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American Political System: Difference between revisions
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When people of other nations are trying to understand the rather odd political behavior of the USA, they would do well to remember that the United States is literally just that: fifty individual states, each with their own constitution, all under the aegis of a central federal government. The relationship between the federal government and the state governments can get contentious, to the point that there [[The American Civil War|was a civil war about it]].
Unlike many other nations, the US has had precisely one written constitution since independence in 1776,<ref>The [[The American Revolution|Articles]] [[Old Shame|of Confederation]] were a wash and don't count</ref> which is referred to simply as "the Constitution". This makes it the second-oldest written national constitution still in effect,<ref>The oldest is the constitution of [[
The Constitution is not set in stone. To date there are 27 amendments, the first ten of which are referred to as the Bill of Rights and were adopted before the Constitution was ratified. This gives you an idea of how hard the amendment process is -- 17 afterthoughts, one of which is in there to repeal an earlier afterthought. Not only that, but the 27th Amendment was actually proposed with the Bill of Rights -- it took some 200 years between proposal and ratification. As a result of its stability and endurance, Americans have a deep respect for the Constitution--a respect that can become downright [http://www.mcnaughtonart.com/images/image_map_images/one_nation_under_God.jpg reverential] for some people. This makes it really quite difficult to even get a movement to ''propose'' an amendment, to the frustration of many reformers.
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New states may be admitted to the Union upon Congressional approval. States may not raise their own armies (they are required by law to maintain an organized militia in the form of the Army and Air National Guards, and may raise a optional militia for in state use only), sign treaties (but with permission of Congress they may enter into a ''Compact'' with other states), or coin money on their own, and when a conflict between state and federal law arises, federal law wins out. Except when it doesn't. Basically, Federal law only has supremacy when it is Constitutional. Familiar with the phrase; "Can open, worms all over the ground"? Well, when THAT particular argument comes up, things get wormy.
One major difference between the States and the Federal governments is that states hold a lot more elections. A State need not limit its elections to the legislature and the governor, as the federal government does; they can also hold elections for secretary of state, attorney general, comptroller, state supreme court judges, judges of lower courts, district attorneys, sheriffs, and/or dog catchers. Much of this will be specified in the state constitution, which is generally amended by popular vote as well. Many states also have a procedure where an elected official may be removed (recalled) from office in a special election if a sufficient number of petitions are gathered. A significant example of this occurred in 2003, when California governor Gray Davis was successfully recalled and replaced by [[Arnold Schwarzenegger]] in a special election that included 135 candidates<ref>Among whom were several odd personalities, including [[Diff'rent Strokes|Gary Coleman]], the former [[
All this voting theoretically makes state governments more accountable to the people. In practice, this doesn't quite work. Which is why in some states you have Initiative and Referendum, where, if the legislature doesn't pass an acceptable law, the people can propose one (meaning some well funded group or bunch of people ticked off enough send out people to collect signatures to have a ballot proposal put up for election), contrary to the Jefferson quote above. This is how the famous ''Proposition 13'' slashed property taxes in California. It's also how a major manufacturer of gambling equipment and supplies was able to get a state lottery created there as well.
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There are a number of smaller groups, typically called "third parties" in the US, which are largely active only at the municipal or state level and rarely, if ever, elect members to federal office. The largest third parties in the country are as follows:
* The '''[[wikipedia:Constitution Party (United States)|Constitution Party]]''' is a "paleoconservative" party, which means that, while they have very right-wing views on taxes, spending and social/cultural issues<ref>They oppose immigration, welfare and the income tax, support gun rights, states' rights and anti-federalism, and take a generally fundamentalist Christian stance on issues like homosexuality, abortion, gambling and pornography. Their anti-abortion position is a big enough issue that debates over whether to allow for abortions in the event of rape, incest and the health of the mother created a schism that saw several state affiliates break away.</ref> and an explicit rooting of their beliefs in Christianity, they also break from modern mainstream conservatism by opposing free trade in favor of a protectionist/mercantilist trade policy, as well as supporting a foreign policy of noninterventionism and a reduced role in world affairs, including repeal of the Patriot Act and withdrawal from the [[United Nations|UN]], the World Bank and the IMF.
