State Party System Pros And Cons

The 1966 California gubernatorial election of Ronald Reagan ushered in a new era of unified conservatism and changed the way campaigns were conducted. Ronald Reagan unified a broken Republican Party that had been dealt a serious loss in 1964 at the hands of Lyndon Johnson. Reagan emerged as the party unifier and as the one man who could win against Democratic incumbent Pat Brown. Reagan's campaign and subsequent election changed the way campaigns were done. Running a total campaign as a citizen-politician painted Reagan as the people's candidate, the candidate who could and would bring positive change to the state of California. In 1966 the people of California were fed up with the inaction of the incumbent. While Pat Brown was well-liked,

California is known for being a very liberal “blue” state. California is almost guaranteed to vote democratically in a presidential election and much of the country considers themselves democratic. The areas that are more conservative in California are also very adamant in their beliefs. The two major political parties in California are extremely polarized and have extremely high partisanship. The parties themselves however are extremely weak. The idea that parties can have high levels of partisanship but be weak is extremely confusing. It has much to do with the way California’s politics have been established and the level of direct democracy in the state.

The First political parties of the United States were called the Federalists and the Democratic Republicans. These parties were formed in the 1970’s, and although they had no formal national organization, like the later parties eventually would, they had very strong beliefs. The two parties were caused by the debates of the U.S. bank, the balance of state and national powers, and much more. They had opposing views on pretty much everything, such as the government strength, the interpretation of the constitution, etc. The original political parties in America differed in their views of alliances with either the French or the British.

There are several reasons why the two party system, Republican vs. Federalist, worked so well in the 1790’s.

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.

The Democratic Party is one of the two major political parties in the United States. Its origin dates back to the original Democratic - Republican Party founded by Thomas Jefferson.

candidates into one for each party. Ultimately, the primary system is to create a two party

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.

Political parties stand at 18 million registered voters, 43.9% was registered as Democrats and 28.9% were Republicans. In today, we're living as a Democrat with the most percentage. California's representatives include of 53 members, with 39 of them are Democrat and 14 Republicans. In 2020, California will vote in the presidential election with most of the vote going to be democratic. We also suffer from Political issues, for example, health-care system, health insurance, health care overhaul, healthcare measure, health care.

Democracy in the United States is based on the indirect representation of the people by elected officials who are usually chosen by direct vote. Almost from the beginning of the United States' history, however, two parties have shared the great majority of the elected positions from the local level to the presidency. However, up until the mid-1850's when the Republican party was formed, other parties such as the Whigs, Federalists, and Anti-Federalists did not last very long. The Democratic Party has existed for much longer, tracing its roots from Thomas Jefferson's Democratic Republican Party beginning around 1792 (Encarta). The two largest parties have changed, third parties have

As California is a huge state, there is a need to understand the state political landscape. Prior to the 1980’s, the state was largely divided on a North-South Axis. Before that, Democrats only dominated the Bay Area and part of Los Angeles County. At that time, most of Southern Californians were Republican Supporter. At the same time, the Central Valley was sparsely populated. This means that it is hard to know which political mindset they have. An example would be the state divided over peripheral canal which was passes in the south while 97% vote against in the north.

The Democratic Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. It is traced back to the times of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison's Democratic-Republican Party, the Democratic Party that we utilize to this day was founded in 1828 by Andrew Jackson, making it one of the world's oldest active political party. In the 21st century, the Democratic Party has been fighting for the gregarious and political equality of Hispanic and Latino Americans, Asian Americans, the LGBT community, single women and professional women are most moved towards the party. The party has taken a 45% of the United States people, alongside with the Republican party of 35%, giving an advantage to any party in the states (Brufke, Julie Grace).

In 1910, California Progressive Party member Hiram Johnson ran for governor. “Restore absolute sovereignty to the people that we may yet live in a free republic” was his slogan. In years prior to the election Californians began to notice a trend in their state government. Californians were not being represented properly by the legislature (Kesler). This is a reflection of California at the time. The gold rush had brought massive amounts of people into the state. This led to an unprecedented opportunity for new business. The Southern Pacific Railroad among other big business infiltrated politics and corruption followed for decades. Law makers passed laws which benefited them. The Progressives sought to give the people greater say in making and dismantling legislation. In doing so the Legislative branch lost power.

The parties formed after the Constitution was adopted as the need to systematically search for and encourage popular support became apparent. The structure of a party allows a group of like-minded politicians to mold popular support in the favor of the candidate of their choice where alone they could only accomplish the creation of multiple less organized and therefore less politically potent factions. The nature of the political system already in place gave no value to coming in second or third in elections at any level of government, leading to the natural growth of two strong parties who battle for supremacy at every election (July 22). The winner takes all, and the opposition spends their time getting ready to try again as they wait for their next chance. Once the two parties, Democrat and Republican, were firmly settled in to the system they affected legislation to give themselves automatic ballot access and state funding, making election that much harder for other parties and thereby ensuring that it remained a two party system (July 22).

The current winner-take-all system is serviceable, but it is prone to polar inversions due to its bipartisan nature. Neither party adequately represents the values of most Americans. Worse, is the fact that most of the votes that go toward an independent or third party candidate are essentially wasted, discouraging voters from selecting such candidates. It is a system which generally makes it difficult for smaller parties to gain influence, and which rarely provides accurate representation to the voters.