For this week's written assignment for GOVT 2305 I asked students to pick either of the two major parties and try to determine who or what is in charge of them.
A key point made in the section on political parties is that they are decentralized (as is the entire governing system in the United States). There is no one dominant entity mandating what the party stands for, what tactics it pursues and what candidates they offer. There is instead ongoing competition between different groups to determine what policies parties will pursue of elected into office in an upcoming election.
These include:
- party identifiers
- primary voters
- contributors
- office holders
- interest groups
- county party officials
- state party officials
- the national party committees
- candidates for office
There is of course a different dynamic in each election season that makes certain groups stronger than others, at least temporarily. Take the Tea Party as an example. The goal for students is to try to figure what that dynamic is at this point in time. I'll post some relevant items soon. For now, general background about parties - this relates to class material so hopefully it helps make sense of it.
- Why Decentralize Power in A Democracy?
- The American Political Parties Are Breaking Down.
- How to fix our polarized politics? Strengthen political parties.
- Report: Wealthy 'Elite Donors' Fueling U.S. Politics.
