Pros And Cons Of Partisan Emiliation

     In the following essay I will be talking about the disadvantages and advantages of partisan elections for state politics. I will also examine the last couple year’s election results and costs. Finally, I will discuss if partisanship made a difference in the vote, as well as if a judge should be decided by partisan vote. In the next couple paragraphs I will talk more specifically about these topics.

Texas has a controversial way of electing its judges. When Texas became a state in 1845, judges were appointed by the governor with Senate consent, but since 1876, judges at all levels of courts have been elected by the people in partisan elections. The main problem with this system is partisan elections lead to more campaign contributions and increased partisanship among judge which hinders fair and independent judiciary system.

The Founding Fathers believed that political parties were dangerous and a threat to a popular republican government. Despite the foreboding of the Founders, parties formed and are still around to this day. I agree with the statement that “parties make the process work, clarify issues, and present clear alternatives. And when the parties are in a weakened state, it is bad for the country.” I think in their most basic form, parties do play a vital role in our government, but I understand why the Founders were hesitant about them.

In Ohio, "nonpartisan" elections vote justices into office. However, Preceeding these elections are partisan primaries, and each justice must campaign. If the justice wins the election, the justice will want to be re-elected as well. If they want their party to vote for them, they have no choice but to side with the party on issues, instead of interpreting the constitution as it is written. For these reasons, the Missouri Plan should be implemented in Ohio to prevent justices from acting as activists, and to keep justices from excessive partisan influence.

A political party is defined as a group of people who come together to contest elections and hold power in the government. They agree on policies and programs for the society with a view to promote their supporters' interests. In democracies, political parties are elected by the electorate to run a government. The United States is a considered a two-party system, with its two most powerful parties being the Republican Party and the Democratic Party.

The growing ideological gap between the United States’ two major political parties, in other words, rising levels of political polarization, has had a negative impact on American politics as it results in Congressional inefficient, public apathy, and economic inequality.

In opposition to most states, Texas is one of a handful to do partisan elections to vote for judges. Contrasting viewpoints try to decide on whether the voting system should be partisan or nonpartisan bringing much debate in the election of the judicial candidates. Some argue the system should change because of possible bias both by the electorate and of the judge, others contend it is necessary to know what party the judges affiliate with in order to know what way they lean may lean in their final judgement. Many arguments bring to light the benefits and drawbacks of each system, critiquing the justness, dependability, and impartiality.

In 1792, the world’s oldest political party, the Democratic Party, was founded. During the presidency of President Andrew Jackson in 1830, the party adopted its name as the Democratic Party as it is known now. Prior to the renaming of the party, it was known as the Democratic-Republican Party founded by James Madison, and Thomas Jefferson in opposition of the Federalist Party. The Democratic Party’s purposed served to supported states’ rights and the strict interpretation of the Constitution (Mayne, 1). Correspondingly, providing financial support to family based agriculture was one of their main priorities (Mayne, 1). The Federalist Party, their opposition, consisted of wealthy elites that strived, and fought for one strong all ruling national government, rather than state governments. As the United States had just recently become independent, the Democratic-Republican Party was determined to prevent the United States from becoming a monarchy. Over the next century, the Democratic-Republican party began to split due to the lack of agreement on major ideas which led to the current two-party system. However, some ideologies remain the same such as moral stance, and socioeconomic status. Other ideologies like economic view and stance on government power have caused this split between the Democratic and Republican parties (Mayne, 22). It is imperative to remember that even though these two parties are completely different, they originated from the same party with one main goal; “To create a government that is run for and by its people” (Mayne, 23). I have still not developed a political identity, but over the past three years of my residence in the United States, I am more in favor of the Democratic Party and what they stand for.

Have you ever considered the American government is corrupt, even though they claim to uphold certain American values? The two-party system is just that: corrupt. Right now, the government offers two parties, and even though it has its benefits, it has a lot more weaknesses.  Although the two-party system offers stability and accessibility for citizens, it is broken and needs to be drastically changed for the government to be actually of the people, by the people, for the people.

John Adams, one of the founding fathers, wrote that “There is nothing which I dread so much as a division of the republic into two great parties, each arranged under its leader, and concerting measures in opposition to each other. This, in my humble apprehension, is to be dreaded as the greatest political evil under our Constitution” (“Quote by John Adams”). The Two-Party system has been around since the start of America. The Two-Party system is a system that has two parties that the government, or America in this case, has that lead the government or America. At the current time, the two parties are the Republican and Democrat parties. It was created with the idea that everyone can be represented within either of the parties. Even though it does create some representation of the people, the two-party system does not create an equal policy in society because it does not allow people to get far if they are not within either of the two parties, does not allow the idea of having more than two parties, and because it doesn't represent everyone.

There are many theories as to how or why political polarization was formed, and the impact it has on government in modern day. Polarization has varied significantly over the years ever since the 1970’s. However, what is the true cause and can it be explained? This paper will discuss some theories on how political polarization came about, and analyzes some accounts of polarization overall. Defining political polarization is vital into developing an understanding of how or why it was initially formed.

A consistent issue with voting in the USA throughout the past few decades is that the majority of votes come fro9m one of two groups: the elderly and those devoted to their political party. One thing that these two groups have in common is that there is no more room for nuanced opinions within them; the elderly stick to the values that they have learned throughout their lives and the politically devote will vote for any representation that bears the title “Democrat” or “Republican”. Unlike these two groups, younger groups have not been conditioned to strictly abide by political

Democrats and Republicans in the US Congress are as ideologically consistent and distinct as they have been at any point. Both houses in the US congress have become more ideologically polarized in the past few years. Parties have grown increasingly divided in the past years on all major policy dimensions in American politics, Democrats have become more liberal and Republicans have become more conservative and independents are also leaning towards sides now a days. In fact, I believe that political polarization in congress was at an all-time high the past year. Party polarization has been increasing since the 1970’s and I believe it will not slow down any time soon, despite a period of depolarization period in the mid-20th century

Democrats and Republicans are more spread out now on policy positions than they used to be. There is some data from Pew Research demonstrates that 97 percent of Democrats are more liberal than the median Republican, and 95 percent of Republicans are more conservative than the median Democrat. That is a tremendous increase from 1994, which was 70 and 64 percent. Pew Research demonstrates that more than 80 percent of Republicans and Democrats hold horrible perspectives of individuals from the other party, with 44 percent of Democrats and 45 percent of Republicans holding exceptionally ominous perspectives of their political rivals. In 16 states a year ago, more than 33% of 2016 voters lived in an area where either Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton

Today many people still have doubts about having political parties. How the universe would have been better without these parties. It would just cause bigger arguments and disagreements. They would harm the government, and possibly separate the nation. To some people it was normal if citizens had this disagreements. So they really didn’t care if there were parties or not.