Question Details	Asked By	Asked On
Three aspects	USstudent244	11/25/03
Mr Haddock...I am back once again, This time I have a question regarding poltical parties and election. Would you please briefly assist me with my question below. The party in government, the party in electorate and the party in organizations are three distinct aspects of political parties. Im trying to outline the state of poltical parties in America compared to 100 years ago through the lens of of the listed three aspects of parties. So with regard to the three aspects above are parties stronger or weaker than 100 years ago? Are American two parties more or less representative (descriptivley and or ideologically) than 100 years ago? THANK YOU ....I appreciate your help!
Answered By		Answered On
stevehaddock		11/26/03
It is very difficult to make historical comparisons regarding politics. As James Loewen ("Lies My Teacher Told Me") pointed out, the biggest myth in American history is that it has been steady progress since 1620. Truth is, progress for different groups has been up and down throughout American history. When we look at the year 1900, some things haven't changed. Except for the addition of Arizona, New Mexico, Hawaii and Alaska, the Senate and House haven't changed in size at all, and representation has barely budged. Sure, the south-east is now Republican where it used to be Democrat, but the Democrats have made that up by taking former Republican strongholds like California and New England. At least the franchise has been spread out, with both blacks and women voting in larger numbers now than they did in 1900. Women got the constitutional amendment (they did vote in some states in the 19th century, the amendment prevented states from excluding women) and since the 1960s, blacks have had voting rights acts. However, although the U.S. claims it has no class system, the proportion of rich who vote is still much higher than poor who vote (one of the reasons Republicans are actually in the race). That's partly due to early poll closing (Republicans vote then show up at work because they run businesses, farms, and are in management - Democrats usually don't have time to vote before work and have to rush home to vote). That much hasn't changed in the last 100 years. Although it is easier to register now, it's still a hassle. In Canada, the government used to pay people to register voters before each election. Now, they use tax returns to make up the voters list. Most Canadians are registered, even though a lot don't vote. One big shift in politics is the participation of blacks. 100 years ago, those blacks who could vote almost exclusively voted for Republicans. Now, Republicans are the party of affirmative action in the party - most blacks in the party are promoted as soon as possible. That being said, the proportion of women, blacks and Hispanics in office, at all levels, is still pretty low. Although there are a lot of black representatives, there are no black senators I can remember, and few women senators. Office holders are still overwhelmingly white, male, and of Northern European origin. Democrats have more women, blacks and Hispanics in office, but probably not near what their value is to the party. J.C. Watts, the only black Republican representative (and former Canadian Football League quarterback), said that the Republicans were a lot more eager for him to run for them than the Democrats were. The Democrats are the more diverse party at the grass roots level, but the higher you go, the less diverse it gets. The Republicans are the reverse - their grass roots is not very diverse, but at least minorities get a fair shake, even at the highest levels. Both parties have changed in this respect - they were both all white and male in 1900. However, the types of voters that go for the parties is also changing. The farmer/urban Democratic base is eroding as suburbanites and some farmers go Republican. The business/rancher Republican base is still solid, but right now the interests of the two are diverging (for example, ranchers hate gas exploration because of environmental damage to grazing land).

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