions, or groups organized around supporting certain issues. These groups attempt to influence the government by utilizing most of the forms of political participation that we discussed earlier in the semester. Just to get a sense of some examples of interest groups which are very active in American Politics today that a look at these sites (check out the "about us" sections if you aren't familiar with these organizations):
AARP (formerly the American Association of Retired Persons)
NRA (National Rifle Association)
Moveon.org
The Christian Coalition
The Sierra Club
Social movements share some similarities with interest groups, and political parties for that matter, but are fundamentally different as described at the beginning of the chapter you read for class. Social movements are broad groups of people who act, often outside of the traditional political channels to affect some society wide change.
Examples include the civil rights movement, women’s rights movement, Christian conservative movement and countless labor movements and strikes throughout US history.
As you evaluate the various methods of political involvement and different strategies to influence American politics, what do you think is the most effective strategy: political parties, interest groups or social movements? Why?
Keep in mind you can get two blog credits if you add more than one thoughtful comment and create a conversation with your classmates online.
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I think that political party involvement is key to any kind of meaningful change. Democrats have been historically more effective in changing legislature promoting a more egalitarian change than republicans.
ReplyDeleteSource (http://www.extremelysmart.com/andmodest/RepsVsDemsInHistory.php )
It is natural for people to be drawn to others with similar interests. By forming groups and making their arguments known to all, they will try to make into law their opinions. Ultimately it is up to either the States or Federal government to decide what is going to made into laws. It doesn't matter if it is about gun rights, religion, abortion or the use of the environment, an individual or group can have no long term effect without the support of the law.
For me, the issue is that the differences between the 2 major political parties are getting blurred. The tight integration between big business and politics is for me a very scary one.
In one scene in Sicko, shows the involvement of policy makers and their departure to pharmaceutical companies after the companies gave the lawmakers legal donations.
(Personally I think Mr. Moore is the leftist Rush Limbaugh and they are both entertaining in their own way.) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sicko
These is considered common practice and nothing to be concerned about. Democracy is about people not business. When business is too involved in politics the term changes to Corporatism and I don't want to live under that.
Political Parties are extremely important to the proper functioning of a Democracy. Political parties seek to control the Government by electing its members to office and therefore controlling the Government’s personnel.
ReplyDeleteInterest groups usually accept the Government and its personnel as givens, and try to influence its policy through them. Interest groups are sometimes referred as “lobbies.” As long as there is a Government, there will always be interests trying to influence it. There are also labor groups, business groups, public interest groups (NRA), social movements, environmental organizations (The Sierra Club for instance), professional associations and many more.
Social movement is an important part of political life as well. Social movements in the U.S have a great history and are definitely an essential part of the American civil society, but still the biggest influence is coming from the political parties.
My conclusion is that political parties mobilize the largest numbers of individuals to participate in the American political life. Parties play a significant role in the political process and they have great opportunities but a huge deal of responsibilities as well. Differences between the two major parties can and actually have an effect on policies, unlike others.
WOW ! First I clicked on a Republican Party link and i got a bright red background and the biggest DONATE sign on the right hand corner that blew me away , is this the red cross ?!?
ReplyDeleteThen I clicked on a Democrats website and I saw bright blue background with CONTRIBUTE on the right hand corner which is a lot better then DONATE (at least in my opinion).
The third parties are like a shadow of either the Democratic and Republican side but with more advertisements.In a way it is more relaxed and not so up front as the Democratic and Republican parties website but it has motivational signs , such as join today and move on ...
Looking at the different web sites one can not but notice all the different advertisements that websites are contaminated with... I agree with Tom and do think that there is too much business involvement , i think political websites should be informative and not as advertising as they are now. Discussion board on the website and a closer connection with the office officials would bring more motivation to people and the actual desire to visit the political websites because that would make people feel like someone is there to help ! Political Parties are the most effective way of participation in my view because not everyone might know about the little parties (interest groups ) that exist so therefore i think if the interest groups join with the big groups they would be able to achieve a lot more participation. Although social movements are a great way of getting the attention and have a great history and influence in our country as Victoria said, there are a lot harder to put together with the busy life that everyone lives now a days as well. So therefore I would stick with an idea of political parties joining the forces with interest groups , which in the end i think would benefit everyone ...
