‘To what extent is it fair to say America is a land of 100 parties’
To the rest of the world, it appears that the USA only has two main parties which have governed the country since independence in 1776. However, America is such a vast country with 50 states, many of which are far apart geographically and indeed some of them are bigger than many countries in the world. This coupled with the fact that the USA operates a federal system has led the scholar Anthony Bennett to conclude that “America does not have two but 100 parties-50 state Republican parties and 50 state democratic parties”. He goes onto say that “to be a Maryland Republican is quite different from being a Georgia Republican” which implies the parties are built by a combination of how the states are made up rather than by ideology. He also states that both parties contain such a huge spectrum of opinion and philosophical belief. Therefore it can be argued America operates under a multi-party system which coalesces into two great coalitions for the purpose of governing rather than standing up for ideological issues.
The argument that America is a land of 100 parties stems from the fact that many argue that Republicans and Democrats are not actual parties in the true sense of the word. Whilst the Democrats may be seen as more left-wing than the Republicans, this is not a true division and both organisations attempt to win elections by trying to woo people of all backgrounds and beliefs. The USA is by its very nature Conservative where left-wing parties have never succeeded in main stream politics. When Communism tried to spread in the mid-20th Century there was an obsessive backlash where suspected Communists were classed as “aliens” and virtual enemies of the state. In the 1970’s, Carter was perceived as a weak President and the US experienced a decline in economic and International power. He favoured “big Government” and since then it appears that the vast majority of Americans are suspicious of Government intervention and so the Democrats have needed to change. They will intervene to help the disadvantaged but not at the risk of alienating other Social Groups who support them and therefore the aim of the party is more around gaining votes in which the winner takes all in the First Past the Post system rather than pursuing a left of centre agenda. In the same way, 2010 has seen a rise in popularity of the “Tea Party” within the Republican movement which wants to bring the party more to the right and return the USA to fundamental policies but again party strategists do not wish to lose votes from those who believe in market forces but do not hold extreme right-wing views.
