Party Politics: When Third Parties Make a Difference
There have been times in U. S. history when third parties have affected the outcome of an election. If a third party takes disproportionately from one party rather than the other they can be divisive. Ironically, Ross Perot got 19% of the vote in 19...
Leader for a Nation: Factors Beyond a President's Control
When the American public assesses the president's job performance, cautions presidential scholar Sam Kernell, "we need to keep in mind that presidents don't really call the shots." Pressure groups, ideological differences within their own party, una...
Party Politics: Elections Won in the Center
Elections are won in the center and that is where both parties compete. Over the last decades of the 20th century and the first decade of the 21st century the Republican right wing has been a more potent force than the liberal left wing of the Democ...
Pressure Politics: How Big Business Promotes Its Agenda
The financial resources of big business allow them to organize mass numbers of people, hire experienced lobbyists and researchers, and support congressmen friendly to their causes. Consequently, the overall success of their efforts is often greater ...
American Heritage: Conflict and Political Discourse
Politics is more than the pursuit of shared ideals. It is the way that a society makes its governing decisions. Two major sources of disagreement dominate the political stage: conflict over distribution of scarce resources and differences in values....
Balancing Act: Status of Workers, The
Workers began gaining a degree of power in the 1930s when Congress passed legislation that guaranteed their right to bargain collectively and established a minimum wage. In the decades that followed American workers continued to strengthen their pos...
Candidates and Campaigns: Paths to Political Office
There are two paths to public office, coming up through the party ranks or becoming an entrepreneur and raising campaign funds yourself. One of the most important assets in electoral politics is positive name recognition. This may come from a family...
Candidates and Campaigns: Effect of Contributions on a Politician's Vote, The
Serious academic studies of the effects of campaign contributions on an elected official's behavior in Congress find very little relationship. What contributions do buy is access to politicians, a valuable commodity considering how busy members of C...
American Heritage: Who Governs?
The ultimate question about any political system is the issue of who governs. Is power widely shared or closely held? Does it function on the basis of majority rules and minority participation? How can "rational deliberation" be employed as a means ...
World of Uncertainty: Changing Look of U.S. Society, The
The U.S. population is becoming larger, older, and more diverse at end of 20th century. Minority groups are forming their own collectives in order to define themselves economically, socially and politically. Feminist groups, the American Association...