Tom, Corporations are quite involved in politics, this is America and politics is all about money so you are living under corporatism. In any given election, He(unfortunate but purposeful use of only the male pronoun) with the most money and best marketing wins(for the most part).
ReplyDeleteDemocracy is, ideally about people but just watching people's reactions to the idea of socialized healthcare lets us know that there is a deep seated belief amongst people that high prices = quality.
Capitalism is not an especially humane or fair system.
I agree with what Tom says about the line between democrats and republicans becoming blurred, The main differences are in how they each market themselves, as Diana observed in reference to their websites.
Social movements are where the most potential for effective change lies since they can and mostly do occur outside of the big business of politics with everyday people such as ourselves and then gain momentum and supporters from various spheres-interest groups, politicians, the all magical famous people.
A social movement to me is not neccesarily based on funds, it is based on principle and thats what puts it above the other two american political phenomena.
One more thought, to Diana- I don't think that it is at all accurate to say that most 3rd parties are like shadows of Democrat or Republican parties.
ReplyDeleteTake the Green Party for example, they hold values such as environmentalism, non-hierarchial participatory democracy that neither of our main parties have shown to hold in very high value.
Each third party has its own nuances, its own mission statement and goals. They don't have as much money and are not as popular as either of the two main parties so in that way they are in the shadow, belief-wise they are not emulating either.
Honestly I think that political party is the most effective strategy simple because a political party is a group of people with similar interests who work together to achieve similar goals by gaining power in government and interests are wider than interest groups are social movements. The Constitution does not mention political parties. However, the Constitution does provide a system of “checks and balances” to keep “factions,” or parties, from favoring some groups over the interest of others and the good of the country. These checks and balances are the three branches of government which are the executive branch which is led by the President of the United States, the legislative branch which passes laws and the judicial branch, or courts, in which citizens and states settle their differences.
ReplyDeletePolitical parties play an important role in government and provide opportunities for citizens to participate in the political process. Political parties usually support different issues or take different stands on the same issues. These differences are important because they offer voters a choice and clarify issues for voters. Parties also provide leadership and monitor, or watch, government policies and programs.
Am not saying that interest groups are not effective as political party, but I believe they are far from the same things. They both however have a central goal. They both are working to achieve change in the government. Interest groups tend to be much more narrowly focused on a specific area of public policy or social concern than are political parties. Most interest groups form around specific concerns like the environment, free speech, tax reform, agricultural subsidies, and free trade, school funding and labor standards. Meanwhile, political parties tend to bring together some of these groups under one "big tent." Political parties try for more broad change in many different sectors, such as the economy, social life, etc.
Political parties are not indicated in the original framers' intentions and neither are they present to "present strong choices" as a 2008 CNN special on political parties had indicated.
ReplyDeleteBecause of the nature of our political campaigns, it becomes a necessary for politicians to spend 60% of their time raising money. They can successfully raise this money because of the economic implications their position affords them to make. Both parties are blocs interested individuals looking to maximize access to power through these means.
What does this mean?
This means that you have republicans openly vying for access to contributions, or "DONATIONS" as Diana had put it, while appealing to people on ideological grounds. (Its amusing how they had appropriated Frederick Douglas to their camp, as well as Jesus. Speaking of which, if he was to return as the Republican's ideological base wishes for, that would be the ONE person they would despise. Helping the poor? Questioning establishment? And whats this I hear about this Jesus fellow on capitalism: "Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God..." - Socialist!)
Meanwhile the democrats appeal to a different group of people for their political support, while taking a "backdoor" way to get access to the contributions to stay in power: "I hate it, but I had to do it... The republicans twisted by arm! What could I do?!" - for more type in "Balls Beer for Health Care Reform" in youtube for very pertinent video.
Now to answer the question posed. Moveon, reaching directly to the people and their opinions is the most effective way to steer our politics. Political parties will always be there. People will always participate, but we must not forget, George Orwell said it best:
"The inner party is like a group of flies on the back of a horse, the proles are the horse, all that the horse needs to do is to just rouse itself and the flies will disperse..."
The type of work move on is doing is rousing the horse, or did you think it was better to try and move the flies around in a position advantageous to the horse's well being?
Perhaps further away from the rear then?
