Why are the two major US parties so prevalent in smaller government levels too?

[dennilfloss]

In Canada, the main federal parties can have provincial branches but they are not officially related and sometimes share the name only. For example, the Liberal Party in Quebec is basically conservative at the moment (by Canadian standards, they are about the level of the Democrats in the US) in many aspects and its head, the current premier of the province, is in fact a former conservative minister at the federal level. We rarely if ever hear of liberal/conservative/NDP/etc... official influence in local elections (mayor for example), though it may get mentioned if a person is a member of a federal party. Similarly, religion is considered private and rarely mentioned.

In the USA, on the other hand, the Republican and Democratic electoral machines and political issues seem to have trickled down to many levels of politics. We hear of Republican vs Democrat mayors, state attorneys, judges, etc... Also, religious affiliation seem to be a major influence in someone being chosen for office at local/state levels too. Much more polarized in general.

Is it in large part due to the enormous costs involved in US politics? Is it because of the lack of other major parties at the federal level? It is more fundamentally because of their republican as opposed to parliamentary system? Etc...

 

[sandorski]

Not an expert, but I think the 2 parties are so entrenched that they have basically stifled any alternatives from Top to Bottom. I too am Canadian and find the US system bizarre to say the least. They're only 1 Party away from the Soviet Union and at times it's difficult to even see the difference between those 2 Parties.

 

[Moonbeam]

The split in America has been with us for thousands of years. It is the split between those who emphasize a loving or a wrathful God. It's the struggle between the idea that good will out via nurture or order will only come via discipline and accountability. It is the battle of the intelligences in the masculine and the feminine, the Earth Mother and the Patriarchal bearded one.

 

[1EZduzit]

Perhaps it is just as simple as the fact that ****** flows downhill.

 

[dennilfloss]

Waiting for serious answers. Inquiring minds want to know.

 

[dmcowen674]

Originally posted by: sandorski
Not an expert, but I think the 2 parties are so entrenched that they have basically stifled any alternatives from Top to Bottom.

I too am Canadian and find the US system bizarre to say the least.

They're only 1 Party away from the Soviet Union and at times it's difficult to even see the difference between those 2 Parties.

Nice to see a Canadian speak from the heart and not from greedy aspiration.

It's a shame the American Sheeple don't see what you see.

 

[dmcowen674]

Originally posted by: dennilfloss
Waiting for serious answers. Inquiring minds want to know.

The only way America can be saved is to do away with the money it takes to get into the two parties.

Unless that happens the U.S. will cease to exist as the Free Nation it once was.

Greed currupts and destroys.

Ask Ceasar.

 

[Jaskalas]

Originally posted by: dmcowen674

Originally posted by: sandorski
Not an expert, but I think the 2 parties are so entrenched that they have basically stifled any alternatives from Top to Bottom.

I too am Canadian and find the US system bizarre to say the least.

They're only 1 Party away from the Soviet Union and at times it's difficult to even see the difference between those 2 Parties.

Nice to see a Canadian speak from the heart and not from greedy aspiration.

It's a shame the American Sheeple don't see what you see.

I agree with the notion that the two parties are dangerous.

The only hope we?ve got left is that we can find enough people that aren?t partisan. Many people would gladly follow their party into their flavor of dictatorship. The largest differences are social and who the buyout goes to, the size of government dictating to us continues to grow no matter who we vote for.

 

[ntdz]

Originally posted by: dmcowen674

Originally posted by: dennilfloss
Waiting for serious answers. Inquiring minds want to know.

The only way America can be saved is to do away with the money it takes to get into the two parties.

Unless that happens the U.S. will cease to exist as the Free Nation it once was.

Greed currupts and destroys.

Ask Ceasar.

I totally agree greed corrupts...I think it'd be wise to limit terms on reps and senators. Maybe 3 terms for reps and 2 terms for senators.

 

[2Xtreme21]

This article may help explain why.

 

[newmachineoverlord]

Fundraising is done by parties, and there are fifty one democratic parties, and fifty one republican parties in the US (One in each state plus a national party.) Donations can be made
1. to a particular candidate
2. To a local political party
3. To a national political party

Funds given to the local or national party are then redistributed to what they consider "battleground states" in order to optimize spending to try to win the most seats for the national party as a whole. Thus the local parties that know they have the win by a wide margin can give their surplus to go fight elsewhere. In Missouri, the Republican National Party brought in over five hundred students from out of state to make telephone calls to tens of thousands of voters to advocate for Jim Talent the day before the election. Thus the two party system enables wealthy states from one party to attempt to change the outcome of another state's election. So yes, the two party system is a side affect of the involvement of money in the political system.

In the US religion has become a prophetable industry. Most US citizens who claim to be religious have very little background in theological history, and have proven to be easy to manipulate into a political force by republicans in particular. They cherry pick parts of the religion that suits their financial and political agenda, and push it publicly to the point where enough people start to think that's what the religion is about that they believe in it. The hypocrisy is most evident if you examine the commandment "Thou shalt not kill." and compare it's importance depending whether the politician is talking about the death penalty, initiating a war of aggression, or abortion. There are also textbook vendors making religiously based textbooks that they try to push on people by claiming that "intelligent design" should be presented in science classes, where even getting the press to talk about it is a victory for them, since the press will unknowingly call it a theory when it's only an unsupported, untestable hypothesis. When religion and politics meet, it's usually about money. Also, to many people politics is religion, and they assume that the party they have allied with has their best interests in mind, and no evidence to the contrary will sway them.

Edit: I don't mean to imply that republicans are the only ones who ever use religion to their advantage, but they've been in power for twelve years so it's the more obvious example. I also don't mean to imply that everyone who uses religion as the basis for their politics is so easily manipulated. The fact is, however, that many people haven't taken the time to closely examine their religious beliefs, don't know how to reconcile conflicting messages within the religious text, and turn for guidance to someone with political or financial motivations.

 

[fskimospy]

The way the american electoral system is made up, you will never have more then two parties.

Since all of our districts and political races are "winner take all" as opposed to proportional representation, any additional political parties serve only to dilute the voting base of one of the two big ones. So... people from either the left or the right that want a candidate that shares at least some of their values to be elected are forced to vote for either the republicans or the democrats. Not very democratic... but it's what we're stuck with.

This trickles down to local government because people identify with party image extremely strongly at the national level, and it is a good shortcut for local politicians without money to spend on a campaign. This way people can quickly identify with them (and hopefully vote for them).

 

[Genx87]

Groupthink and association.

This is why I think the 3rd parties dont have a clue. They need to work from the ground up, not from the top down. First get your people into city and county positions. Then move them upto the state level. Then work on getting house reps and senators.

Instead these guys want it all and put all their eggs into the presidential level. Like a 3rd party will honestly have a chance.

Get your people in at lower levels. This will gain you trust among the people.