* The '''[[wikipedia:Libertarian Party (United States)|Libertarian Party]]''' is pretty much [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin]]: it aims to be the leading party for libertarianism (though some libertarians do not agree with some of the LP's stances). It is the third largest political party according to [[wikipedia:Libertarian Party
* The '''[[wikipedia:Green Party (United States)|Green Party]]''' is probably the most famous third party in the country after the Libertarians, mainly thanks to the high-profile Presidential run of Green Party candidate Ralph Nader in 2000. By any measure, they are quite leftist, supporting fair trade, pacifism, an end to the War on Drugs, local government, internationalism, very liberal views on civil liberties and social issues, opposition to the Patriot Act, and a strong welfare state -- in other words, not too far from other Green Parties worldwide and European-style social democrats. Their main focus, however, is environmentalism, as their name suggests. Supporters are often stereotyped as tree-hugging hippies and socialists. If you see a character in fiction who supports the Green Party, then he or she is probably a [[New Age Retro Hippie]] or a [[Granola Girl]].
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These are by no means the only third parties in the United States, or the oldest (none of the three date back earlier than 1970). Third parties have a long history in US politics, and have been known to take up issues that would later be co-opted by the major parties. Here is a list of some of the more notable ones throughout history:
* The '''[[wikipedia:Anti-Masonic Party|Anti-Masonic Party]]''', [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|as its name suggests]], was formed in 1828 in opposition to what they felt was [[Conspiracy Theorist|the corrupting influence of]] [[Ancient Conspiracy|Freemasonry]], although it would eventually pursue a more general opposition to [[wikipedia:Jacksonian democracy|Jacksonian democracy]]. It introduced such political traditions as party platforms and nominating conventions, as well as being the [[Trope Maker]] for single-issue political parties. At their height in 1832, they managed to win 7.78% of the popular vote, with their greatest strength in Vermont (who gave them their only electoral college victory) and in New York. The movement would fizzle out and be absorbed into the growing Whig party by 1838 (Freemasonry no longer being that hot of an issue), although not before running future President [[William Henry Harrison]] in the 1836 election.
* The '''[[wikipedia:Whig Party
* The '''[[wikipedia:Know Nothing|Know Nothings]]''' were a political party that existed under the names '''Native American Party''' (nothing to do with actual Native Americans) from 1845 to 1855, and the '''American Party''' from then until 1860. The Know Nothings were a nativist movement that was strongly opposed to immigration (particularly from Ireland and Germany), which they blamed for the crime in the cities, and Catholicism, which they felt was a foreign plot to subvert and overthrow American democracy. The name "Know Nothing" comes from the secret groups that preceded the party, whose members were told to say "I know nothing" if they were confronted about their involvement. They enjoyed massive success in the mid-1850s thanks to the collapse of the Whig Party and the two-party system, but they soon splintered and fell apart over the issue of slavery. The term "Know Nothing" would go on to be used as a derogatory term for a nativist for decades to come.
* The '''[[wikipedia:Prohibition Party|Prohibition Party]]''' was founded in 1869 to call for the restriction and prohibition of alcoholic substances. It had its greatest success in 1919, when national alcohol prohibition was enacted, causing it to change its message to calling for stricter enforcement of the ban. However, the growing distaste for prohibition cost them dearly, and the repeal of prohibition in 1933 set the party on a long decline. The party still exists, but in the last election, it only earned 643 votes -- a far cry from the days when they could win over a quarter of a million votes. By sheer twist of fate, they were responsible for the election of the first female mayor in American history, and did so completely by accident. For fun, take a look on their [[The Other Wiki|Wikipedia]] page and see where they held their conventions. Going down the list, it's kind of sad.
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