Politicle policies
...own or hardly known at all parties were the: Socialists, Unionists, Farmer-Laborists, Progressives, Communists, States' Rights, American Independents, Libertarians, New Alliance, Populists, Consumers, National Economic Recovery, Right to Life, Workers league, Socialist Workers, Peace and Freedom, Prohibitionists, Workers World, American, Grassroots, Independent and Third World Assembly. This immense list goes to show that not all American history has been two party. What we know today as Democrats and Republicans derived from some of these parties to be what they are today. The emergence of the parties has come mainly as a reaction to history where most of the rulers have been dictators or kings. The people do not favor dictatorship and therefore created political parties to better represent the feelings of the voters (Madron, 1974). This is not a time of a dictatorship and we have achieved representative democracy. We have evolved as a nation and have grown out of the need for political parties. The 1992 Presidential election was a definite sign that the usefulness of political parties is crumbling. The Democrats came out on top, followed by the Republicans, however, a third party candidate, Ross Perot, emerged and ended the race with nearly 10,000,000 popular votes. Perot made himself out to be the only one who could clean up the mess in Washington, and came through with an impressive finish (Wolfson, 1994). From this example, it is obvious that the way we know political parties, or perhaps political parties as a whole, are being phased out by the people. The world in which we live is constantly changing and getting faster and more efficient at making news readily available to the people. Back in the times before radio, tv, the internet and e-mail, people had to find out somehow about politics. The main source of their information came from political parties to educate them as to who was running and what they stood for and believed in (Carlin, 1992). Now, if someone needs information on some kind of politics, they can simply turn on C-Span, surf the ever-expanding net, or write an e-mail to the President himself. Another strike against political parties is evident. Lately, politicians have had their way in separating themselves from the voters whom they are supposed to represent. A greater gap is growing between the two. Voters do not like being just a number (Wolfson, 1994). The basis of democracy, in case some have forgotten, is equal representation for all people. By separating themselves from the voters, politicians are only creating a stronger case against political parties. Another such argument against parties can be seen in the fact that lately, voters have been straying from voting for one candidate. Instead of voting for a candidate, they may be voting simply against another candidate. They are choosing the lesser of the two evils by choosing the one that offends then the least, not judging on the qualifications of the two (Ladd, 1978). Finally, the argument that may have the most stature lies in the fact that nowhere in the constitution of the United States, the document our forefathers penned more than 200 years ago, are political parties mentioned. In a time without radio or tv, where political parties may have been needed, the authors the document in which governs our lives made no mention to them or what they stand for. This argument in itself should take a major role in the determination to rid government of political parties. Since political parties did start and take hold as they did, Americans have stuck to them and seem to remain grasped to them. If we want our government to run more smoothly and work for ...