Deadline #12, HW #2 Revision

Camille Luna
Eng102
Writing Project #3

Two Party System in America
The two party system format haws not changed since the 1850’s when Thomas Jefferson beat out the federalist and the republican party was born. Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton vied the constitution differently in regards to how much power the federal government should actually have. Hamilton believed there should be a national bank while Jefferson feared tyranny; therefore the two party system in America got started. (Clark, George) There is a divine right of political parties just as much as there is a divine right of kings. America needs to understand that they can change the current system because know where in the constitution does it talk about political parties and their rights.
It is obvious the pros and cons of America’s two party system as apposed to a non-partisan government and election. It is a consistent process of checks and balances while presenting both sides of issues at the same time. You could compare the method of passing a bill to a court case scenario; republicans and democrats being opposing attorneys. By the end of the “trail” all most sides have been presented and debated, thus making the ultimate decision the most educated and thought out conclusion. But what happens when, like I said before, only “most” of the sides have been presented? That is where third and fourth parties get lost in the mix. America needs to adopt a multi-party system to be most effective and equal today. (NOTES: this introduction starts out with history of the topic and how it has developed into what needs to change now....in transistions into the next P because I ended talking about multi-parties and now I go on to talk about multi-parties in the next P)
Third parties also known as independents, arise when the two major parties become unresponsive to their needs. They bring to the public eye sides to issues the major parties neglect to define and debate. Independents are an alternative to the major parties if you don’t agree entirely with one or the other, someone that agrees a little here and a little their might declare themselves as an Independent, absorbing a “big tent” way of thinking. Big tent or a catch all party is an open minded party seeking to attract people with diverse view points. A good example of this would be the New Deal collation presented by Franklin D. Roosevelt to help the country out of the depression. It encompassed multiple views and strategies and as a whole this would not fall under any one political party. (NOTES: This section talks about multiple parties and examples of how this has benifited the country in the past....it transistions into the next lP because this is talking about the past of using this system and how it works so now we are talking about current and why it is NOT working.)
Why the system is not working today is because now third parties rely on major parties to just adopt their ideas instead of gaining the power themselves like they have in the past. The most recent example of this is independent Senator Lieberman form Connecticut who was first elected as a Democrat but after going against his parties stance regarding the war on terror, he was denounced from his party and from running as a democrat. He then turned around and campaigned as an independent and won his seat back. Why would we want political parties that tell you what to think and if you truly believe the right choice lye beyond party lines then you risk being “denounced” from your, sometimes lifelong, organization.
This patronizing needs to change in America because America is free and we should be able choose what we feel is right not what we are bound to because of saying you are republican or democrat. A start of this is a group called the Blue Dog collation which is a group consisting of 47 moderate and conservative democratic party members of the United States House of Representatives. The group is involved in finding a compromise between liberal and conservative positions. They share a strong orientation toward what they consider fiscal responsibility and as a rule, work to promote positions within the House of Reps. which bridge the gap between the two extreme parties. They are an important swing vote on spending bills and, as a result, have gained influence in Congress out of proportion to their small numbers. They are frequently sought after to broker compromises between democrats and republican leadership because the two sides see so different on financial, moral, and security issues. The wheels of bureaucracy turn slow and that is why we are in Iraq and why we aren’t out of Iraq. Ideas are being debated too long and bills aren’t being passed efficiently and fast enough. (NOTES: This section talks about why the system is not working, how we can change it, examples of ways it is changing, and why it would be better....it transistions into the conclusion because it starts to sum things up and the conculsion just states the main points again.)
Overall something needs to change with the way our government system is set up; we need more opinions to be betrayed and more diversity in the congress. The multi-party system seems most effective and plausible direction to head for those necessary changes.