Politics

 While the origins of the word politics are rooted in a shared voice it has come over time to mean more about the organizational platforms of the parties that are running for office.  Politics can also refer to the bureaucratic processes that occur wherever people work in groups, such as the politics of a company.  

In American Politics, two definitive political parties have been the center of the running of the “State” for most of history.  The two modern political parties are the Republican or “Grand Old Party (GOP)” and the Democratic Party, while there has been a rise and fall of other parties both in history and in current times, the two party system has been responsible for nearly all of the viable political candidates for major offices in American Government.  In 2010, the US Gallup Poll reported that 29% of the population was registered as Republicans, 31% as Democrats and 38% as Independents.  

The Republican Party came to being in the mid-1800s.  The expansion of slavery in the US was strongly opposed by the founding members of the Republican Party.  The 1860 election of Abraham Lincoln launched the Republican Party as the anti-slavery ticket.  It wasn’t until McKinley was in office that the Republican became associated with business.  It continues today to be associated with a pro-business perspective.  Founded and named for the Jeffersonian philosophy of less government, the Republicans have favored personal responsibility over governmental social programs, conservative fiscal programs and laissez-faire economic practice.  

The Democratic Party on the other hand has a longer history, evolving in the 1700s as a protest to the political views of Alexander Hamilton. Rising to power in 1800, Jefferson founded the Democratic-Republican Party; the party supported states rights, the Constitution and opposed “wealthy” fiscal interests.  In 1812, the Party split over the election of a successor to James Monroe and the Democratic Party and Whig Party became the two party system.  The Whig was more focused on commercial interests.  The Slavery issue caused the demise of the Whig Party, the rise of the Republican party and a division within the Democratic Party.  The Democratic Party has had a platform of supporting Farmers, Unions and unregulated business and finance.  They have also supported government supported social programs and progressive taxes, today this is more of a support of mixed economy, social freedoms and a balanced Federal budget.  

The rise of alternative parties such as Green Party and the Libertarian Party has attempted to resolve the gaps between the Democratic and Republican Parties.  The recent advent of the Tea Party is also attempting to corral the frustration and angst of the American people into a cohesive response.  The Tea Party represents a conservative response to the current state of politics by supporting adherence to the original version of the Constitution without regard to the Amendments and changes over time.  The Tea Party also advocates reduced spending, reduction in taxes and a repeal of the recently passed healthcare Reform Act.  

Politics may have once been a sharing of views, but in modern times the views have become more polarized in their views and actions.