Political Parties, Politics, And Public Policy - 1542 Words

Jacob Dretzka Professor Wright May 23rd, 2016 Midterm Essay Questions Essay #1: Political Parties in America favor electoral victories over achieving policy outcomes because of the way our parties are structured. As noted in the readings from, â€Å"Parties, Politics, and Public Policy in America† by Marc Hetherington and Bruce Larson, American political parties are largely fragmented. The reading describes how our main parties, the Democrats and Republicans, are fragmented across various sub-groups, states, and ideologies. As stated in the Hetherington and Larson reading, one of the main characteristics of our political parties that make them favor electoral victories over policy initiatives is that there are fifty different states parties that make up the national parties and that each of those state parties can have different ideological goals. The Democratic Parties of North Dakota or Alabama will probably not have the same policy beliefs or goals as the Democratic Parties of California or New Jersey. Similar to how the Republican Party of C onnecticut is probably more moderate that the Republican Party of Mississippi (Hetherington Larson). Our national parties do not dictate the ideological goals of the state parties. Both parties have a national policy agenda, but the State Parties and regular individuals of each party are not required to abide by these policy goals. So, this could lead to parties favoring electoral victories because those types of victories areShow MoreRelatedAmerica Is Known For Its Freedom Of Speech1682 Words   |  7 PagesThe dynamics of the American political system gives the American people a voice in what goes on in the government. The right to vote gives all citizens the opportunity to vote on various positions in the government and local areas. 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