In my opinion, I feel that Political Parties are more influential witin the United States. If one was to look at the Political structure of the United States, it is broken up into two large, main groups, The DEMOCRATIC and the REPUBLICAN Parties. As an American, you would have to fall into either one of those groups in order to get your voice heard. If not, than you will be most likely not represented because of how much power these Political Parties have.
ReplyDeleteFor me to see the different websites between the two Political Parties, it brings into notion of bashing. It is as if the issues of the people have taken a backseat and the only thing that matters is to degrade the opponent. It makes me not want to be apart of any political group because of the way that they treat one another and how they care about nothing but bashing the other group. WHAT ABOUT THE PEOPLE???
@ Nick hey payback is a byatch looks like Texas is getting back at one of the founding fathers.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/13/education/13texas.html?scp=1&sq=Texas%20Approves%20Curriculum%20Revised%20by%20Conservatives&st=cse
Getting a bit Orwellian nes pas.
"He who controls the present, controls the past. He who controls the past, controls the future." -
-- George Orwell
@coconono I'm not against capitalism just against greed. In the past 40 years the disparity between the suits and the workers has gone through the roof.
ReplyDeleteIn 2005, the average CEO in the United States earned 262 times the pay of the average worker, the second-highest level of this ratio in the 40 years for which there are data. In 2005, a CEO earned more in one workday (there are 260 in a year) than an average worker earned in 52 weeks.
From http://www.epi.org/economic_snapshots/entry/webfeatures_snapshots_20060621/
It is this greed that I find so upsetting and it does not represent Americans as a whole. The government is for the people not the corporations.
If the government was for the corporations we would not have the history of creating, the EPA, the FDA and other agencies that curtail business practices that endanger our citizens.
If this greed is good should we now have the country change to a country like Mexico? If it is all about money and getting it all why not?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlos_Slim his story is pretty remarkable and he has more money than Bill Gates.
Or still look at what happened to the Soviet Union where the greatest amount of wealth was put in the fewest number of hands.
Don't get me started on the whole recent banking fiasco.
Tom, I'm not sure that there is or ever was a distinction between capitalism and greed.
ReplyDeleteAlso a concerned and intelligent citizen named Rachel Carson who wrote Silent Spring was mostly responsible for the creation of the EPA.
I agree with you that it is detrimental for the whole of society when a small percentage owns most of the wealth.
-Courtney
Greed, as human nature, will always exist no matter what,but it sort of borderlines with a natural wish to profit oneself and compete, which are the basics of capitalism.
ReplyDeleteFrom looking at The Republican website,it is mostly concentrated on bashing and making fun of the Democrats,(text J. Biden and tell him what Americans think(?))), which i think was hilarious. But i wish instead, they could stress the important conservative issues that had always been the basic ideological principle in America. By being endorsed by the rich and powerful conservatives,they leave no choice to the Democrats but to top that. Democratic website was note any different.
Asking to donate as a first thing you see on both partys' websites makes you feel like if you can't donate, you cant be one of us??
I agree with Nick, originally there were no parties intended, BUT,later when they did emerge, they were encouraged because that would prevent "the tyranny of the majority".
Political parties are the most effective.because they are more organized and have more money. I just wish they can be more respectful to each other and try to work together on certain issues and also, express themselves more clear as to their agendas.
I must agree with Cortney, Social movement sometimes can be much more powerful as it unites everyday people to stand up for themselves and for their rights. It doesnt happen very often and in most cases people are driven by anger in a fight for their rights,like Civil rights or Women rights movements. That can change law and get an immediate reaction from the gov., it can start a war even...
Regarding interest groups, unless they attach to one or the other party, i dont see any purpose of it. Sierra club?-Both GOP and the Democrats support clean energy, so why do we need Sierra Club? NRA,which is one of the oldest i think hsould just join the GOP. Having just two parties proved to work best.
I agree with Maria , that for the social movement there has to be a lot of upset and angry people getting together , unless there is another "Gandhi" that is leading the crowd. In regards to NRA and GOP , yes there are functional and exist within our society for a long time BUT keeping in mind the emerging parties, it will take a lot of work to get their voices heard within the crowd...
ReplyDeleteIf I aligned myself with a party, I would feel totally disenfranchised right now. The Republicans still have some fledgling conservative values, but the party has been relegated to rural flyover areas thanks to an utter inability to connect with urbanites and minorities. Even the great Ronald Reagan got less than 1/4 of the black vote. Do minorities care less about freedom and prosperity than whites?
