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American Political System: Difference between revisions
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* The '''[[wikipedia:Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]]''', or the GOP (Grand Old Party, despite being younger than the Democrats), is the center-right party in American politics. Unified by fiscal conservatism, and a lot (but not all) of them are social conservatives. Strong in rural areas and the South, and among evangelical Protestants and middle class-to-affluent voters. They currently hold the [[Donald Trump|presidency]], Senate and House of Representatives.
These definitions apply to the current time; the Democrats used to be the party of white landowners and former slaveholders in the South, but lost their support—and several legislators—due to the Civil Rights Acts, and Nixon and Reagan both campaigned to disillusioned Southern voters. Conversely, the Democrats picked up African-Americans because they were attracted by Lyndon Johnson's 'Great Society' initiatives and more recent Democrat campaigning on civil rights issues. The Republicans were established from the remains of the leftist Whig Party, and it used to be even worse—for a good 30-year period, both parties had right and left wings, which ended shortly before [[World War
Both parties tend to have their own core of rich and elite constituencies and support from industries that provide much of the financial backing for each, though the degree to which each party is the "party of (insert your favorite evil industry here)" is typically hyped-up by the other party. The Republicans tend to garner support from small- to medium-business owners, oil and gas corporations, manufacturing corporations, construction and contracting businesses, and most of the financial sector. The Democrats, meanwhile, are supported by lawyers and law firms, entertainment and technology companies (i.e. [[Hollywood]] and Silicon Valley), [[American Educational System|higher education]], labor unions, and a smaller share of the financial industry. Most major industries and corporations, though, tend to spread their campaign contributions around, typically to incumbents, on the basis of not wanting to anger one side or another and to curry favor with whoever might be in office at the time. The influence of campaign money in politics is a ''very'' controversial issue in the United States, and promises to become even more so after the 2010 ''Citizens United v. FEC'' Supreme Court decision.
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* The '''[[wikipedia:Tea Party Movement|Tea Party]]''', despite its name, is not a political party ''per se'', but rather, is a right-wing populist movement centered on the Republican Party. It is primarily composed of conservative, Christian, upper-middle-class citizens, and it had its genesis in early 2009, when CNBC correspondent Rick Santelli went on [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zp-Jw-5Kx8k a rant] on the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange attacking [[Barack Obama]]'s bailout of homeowners facing foreclosure. Some would argue it started with [[Ron Paul]]'s Presidential campaign in 2007-08, but although he has a faction in the modern Tea Party, it appears that the majority are closer to mainline conservative Republican ideology than the anti-interventionist, staunch libertarian Paul. Their name is a reference to the Boston Tea Party, one of many protests by colonial Americans against the Tea Act passed by the British Parliament in 1773.
Their initial goals were largely libertarian and financial in nature, including smaller government, lower taxes, states' rights, and opposition to the bailouts and growing government spending (especially deficit spending), but the specific goals of its constituent groups greatly broadened the movement's focus; in particular, illegal immigration, family values and opposition to [[Hollywood Global Warming|climate change]] legislation have been taken up as additional planks by many local and regional groups. A few politicians, such as [[Sarah Palin]], Rick Perry, Herman Cain and Michele Bachmann, frequently speak at Tea Party events and are considered by outsiders as the public face of the group, but various groups remain and have no unified official leader. [[We ARE Struggling Together!|This has been problematic]], though less than usual in such cases. Since the Tea Party and the issues it champions are hot-button subjects within the United States, please remember the [[Rule of Cautious Editing Judgment]] when discussing them.
While the modern third parties have not been very successful at winning elections, they're often very effective at being "protest" votes: if a voter feels that his Democratic Party's candidate for, let's say state house, is too conservative on issues such as environmental protection or healthcare, that voter can vote for the Green Party in protest of that candidate. This weakens the candidate's base and increases the possibility that the Republican opponent can win the seat. The next time around, the Democratic Party or the Democratic candidate are more likely to heed the whims of their constituents and will adjust their stance on those above issues accordingly. It sounds like a roundabout method, but it can be pretty effective.
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