ReplyDeleteDemocrats, you say? Take a look at the condition of some of the cities dominated by Democrats for the last 50 years:
Detroit: Even Robocop couldn't clean the place up.
Atlanta: Riots every third Tuesday!
Los Angeles: Gangs. And more gangs.
Chicago: Created Obama. 'Nuff said.
Philly: Shooting gallery.
D.C.: Where do I begin?
Newark: Just started to recover from the '67 riots. (That's NOT a typo.)
New Orleans: .....Aaah, they seem to like disasters; it's their main attraction.
Hey Cameron , you will never have one perfect party and in regards to all chaos in the world it's the people who create it , not the parties... Yes things like that should be managed in some way but in the first place , Who can predict others actions ? Some people do not want to abide the law , or they want to do things their way , such as gangs ...and there is nothing we can really do about it , because it's in those people's head , simple as that.
ReplyDeleteAll 3 strategies are strongly present in our society either implicitly or explicitly. Political parties is what people think of when they talk about American government and they are the very base of our so-called democracy (even though I don't really believe that we are a democracy anymore!). I think that all 3 of them are interconnected in some way but the most influential type of strategy is "lobbyism" or what is known as "interest groups". Lobbyists are the ones who control all the aspects of our society. Their main drive is selfishness and own interests. They decide who is elected (not the people!), they decide who and how to govern the country, they decide who controls the economy, who calls war or peace, who gets help and who doesn't. They are the perfect example of implicit "totalitarians".
ReplyDeleteBut that doesn't mean that Political parties are not influential. I seriously think that they are the other side of the coin. They are the explicit side that people "see". Their main goal is to control the Government by electing its members to office which will give them control over the Government’s personnel. And these political parties are completely influenced or more like controlled by the lobbyists.
Maria, I disagree that greed is human nature and will exist no matter what. Generosity is true human nature but we are conditioned by a consumerist culture to equate well being and success with money.
ReplyDeleteCameron, what exactly is your point, that Democrats are wild beasts?
I could throw around alot of stereotypes and over simplified generalizations about blue states but what is the point?
I do not align myself with an established party either.
I see them both as similar dramatizations of real life. The classifications are all about power, connections and status for the big players. But its not really fair to equate natural disasters and cultural phenonmena that has complex socio-economic causes strictly with the democratic party. -Courtney
Hassan, when talking about lobbyists, I strongly disagree that they are the ones in control of everything. There is no direct or indirect connection between Lobbyists in Washington and "totalitarians". I don’t know what you mean when talking about “totalitarians” because the definition of this political phenomenon is different. For instance my country, Bulgaria, was under totalitarian regime for 35 years and my family and I know what that means. Lobbyists do not have a total control over everything, or at least not over who gets elected and who governs the country. America is a free country and I believe that the people are the ones choosing all of the above. Obama was for sure not elected by the lobbyist in Washington.
ReplyDelete@ coconono when you said that capitalism is not a fair system, then which system you think is fair? Speaking of this I just want to mention what Sir Winston Churchill said:
“It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried. “
Also, when talking about social movements, maybe in the past they were able to survive without financing, but nowadays this would be considered as utopia to think that such activities can exist with no funds. I don’t see anything wrong with people financially supporting different movements, as long as the goals are pure.
I believe political parties are the most effective strategy in to use in American politics. Both social movements and interests groups fund and entice political parties in order to build protect their own motivations. All three are extremely important and needed to actually bring about change. AS Victoria said political parties seek to elect the people that are aligned with their own morals. Opinion is the new law, and there will always be a clash with those who's opinions differ. Thats actually how this country was founded. I also agree with maria's comment that greed is a part of human nature. Not all of us can resist. In a country where we elect people to represent us, we should understand that they ultimatly have the last word. We all work to influence them, so that they can influence change.
ReplyDeleteAngel
And also, all seats in Washington are taken by elite group of people,rich and powerful. They already have money and power and to me, they are much less greedy. Example, recent news about our NY Democtarts:governor and Co.:horse racing, money laundering, bribing, the blind ones are still finding "love" with a woman who is not his wife, AND getting caught.......
ReplyDeleteAnd, Cameron, totally agree, those States run by the Democtats but for some UNKNOWN reason......
(Newark- WHERE DO WE START?)